RealGM

Direction A : Trade Al Jefferson for Danny Granger, use capspace to bring Pekovic over to replace Al and sign Tyrus Thomas ( elite shotblocker, help defense).

Direction B : Keep Jefferson, sign Joe Johnson to max money contract.

Reasoning and explanation appreciated.

Bird, hand, bush.

I'd trade Big Al for Granger, I don't think the pacers would though. I don't know if I'd use cap space on Tyrus Thomas because I don't know who else would be available but I like him and he would be a decent fit. You could draft Evan Turner and use Rubio to trade for a center that can score and defend.

PG. Jonny Flynn/Ramon Sessions
SG. Evan Turner/Wayne Ellington
SF. Danny Granger/Corey Brewer
PF. Kevin Love/Tyrus Thomas
C. Andrew Bynum/Nikola Pekovic

Bynum probably isn't likely, if he is good next year then the Lakers will keep him, if he isn't good then the Wolves might not want him. But you get the idea, replace him with Greg Monroe if you want, the point is that the wolves have a lot of assets to deal with. That team has crazy potential, great shooting, great rebounding, great defense. I don't see many flaws in that team besides inexperience.

I'm not really interested in building the team around Jefferson, I think that makes the wolves ceiling a mid-tier playoff team before the rebuild process needs to start again. Joe Johnson is nice but I have no interest in signing him or Rudy Gay to a max deal.

I don't think we have enough cap space to sign Joe Johnson and add Pekovic. I could be wrong. That makes this a bit more difficult to figure, as we would have Granger, Pekovic, and cap space to sign someone else.

I didn't vote, because I don't want to do either of these things. Unless the Pacers are adding a fair bit of value, Granger for Jefferson is a poor swap for us. And I don't think Joe Johnson is worth max dollars, especially when he'll be in his mid 30s at the end of the contract.

I would lean more towards Option B if we were paying Johnson what he's worth (plus a bit since we'd probably have to overpay, but Max is crazy).

The Wolves would still have the rights to Pekovic, and I think he might have another year on his Euro contract anyway. The Wolves could still trade him or bring him over in 2011 if they signed Johnson.

J Johnson isn't worth max anymore. 16 ppg in 2 series last year, that doesn't get it done

Devilzsidewalk wrote:J Johnson isn't worth max anymore. 16 ppg in 2 series last year, that doesn't get it done

Plus, he will be almost 30 at the start of his new deal.

He'll be 29 thru the entire 2010-11 season. The age doesn't bother me, at some point you've got to stop thinking like a rebuilding team and focus on winning. That time is next offseason, at least to an extent. I don't want to be taking in guys in their mid-to-late thirties, but Johnson should have 4 good seasons left.

Worm Guts wrote: He'll be 29 thru the entire 2010-11 season.

29? Big difference..

B Calrissian wrote:

Worm Guts wrote: He'll be 29 thru the entire 2010-11 season.

29? Big difference..

I was clarifying.

As if "almost 30" was way off.

Who said it was way off?

You implied it by "clarifying".

Tekkenlaw wrote:I'm not really interested in building the team around Jefferson, I think that makes the wolves ceiling a mid-tier playoff team before the rebuild process needs to start again. Joe Johnson is nice but I have no interest in signing him or Rudy Gay to a max deal.

This doesn't sound unreasonable to me - I think Jefferson's game makes him difficult to build around despite his obvious strengths. But I'm more concerned about the idea of Jefferson and Love being the starting front-court of the future, I think that is the really limiting combination. This will be an interesting season, hopefully they show that they can play together. If they can (or obviously if you think Jefferson is the 7th best player in the league) there's no way you trade him. Until they show this though I'm very open to trading one or both of them.

I don't mind the age if he's still performing at a high level, but if we're paying a guy to be the cherry on top, then I want more than 16 ppg in 2 playoff series. 1 series I'll write off as a potential anomoly, but 2 straight is unacceptable

B Calrissian wrote:You implied it by "clarifying".

That wasn't my intention

Worm Guts wrote:

B Calrissian wrote:You implied it by "clarifying".

That wasn't my intention

My bad. It just seemed that you were being a dick by nitpicking. If I had said he will almost be 35 then it would have made sense to say no he will be 29. But one year..

I voted A. I am inclined to think we will build through the draft this year though. Even if we don't have a top 5 pick, this could be a pretty solid year. Let's assume Charlotte is the 8th seed in the East (aka #15 pick), Wolves have the #9 pick, and Utah ends up being the #22 pick.

#9 Paul George (SG/SF)
#15 Larry Sanders (C/PF)
#22 Xavier Henry? Kyle Singler? (SG/SF)

Bring over Pekovic, and here's our team:
Jefferson/Pekovic/Hollins
Love/Sanders
Gomes/Brewer/Singler? (BPA)
Ellington/George
Sessions/Flynn

I think I'll change my vote to B. That's actually a pretty solid team with Joe Johnson.

Signing Johnson wouldn't make us a contender...we'd need another star to become a serious opponent for LA