_AIJ_ wrote:Sugarless wrote:_AIJ_ wrote:Rubio - Beasley - McDaniels - Hernangómez - Towns
Russell - Edwards - Okogie - Vanderbilt - Reid
That's the starting five and the bench unit you begin with. Insert McLaughlin, Culver and Nowell where/when needed.
I want to know who do you want to get traded on this team and for who? Just curious on how to make this team better.
Ps. I like your starting 5 if we really want to win.
Regardless of what happens with the pick, I'd start by trading Russell. PG is still the most important position in basketball (wing superstars can take you to the next level, but you still need a good PG at the helm, or you find yourself like the Bucks or Clippers last year, or just like the Heat would have been had Dragic not gone on a tear in the bubble, and everyone knows how they missed him during the Finals). You need a floor general running the offense and Russell is not it, nor will be in the future. It's also very difficult to win if your PG plays absolutely no defense, unless you have really top defenders to make up for him both on the perimeter and inside (ask Lillard, or Curry before Klay improved his D dramatically and Draymond took David Lee's spot in the starting 5).
The question is, has Russell's contract become such a negative asset that you need to attach another FRP or a young project like McDaniels so you can get rid of it? I don't think so, at least not with only 2 years left on it. But there aren't that many teams that might be interested in a PG at his price.
New York could be the most likely option, as they'll have A TON of cap room and this won't be a great free agency, especially at the PG spot. If Lowry signs with the Heat or re-signs with Toronto to finish his career there, and the Knicks miss on Lonzo Ball, could Russell come into play for them? I hope so.
There's also the Detroit Pistons. They'll have money and some small contracts to use if needed. Will they be interested if Lonzo ends up elsewhere and they're not sure about signing a guy like Dinwiddie long-term, coming off a serious injury? Russell is not the type of player they've been adding to their team under Troy Weaver's regime, but they still need a PG and a scorer. Their project is a long-term one and Russell would become a big expiring in a year. Maybe they give it a try.
Some other options may come up depending on what happens before and once the FA starts, but there should be at least a couple possibilities in any event.
So we have Russell and his 30M out of the picture, with nothing in return except for a lot of salary relief and the chance to start building a different culture in Minnesota. What next?
I'd get rid of Culver for a SRP (I like the guy, but he needs a change of scenery and the Wolves need to move on as well) and Jake Layman (no room for him). That puts the Wolves 21M under the cap if the Wolves don't keep their pick and I'm not missing anything (a bit less if they don't renounce McLaughlin's or Vanderbilt's rights and free their cap holds). I'm fine with keeping Okogie one more year since he'll be cheap and the team still need's defense, and I'd give Juancho a bit more time with Finch. But I'm not against moving any of them as well; not in the least.
We have 21M now and a roster with Rubio, Beasley, Edwards, McDaniels, KAT, Nowell, Okogie, Juancho and Reid (no pick in this scenario). The next thing I do is assess Edwards' value. Does he net me a pick in the 6-10 range where I can get Kuminga or Barnes, and maybe something else? When you couple him with the cap space we just created, does he open a path to acquiring a talented veteran for the SF or PF spot? If he doesn't, then roll with him and try to surround him with more guys that will help build a winning culture that he can learn in. The top young guys that could make a difference (guys like John Collins and Gary Trent Jr.) are RFAs and will either remain with their teams or be too expensive to sign, but a good alternative would be offering 1+1 deals to people like JaMychal Green, Paul Millsap and Otto Porter (will he ever stay healthy?). Do the same with a bigger body like Theis or Nerlens Noel (I'd love to sign Zach Collins, but he'll look for a longer deal coming off an injury). Those contracts are great because they give you flexibility and you don't even need to use all your cap space, which allows you to be a player before the trade deadline, if a good opportunity presents itself.
That's not a sexy summer. We are counting on losing the pick in this scenario and we don't know Edwards' value out there, so we may end up 'just' getting rid of a ton of money and some really bad fits like Russell, but you're bringing the right type of veterans so you can really start building a program here, and at the very least you're looking at the 2022 FRP and a 2022 summer with even more cap space, while keeping Edwards, Beasley and Towns under contract. And hopefully in the meantime you've turned at least a couple of them into more team-oriented guys that will not coast on defense and chuck away long shots on offense.
And what happens if the Wolves keep their pick? Well, pretty much the same, except that you take into account who you draft before siginig free agents and you look even harder at trading Edwards, cause you already have enough young players to teach and give minutes to in McDaniels and whoever ends up with the Wolves' cap on draft night.
