2024 Free Agency

[Norseman79]

Really, I wouldn't want anyone back, aside from Anderson on a minimum. There are better options than Morris, McLaughlin and Garza.

[MN7725]

Anderson is obviously the priority over Morris but how much can we honestly pay? Same contract as Conley? More/less?

I don’t see Morris back unless he takes a one year vet minimum (or close to that) type deal, which he can get anywhere. And I’d guess if he’s taking that little, he’ll prefer somewhere with more playing time. If he declines, my guess is JMac is back on a minimum deal.

Any vet minimum FA speculation of guys we might target? I don’t see a lot of minutes available though.

that's the thing
If Anderson leaves, there would be regular rotation minutes for a vet

I'd expect that they'd be a worse overall player, but maybe could get someone that is better shooter so that the lineups that were Rudy/KA would at least have some spacing

I think most of these would be considered vet min at this point in their careers

Batum
Saric
Crowder
PJ Tucker
Covington
T Craig
Gallinari

[NebWolvesFan]

Anderson is obviously the priority over Morris but how much can we honestly pay? Same contract as Conley? More/less?

I don’t see Morris back unless he takes a one year vet minimum (or close to that) type deal, which he can get anywhere. And I’d guess if he’s taking that little, he’ll prefer somewhere with more playing time. If he declines, my guess is JMac is back on a minimum deal.

Any vet minimum FA speculation of guys we might target? I don’t see a lot of minutes available though.

that's the thing
If Anderson leaves, there would be regular rotation minutes for a vet

I'd expect that they'd be a worse overall player, but maybe could get someone that is better shooter so that the lineups that were Rudy/KA would at least have some spacing

I think most of these would be considered vet min at this point in their careers

Batum
Saric
Crowder
PJ Tucker
Covington
T Craig
Gallinari

I would add Prince, TJ Warren, Aaron Holiday and I know it's a long shot but I really believe if he got bought out he would have landed in Minn - Doug McDermott.

[KATKlownFeet]

I cannot see a scenario in which Monte Morris is not a Timberwolf.

I can. Especially with TC coming out and saying he expects Dillingham to play this year.

If Monte sees the writing on the wall that he's likely to spend a lot of the year as the 3rd string PG, he's probably going to want to go somewhere that he can jumpstart his career.

Again, Monte had a down year, would lose his bird rights, and would be leaving a contender with a great culture. I think he signs with us, gets minutes until at least February, and then if he wants to move on TC makes it happen. Unless ownership comes to TC and says we don’t want to sign players for more than X (even to trade them later,) and Monte is a more than X player, I think Monte is back for at least preseason through February. I wonder if the same is true of Kyle, who the Wolves are rumored to be worried about losing in free agency.

I want Monte back, but why woudn't he return to Denver where he got more minutes? Denver just traded away Reggie Jackson, so with our drafting of Dillingham, I would think a Denver reunion may be in the cards. I selfishly hope he stays here, but I'm braced to lose him considering we likely won't offer him much money.

[winforlose]

I can. Especially with TC coming out and saying he expects Dillingham to play this year.

If Monte sees the writing on the wall that he's likely to spend a lot of the year as the 3rd string PG, he's probably going to want to go somewhere that he can jumpstart his career.

Again, Monte had a down year, would lose his bird rights, and would be leaving a contender with a great culture. I think he signs with us, gets minutes until at least February, and then if he wants to move on TC makes it happen. Unless ownership comes to TC and says we don’t want to sign players for more than X (even to trade them later,) and Monte is a more than X player, I think Monte is back for at least preseason through February. I wonder if the same is true of Kyle, who the Wolves are rumored to be worried about losing in free agency.

I want Monte back, but why woudn't he return to Denver where he got more minutes? Denver just traded away Reggie Jackson, so with our drafting of Dillingham, I would think a Denver reunion may be in the cards. I selfishly hope he stays here, but I'm braced to lose him considering we likely won't offer him much money.

1. Bird rights survive trades but not free agent signings with another team. Monte has full bird rights if he stays with us, even for just a few months. He and TC have a great relationship (or at least it seems they do,) and I think Monte could trust a promise that if he wanted to be traded with his bird rights intact in January or February (we cannot do a sign and trade now,) then he would trust that promise.

2. You assume that Morris would not get good minutes in Minnesota, but I challenge that. Finch has shown a willingness bordering on a preference for multiple PG lineups. Is it so crazy to assume Monte and Mike or Monte and RD might share the floor for stretches? Is it crazy to assume that Finch would want Mike to rest more games to be healthier for the playoffs, and to minute limit Mike in games where the competition level is weak or the score has the game outside of competition one way or the other. As skeptical as I am about RD getting a rotation spot this year, I don’t see it as an obstacle to Morris also getting real minutes.

3. From TC’s perspective keeping both Monte and RD active and happy makes a ton of sense. Mike is only under contract for one season after 24-25. He could quality slide at any time. At 37 bang up type injuries heal slowly, and major injuries are more likely. Ant doesn’t want to be a full time PG. I doubt we bring JMAC back, so Monte could well be the backup PG or even starting PG of the Wolves on and off for the next few seasons. Whereas in Denver he can only start if Murray is injured, which is not ideal for Denver’s season outlook.

I think by hook or by crook, Monte and Kyle’s bird rights are simply to valuable to let them walk for nothing.

[KATKlownFeet]

Again, Monte had a down year, would lose his bird rights, and would be leaving a contender with a great culture. I think he signs with us, gets minutes until at least February, and then if he wants to move on TC makes it happen. Unless ownership comes to TC and says we don’t want to sign players for more than X (even to trade them later,) and Monte is a more than X player, I think Monte is back for at least preseason through February. I wonder if the same is true of Kyle, who the Wolves are rumored to be worried about losing in free agency.

I want Monte back, but why woudn't he return to Denver where he got more minutes? Denver just traded away Reggie Jackson, so with our drafting of Dillingham, I would think a Denver reunion may be in the cards. I selfishly hope he stays here, but I'm braced to lose him considering we likely won't offer him much money.

1. Bird rights survive trades but not free agent signings with another team. Monte has full bird rights if he stays with us, even for just a few months. He and TC have a great relationship (or at least it seems they do,) and I think Monte could trust a promise that if he wanted to be traded with his bird rights intact in January or February (we cannot do a sign and trade now,) then he would trust that promise.

2. You assume that Morris would not get good minutes in Minnesota, but I challenge that. Finch has shown a willingness bordering on a preference for multiple PG lineups. Is it so crazy to assume Monte and Mike or Monte and RD might share the floor for stretches? Is it crazy to assume that Finch would want Mike to rest more games to be healthier for the playoffs, and to minute limit Mike in games where the competition level is weak or the score has the game outside of competition one way or the other. As skeptical as I am about RD getting a rotation spot this year, I don’t see it as an obstacle to Morris also getting real minutes.

3. From TC’s perspective keeping both Monte and RD active and happy makes a ton of sense. Mike is only under contract for one season after 24-25. He could quality slide at any time. At 37 bang up type injuries heal slowly, and major injuries are more likely. Ant doesn’t want to be a full time PG. I doubt we bring JMAC back, so Monte could well be the backup PG or even starting PG of the Wolves on and off for the next few seasons. Whereas in Denver he can only start if Murray is injured, which is not ideal for Denver’s season outlook.

I think by hook or by crook, Monte and Kyle’s bird rights are simply to valuable to let them walk for nothing.

Look at past history. Monte was given a lot of minutes in his previous 48 playoff games with Denver over four different seasons and the last season he got over 30 minutes and the year before that over 28 minutes. Meanwhile he was an afterthought in Finch's rotation during playoffs. He appeared in 9 games averaging about 7 1/2 minutes. And this was before we signed RD.

Now, if Denver or another team offers more money than we do, I don't see him wanting to stay here for less minutes. I really wished he would have gotten more minutes because I think he deserved more, but Finch just doesn't play him and Finch didn't play Shake or Brown much either and he never gave Garza or Miller time either. Finch rides a short rotation hard just like Thibs and I wished he got bench guys more minutes and starters more rest. But I don't expect Finch to change his stripes and I suspect Monte won't either. I think TC is a big Monte fan, but the coach sets the minutes and unless we outbid other teams for Monte, he's likely to sign elsewhere.

[winforlose]

I want Monte back, but why woudn't he return to Denver where he got more minutes? Denver just traded away Reggie Jackson, so with our drafting of Dillingham, I would think a Denver reunion may be in the cards. I selfishly hope he stays here, but I'm braced to lose him considering we likely won't offer him much money.

1. Bird rights survive trades but not free agent signings with another team. Monte has full bird rights if he stays with us, even for just a few months. He and TC have a great relationship (or at least it seems they do,) and I think Monte could trust a promise that if he wanted to be traded with his bird rights intact in January or February (we cannot do a sign and trade now,) then he would trust that promise.

2. You assume that Morris would not get good minutes in Minnesota, but I challenge that. Finch has shown a willingness bordering on a preference for multiple PG lineups. Is it so crazy to assume Monte and Mike or Monte and RD might share the floor for stretches? Is it crazy to assume that Finch would want Mike to rest more games to be healthier for the playoffs, and to minute limit Mike in games where the competition level is weak or the score has the game outside of competition one way or the other. As skeptical as I am about RD getting a rotation spot this year, I don’t see it as an obstacle to Morris also getting real minutes.

3. From TC’s perspective keeping both Monte and RD active and happy makes a ton of sense. Mike is only under contract for one season after 24-25. He could quality slide at any time. At 37 bang up type injuries heal slowly, and major injuries are more likely. Ant doesn’t want to be a full time PG. I doubt we bring JMAC back, so Monte could well be the backup PG or even starting PG of the Wolves on and off for the next few seasons. Whereas in Denver he can only start if Murray is injured, which is not ideal for Denver’s season outlook.

I think by hook or by crook, Monte and Kyle’s bird rights are simply to valuable to let them walk for nothing.

Look at past history. Monte was given a lot of minutes in his previous 48 playoff games with Denver over four different seasons and the last season he got over 30 minutes and the year before that over 28 minutes. Meanwhile he was an afterthought in Finch's rotation during playoffs. He appeared in 9 games averaging about 7 1/2 minutes. And this was before we signed RD.

Now, if Denver or another team offers more money than we do, I don't see him wanting to stay here for less minutes. I really wished he would have gotten more minutes because I think he deserved more, but Finch just doesn't play him and Finch didn't play Shake or Brown much either and he never gave Garza or Miller time either. Finch rides a short rotation hard just like Thibs and I wished he got bench guys more minutes and starters more rest. But I don't expect Finch to change his stripes and I suspect Monte won't either. I think TC is a big Monte fan, but the coach sets the minutes and unless we outbid other teams for Monte, he's likely to sign elsewhere.

Everything you said in the first paragraph was correct. However, I do think context is important. Monte Morris played in 33 games during the regular season. He was injured from the start of the season before returning for the last 6 games before the trade deadline. In those six games for Detroit he averaged 11.3 minutes and looked terrible. Now to be clear I don’t blame him for looking terrible, I mean anyone missing that much time and coming back in limited minutes without their wind would struggle. After arriving in Minnesota he began to integrate himself into our rotations and scheme. Shortly into March he suffered a hamstring injury that limited him to just under 6 minutes on March 7th, made him miss the next 3 games, and minute restricted him for some time after that. With the exception of the game on March 19th Monte did not play more than 20 minutes in a game the rest of the month. It is also important to remember that during this time Jordan McLaughlin was catching fire from deep and able to contribute a pace and energy that no other wolf had been able to contribute. So Monte in addition to being brought along slowly was also having some of his time eaten by surging 3rd string player. In light of this, is it any wonder that when the playoff bench shrunk Monte was on the outside looking in? My contention is that a healthy Monte Morris who returns to form this season will be used very differently.

It is also worth noting that Monte loses his bird rights if he signs anywhere else. That means any prove it deal has significantly more risk outside of Minnesota. The team poaching him would need to offer him enough money above our offer to make it worth walking away from his bird rights. A team like Denver does not have the cap space or flexibility to do so.

[BlacJacMac]

I'm not sure Monte's Bird Rights are his biggest concern.

He will not have a set role going into the season. His playing time will depend on how fast RD develops and how healthy Conley stays.

Will he get minutes as one of 3 PGs? Most likely, yes.

Will they be consistent enough to restore his value around the league? No one knows. But my guess is unlikely.

Also does Finch love two PG lineups, or was it something he was more forced to do based on roster construction? If Shannon is ready to play this year, he'll be competing with NAW for his minutes. Ant, NAW and Shannon are all natural SGs with some positional flexibility. If Shannon plays well, NAW will likely be getting some minutes at PG and Shannon will get some minutes at SF.

(Honestly, if Shannon shows enough as a 3&D player that can also drive the hell out of the ball, I wouldn't be shocked to see NAW traded at the deadline instead of losing him for nothing next offseason).

Conley, Dillingham, NAW, Ant, Shannon, McDaniels. They're going to eat up most of the 1-3 minutes.

Monté is 28 and tops out as an excellent back-up PG. But he's a low volume, highly efficient scorer. And while he doesn't turn it over, he also doesn't push the pace (something TC has brought up that we need to do much more of multiple times since the draft) or really run a lot of offense. He's the definition of a guy who won't hurt you, but isn't going to win you games. That sounds like a guy (who if he regains his old form) is likely a 5-8M/year player at the most. Bird Rights give more options, but teams can come up with that kind of money through exceptions pretty easily.

I agree with the post that if Denver offers him the clear backup role, he'd be foolish not to take it. He has much more of a history with Malone, Jokic and Murray than he does anyone here. And he'd have a defined role to reignite his career.

[winforlose]

I'm not sure Monte's Bird Rights are his biggest concern.

He will not have a set role going into the season. His playing time will depend on how fast RD develops and how healthy Conley stays.

Will he get minutes as one of 3 PGs? Most likely, yes.

Will they be consistent enough to restore his value around the league? No one knows. But my guess is unlikely.

Also does Finch love two PG lineups, or was it something he was more forced to do based on roster construction? If Shannon is ready to play this year, he'll be competing with NAW for his minutes. Ant, NAW and Shannon are all natural SGs with some positional flexibility. If Shannon plays well, NAW will likely be getting some minutes at PG and Shannon will get some minutes at SF.

(Honestly, if Shannon shows enough as a 3&D player that can also drive the hell out of the ball, I wouldn't be shocked to see NAW traded at the deadline instead of losing him for nothing next offseason).

Conley, Dillingham, NAW, Ant, Shannon, McDaniels. They're going to eat up most of the 1-3 minutes.

Monté is 28 and tops out as an excellent back-up PG. But he's a low volume, highly efficient scorer. And while he doesn't turn it over, he also doesn't push the pace (something TC has brought up that we need to do much more of multiple times since the draft) or really run a lot of offense. He's the definition of a guy who won't hurt you, but isn't going to win you games. That sounds like a guy (who if he regains his old form) is likely a 5-8M/year player at the most. Bird Rights give more options, but teams can come up with that kind of money through exceptions pretty easily.

I agree with the post that if Denver offers him the clear backup role, he'd be foolish not to take it. He has much more of a history with Malone, Jokic and Murray than he does anyone here. And he'd have a defined role to reignite his career.

1. Have you guys seen Denver’s cap situation. From where do they get the money to afford paying Monte 5-8? See the link to understand that with the loss of KCP and Jackson they only have 8 million and change below the first apron. If they resign KCP they are a second apron team. If they don’t resign KCP they need to find some way to replace him with very limited resources. If they try and promote from within they will not be a top 4 team in the west this year. Joker can make anyone look good, but losing a 3 and D and replacing him with less 3 or D is very bad. https://www.spotrac.com/nba/denver-nuggets/cap/_/year/2024

2. Monte choosing playing time over bird rights assumes he has a very poor opinion of his earning potential. If he signs a prove it deal with the intention of being traded if he is unhappy with his role come February, he gets to go where he wants and keep his bird rights. You guys really think RD is gonna get the instant backup PG role with no competition, I disagree.

[BlacJacMac]

I'm not sure Monte's Bird Rights are his biggest concern.

He will not have a set role going into the season. His playing time will depend on how fast RD develops and how healthy Conley stays.

Will he get minutes as one of 3 PGs? Most likely, yes.

Will they be consistent enough to restore his value around the league? No one knows. But my guess is unlikely.

Also does Finch love two PG lineups, or was it something he was more forced to do based on roster construction? If Shannon is ready to play this year, he'll be competing with NAW for his minutes. Ant, NAW and Shannon are all natural SGs with some positional flexibility. If Shannon plays well, NAW will likely be getting some minutes at PG and Shannon will get some minutes at SF.

(Honestly, if Shannon shows enough as a 3&D player that can also drive the hell out of the ball, I wouldn't be shocked to see NAW traded at the deadline instead of losing him for nothing next offseason).

Conley, Dillingham, NAW, Ant, Shannon, McDaniels. They're going to eat up most of the 1-3 minutes.

Monté is 28 and tops out as an excellent back-up PG. But he's a low volume, highly efficient scorer. And while he doesn't turn it over, he also doesn't push the pace (something TC has brought up that we need to do much more of multiple times since the draft) or really run a lot of offense. He's the definition of a guy who won't hurt you, but isn't going to win you games. That sounds like a guy (who if he regains his old form) is likely a 5-8M/year player at the most. Bird Rights give more options, but teams can come up with that kind of money through exceptions pretty easily.

I agree with the post that if Denver offers him the clear backup role, he'd be foolish not to take it. He has much more of a history with Malone, Jokic and Murray than he does anyone here. And he'd have a defined role to reignite his career.

1. Have you guys seen Denver’s cap situation. From where do they get the money to afford paying Monte 5-8? See the link to understand that with the loss of KCP and Jackson they only have 8 million and change below the first apron. If they resign KCP they are a second apron team. If they don’t resign KCP they need to find some way to replace him with very limited resources. If they try and promote from within they will not be a top 4 team in the west this year. Joker can make anyone look good, but losing a 3 and D and replacing him with less 3 or D is very bad. https://www.spotrac.com/nba/denver-nuggets/cap/_/year/2024

2. Monte choosing playing time over bird rights assumes he has a very poor opinion of his earning potential. If he signs a prove it deal with the intention of being traded if he is unhappy with his role come February, he gets to go where he wants and keep his bird rights. You guys really think RD is gonna get the instant backup PG role with no competition, I disagree.

1. It does indeed sound like Denver and KCP are parting ways. And its not like Denver is the only option. But its a good one. He obviously has more chemistry with their key players and we know how much their coach likes him. We really don't have any idea how Finch feels about him. Sure he propped him up in quotes, like any good coach would, but he was barely 3rd string in the Playoffs after being a (14 MPG) part of the rotation in April. And he was solid in April! He posted season highs in TS%, 3P%, ORtg, DRtg and +/-

2. If he's unhappy with his role here (which likely means he isn't playing much, so he isn't doing much), why are you assuming the team he wants to go to wants to trade for him?

And I'd say if he chooses playing time over Bird Rights that he has a very STRONG opinion of his earning potential. That he expects, with a regular role, to create enough demand for his services to get a solid offer.

[Norseman79]

Is Monte a better fit than other vet min guys?
I only think Kyle is because of chemistry, but depending on what he wants, there are others I would try at the minimum

[Colbinii]

Is Monte a better fit than other vet min guys?
I only think Kyle is because of chemistry, but depending on what he wants, there are others I would try at the minimum

Monte is a better fit but also not a minimum level player.

[MN7725]

I'm not sure Monte's Bird Rights are his biggest concern.

He will not have a set role going into the season. His playing time will depend on how fast RD develops and how healthy Conley stays.

Will he get minutes as one of 3 PGs? Most likely, yes.

Will they be consistent enough to restore his value around the league? No one knows. But my guess is unlikely.

Also does Finch love two PG lineups, or was it something he was more forced to do based on roster construction? If Shannon is ready to play this year, he'll be competing with NAW for his minutes. Ant, NAW and Shannon are all natural SGs with some positional flexibility. If Shannon plays well, NAW will likely be getting some minutes at PG and Shannon will get some minutes at SF.

(Honestly, if Shannon shows enough as a 3&D player that can also drive the hell out of the ball, I wouldn't be shocked to see NAW traded at the deadline instead of losing him for nothing next offseason).

Conley, Dillingham, NAW, Ant, Shannon, McDaniels. They're going to eat up most of the 1-3 minutes.

Monté is 28 and tops out as an excellent back-up PG. But he's a low volume, highly efficient scorer. And while he doesn't turn it over, he also doesn't push the pace (something TC has brought up that we need to do much more of multiple times since the draft) or really run a lot of offense. He's the definition of a guy who won't hurt you, but isn't going to win you games. That sounds like a guy (who if he regains his old form) is likely a 5-8M/year player at the most. Bird Rights give more options, but teams can come up with that kind of money through exceptions pretty easily.

I agree with the post that if Denver offers him the clear backup role, he'd be foolish not to take it. He has much more of a history with Malone, Jokic and Murray than he does anyone here. And he'd have a defined role to reignite his career.

1. Have you guys seen Denver’s cap situation. From where do they get the money to afford paying Monte 5-8? See the link to understand that with the loss of KCP and Jackson they only have 8 million and change below the first apron. If they resign KCP they are a second apron team. If they don’t resign KCP they need to find some way to replace him with very limited resources. If they try and promote from within they will not be a top 4 team in the west this year. Joker can make anyone look good, but losing a 3 and D and replacing him with less 3 or D is very bad. https://www.spotrac.com/nba/denver-nuggets/cap/_/year/2024

2. Monte choosing playing time over bird rights assumes he has a very poor opinion of his earning potential. If he signs a prove it deal with the intention of being traded if he is unhappy with his role come February, he gets to go where he wants and keep his bird rights. You guys really think RD is gonna get the instant backup PG role with no competition, I disagree.

Connelly isn't the coach, but in his post draft interview he said multiple times that RD is going to play

Watch on YouTube

2:00 and 7:20 marks in particular

I have low expectations of any rookie really being a positive contributor, so I tend to agree with your sentiment

but that was striking to me in the interview

[jpatrick]

I remember reading/hearing that before the Gobert trade, Finch promised/guaranteed he would continue the two big look even if they struggled or if teams went small in the playoffs. With that assurance, TC made the deal.

I wouldn’t be shocked if Finch made similar assurances that he’s going to play Dillinghan, even when he struggles. Because he’s going to struggle. Since the draft I watched a couple of his Kentucky games, he is going to be awful defensively. Like he’s one of the worst college defensive players I can remember, both in terms of physicality (so weak right now) but also in terms of effort and not getting lost. He also looks like much less of a natural point guard than I remember but part of that is Kentucky’s system.

He’ll score but he’s not going to be a positive early on. The hope is that by the playoffs, he’s improved enough where he does give us a second shot creator. That only happens if he plays though.

[shrink]

I was listening to Ben Beecken and Lock’d On Wolves, and I believe he said he is going to talk about free agency next week, and whether we should use our Mid-Level on Kyle Anderson. So so wrong.

[younggunsmn]

I think by hook or by crook, Monte and Kyle’s bird rights are simply to valuable to let them walk for nothing.

Let me lay this out for you really simple so you can understand.
We are already at 80-100 million into the luxury tax, approaching 300 million in salary outlay.
Every dollar we give another player is multiplied 4-5 times more in luxury tax.


NO ONE ELSE is getting anything but a veteran minimum from us this summer. No One.
1. Monte and Kyle's bird rights are worth pretty much zilch.
2. If they are back it is ONLY for a 1 year veteran minimum, where they get paid over 3 million and we only get charged 2.1 million for it.

Monte didn't impress me, but he couldn't crack our playoff rotation even when the wheels were flying off the offense.
And that was before we got Dillingham and Shannon.
Why on earth would he take the minimum to not play here?
It would be a terrible career move.
He needs to go somewhere else where he can get some minutes and build his value back up.

[jpatrick]

I was listening to Ben Beecken and Lock’d On Wolves, and I believe he said he is going to talk about free agency next week, and whether we should use our Mid-Level on Kyle Anderson. So so wrong.

Yeah. That’s not quite how that works.

[jpatrick]

I think by hook or by crook, Monte and Kyle’s bird rights are simply to valuable to let them walk for nothing.

Let me lay this out for you really simple so you can understand.
We are already at 80-100 million into the luxury tax, approaching 300 million in salary outlay.
Every dollar we give another player is multiplied 4-5 times more in luxury tax.


NO ONE ELSE is getting anything but a veteran minimum from us this summer. No One.
1. Monte and Kyle's bird rights are worth pretty much zilch.
2. If they are back it is ONLY for a 1 year veteran minimum, where they get paid over 3 million and we only get charged 2.1 million for it.

Monte didn't impress me, but he couldn't crack our playoff rotation even when the wheels were flying off the offense.
And that was before we got Dillingham and Shannon.
Why on earth would he take the minimum to not play here?
It would be a terrible career move.
He needs to go somewhere else where he can get some minutes and build his value back up.

I don’t think Morris is getting any offer from us but vet minimum. Anderson I think might get an offer similar to the Conley deal, it’d be a TON of money but we have to go for it this year. Because after that, we will likely lose Naz/Naw with no real way to replace them.

[KGdaBom]

Anderson is obviously the priority over Morris but how much can we honestly pay? Same contract as Conley? More/less?

I don’t see Morris back unless he takes a one year vet minimum (or close to that) type deal, which he can get anywhere. And I’d guess if he’s taking that little, he’ll prefer somewhere with more playing time. If he declines, my guess is JMac is back on a minimum deal.

Any vet minimum FA speculation of guys we might target? I don’t see a lot of minutes available though.

that's the thing
If Anderson leaves, there would be regular rotation minutes for a vet

I'd expect that they'd be a worse overall player, but maybe could get someone that is better shooter so that the lineups that were Rudy/KA would at least have some spacing

I think most of these would be considered vet min at this point in their careers

Batum
Saric
Crowder
PJ Tucker
Covington
T Craig
Gallinari

If Kyle doesn't return I see Miller as the most likely to fill his spot.

[KGdaBom]

I think by hook or by crook, Monte and Kyle’s bird rights are simply to valuable to let them walk for nothing.

Let me lay this out for you really simple so you can understand.
We are already at 80-100 million into the luxury tax, approaching 300 million in salary outlay.
Every dollar we give another player is multiplied 4-5 times more in luxury tax.


NO ONE ELSE is getting anything but a veteran minimum from us this summer. No One.
1. Monte and Kyle's bird rights are worth pretty much zilch.
2. If they are back it is ONLY for a 1 year veteran minimum, where they get paid over 3 million and we only get charged 2.1 million for it.

Monte didn't impress me, but he couldn't crack our playoff rotation even when the wheels were flying off the offense.
And that was before we got Dillingham and Shannon.
Why on earth would he take the minimum to not play here?
It would be a terrible career move.
He needs to go somewhere else where he can get some minutes and build his value back up.

I don’t think Morris is getting any offer from us but vet minimum. Anderson I think might get an offer similar to the Conley deal, it’d be a TON of money but we have to go for it this year. Because after that, we will likely lose Naz/Naw with no real way to replace them.

Don't count out Miller and Shannon.