Wolstat: the Wolves are making out like bandits...

[Buffalo_Tim]

Raptors/basketball beat writer from Toronto (so there's an obvious bias... though he follows the Canadian program pretty well) who sees this deal as a huge win for the Wolves.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/WolstatSun/status/497637378484617216[/tweet]

http://www.torontosun.com/2014/08/08/canadian-andrew-wiggins-going-to-timberwolves-in-major-deal-by-cavaliers

Landing Wiggins alone is far more than other teams being held ransom by stars eager to depart have returned in the past and Minnesota will get much more on top of the former Kansas standout...

The sad-sack Wolves, still digging out of the horrific David Kahn era suddenly will have Ricky Rubio throwing lobs to Wiggins and fellow rookie Zach LaVine, who will be two of the NBA’s best athletes from the day they step on the floor. They will also either get Bennett, or if the rumours pan out, talented Philadelphia forward Thaddeus Young in a related move.

This could be a deal both sides are happy with, but it will be far more difficult for Cleveland to feel good about it down the line. It is championship or bust for the Cavs over the next few seasons.

[Antrim]

Agreed.

[Melvinlocker]

If the reported deal is true, that is a terrific haul for you guys.

[Foye]

If the reported deal is true, that is a terrific haul for you guys.

I agree. If we get this deal done Flip did an awesome job on this one.

Getting the #1 pick in a strong draft + either Bennett or Young is a pretty great return for what would otherwise end in Love leaving after this season for nothing.

[trevor0333]

You've been Flipped Cleveland, 76ers your next.


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[Buffalo_Tim]

I don't get flipping Bennett for Young. I understand Bennett was historically bad last year, but he was also injured and never really in game shape. A great buy low who still has tons of potential. And Young? Another guy with one year than an opt-out? I'm not really impressed with his game, either. Seems like he could have been had for less.

Just when you think the T-Wolves are going to turn things around, they go and do this.

T-Wolves gotta T-Wolf, I guess.

[eyeteeth]

I don't get flipping Bennett for Young. I understand Bennett was historically bad last year, but he was also injured and never really in game shape. A great buy low who still has tons of potential. And Young? Another guy with one year than an opt-out? I'm not really impressed with his game, either. Seems like he could have been had for less.

Just when you think the T-Wolves are going to turn things around, they go and do this.

T-Wolves gotta T-Wolf, I guess.

Pretty much everyone agrees that having 3 rookies (treating Bennett as a rookie b/c of how little he actually played) would be too many, and would slow down their development on the court. Young makes sense because he is a stable, good character player with 6 (or 7, can't remember) years of experience.

[Buffalo_Tim]

Pretty much everyone agrees that having 3 rookies (treating Bennett as a rookie b/c of how little he actually played) would be too many, and would slow down their development on the court. Young makes sense because he is a stable, good character player with 6 (or 7, can't remember) years of experience.

Then maybe they should trade LaVine. I still think Bennett's got stud potential. I'm less into going with athletic guys and hoping they learn to play basketball.

[Flight33]

Call me bias if you want, but Wiggins definitely has more upside than Kevin Love (especially on the defensive end) if he pans out. Love is going to a liability on the defensive end in Cleveland. The Wolves did make out like bandits.

[Southpaw]

If the reported deal is true, that is a terrific haul for you guys.

I agree. If we get this deal done Flip did an awesome job on this one.

Getting the #1 pick in a strong draft + either Bennett or Young is a pretty great return for what would otherwise end in Love leaving after this season for nothing.

I also agree. Flip has done good things since taking over. I'm indifferent on the Bennet/Young swap tho.

[Dan2087]

I really like this deal for you guys - this is a great haul for a guy who is going to leave next year. Hope you guys can make some noise in the coming years, I think this is a really good move in the right direction

[Kumar]

Raptors/basketball beat writer from Toronto (so there's an obvious bias... though he follows the Canadian program pretty well) who sees this deal as a huge win for the Wolves.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/WolstatSun/status/497637378484617216[/tweet]

http://www.torontosun.com/2014/08/08/canadian-andrew-wiggins-going-to-timberwolves-in-major-deal-by-cavaliers

Landing Wiggins alone is far more than other teams being held ransom by stars eager to depart have returned in the past and Minnesota will get much more on top of the former Kansas standout...

The sad-sack Wolves, still digging out of the horrific David Kahn era suddenly will have Ricky Rubio throwing lobs to Wiggins and fellow rookie Zach LaVine, who will be two of the NBA’s best athletes from the day they step on the floor. They will also either get Bennett, or if the rumours pan out, talented Philadelphia forward Thaddeus Young in a related move.

This could be a deal both sides are happy with, but it will be far more difficult for Cleveland to feel good about it down the line. It is championship or bust for the Cavs over the next few seasons.

Any time someone rips Kahn a new one it reminds me of this feud:

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1021464

The almighty Woj knew all along...

[Ericb5]

These situations where superstars want out NEVER seem to end well for the team that is losing them. The fact that you guys got Wiggins out of this deal is a stone masterpiece compares to what usually happens.

Wiggins is a generational athlete and terrific talent and it should be fun to watch him grow. Him and Lavine are going to be exciting!


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[Klomp]

Pretty much everyone agrees that having 3 rookies (treating Bennett as a rookie b/c of how little he actually played) would be too many, and would slow down their development on the court. Young makes sense because he is a stable, good character player with 6 (or 7, can't remember) years of experience.

Then maybe they should trade LaVine.

[WiggyMojo]

Bennett didn't show to badly during the Summer League but his problem is he is not much of a team player and basically all he is a stretch 4. He tries to play like a 3 but has the body of a 4. Young has more experience and is a better fit for the T-Wolves.

Adding the likes of Wiggins, Levine and Young makes us MUCH better defensively.

Wiggins still needs to improve on his ball handling and to develop that killer instincts at all times but his upside is sky high to be a superstar in this league on both ends of the floor.

[Saltine]

Then maybe they should trade LaVine. I still think Bennett's got stud potential. I'm less into going with athletic guys and hoping they learn to play basketball.

Lavine has looked better than either of them so far...

[Calinks]

Not like Cavs aren't getting an elite 4 back in the deal. This is a great deal for both teams. They act like Love is 32 or something.

[King Stannis]

Andrew Wiggins is a ten-foot tall beast of a man, who showers in vodka, and feeds his baby shrimp scampi!

Wiggins' family crest is a picture of a barracuda, eating Neil Armstrong.

Wiggins ranked eighteenth in the AP College Football Poll.

He framed Roger Rabbit.

He cornered the world's copper market in 2011.

The character of Johnny Appleseed was based on Wiggins, except for the part about planting apple trees and not raping men.

Did I ever tell you about the time Wiggins and I went horseback riding, but there weren't any horses around? Anyway, Wiggins throws a saddle on my back and rides me around Wyoming for three days. Well, wouldn't ya know it, my stamina increased with each day, and I develop tremendous leg muscles. So anyway, Wiggins decides to enter me into the Breeders Cup under the name Turkish Delight. And Im running in second place, and I'm running, and I break my ankle. So anyway, they're about to shoot me. Then someone from the crowd yells out, God bless him, Dont shoot him, hes a human.

Much hype for a guy who has yet to log a minute in the NBA.

[Devilzsidewalk]

no offense to him, but he sounds like a Canadian homer that acts like it's a foregone conclusion that Wiggins is one of the 10 best players in NBA history.

So many questions come to mind: Who were they bidding against?

This is such a ridiculous argument - "why do they have to give Wiggins, nobody else is offering anything as good!" well DUDE, if you want to buy my candy bar and the assets in your pocket are a 1 dollar bill and some blades of grass, then you have to use that 1 dollar bill. It doesn't matter if nobody else will offer me a dollar and it doesn't matter if the candy bar isn't even worth a dollar because I'm not giving you my candy bar for **** blades of grass. You have exactly ONE thing and ONE thing only that will get you this candy bar.

Why did they pay at least three times what any previous franchise had in the same situation?

see previous answer

Why did they speed up the quest to finally bring a title to Cleveland after so many years when other “Big Threes” proved that winning it all in the first year was extremely unlikely (though the title drought might answer that one)?

I can think of 3 "big threes" in recent history:
Lakers: Gasol/Bynum/Kobe
Celtics: KG/Pierce/Allen
Heat: Lebron/Wade/Bosh

well the Celtics DID win a title their first year, so that's a 33% chance of success...do I have to keep going? Whatever.

Lakers acquired Gasol mid-year, Bynum was injured in January, and they still made the finals with a Big 2 1/2. The team they lost to is above, so take that big 3 team out of the equation, and maybe they win it all. As it is, they have to wait a whole 'nother year to win a championship.

Heat go to the finals 4 years in a row, only get championships in 2 years. Boo hoo, you're not guaranteed a championship every single season with a big 3.

So maybe on average it takes slightly longer than a year to build up the chemistry to win a championship? Well clearly this proves trading for Love is a way bigger gamble than keeping the 19 yr old rookie that plays the same position as Lebron! Great article.

[Buffalo_Tim]

no offense to him, but he sounds like a Canadian homer that acts like it's a foregone conclusion that Wiggins is one of the 10 best players in NBA history.

Just a bit of context... he does cover the Canadian national team stuff, including the younger levels. So he's very familiar with Wiggins, and has watched him play against international competition for a number of years. It's not like he's just going on the hype or the one year at Kansas. He is going on lots of information.

That said, sometimes having lots of information can lead to information bias. Especially when it comes to national sports. For Canadian writers, Wolstat has a pretty even hand, though the paper he writes for encourages grand exaggerations. It could be that he's writing this piece more for the local Toronto audience, and is over-stating things to get more of a response/readership.

He's generally worth following on Twitter though.