Who will be on the roster next year?

[MN Die Hard]

This should be interesting to see how answers will differ.

Let's assume McCants, Foye, Brewer, and Jefferson are back next season. And lets assume Doleac and Theo are not resigned.

What is the likelihood that each remaining player is with the Wolves to start next season?

Jaric 95%
Walker 90%
Buckner 90%
Smith 50%
Gomes 75%
Telfair 25%
Madsen 75%
Richard 80%
Green 10%

[dunkonu21]

I would say Telfair is at 60% to be back...we need a good back-up like him...Gomes is less than 75%...

[revprodeji]

This should be interesting to see how answers will differ.

This is an interesting topic. None of us know the plans for what the team wants, so it is a matter of what we hope. So, in that case lets split this group into 2. FA and contract

The guys under contract are
Jaric
Walker
Buckner
Madsen

Walker would be a big ending contract, and thus has some value. But the other guys have at least a year after this. So I do not see them moving, but I could see us being open to almost any deal that moves these guys. These guys all have greater value on a playoff team.

Here are the FA
Green
Richard
Bassy
Gomes
Smith

Some people think we should just cut them all and others thing to just sign them all, but we need to look logically.

Green is gone. I doubt anyone thinks different.

Smith has value, and he is a fan favorite, but the fact is he cannot play with al, and thus can only play 15min or so when Al sits. We do not know what a player wants, but he will likely be able to get more time somewhere else. So we will probably lose him which would hurt. Also, being that he would only be a 15min player (likely not the first big off the bench even) we could not justify giving him a big contract.

Richard should be back. He adds value as a back up big, he has chemistry and would not need to be paid much. That being said I would not see us in a bidding war if another team shows interest.

That leaves bassy and Gomes. Bassy first.

I like Bassy as the back-up point guard. I see a 22yr old with great speed and vision. He can improve and would make a great back up for Foye and even play next to Foye. If Bassy wants to stay I would like to keep him as the back up. But, you could see Bassy receiving attention from other teams or at least sniffing out options. But if Bassy goes we can sign a vet pg for cheap.

Tyronn Lue, Eddie House, Jeff Mcinnis, Chris Duhon, Dan Dickau, Mighty Mouse, Darrel Armstrong, Jannero Pargo,Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, Kevin Ollie, Delonte West, Jose Calderon, Darrick Martin, Jason Hart, Chris Quinn, Jason Williams, Royal Ivey.

This shows that we can find a replacement for Bassy easy. But also that other teams would likely not give Bassy much thought when there are other more proven options out there that are not restricted.

Gomes is the guy I really want to keep. He is only 25. He has made the transistion from undersized 4 to physical 3. He is a very smart player that has a very nice mid range jumper. I think he is the hussle roll player that we need to keep, but also he has the potential of being a legit 3rd option on our team. Gomes is my priority to keep this offseason. He is also great with the media and fans.

An Important thing to remember is that Bassy, Gomes, Smith, and Richard are all Restricted. WHich means we have the advantage, but other teams will be hesistant to give an offer and need to leave their money out there waiting for our decision to match or not.

[MN Die Hard]

I agree Rev, if we can keep one of Green/Bassy/Gomes/Smith I would like it to be Gomes. Unfortunately he is also probably the guy that will draw the most attention, especially from contenders, making it even more attractive for him to leave. I could see SA snapping him up. In retrospect, my 75% figure on Gomes is more about how I want to keep and less about how likely it is he'll actually be here; that number is probably lower.

As for Bassy, I'm thinking ahead to the draft and hopefully Derrick Rose being here next year. I can see Rose starting at PG and Foye starting at SG, with Foye sliding to PG when Rose sits. If that's the case, and if Bassy wants to sign on knowing he's more or less third string, that's fine, but I wouldnt want to overpay him for it.

[Devilzsidewalk]

I like Craig the most, but I also think he's the worst fit with Jeff on the team

[MilMinMan]

devilz: preserving the old ways from being abused.

[revprodeji]

MN Die hard.

I think a 3 guard rotation of Rose/Foye/McCants would be very effective. Personally I like the prospect of Jordan more than Rose at this moment, but if we were to get a vet 5 that can play some defense next to Al then I could handle a Rose draft choice.

[slinky]

i almost like what you were thinking about Derrick Rose. I think he is the guy we should draft, so far i think he is the best player in the draft. BUt i would keep him backing up foye and occasionally they can play together(against a GS like backcourt). But unless Foye proves the rest of this year that he cant play point i like him at PG.

This is all hard for me because i like Bassy alot. Even his attitude seems to have changed a little now that the expectations are gone on him. I wouldnt want to see him leave, but i would prefer a Foye/Rose pg situation next year. PG is a hard job to learn there isnt a long list of successful rookie year starters at PG. And i think it would be a mistake to throw him in there right away.

Being one of the worst team in the league, we have a lot of needs, sure we can say we have talented wings, but the HAwks have proved for eyars that talent doesnt translate to a ton of wins. We need good role players. Gomes is a must. His versatility is greatly needed. And as rev said, he is just a quality human being.

We keep gomes and that is it. And we either move brewer to SG or we need to find a bigger guard. I understand we have mccants and I am not trying to give up on him at all, but we cant run into making the mistake that every player we draft we can instantly plug in and they will make us better. So maybe we draft a SG to come off the bench behind mccants for a year or two.

[revprodeji]

For the 1-2-3 we only need 5 guys.

Gomes can play the 3
Brewer can play the 2/3
McCants is a 2
Foye is a 1/2

So you need to add another guy to play the 1. Whether that is Rose or that is a random vet like Derek Fisher (just throwing a name) I think that rotation is fine. RIght now we have yet to see what Foye adds. But the backcourt does not need a savior. Our frontcourt does. We need someone to play next to Al. (but let us not turn this into a draft thread)

[WallyWorld]

Could be an interesting offseason!

My take (and first significant post in awhile, good to be back)

Deadline Deals:

I think we need to see a move at the deadline. Thing is, I am not goign to criticize because I dont see anyone really making a push to get any of our guys unless we traded Theos contract (which obviously wont happen). I could see us trading Gomes along with Green, or Toine getting the boot. Its hard to say! Id like to see mroe discussion on this topic. I DID however hear a bit of inside info this summer that they were showcasing McCants this year with intent to deal him. That could be....take it for what its worth.

next year:
Big Al: Duh
Brewer: Bigger role, starter?
Foye: It will be interesting if his return nets us some more consistent W's. OBviously he is untouchable.
McCants: I really dont see him here forever.
Telfair: I see him as a long term backup, he's suitable. Resign him. Nice assist numbers.
Jaric: He'll be around. If anything down the road his contract could be extremely valuable after next season.
Buckner: Good vet leader. Keep him.
Walker: I hope we package him with Gomes/Green as an expiring deal to net some value. This team needs a GOOD vet to keep things in balance.
Ratliff: Retires after the year I think
Gomes: Will be really tough to keep, which is why I hope we possibly get some value for him at the deadline
Smith: I think he will resign with us in hopes of keeping a nice role
Green: Gone after this year, hopefully dealt for SOMETHING
Richard: Do we have an option on him? If so, he will return
Doleac: Gone
Madsen: Good locker room guy/vet. Keep him.


Then hope we get a top 2 pick (Beasley/Rose) and a quality borderline all-star via trade with some of our assets and then I think we are much improved.

[funkatron101]

Unfortunately who I think will remain and who I want to remain are two different things.

There is a lot of fat to trim. With a trade you can't trim the fat without cutting a chunk of the meat.

McCants, Gomes and Smith are the best trade bait we got.

I think we aren't going to make any trades by the deadline. By next season Gomes, Green, and Smith may be gone. We'll still be stuck with Buckner, Madsen, and Jaric.

[revprodeji]

(to get back to the 3 guard talk from earlier) Witt said on Kfan today that Foye would see time at the 1 and 2 almost evenly. Kind of interesting.

I do not think Gomes will be hard to keep. He is restricted and that alone will make teams hesitant to give him an offer just because we can sit on it and wait it out and hold a team hostage for a while.

Of course, it depends on what our front court wants. If we plan on letting him go at the end of the season then we need to move him now for value. His talent level is worth more than his expiring contract, thus we lose more value by simply letting him walk.

[Devilzsidewalk]

devilz: preserving the old ways from being abused.

God save little shops, china cups and virginity

[andyhop]

I'd try and get Bassy to accept the QO rather than offer him a long term deal,that way you get a back up pg at a reasonable price for the year but one who has potential to improve rather than being an old steady I am what I am vet.Given that we still don't know if Foye can run a team full time as a PG it would be insurance with upside to keep Bassy around for next season.

I'd resign Richard as long as it is for close to minimum salary.

I'd let Green go.

Gomes I would try and resign but allow to leave if he gets an offer anywhere close to the MLE .

Smith is the hardest one because I think it depends on the draft whether you try and keep him or not.If you are going to draft a guard or Beasley then it makes no sense to keep him around so you should try and trade him now to return some value for him.If you plan on drafting a defensive C like Jordan or Hibbert then I would be interested in keeping him around if the price was right with Al playing mostly at the 4 alongside the draft pick and Smith and Richard as the back ups.

That gives you a second low post scorer for the team but you help him out defensively by having a defensive prescence alongside him, unlike now when he has an overmatched Al to help him out on that end of the court.

[theGreatRC]

Smith doesn't NEED to play with Al Jefferson. Smith is no starter, he is a career backup; an offensive spark, but will give you little defensive output. He is a good offensive rebounder and has good technique to get to the rim.


Yes, I am a Smith homer and he is my favorite player, my first post after all was me saying "Craig Smith is going to make the team over Paul Shirley"

I was right before, and I am going to be right again. Craig Smith will be re-signed.

[revprodeji]

Everyone here likes Smith, but Smith's resigning is all about if he is content with a 15min roll and the pay that goes with it. if he is, then we keep him. Simple as that.

Bassy will not accept a QO, he did not earlier this year when we tried to resign him. Being that we tried to resign him I bet we try again. Of course, that depends on what we do draft wise.

[theGreatRC]

Everyone here likes Smith, but Smith's resigning is all about if he is content with a 15min roll and the pay that goes with it. if he is, then we keep him. Simple as that.

Bassy will not accept a QO, he did not earlier this year when we tried to resign him. Being that we tried to resign him I bet we try again. Of course, that depends on what we do draft wise.

Smith is accepting his role now, I don't know how different it would be next season. He hasn't proved to be a big $$ player, but his body and rebounding technique may intrigue some teams who need a bruiser. I say he doesn't get more than 3 Mil next season, and I think he would accept that, but I don't know how money hungry he is.

[revprodeji]

Right now he is being a good soldier, this summer he has the chance to move to a different team.

[dunkonu21]

This is who I now want next year after the Nuggets game.

Foye/Telfair
Shad/Jaric
Brewer/Gomes
Al/Gomes
Jordan/both 2nd's can be used to centers for all I care...

[deeney0]

This is who I now want next year after the Nuggets game.

Foye/Telfair
Shad/Jaric
Brewer/Gomes
Al/Gomes
Jordan/both 2nd's can be used to centers for all I care...

I'll take that, except Beasley@4 and Al@5. Defense will come with time, both those guys are crazy hard workers.