Free Agency Thread

[Neeva]

At this point id rather get Bertans and get a first round pick coming our way instead of giving a first for made of glass Lauri and overpaying him as well.

[Tjstangeland]

The Bulls are no longer going took keep him. The Pelicans have a 17 mil trade exception to get him. But don't want to give up a 1st round to get him. I say be aggressive and its a better option than Simmons, why because he's not a liability on offense with no mental issues and would cost less than Simmons and would be our 4 which we currently don't have. If we can get him say 30 mil for 2 years and throw in team option for 3.

A starting team with Dlo, Ant, McDaniels, Lauri and Kat, with Tmac, Beasley, okogie, Prince and Reid for the second team is really solid. Assuming we can trade juancho and Culver and offer a top 15 protected pick gives us a very solid team. In my opinion.

[SO_MONEY]

I take it you guys are content on what we have and want to role with it. I don't think its good enough. no players want to play with us because we are the Timberwolves. A S&T is the only way we can improve this team. I don't like Simmons because he can't shoot and make free throws. He is a liability but people want to give multiple 1sy round picks for him why I don't know.

Lauri is not a liability on the offensive end and people who won't give up a protected 1st round pick plus some fillers to improve this team is wrong.

The vast majority doesn't want to trade multiple 1st for Simmons either. We are not giving a 1st for him, okay?

[SO_MONEY]

The Bulls are no longer going took keep him. The Pelicans have a 17 mil trade exception to get him. But don't want to give up a 1st round to get him. I say be aggressive and its a better option than Simmons, why because he's not a liability on offense with no mental issues and would cost less than Simmons and would be our 4 which we currently don't have. If we can get him say 30 mil for 2 years and throw in team option for 3.

A starting team with Dlo, Ant, McDaniels, Lauri and Kat, with Tmac, Beasley, okogie, Prince and Reid for the second team is really solid. Assuming we can trade juancho and Culver and offer a top 15 protected pick gives us a very solid team. In my opinion.

Give it up man. Lol. Not happening.

[Tjstangeland]

Done venting, just keep on being satisfied for the team we have. Hope it does well. Will always be twolves fan just hope, just want to improve thats all.

[King Malta]

While I don't like the idea of running it back regardless, I think I'd be slightly more able to stomach it if we hadn't made the Rubio trade.

Now I totally understand why we made the Rubio trade financially etc, but we're now in a position where we really need an upgrade at the starting 4 and back-up PG spot IMO. Prince may be a handy player, he's almost certainly better than Okogie and Culver, but now we have a glut of wings and two gaps on the roster.

I am concerned.

[Dewey]

2020-2021 snipit… drtg% according to NBA . Com … Markkanen would be our 2nd highest rated player in this rating behind McL. Point is … our roster needs any form of an upgrade that it can get. For me it’s about the FRP and do want that, but flipping players is a no-brainer

[IceManBK1]

Watch on YouTube

;feature=youtu.be

What if we get this lauri every night? Blocks, anticipation and steals, perimeter d. Scoring all around.

[moonpie]

Showing some love for DJ Wilson again, should be obtainable for cheap:

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[shrink]

Done venting, just keep on being satisfied for the team we have. Hope it does well. Will always be twolves fan just hope, just want to improve thats all.

I totally get it, and I bet none of us are satisfied and we all want to improve. So we are together there.

I just don’t think it’s, “Get Markannen or we’ll never get better.” I would have less hope for our favorite team if they had Markannen on the books for the next 3-4 years, rather than committing resources to fix our glaring holes.

[IceManBK1]

https://www.instagram.com/laurimarkkanen/?hl=en
https://mobile.twitter.com/markkanenlauri

Interesting.. Lauri changed both his Twitter Pic and Instagram Pic to him wearing a wolve logo practice jersey and unfollowed everything with Bulls.

Not that this means anything.. I just have no faith in Rosas getting anything done. As a matter fact he's probably vacationing somewhere or hiding in shame cuz he failed at his job miserably.

[Neeva]

That’s the logo for the Finnish national team though.

[shrink]

Care to throw a few names you would target at the trade deadline or even next off-season should the Wolves sit on their hands again?

Or are you thinking the answer is through the draft?

I think this is a fair request, so I’ll try to give you my line of thinking for right now.

First, Wolves history has amply demonstrated that our pathway to talent is not free agency. If we can even convince a rotation level free agent to consider us, we generally need to overpay him in money/years to get him to come here. Last summer, Rosas made offers to 7-8 PF’s - none chose MIN. Historically, even our better free agents, like Trenton Hassell or Troy Hudson, swallowed up our payroll for years when we signed them to long, mediocre contracts, keeping us from putting Star talent around Garnett. I didn’t have expectations things would change this year.

That said, Rosas has used free agency in much the way I would. He has paid contracts to our restricted free agents, and he has put a lot of effort locking up young talent to very small team friendly deals. I think the Beasley contract turned out well, even though I think he should have squeezed him more. I wasn’t a big fan of the Juancho deal, but he had played well in his audition here and the deal wasn’t ridiculous for a borderline starter/7th man. Layman seemed fine. He fought hard on the deals for Naz Reid and Jaylen Nowell, who had few other options.

Right now, I would like to see if Paul Millsap continues to be rebuffed, and if we can get him for a cheaper, 1-2 year deal. He may be getting too old, but he plays “like” the type of PF we need Towns to get used to - hopefully the next guy. I also have read that Millsap is a great team leader, which we may need with Rubio gone. Millsap is a former All Defense team player, so he can speak with authority, and supposedly he was the key figure that finally convinced Jokic to defend.

After that, I think we go for upside play, and hope for growth. I’d like to get Vanderbilt back, and see what he can add offensively to his high-effort defense, I think McLaughlin is fine as a second/third PG, and he should be cheap. If that fails, I think we should make cheap investments in high upside players that have been failures, like a Dennis Smith.

[shrink]

I know that’s not exciting, but we weren’t likely to find someone exciting in free agency. I feel our best path is through trade and internal development of our existing youth. We are still holding a mitt full of expiring contracts that will only become more valuable as we close in on the February deadline. I think we need to stay flexible and wait for some team to fall apart between now and then. Right now there may be as few as four teams in the league that are sellers and not buyers, so they get great prices. We need a major injury or a clubhouse fight that puts a good PF on the market.

And if I haven’t said it, I want that PF to be a good defender and an average three point shooter - I will sacrifice scoring to find a player that we can afford.

[Dewey]

Done venting, just keep on being satisfied for the team we have. Hope it does well. Will always be twolves fan just hope, just want to improve thats all.

I totally get it, and I bet none of us are satisfied and we all want to improve. So we are together there.

I just don’t think it’s, “Get Markannen or we’ll never get better.” I would have less hope for our favorite team if they had Markannen on the books for the next 3-4 years, rather than committing resources to fix our glaring holes.

So … he has more skill than the majority of our roster and his defensive rating 2nd only to McL… but you still wanna keep the hot garbage we currently have?

I get this would be a gamble Long-term$$, but short-term, it’s merely swapping spit for a superior player … the CHI demand for a future frp is the root issue and I’m not sure they are gonna get that from any of the teams currently negotiating. If this year goes south, Markkanen will be the least of our worries…

[shrink]

Last thing I wanted to say about Markannen

I haven’t kept up too well on the Bulls, but by adding DeRozan and Lonzo Ball to LaVine, the Bulls are clearly going to act as an over-the-cap team. I know they are asking for a 1st round pick for Markannen, but if he got signed by another team, they not only lose him for nothing, but they lose his matching salary for other deals. This would be a big loss, since they want to have their payroll stay close to the lux as they try to win now to impress LaVine. In previous situations like these, we have even seen the team with the player give up a small asset, in order to keep that matching salary through a TPE. Do the Knicks, Pistons and Mavs still have cap space to sign him outright?

Anyway, my point is that the Bulls don’t want Markannen, and don’t want to lose that matching salary, so even fairly paid expirings might be a better option for them. If they feel Lauri is going to be overpaid in Year 2 (and 3 and 4), they may prefer an expiring. This is similar to our deal last year with Rubio and James Johnson - OKC preferred turning the multi year deal into an expiring, even if they gave up the better player.

So I am saying it would not shock me to see a deal with some combination of Juancho, Okogie, Layman or even Culver for Markannen - with no additional incentive! And even then, I am still so concerned about his lack of fit for multiple years that I would turn that deal down too, if Markannen wants to get paid what he has been demanding.

[shrink]

Done venting, just keep on being satisfied for the team we have. Hope it does well. Will always be twolves fan just hope, just want to improve thats all.

I totally get it, and I bet none of us are satisfied and we all want to improve. So we are together there.

I just don’t think it’s, “Get Markannen or we’ll never get better.” I would have less hope for our favorite team if they had Markannen on the books for the next 3-4 years, rather than committing resources to fix our glaring holes.

So … he has more skill than the majority of our roster and his defensive rating 2nd only to McL… but you still wanna keep the hot garbage we currently have?

The fact that DRTG% has Jordan McLaughlin as a better defender than McDaniels or Vanderbilt should make you suspicious that it’s not a good stat to guarantee Lauri is a good defender.

And most of the hot garbage we have is expiring.

[Neeva]

Wolves will have the capspace next summer to sign Aaron Gordon lol

[Dewey]

I totally get it, and I bet none of us are satisfied and we all want to improve. So we are together there.

I just don’t think it’s, “Get Markannen or we’ll never get better.” I would have less hope for our favorite team if they had Markannen on the books for the next 3-4 years, rather than committing resources to fix our glaring holes.

So … he has more skill than the majority of our roster and his defensive rating 2nd only to McL… but you still wanna keep the hot garbage we currently have?

The fact that DRTG% has Jordan McLaughlin as a better defender than McDaniels or Vanderbilt should make you suspicious that it’s not a good stat to guarantee Lauri is a good defender.

And most of the hot garbage we have is expiring.

I pretty much agree on the drtg%, but still, it’s the illusion Markkanen is not better than 2/3 of the roster.

[Baseline81]

I know that’s not exciting, but we weren’t likely to find someone exciting in free agency. I feel our best path is through trade and internal development of our existing youth. We are still holding a mitt full of expiring contracts that will only become more valuable as we close in on the February deadline. I think we need to stay flexible and wait for some team to fall apart between now and then. Right now there may be as few as four teams in the league that are sellers and not buyers, so they get great prices. We need a major injury or a clubhouse fight that puts a good PF on the market.

And if I haven’t said it, I want that PF to be a good defender and an average three point shooter - I will sacrifice scoring to find a player that we can afford.

shrink,

What poster has talked about making an outright signing to solve the PF position? From what I've read, the discussion has hinged on S&T (Collins and Markkanen).

I wouldn't mind Millsap, though you've simply put a band-aid on a bigger wound. Rosas will once again have to go shopping.

Long-term, Markkanen's age fits the timeline. He'd grow alongside McDaniels and Towns. I accept he is not an ideal fit, but as others have said, he is an upgrade over the PF by committee used a season ago (and what appears to be the path forward).

As for having to send back a first round pick, tough pill to swallow. If the protections are lottery-based for a year or two, then turn into one or two seconds after, that's not a death knell -- should the Wolves falter, they still keep their pick.

The bigger issue for me would be paying Markkanen anything over $15M a year...