Game 34: Wolves vs Pistons 6:00 PM CT

[shrink]

The SuperMax was a huge mistake. Why should you make more than the maximum allowable salary because of an individual achievement?

At the very least, it shouldn't penalize the team while rewarding the player. Why not have the extra money beyond the Max not count towards the cap or the tax?

Yes, I can't figure out why the 'super' part is taxed. Also, just making all NBA third team once shouldn't qualify for super. At least make it twice third team or once second team. Towns, Ant, and Beal's team are victims of the stupid rule.

There is starting to be some NBA discussion on this, that may be reflected on in next CBA. You are right, that as is, the rule doesn’t protect small markets, but instead penalizes them, as we saw right away with Boogie Cousins. All the new additional penalties for being a high-spending team magnify the downside of giving a player a supermax.

One amendment that has been growing in popularity is for owners to still offer the supermax, but the cap hold is still just the max. This amendment, combined with the requirement to stay with your original team to even be eligible, would take away some of the downside.

[BlacJacMac]

The SuperMax was a huge mistake. Why should you make more than the maximum allowable salary because of an individual achievement?

At the very least, it shouldn't penalize the team while rewarding the player. Why not have the extra money beyond the Max not count towards the cap or the tax?

Yes, I can't figure out why the 'super' part is taxed. Also, just making all NBA third team once shouldn't qualify for super. At least make it twice third team or once second team. Towns, Ant, and Beal's team are victims of the stupid rule.

There is starting to be some NBA discussion on this, that may be reflected on in next CBA. You are right, that as is, the rule doesn’t protect small markets, but instead penalizes them, as we saw right away with Boogie Cousins. All the new additional penalties for being a high-spending team magnify the downside of giving a player a supermax.

One amendment that has been growing in popularity is for owners to still offer the supermax, but the cap hold is still just the max. This amendment, combined with the requirement to stay with your original team to even be eligible, would take away some of the downside.

Exactly what I've been requesting. Reward the player, don't penalize the franchise.

[shrink]

There is one other thing I try to keep in mind on maxes and supermaxes - they are artificially capped, not by the market.

As the most expensive contracts, they are also the most dangerous, but it is the exceptional players that lead to success in the NBA. True superstars often allow teams to put more talent on the court than rivals, and therefore win games and championships. I don’t remember the last NBA Champ that didn’t have a 1st Team All NBA player. I read a study a few years back that demonstrated that the vast majority of max and supermax players deserved contracts higher than what they were paid, limited by CBA max rules.

But the bad supermax deals are crippling these days. As you mentioned, the problem is defining players as eligible, since most players feel “eligible” should mean “deserving.” The owners put in restrictions so every good player wouldn’t knock on their door expecting supermaxes, but like you said, they pushed the line down too far, to the top 15 players with Third Team All NBA. This has been particularly bad since All NBA voting is done by the media, and it has tended to be position-based. In other words, when media have selected the third best center, often Towns or Gobert, that doesn’t mean either was a top 15 player, if say, there were five great SF’s.

——

For us, many people said Towns had a lot of trade value, and that Connelly’s trade was far below his value. I am not sure that’s true, particularly after the adoption of the new apron rules. Towns was clearly a second option, particularly in personality - do most NBA teams want to give supermax money ($220 mil over the next four years) for a second option in today’s NBA economy. Moreover, KAT has missed more games than Embiid the last four years with injury - is the next four worth that big gamble?

I’m not saying I was in favor of the Towns trade, because I always liked KAT, and thought it was criminal how fans here and away constantly ripped him when he was in a Wolves uniform. But I understand how a GM might want to cash his KAT chips now and leave the table, even though we’d face some discontinuity. One more injury from KAT, and that contract probably becomes immovable, and if MIN is going to risk all it’s chips, I think you go all in on Ant instead of KAT.

[shrink]

Nobody knows what the future will be for Towns’ production over the life of that contract. But I will say this

There is no chance he becomes the best contract in the NBA. Whatever ceiling he still has isn’t going to eclipse the talent level of Jokic, SGA, Luka, Wemby, etc.

However, there are plenty of scenarios where, by this time next year, KAT’s deal could become the worst contract in the NBA

[winforlose]

Nobody knows what the future will be for Towns’ production over the life of that contract. But I will say this

There is no chance he becomes the best contract in the NBA. Whatever ceiling he still has isn’t going to eclipse the talent level of Jokic, SGA, Luka, Wemby, etc.

However, there are plenty of scenarios where, by this time next year, KAT’s deal could become the worst contract in the NBA

TC bet against KAT’s health. If KAT stays healthy then TC looks like an idiot. If KAT goes down before the playoffs he gets to sit back and benefit from it. Don’t be surprised if TC made a voodoo doll of KAT and pokes at the wrists and knees every night before bed.

[younggunsmn]

I agree for Rudy, who was awful at the beginning of the game, 3 TO....
But how do you explain that Mike and Jaden shot way less than they usually do? Mike shoot was bad as well but low volume shooting are not a good way to get into action, specially at 37.

Mike and Jaden both took 3 fewer shots than their season average. And Mike only played 21 minutes and didn’t make a shot.

Randle was a much bigger problem than Ant. Bad decision after bad decision.

It’s not just about the shot volume, it’s about the time between shots and the lack of involvement in the offense between them. Jaden and Rudy need to feel like part of the offense or they struggle in every phase of the game.

Players needing touches to have their feelings validated is something any decent coach will snuff out of his players even in middle school. This might be the worst take I've read in a very long time.

When you are a player with a much lesser skillset, who is out there primarily for defense, any points you contribute are found money.
Your job is to help your teammates with energy, spacing, and being in synch with the offense with your movements on the floor.
Then you need to convert that found money when it finds you, which is a wide open dunk in Rudy's case or a wide open 3 or hard cut to the basket in Jadens. If you don't have "found money" in the moment, which is a highly efficient shot for you, your job is to move the ball.
End of story.
We are making the game way too complicated for guys who just can't handle it.

Jaden actually has a nice looking shot he is just wildly inconsistent. He will shoot great for 2-3 games and then go 0 for 2 weeks.

The first 6 minutes of the game was a prime example of trying to force feed an unskilled player and ask him to do things he is just not good at. If it wasn't for Ant going on a ridiculous step back 3 heater we would have been down 20 after one quarter, everyone else was just atrocious.

The shots Mike was highly efficient with last year are highly inefficient for him this year.
You just can't fix a player going from good to really bad.
It's taken a big bite out of the secondary scoring for us this year.
If Mike can't turn it around, or his wrist is just too hurt to shoot well consistently, we need to find something else that works, and it's sad to see because Mike Conley has been one of my favorite Timberwolves.

[TimberKat]

There is one other thing I try to keep in mind on maxes and supermaxes - they are artificially capped, not by the market.

As the most expensive contracts, they are also the most dangerous, but it is the exceptional players that lead to success in the NBA. True superstars often allow teams to put more talent on the court than rivals, and therefore win games and championships. I don’t remember the last NBA Champ that didn’t have a 1st Team All NBA player. I read a study a few years back that demonstrated that the vast majority of max and supermax players deserved contracts higher than what they were paid, limited by CBA max rules.

But the bad supermax deals are crippling these days. As you mentioned, the problem is defining players as eligible, since most players feel “eligible” should mean “deserving.” The owners put in restrictions so every good player wouldn’t knock on their door expecting supermaxes, but like you said, they pushed the line down too far, to the top 15 players with Third Team All NBA. This has been particularly bad since All NBA voting is done by the media, and it has tended to be position-based. In other words, when media have selected the third best center, often Towns or Gobert, that doesn’t mean either was a top 15 player, if say, there were five great SF’s.

——

For us, many people said Towns had a lot of trade value, and that Connelly’s trade was far below his value. I am not sure that’s true, particularly after the adoption of the new apron rules. Towns was clearly a second option, particularly in personality - do most NBA teams want to give supermax money ($220 mil over the next four years) for a second option in today’s NBA economy. Moreover, KAT has missed more games than Embiid the last four years with injury - is the next four worth that big gamble?

I’m not saying I was in favor of the Towns trade, because I always liked KAT, and thought it was criminal how fans here and away constantly ripped him when he was in a Wolves uniform. But I understand how a GM might want to cash his KAT chips now and leave the table, even though we’d face some discontinuity. One more injury from KAT, and that contract probably becomes immovable, and if MIN is going to risk all it’s chips, I think you go all in on Ant instead of KAT.

Since each team could have two max contract, Towns is definitely a Max. It's debatable if he is "super". I think any player that makes the all star team on a regular basis (every other year) is deserving a max contact

[younggunsmn]

The mistake was opening up the supermax to too many players.
It was meant for guys like Jordan and Lebron.

Instead they potentially opened it up to 15 (now 10) new players every year.
Extrapolate that out over 5 or 6 years and every team has a supermax player. It's ridiculous.

It should be limited to top 5 in MVP votes or something like that.
And it should be an automatic max contract escalator you have to earn yearly, not bargain for.
Not something you earn once by being good one year and get to keep forever.

I'd even be okay with it being top ten (All-NBA first or 2nd team) if they both made it an automatic escalator and it was only good for the following season after you earned the accolade.
Or Hybrid where if you win MVP or finish 2nd you get it for your entire contract but 3-10 best only get it for the next season.
And to be fair to teams, make that extra money immune to luxury tax.

It should be treated like incentive and instead its a status symbol.

The way KAT is playing, he may actually earn his supermax this year.
In hindsight it was probably our fault for not letting our supermax player be a supermax player and asking him to leave the paint and shrink his game to accomodate a much lesser player.

[younggunsmn]

Mike and Jaden both took 3 fewer shots than their season average. And Mike only played 21 minutes and didn’t make a shot.

Randle was a much bigger problem than Ant. Bad decision after bad decision.

It’s not just about the shot volume, it’s about the time between shots and the lack of involvement in the offense between them. Jaden and Rudy need to feel like part of the offense or they struggle in every phase of the game.

Players needing touches to have their feelings validated is something any decent coach will snuff out of his players even in middle school. This might be the worst take I've read in a very long time.

When you are a player with a much lesser skillset, who is out there primarily for defense, any points you contribute are found money.
Your job is to help your teammates with energy, spacing, and being in synch with the offense with your movements on the floor.
Then you need to convert that found money when it finds you, which is a wide open dunk in Rudy's case or a wide open 3 or hard cut to the basket in Jadens. If you don't have "found money" in the moment, which is a highly efficient shot for you, your job is to move the ball.
End of story.
We are making the game way too complicated for guys who just can't handle it.

Jaden actually has a nice looking shot he is just wildly inconsistent. He will shoot great for 2-3 games and then go 0 for 2 weeks.

The first 6 minutes of the game was a prime example of trying to force feed an unskilled player and ask him to do things he is just not good at. If it wasn't for Ant going on a ridiculous step back 3 heater we would have been down 20 after one quarter, everyone else was just atrocious.

The shots Mike was highly efficient with last year are highly inefficient for him this year.
You just can't fix a player going from good to really bad.
It's taken a big bite out of the secondary scoring for us this year.
If Mike can't turn it around, or his wrist is just too hurt to shoot well consistently, we need to find something else that works, and it's sad to see because Mike Conley has been one of my favorite Timberwolves.

Probably just coincidence, but just bumping this because it was interesting to here Jim Pete use the phrase "Found Money" on the broadcast last night while NAW was shooting (and missing) free throws after a dumb foul by the Knicks.