2024 Draft - Who you got?

[Sealab2024]

Lets say we are able to draft Bronny at 37 and Lebron is willing to come here on a 15-16M deal to play with his son and try to win another title. Could we then arrange a deal with LeBron to come here in a sign and trade where we trade Naz and Wendell Moore for LeBron and pay LeBron the most we can with those trade assets? This begs the question as to why Lakers would help us out. Maybe they wouldn't even consider it, but maybe they might. LeBron could threaten to come here on an MLE if Lakers don't accommodate him and Naz is probably better than nothing, plus we might add a pick or pick swap as they probably don't want Wendell Moore's contract.

You don't trade Naz for a 41 year old LeBron. Ant, Naz and Jaden are the only core pieces you really have to have 3-5 years from now unless you can turn Naz or Jaden into a legit young superstar running mate for Ant.

I would turn Naz into two years of LeBron. We may only have one year of Naz and Naz was a net negative in the playoffs and LeBron has many rings and is made for the playoffs. If we could turn Naz into one title, I'd trade him 100 times out of 100.

The problem with that is that it doesn't even guarantee you're a better team let alone that you'll win a title. LeBron is 41, doesn't play defense anymore, would demand a starting role which means KAT or Jaden go to the bench which kills your athletic and size advantages and would only piss off either of those two. People need to stop shopping for names and think about what their team is and what it actually needs. LeBron ain't 2008 LeBron anymore, he just isnt. The last thing this team needs is to trade Naz for LBJ.

[KATKlownFeet]

Lets say we are able to draft Bronny at 37 and Lebron is willing to come here on a 15-16M deal to play with his son and try to win another title. Could we then arrange a deal with LeBron to come here in a sign and trade where we trade Naz and Wendell Moore for LeBron and pay LeBron the most we can with those trade assets? This begs the question as to why Lakers would help us out. Maybe they wouldn't even consider it, but maybe they might. LeBron could threaten to come here on an MLE if Lakers don't accommodate him and Naz is probably better than nothing, plus we might add a pick or pick swap as they probably don't want Wendell Moore's contract.

You don't trade Naz for a 41 year old LeBron. Ant, Naz and Jaden are the only core pieces you really have to have 3-5 years from now unless you can turn Naz or Jaden into a legit young superstar running mate for Ant.

Especially when Lebron can simply opt-out and sign if he'd like. Deadline for him to opt out is what 2 days after the draft?

That's the dream scenario we'd hope for if we draft Bronny, but hasn't LeBron or his agent already said he won't play for the vet minimum. He could be posturing just to scare off some teams he wouldn't want to play for, but Minnesota has to be in his top 10 now with Ant and making it to the WCF.

[KATKlownFeet]

You don't trade Naz for a 41 year old LeBron. Ant, Naz and Jaden are the only core pieces you really have to have 3-5 years from now unless you can turn Naz or Jaden into a legit young superstar running mate for Ant.

Especially when Lebron can simply opt-out and sign if he'd like. Deadline for him to opt out is what 2 days after the draft?

That's the dream scenario we'd hope for if we draft Bronny, but hasn't LeBron or his agent already said he won't play for the vet minimum. He could be posturing just to scare off some teams he wouldn't want to play for, but Minnesota has to be in his top 10 now with Ant and making it to the WCF.

[KATKlownFeet]

You don't trade Naz for a 41 year old LeBron. Ant, Naz and Jaden are the only core pieces you really have to have 3-5 years from now unless you can turn Naz or Jaden into a legit young superstar running mate for Ant.

Especially when Lebron can simply opt-out and sign if he'd like. Deadline for him to opt out is what 2 days after the draft?

That's the dream scenario we'd hope for if we draft Bronny, but hasn't LeBron or his agent already said he won't play for the vet minimum. He could be posturing just to scare off some teams he wouldn't want to play for, but Minnesota has to be in his top 10 now with Ant and making it to the WCF.

[thinktank]

Rich Paul dismissing the Wolves’ Bronny interest, which could be a unique trade chip, at the very least, because he doesn’t know who the owner is going to be, is all Glen Taylor.

Boo. Go away, Glen. Rich Paul is in effect saying, it doesn’t matter who the owner is, if I knew who the ownership was, things would be different. It’s tacet approval of Lore / ARod.

[KATKlownFeet]

You don't trade Naz for a 41 year old LeBron. Ant, Naz and Jaden are the only core pieces you really have to have 3-5 years from now unless you can turn Naz or Jaden into a legit young superstar running mate for Ant.

I would turn Naz into two years of LeBron. We may only have one year of Naz and Naz was a net negative in the playoffs and LeBron has many rings and is made for the playoffs. If we could turn Naz into one title, I'd trade him 100 times out of 100.

The problem with that is that it doesn't even guarantee you're a better team let alone that you'll win a title. LeBron is 41, doesn't play defense anymore, would demand a starting role which means KAT or Jaden go to the bench which kills your athletic and size advantages and would only piss off either of those two. People need to stop shopping for names and think about what their team is and what it actually needs. LeBron ain't 2008 LeBron anymore, he just isnt. The last thing this team needs is to trade Naz for LBJ.

Maybe Conley heads our bench unit where we need improvement and we use Point Lebron. There are no guarantees, but LeBron is one of the all-time greats who has single handedly won titles and he is still an elite player even at his age. Naz has a negative plus minus in the playoffs because he is terrible on defense. I''d prefer Naz stays and we still get LeBron, but if that's not possible, I'd definitely consider trading one year of NAZ for one of the GOATs.

[Sealab2024]

I would turn Naz into two years of LeBron. We may only have one year of Naz and Naz was a net negative in the playoffs and LeBron has many rings and is made for the playoffs. If we could turn Naz into one title, I'd trade him 100 times out of 100.

The problem with that is that it doesn't even guarantee you're a better team let alone that you'll win a title. LeBron is 41, doesn't play defense anymore, would demand a starting role which means KAT or Jaden go to the bench which kills your athletic and size advantages and would only piss off either of those two. People need to stop shopping for names and think about what their team is and what it actually needs. LeBron ain't 2008 LeBron anymore, he just isnt. The last thing this team needs is to trade Naz for LBJ.

Maybe Conley heads our bench unit where we need improvement and we use Point Lebron. There are no guarantees, but LeBron is one of the all-time greats who has single handedly won titles and he is still an elite player even at his age. Naz has a negative plus minus in the playoffs because he is terrible on defense. I''d prefer Naz stays and we still get LeBron, but if that's not possible, I'd definitely consider trading one year of NAZ for one of the GOATs.

Cool. Then we can trade Jaden for present day MJ. We can probably get Hakeem if we're willing to give up KAT, and just to make sure we can't be beat we can trade Rudy for Magic Johnson. Nobody's stopping that team of GOATs in 2024!

[KATKlownFeet]

The problem with that is that it doesn't even guarantee you're a better team let alone that you'll win a title. LeBron is 41, doesn't play defense anymore, would demand a starting role which means KAT or Jaden go to the bench which kills your athletic and size advantages and would only piss off either of those two. People need to stop shopping for names and think about what their team is and what it actually needs. LeBron ain't 2008 LeBron anymore, he just isnt. The last thing this team needs is to trade Naz for LBJ.

Maybe Conley heads our bench unit where we need improvement and we use Point Lebron. There are no guarantees, but LeBron is one of the all-time greats who has single handedly won titles and he is still an elite player even at his age. Naz has a negative plus minus in the playoffs because he is terrible on defense. I''d prefer Naz stays and we still get LeBron, but if that's not possible, I'd definitely consider trading one year of NAZ for one of the GOATs.

Cool. Then we can trade Jaden for present day MJ. We can probably get Hakeem if we're willing to give up KAT, and just to make sure we can't be beat we can trade Rudy for Magic Johnson. Nobody's stopping that team of GOATs in 2024!

I appreciate your attempt at humor, but I value all those guys a lot more than NAZ and I value all those retired guys much less than LeBron. Also, Naz can leave in a year but Ant, KAT and Jaden are under contract longer and it appears we can extend Rudy into the future. I get it! You value Naz much greater than I do. I don't view him as a core piece as he struggles on defense and is not a great rebounder, but he's still a nice guy to have around if he doesn't cost too much. If Naz gets too expensive, maybe I'm fine with him leaving.

[Sealab2024]

Maybe Conley heads our bench unit where we need improvement and we use Point Lebron. There are no guarantees, but LeBron is one of the all-time greats who has single handedly won titles and he is still an elite player even at his age. Naz has a negative plus minus in the playoffs because he is terrible on defense. I''d prefer Naz stays and we still get LeBron, but if that's not possible, I'd definitely consider trading one year of NAZ for one of the GOATs.

Cool. Then we can trade Jaden for present day MJ. We can probably get Hakeem if we're willing to give up KAT, and just to make sure we can't be beat we can trade Rudy for Magic Johnson. Nobody's stopping that team of GOATs in 2024!

I appreciate your attempt at humor, but I value all those guys a lot more than NAZ and I value all those retired guys much less than LeBron. Also, Naz can leave in a year but Ant, KAT and Jaden are under contract longer and it appears we can extend Rudy into the future. I get it! You value Naz much greater than I do. I don't view him as a core piece as he struggles on defense and is not a great rebounder, but he's still a nice guy to have around if he doesn't cost too much. If Naz gets too expensive, maybe I'm fine with him leaving.

Whether you believe it or not Naz is this teams long term answer at the 4. He's not going anywhere. KAT very well could and I do believe Rudy will sign an extension, but Naz isn't going anywhere.

[Neeva]

One of Kat or Naz will go if Rudy extends. Wolves just will not be able to afford all three with Naz next contract . Wolves really need someone that can create offense in the playoffs to help Ant (Kat is not that guy). Lebron even at 40 would be that someone, for sure. I wouldn’t trade for him though, let him sign here without wolves giving up anything.

[Klomp]

This is actually a fun draft season.

We’re already good. We have an identity with which to build around. It’s one of the flatter drafts. We have Connelly and Gupta.

I think all these things and more are reasons why we can obtain a longer-term piece (or two) that sticks.

I think it's also been more fun because it hasn't been as long. It hasn't been two-plus months of tortuous waiting for draft night and hoping for lottery balls to fall our way.

[Klomp]

After all, he was a bench player during his one year at USC. No matter where someone ranks Bronny on their Big Board, he is a project.

“Look, I think whether it’s Bronny or whether it’s anybody in this draft, 1 through 60, they all need development. And there’s some guys that are further along,” Paul said. “In Bronny’s case, he’ll say it himself, just getting somewhere where he can have the opportunity, the investment, the development, all those things are equally important.”

It seems like that’s why the Lakers and Suns have the most appeal for Klutch: They are veteran-laden teams that can afford to be patient with Bronny. The same goes for the Mavericks and Timberwolves, and the Raptors have a stellar track record of developing young players. I don’t believe that Paul’s openness about the teams interested in Bronny is purely an attempt to boost his draft stock. In recent weeks, before Paul’s comments on Wednesday, executives around the NBA expressed the belief that Bronny will get drafted, possibly even in the late first round. It’s a matter of when more than if.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/6/20/24182293/bronny-james-nba-draft-2024-rich-paul-lakers-suns

[BlacJacMac]

Cool. Then we can trade Jaden for present day MJ. We can probably get Hakeem if we're willing to give up KAT, and just to make sure we can't be beat we can trade Rudy for Magic Johnson. Nobody's stopping that team of GOATs in 2024!

I appreciate your attempt at humor, but I value all those guys a lot more than NAZ and I value all those retired guys much less than LeBron. Also, Naz can leave in a year but Ant, KAT and Jaden are under contract longer and it appears we can extend Rudy into the future. I get it! You value Naz much greater than I do. I don't view him as a core piece as he struggles on defense and is not a great rebounder, but he's still a nice guy to have around if he doesn't cost too much. If Naz gets too expensive, maybe I'm fine with him leaving.

Whether you believe it or not Naz is this teams long term answer at the 4. He's not going anywhere. KAT very well could and I do believe Rudy will sign an extension, but Naz isn't going anywhere.

I hope not. Naz is perfect as a bench scorer. His lack of rebounding and defense always gets exposed with a bigger role.

I love Naz. I love him on our team. He's not a starting PF on a contender.

[wolves_89]

It's incredibly hard to see how Bronny James would make any sense for the Wolves. Looking at the guys who are likely to be available at 27 and 37, I'd rate James near the bottom in terms of players who can contribute in the short term. If the team is looking for upside, there are likely to be at least a half dozen young guys still on the board who would be ahead of James (Tyler Smith, Bobi Klintman, Carlton Carrington, Kyshawn George, Pacome Dadiet, Juan Nunez, AJ Johnson, Cam Christie, and Justin Edwards are all significantly better developmental prospects).

[Sealab2024]

I appreciate your attempt at humor, but I value all those guys a lot more than NAZ and I value all those retired guys much less than LeBron. Also, Naz can leave in a year but Ant, KAT and Jaden are under contract longer and it appears we can extend Rudy into the future. I get it! You value Naz much greater than I do. I don't view him as a core piece as he struggles on defense and is not a great rebounder, but he's still a nice guy to have around if he doesn't cost too much. If Naz gets too expensive, maybe I'm fine with him leaving.

Whether you believe it or not Naz is this teams long term answer at the 4. He's not going anywhere. KAT very well could and I do believe Rudy will sign an extension, but Naz isn't going anywhere.

I hope not. Naz is perfect as a bench scorer. His lack of rebounding and defense always gets exposed with a bigger role.

I love Naz. I love him on our team. He's not a starting PF on a contender.

He's actually improved drastically in both areas over the last two years. And let's not act like KAT is some sort of defensive savant or amazing rebounder. The entire reason we got Rudy was because KAT can't defend the rim or dominate the defensive glass..

[Klomp]

It's incredibly hard to see how Bronny James would make any sense for the Wolves. Looking at the guys who are likely to be available at 27 and 37, I'd rate James near the bottom in terms of players who can contribute in the short term. If the team is looking for upside, there are likely to be at least a half dozen young guys still on the board who would be ahead of James (Tyler Smith, Bobi Klintman, Carlton Carrington, Kyshawn George, Pacome Dadiet, Juan Nunez, AJ Johnson, Cam Christie, and Justin Edwards are all significantly better developmental prospects).

I get it, but I don't necessarily agree. Part of "upside" is how likely a prospect is to reach that upside. His upside might not be as high as some, but I feel very confident that he can reach the upside he has. Many of the guys you listed might have a higher upside in theory, but I don't know that reaching that upside is very likely for most of them.

Ndudi Ebi had more upside than anyone we had available to us in 2004. Josh Howard's upside was much lower, but was an upside that was more attainable.

[frankenwolf]

Cool. Then we can trade Jaden for present day MJ. We can probably get Hakeem if we're willing to give up KAT, and just to make sure we can't be beat we can trade Rudy for Magic Johnson. Nobody's stopping that team of GOATs in 2024!

I appreciate your attempt at humor, but I value all those guys a lot more than NAZ and I value all those retired guys much less than LeBron. Also, Naz can leave in a year but Ant, KAT and Jaden are under contract longer and it appears we can extend Rudy into the future. I get it! You value Naz much greater than I do. I don't view him as a core piece as he struggles on defense and is not a great rebounder, but he's still a nice guy to have around if he doesn't cost too much. If Naz gets too expensive, maybe I'm fine with him leaving.

Whether you believe it or not Naz is this teams long term answer at the 4. He's not going anywhere. KAT very well could and I do believe Rudy will sign an extension, but Naz isn't going anywhere.

I don't think the bolded/underlined section is going to age well.

[wolves_89]

It's incredibly hard to see how Bronny James would make any sense for the Wolves. Looking at the guys who are likely to be available at 27 and 37, I'd rate James near the bottom in terms of players who can contribute in the short term. If the team is looking for upside, there are likely to be at least a half dozen young guys still on the board who would be ahead of James (Tyler Smith, Bobi Klintman, Carlton Carrington, Kyshawn George, Pacome Dadiet, Juan Nunez, AJ Johnson, Cam Christie, and Justin Edwards are all significantly better developmental prospects).

I get it, but I don't necessarily agree. Part of "upside" is how likely a prospect is to reach that upside. His upside might not be as high as some, but I feel very confident that he can reach the upside he has. Many of the guys you listed might have a higher upside in theory, but I don't know that reaching that upside is very likely for most of them.

Ndudi Ebi had more upside than anyone we had available to us in 2004. Josh Howard's upside was much lower, but was an upside that was more attainable.

I guess we have very different ideas on what Bronny James could be. To me the best case scenario for James is becoming a fringe rotation player with a very high chance of never even reaching that level. Personally, I think most of the guys I listed have a floor that is similar to Bronny, but with ceilings that are way higher.

[thinktank]

I think people are underrating Bronny.

Pro game is waaaay different than college.

Bronny has high IQ, huge hops, and good genes.

I see the Jones brothers as his floor. If he puts it together, he could easily surpass them due to his athleticism.

That’s pretty good value based on where he’s likely to go.

[Sealab2024]

I appreciate your attempt at humor, but I value all those guys a lot more than NAZ and I value all those retired guys much less than LeBron. Also, Naz can leave in a year but Ant, KAT and Jaden are under contract longer and it appears we can extend Rudy into the future. I get it! You value Naz much greater than I do. I don't view him as a core piece as he struggles on defense and is not a great rebounder, but he's still a nice guy to have around if he doesn't cost too much. If Naz gets too expensive, maybe I'm fine with him leaving.

Whether you believe it or not Naz is this teams long term answer at the 4. He's not going anywhere. KAT very well could and I do believe Rudy will sign an extension, but Naz isn't going anywhere.

I don't think the bolded/underlined section is going to age well.

Honestly, was I the only one watching the last 5 weeks of the year when Naz WAS our starting 4 and we didn't miss a beat?