2022 Free Agency

[shrink]

How much will Tyus Jones make on the open market? If slightly above MLE, I wonder if he would take a hometown discount at MLE price (assuming a Russell trade was in the works or already done).

Right now, this seems to me like a very realistic path.

We need to use our MLE to add salary, but there is very little talent in free agency. Tyus seems like one of the few players that might be worth the MLE, and that would consider coming to MIN. If we started PatBev for this next season, Tyus would get plenty of minutes when Pat rested, plus he would be the heir-apparent to a starting PG role. The fact that he is coming back to his hometown, where he has strong relationships with so many players here, would be a bonus for both him and us. We would be gambling that Tyus would continue to improve his game, but he provides stability that we need, always leads the nba in AST/TO ratio, and hustles on defense. Last season he shot 3P 39%.

This would mean a deal that trades Russell, hopefully for a big we can use or some pieces to trade for one. But I worry that if we don’t zag here, we’ll see no up overpaying a different player that has a minor bench role that we regret.

[shangrila]

Tyus makes me nervous.

He basically spent his first 3 seasons improving, then the next 3 getting significantly worse, before this season where he got significantly better (contract year syndrome?). Combine with his shooting never being consistent and I'm just not sure if we can rely on him.

Not to mention Tyus probably means no or less McLaughlin and I think it's clear that JMac needs MORE time, not less.

[Note30]

Bobby Portis is my #1 target by far. However I think its a pipe dream after learning Milwaukee can get bird rights for him.

some other guys who we may be able to get(that haven't
PG - Delon Wright - not a world beater but seems like a vet who can run the offense and play decent defense.
Dennis Schröder - Especially if we move Dlo. He was good for the Lakers and won a ring.

Wing - Pat Connaughton - Can the Bucks keep him and Portis? Real good 3 and D wing.
TJ Warren - Could be worth a look for cheap? When healthy is real good but hasn't been healthy in a long time
Victor Oladipo - Has looked good in the post-season with Miami

Forward - Kyle Anderson - Would be something different for us, mediocre athlete but he just knows how to play, smart, good defender and can handle. Would LOVE him coming off the bench.
Chris Boucher - I thought meh looking at his numbers, they were pretty bad and down, plus he's still rail thin. But, they were better in years past and after looking at on/off numbers, it seems Toronto is better offensively and defensively while he's on the floor.
Otto Porter - GSW can't keep him, someone will offer him more money. Defends and hits 3's - similar to Prince but probably better

Center - Isaiah Hartenstein - Doubt LAC can keep him and Zubac.
Nic Claxton - Still skinny but provides some things we need. his horrible FT% is a bit concerning.


There's other names but I've mentioned them before. I know realistically we'd have to make some moves to bring in multiple guys, plus the issue with roster spots. However Portis, and Anderson would be huge additions, even if we lost Prince. Then look into a Dlo trade and maybe bring in Corey Joseph or Delon Wright along with Jmac/Bev.

I like all of this except I hope we do lose Prince for one of these other additions

[moss_is_1]

Bobby Portis is my #1 target by far. However I think its a pipe dream after learning Milwaukee can get bird rights for him.

some other guys who we may be able to get(that haven't
PG - Delon Wright - not a world beater but seems like a vet who can run the offense and play decent defense.
Dennis Schröder - Especially if we move Dlo. He was good for the Lakers and won a ring.

Wing - Pat Connaughton - Can the Bucks keep him and Portis? Real good 3 and D wing.
TJ Warren - Could be worth a look for cheap? When healthy is real good but hasn't been healthy in a long time
Victor Oladipo - Has looked good in the post-season with Miami

Forward - Kyle Anderson - Would be something different for us, mediocre athlete but he just knows how to play, smart, good defender and can handle. Would LOVE him coming off the bench.
Chris Boucher - I thought meh looking at his numbers, they were pretty bad and down, plus he's still rail thin. But, they were better in years past and after looking at on/off numbers, it seems Toronto is better offensively and defensively while he's on the floor.
Otto Porter - GSW can't keep him, someone will offer him more money. Defends and hits 3's - similar to Prince but probably better

Center - Isaiah Hartenstein - Doubt LAC can keep him and Zubac.
Nic Claxton - Still skinny but provides some things we need. his horrible FT% is a bit concerning.


There's other names but I've mentioned them before. I know realistically we'd have to make some moves to bring in multiple guys, plus the issue with roster spots. However Portis, and Anderson would be huge additions, even if we lost Prince. Then look into a Dlo trade and maybe bring in Corey Joseph or Delon Wright along with Jmac/Bev.

I like all of this except I hope we do lose Prince for one of these other additions

I would also much rather have most of those guys then Prince. I think he was ok, but unless he comes for really cheap I'm not overly interested in him.

[old school 34]

Bobby Portis is my #1 target by far. However I think its a pipe dream after learning Milwaukee can get bird rights for him.

some other guys who we may be able to get(that haven't
PG - Delon Wright - not a world beater but seems like a vet who can run the offense and play decent defense.
Dennis Schröder - Especially if we move Dlo. He was good for the Lakers and won a ring.

Wing - Pat Connaughton - Can the Bucks keep him and Portis? Real good 3 and D wing.
TJ Warren - Could be worth a look for cheap? When healthy is real good but hasn't been healthy in a long time
Victor Oladipo - Has looked good in the post-season with Miami

Forward - Kyle Anderson - Would be something different for us, mediocre athlete but he just knows how to play, smart, good defender and can handle. Would LOVE him coming off the bench.
Chris Boucher - I thought meh looking at his numbers, they were pretty bad and down, plus he's still rail thin. But, they were better in years past and after looking at on/off numbers, it seems Toronto is better offensively and defensively while he's on the floor.
Otto Porter - GSW can't keep him, someone will offer him more money. Defends and hits 3's - similar to Prince but probably better

Center - Isaiah Hartenstein - Doubt LAC can keep him and Zubac.
Nic Claxton - Still skinny but provides some things we need. his horrible FT% is a bit concerning.


There's other names but I've mentioned them before. I know realistically we'd have to make some moves to bring in multiple guys, plus the issue with roster spots. However Portis, and Anderson would be huge additions, even if we lost Prince. Then look into a Dlo trade and maybe bring in Corey Joseph or Delon Wright along with Jmac/Bev.

I like all of this except I hope we do lose Prince for one of these other additions

I would also much rather have most of those guys then Prince. I think he was ok, but unless he comes for really cheap I'm not overly interested in him.

Unfortunately, not a real scenario where we magically create 2 MLE's to get two of these guys....so wouldn't you at least have TP because you have bird rights & space....& if for no other reason another potential contract to be traded later? Personally, I'd prefer to sign him to an inflated 1 yr extension similar to Pat Bev deal still here before year end...makes him viable to trade sooner (the only reason you'd potentially wait on that would be a larger DLo like deal coming soon, maybe)?

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[King Malta]

Tyus makes me nervous.

He basically spent his first 3 seasons improving, then the next 3 getting significantly worse, before this season where he got significantly better (contract year syndrome?). Combine with his shooting never being consistent and I'm just not sure if we can rely on him.

Not to mention Tyus probably means no or less McLaughlin and I think it's clear that JMac needs MORE time, not less.

He's definitely not a consistent shooter, but his defense seems to have improved from the eye-test (underlying metrics may prove me wrong) and one thing he's consistently excelled at since he moved to Memphis is being a safe, reliable runner of an offense.

I think he's exactly the sort of Point Guard that would flourish in our system to be honest. A reliable creator who doesn't give the ball away and is more often than not reliable when hitting open jumpers.

Given Bev's health issues, I think that JMac can still find himself getting adequate minutes if we're able to move DLo. I wouldn't imagine Bev and Tyus would replace DLo's minutes all by themselves.

[theGreatRC]

I wish Zach could say "I want to play for the Wolves" & we s&t him for DLO, who is going to be in a contract year.

We don't have the cap for Zach to be able to do that, right?

[minimus]

Tyus makes me nervous.

He basically spent his first 3 seasons improving, then the next 3 getting significantly worse, before this season where he got significantly better (contract year syndrome?). Combine with his shooting never being consistent and I'm just not sure if we can rely on him.

Not to mention Tyus probably means no or less McLaughlin and I think it's clear that JMac needs MORE time, not less.

He's definitely not a consistent shooter, but his defense seems to have improved from the eye-test (underlying metrics may prove me wrong) and one thing he's consistently excelled at since he moved to Memphis is being a safe, reliable runner of an offense.

I think he's exactly the sort of Point Guard that would flourish in our system to be honest. A reliable creator who doesn't give the ball away and is more often than not reliable when hitting open jumpers.

Given Bev's health issues, I think that JMac can still find himself getting adequate minutes if we're able to move DLo. I wouldn't imagine Bev and Tyus would replace DLo's minutes all by themselves.

I guess after last game Tyus has just played himself out of our MLE. For instance he makes too much sense for DET: Cade as primary ball handler, Tyus as secondary. Holmgren-Grant-Bey-Cade-Tyus. Sounds too good to be true.

[shangrila]

I wish Zach could say "I want to play for the Wolves" & we s&t him for DLO, who is going to be in a contract year.

We don't have the cap for Zach to be able to do that, right?

We don’t need cap space for a S&T, just salary to match

[minimus]

Early list of interesting FA who might be available this summer:

LaVine. UFA. Seeking deal: 200 mil / 5 yrs

Jalen Brunson. UFA. Seeking deal: 20 mil per yr

Jerami Grant. UFA after 22-23 season. Seeking deal: 112 mil / 4 yrs

DiVincenzo. He was not offered a rookie extension like Grayson Allen (16mil / 3 mil). With high probability will be RFA. Donte thinks he is worth more. Recent rumours that he seeks MLE, while SAC try to lower his value. In my opinion he is worth full MLE (43 mil / 4 yrs), because he can have impact similar to Derrick White (68 mil / 4 yrs)
https://www.hoopsrumors.com/donte-divincenzo

T.J. Warren. UFA. Had a big splash in the Bubble.Cant stay healthy since then. Seeking deal: ???

Derrick Jones Jr. UFA. We tried to sign him in the past. He did not impress in POR/CHI.

Delon Wright. UFA. On paper a solid combo guard. He did not impress in DAL/ATL. Seeking deal: ???

Kyle Anderson aka Slo-Mo. UFA. Seeking deal: ???

Tyus Jones. UFA. Seeking deal: ???

Thomas Bryant. UFA. Seeking deal: ???

Chris Boucher. UFA. Seeking deal: ???

Collin Sexton. RFA. CLE offered 20 mil per year extension before his injury. He declined.

Mohamed Bamba. RFA. ORL signed Wendell Carter Jr to extension, plus ORL might have top3 pick of 2022 draft with top3 being all bigmen. And Isaac should return. Seeking deal: ???

Jalen Smith. UFA. Seeking deal: ???

Kevin Looney. UFA. Wiseman will return next year. Kuminga keeps improving. Seeking deal: ???

Gary Payton II. UFA. Seeking deal: ???

Danuel House. UFA. Seeking deal: ???

Isaiah Hartenstein. Seeking deal: ???

[shrink]

I wish Zach could say "I want to play for the Wolves" & we s&t him for DLO, who is going to be in a contract year.

We don't have the cap for Zach to be able to do that, right?

We don’t need cap space for a S&T, just salary to match

This is true, and any Zach deal would likely have DLo going out, either in a trade, or us trading DLo (plus an asset) to a different team to clear cap space, then simply signing Zach.

It is the threat of option 2 that would limit what CHI could ask for option 1.

But you’re right - Step One has to be Zach saying, “I want to play for the Wolves.”

[moss_is_1]

I'm not too interested in Zach, unless it also involves us dumping Beasley.

Also I love Tyus, but I'm not sure it's best to use our MLE on him, unless we strike out on guys like Portis, Slomo, or some other bigs.

[life_saver]

What do people think about Looney? He will be one of the few bigs that will be a FA this off-season. He is defensively good, does a decent job even when he is switched onto guards, decent rebounder. Offensively, he isn't anything special but he knows his role and limitations well, doesn't force issue and doesn't take stupid shots and a decent passer too. Warriors are deep in luxury tax..not sure they can afford him. If he is looking for a starting role, then doubt Wolves will be interested but if he isn't, then I feel like Wolves might show some interest in him.

[minimus]

What do people think about Looney? He will be one of the few bigs that will be a FA this off-season. He is defensively good, does a decent job even when he is switched onto guards, decent rebounder. Offensively, he isn't anything special but he knows his role and limitations well, doesn't force issue and doesn't take stupid shots and a decent passer too. Warriors are deep in luxury tax..not sure they can afford him. If he is looking for a starting role, then doubt Wolves will be interested but if he isn't, then I feel like Wolves might show some interest in him.

I love Looney’s game. He has got increasingly better as rebounder, passer, defender. He know how to play within high level defense and offense. However, I should say that referees always favor GSW style of screening, allow some screens that usually are called as offensive fouls. I remember Andrew Bogut admitted the same thing after he went to DAL, that even if he set same screens as he did in GSW, referees blew whistle.

It means in our case that I would not expect from Looney the same efficiency, at least not as screener. Although I do believe that we are not good at setting screens. Moreover, I think that lack of quality screens affects our offense so much. When you have so many good 3pt shooters you MUST set good screens to make the most of their presence on the floor. Towns many times failed here. Naz is not good at setting screens, Vando neither.

At this point I’d call Looney’s agent the first day of FA market opening offering 15-18 mil for 3 yrs (part of MLE)

[younggunsmn]

The cap is supposed to be set at around 122 mil?

I have us at about 90 mil in salary plus cap holds + D-Lo's 31.3.
The cap hold for 19 would increase that by 1-2 million.

So It's not out of the realm of possibility we could send Russell, Bolmaro + 1st(s) to a team (Orlando?) for capspace and then sign Kyrie, Beal, or Lavine to a contract starting at 35 mil+. Kind of a pipe dream though. Doubt any of those teams would let them go in sign and trade even if the player somehow picked us.

Just really meh on any of the mediocre options, it would be a mistake to hand out a multi year deal to anyone in this class.
Removing D-Lo is addition by subtraction. Replace him with someone who when his shot is off isn't also killing your team with horrid defense and decision making. If Ant becomes the player we think he can, eventually we will only need a Derek Fisher type PG.
While he isn't there yet, D-Lo is hindering that development. He won't even space properly for Ant when Ant demands the ball late in games, and D-Lo is such a nonexistent rim threat that draw and kick isn't even an option because teams don't respect the draw.

Tyus has improved as a shooter and defender, but has same limitations that keep him in a backup role.
Not excited to hand him a multi year contract unless it comes at a discount (7-8 mil per).

Most of our better option will be in trade but that will likely involve parting with more draft capital.

Look at what Dallas did tonight getting 89 pts from 3 guards and only giving up 90 total.
They weren't all from bombing 3's either, very efficient at the rim and mid range.
Then look at the shot distribution for Phoenix, Dallas for the most part forced the Suns to make their non-stars shoot.
They did this with Powell, Kleber, and FInney-Smith on the interior.

Also, Bucks eliminated while going 4-33 from 3. Live by the 3, Die by the 3.

I, for one, would like to see us be less 3 point reliant next year.

It results in way too many empty possessions in crunch time, when all you need to hold a lead is to hold serve.
It killed us against Memphis. Sure we gave up a lot of 4th quarter points, but we would have one 3 of the 4 games we lost with an even average offensive showing in the 4th quarter.
Another big we could have fed in the paint would have been a godsend.

[younggunsmn]

I would be very surprised to see us hand out multiple years to a free agent this offseason with the possibility of having max space next offseason if we move on from Russell. I'd like to see us re-sign Monroe to a guaranteed vet min deal, we better come out of this offseason with more than KAT and Naz as bigs.

Also, fully expect us to just exercise our cheap team options on Naz and Nowell.
Declining cheap year on bench players to avoid unrestricted free agency is just silly.
If it is Jokic, then hell yeah you decline and extend him.

As far as trade value on either, we would be lucky to pick up a 2nd round pick.
No team is making Naz its starting center that isnt doing it specifically to tank.
And their trade value isn't significantly less as potential unrestricted free agents.
Bird rights will allow teams to extend them if they want without using up any of their exceptions, which still has some value, along with getting a test drive on a player you would have considered in free agency.

[minimus]

I would be very surprised to see us hand out multiple years to a free agent this offseason with the possibility of having max space next offseason if we move on from Russell. I'd like to see us re-sign Monroe to a guaranteed vet min deal, we better come out of this offseason with more than KAT and Naz as bigs.

Also, fully expect us to just exercise our cheap team options on Naz and Nowell.
Declining cheap year on bench players to avoid unrestricted free agency is just silly.
If it is Jokic, then hell yeah you decline and extend him.

As far as trade value on either, we would be lucky to pick up a 2nd round pick.
No team is making Naz its starting center that isnt doing it specifically to tank.
And their trade value isn't significantly less as potential unrestricted free agents.
Bird rights will allow teams to extend them if they want without using up any of their exceptions, which still has some value, along with getting a test drive on a player you would have considered in free agency.

In my opinion we should at least try to negotiate new contracts with Reid and Nowell. Both are better that most 2nd round picks. Both can improve, both might be more productive in another teams. Keep them now, trade them later. I remember Morey changed Jeremy Lin to a very creative contract 5+5+15. I am not saying that we should offer similar deals to Nowell and Reid, but I hope Gupta will show some creativity and flexibility here.

[shrink]

Picking up the team options for Naz and Nowell still allows us to sign them to extensions.

I don’t think either is desperate to get off the team, even if they feel crowded with our stars in front of them. I think they both value getting guaranteed money on an extension over playing a year, hoping to not get injured, just to get their UFA status. This makes it likely they can reach a deal that helps them and helps the Wolves.

[younggunsmn]

Why would we jump at extending fringe rotation players and tying up future cap space and roster spots to guys who we should really be looking to upgrade? Naz's ceiling is as a 15 minute backup 5. Utterly the most replaceable rotation position in basketball.
There will be better options that come along during the life of a proposed Naz extension.

Nowell was consitsently efficient this year and he had some good stretches.
But the sample size is still small and FInch did not trust him to play any meaningful playoff minutes.
His ceiling is higher for me than Naz, but he also needs more polish. He needs to show he can succeed against other teams best lineups as well as he does against their second units.

But I doubt either are excited to forego free agency after getting boned so spectacularly on their rookie deals.

[Klomp]

Why would we jump at extending fringe rotation players and tying up future cap space and roster spots to guys who we should really be looking to upgrade? Naz's ceiling is as a 15 minute backup 5. Utterly the most replaceable rotation position in basketball.
There will be better options that come along during the life of a proposed Naz extension.

Nowell was consitsently efficient this year and he had some good stretches.
But the sample size is still small and FInch did not trust him to play any meaningful playoff minutes.
His ceiling is higher for me than Naz, but he also needs more polish. He needs to show he can succeed against other teams best lineups as well as he does against their second units.

But I doubt either are excited to forego free agency after getting boned so spectacularly on their rookie deals.

I'm starting to lean this way....I think these are guys who are replaceable for us. Not bad players, but they can be upgraded.

They may be rotation guys on a team improving from 25 to 45 wins. But should they be in the rotation if you want to jump from 45 to 55 wins? I'm not so sure. Tweaks will need to be made. Everyone points at Russell and some at Beverley while others look at Vanderbilt or Beasley as potential spots for upgrade but in doing that, unless you're sending them out there is fat that will be trimmed from the bottom of the rotation. Are you willing to trust Reid or Nowell deep in the playoffs?