Post by mouse on May 8, 2024 9:28:28 GMT -8
After having the honor to sit down with arguably the greatest Black GM in the history of FBB Brandon aka Tyga aka Big Penix Energy aka The Final Bussy aka Matt Ryan is Elite for 2 hard hitting interviews where I addressed many different topics, this time we decided to reverse the roles and have him sit with me. We covered some questions regarding his franchise, the recent decisions he's made, some music beef, and many more entertaining and interesting topics.
1. You had some recent consistent team success with the core you had assembled. What led to the decision to move on from Brand, Pierce, and I'm assuming Hughes who will be moved soon?
The move to trade away Brand was a tough one as he really represented the previous era of Timberwolves basketball. We got a lot of flack in that draft when we made the decision to give up assets to go get Elton. But as you can see, we clearly saw a vision for him and that was to be a dominant big for many years. Right now though I feel it’s the perfect time to pivot and focus on building up a new core. This current iteration didn’t necessarily breed a ton of playoff success and with some of the drafts that are coming up and some of the rules being implemented like the G League, there’s a lot of opportunity to build a young exciting core that will make all of Minnesota proud!
2. So far, you've been able to reacquire your 2006 1st, add Marvin Williams, Andrew Bynum, with more picks currently remaining in the draft. What's next? What's the plan for the rest of the off season?
Very excited to add a guy like Andrew Bynum. Here’s a guy who’s a baby in only 18 years old. Unlimited potential who will have a chance here to make mistakes and grow into something special. Our main focus now will be to shift and develop some of this young talent and see who has what it takes to play winning basketball long term.
3. What was the thought process of the Mo/Wagner deal from your perspective? Wagner didn't see much playing time on your roster last year and you made him publicly available throughout the year. Mo does have multiple years remaining on his contract. Is he guy you're planning to keep for the long term?
After multiple years of relying on veteran Gary Payton, it’s very exciting to me to be able to work with 2 young point guards like Mighty Nate Robinson and Mo Williams. The organization is hoping that competition brings out the best in these two young guys and hopefully one shines post TC. Wagner we felt showed a lot of promise as a scorer, especially in what he showed in preseason but his defense lack of stocks for a guard may always be a liability and hold him back from becoming a true star in this league. In Philly he should thrive in his role as a 6th man
4. We haven't brought up Trevor Ariza yet. Is he a guy you're considering a center piece to the franchise? Marvin and him both play the same position. Will one of them move to the 2, or will you look to move on from Trevor?
I tried to put the league on game earlier but look for Trevor Ariza to have a monster TC and show signs of being a cornerstone piece this upcoming season! He showed steady improvement in his offense game after a few camps and with a +15 potential boost there is a lot of hope here he can take the next step and become an option scorer as we already know his defense is stout. Very exciting and he still has camps to go!
5. Same question you asked me to end our first conversation. What is your take on the Kendrick/Drake beef right now?
Me and you been rocking for a long time family and we pretty like minded on things like this. I’m OVO for life and Drake is my light skin daddy for life but I call it like I see it with no BIAS…. And if you include Like That i do have Kendrick up slightly. Family Matters probably the best record that dropped but euphoria and not like us are super tough. Gave The Heart part 6 another spin and the bars are actually underrated but he ain’t deliver them with the zest he needed to make them land.
6. How have you enjoyed BBS this go around and is there anything you would like to see changed or addressed as far as the league is concerned?
Nah everything is superb I love BBC right now and can't wait for it to get deeper and harder as the seasons go on. Spence is the GOAT and I'm honored to be around such talented and seasoned GMs who understand analytics and stocks and per 40s. I'm always so impressed by some of these other GMs. Havin a great time here.
1. You had some recent consistent team success with the core you had assembled. What led to the decision to move on from Brand, Pierce, and I'm assuming Hughes who will be moved soon?
The move to trade away Brand was a tough one as he really represented the previous era of Timberwolves basketball. We got a lot of flack in that draft when we made the decision to give up assets to go get Elton. But as you can see, we clearly saw a vision for him and that was to be a dominant big for many years. Right now though I feel it’s the perfect time to pivot and focus on building up a new core. This current iteration didn’t necessarily breed a ton of playoff success and with some of the drafts that are coming up and some of the rules being implemented like the G League, there’s a lot of opportunity to build a young exciting core that will make all of Minnesota proud!
2. So far, you've been able to reacquire your 2006 1st, add Marvin Williams, Andrew Bynum, with more picks currently remaining in the draft. What's next? What's the plan for the rest of the off season?
Very excited to add a guy like Andrew Bynum. Here’s a guy who’s a baby in only 18 years old. Unlimited potential who will have a chance here to make mistakes and grow into something special. Our main focus now will be to shift and develop some of this young talent and see who has what it takes to play winning basketball long term.
3. What was the thought process of the Mo/Wagner deal from your perspective? Wagner didn't see much playing time on your roster last year and you made him publicly available throughout the year. Mo does have multiple years remaining on his contract. Is he guy you're planning to keep for the long term?
After multiple years of relying on veteran Gary Payton, it’s very exciting to me to be able to work with 2 young point guards like Mighty Nate Robinson and Mo Williams. The organization is hoping that competition brings out the best in these two young guys and hopefully one shines post TC. Wagner we felt showed a lot of promise as a scorer, especially in what he showed in preseason but his defense lack of stocks for a guard may always be a liability and hold him back from becoming a true star in this league. In Philly he should thrive in his role as a 6th man
4. We haven't brought up Trevor Ariza yet. Is he a guy you're considering a center piece to the franchise? Marvin and him both play the same position. Will one of them move to the 2, or will you look to move on from Trevor?
I tried to put the league on game earlier but look for Trevor Ariza to have a monster TC and show signs of being a cornerstone piece this upcoming season! He showed steady improvement in his offense game after a few camps and with a +15 potential boost there is a lot of hope here he can take the next step and become an option scorer as we already know his defense is stout. Very exciting and he still has camps to go!
5. Same question you asked me to end our first conversation. What is your take on the Kendrick/Drake beef right now?
Me and you been rocking for a long time family and we pretty like minded on things like this. I’m OVO for life and Drake is my light skin daddy for life but I call it like I see it with no BIAS…. And if you include Like That i do have Kendrick up slightly. Family Matters probably the best record that dropped but euphoria and not like us are super tough. Gave The Heart part 6 another spin and the bars are actually underrated but he ain’t deliver them with the zest he needed to make them land.
6. How have you enjoyed BBS this go around and is there anything you would like to see changed or addressed as far as the league is concerned?
Nah everything is superb I love BBC right now and can't wait for it to get deeper and harder as the seasons go on. Spence is the GOAT and I'm honored to be around such talented and seasoned GMs who understand analytics and stocks and per 40s. I'm always so impressed by some of these other GMs. Havin a great time here.
