Who should start?

[Dr. Feelgood]

Your thoughts on who should start for this young Minnesota team. Your thoughts as to how much they'll improve. You've got standout rookies in Derrick Williams and Ricky Rubio, you've got the league's leading rebounder and All-Star Kevin Love. Wild card Michael Beasley, still have Wesley Johnson and Martell Webster along with one of the league's leader in blocks, DARKO...Not to mention one of the most underrated players EVAR in Sebastian Telfair...Who should start and finish games in crunch time? How much will this team improve?

[Dr. Feelgood]

This is the starting five I would go with...

 

PG - Ricky Rubio, no doubt in my mind. They traded away Johnny Flynn to make room for him. They also have Luke Ridnour as a great back up and mentor for Rubio as well as Telfair, who I still like a lot (always will I suppose). Rubio will prove to be a great asset for the team. He wont have to score as much (which is good because he doesn't have a jumper, definitely needs work on that) and will have Love, Williams, and Beasley to feed the ball to.

 

SG - Martell Webster, a seasoned veteran who can shoot the three as well as drive into the lane. Sure, maybe Wesley Johnson should get the start but he's still a little raw for my liking. You can't say Johnson is younger in age because they're both the same age at 24. Maybe start Johnson and let Martell finish the games? I've seen Martell play a lot and I think he's much more of a proven player...maybe I'm a bit biased?

 

SF - Michael Beasley, sure, he's still a bit of a headcase but he's slowly....slowly....slowly maturing and he's still one of the better scorers on this young Minny team. I'd say he'll be the team's second leading scorer still, even over Williams. I still believe, just a little bit, that he's still got what it takes to be the player he was hyped up to be...or maybe they should just trade him away...who knows.

 

PF - Derrick Williams, (you can switch Beasley and Williams but I'd start these two together) I'm definitely intrigued as to what kind of player Williams will be. I thought he should have gone to the Cavs with the number one pick and then they take Brandon Knight, but they obviously didn't see it that way and Minny got a steal, especially because Williams expressed that he thought he would have been a good fit with the Cavs. He's clearly the best player in this rookie class and he's gonna be damn good.

 

C - Kevin Love, with Kevin at center, Williams at PF, and Beasley at SF, you're gonna be a run and gun team. I don't see any reason as to why Kevin isn't the leader of the team, the main focus along with Williams as well. He can shoot the three, is a rebounding monster, and isn't afraid to bang with the big boys in the paint. He's one of my favorite current players in the league right now. He's still going to have a damn good year for Minny. They definitely got the better end of that trade with Memphis.

[Nitro]

I think that's about right in terms of talent, although I'm not sure if either Rubio or Williams will start once the season rolls around. Rubio still is a poor shooter, inexperienced to the NBA while Ridnour is a sound veteran PG, and Darko anchors whatever semblance of a defense they have (and they certainly won't bench Love or Beasley for Williams).

 

Really, this team has talent, but it's unbalanced. Both Beasley and Williams are tweeners at the forward positions (with Beasley being more of a SF and Williams being more of a PF), and neither can anchor a defense if you play Love at center. I think this team would be best with a free-flowing offense, with Rubio setting everything up, which makes me feel Beasley is the odd-man out. He's a ball-stopper and scorer at a very low efficiency, and offers little to nothing else, on top of all his off-court issues. I think if they got 1-2 solid veteran role players for him, then eventually signed a veteran wing that can score and do a little bit of everything, I think the team would be well on its way to building a playoff squad (assuming Williams and Rubio both aren't busts).