Don't speed it up: Wolves sign Slo-Mo Kyle Anderson (2yr/$18M)

[winforlose]

No GM has that level of autonomy.

There is a story told on the Wolves pods where Glen is very dubious of the Gobert trade. TC is adamant that it is the right move. The discussion ends with Glen saying something to the effect of “I don’t agree with it, but I trust you, make it happen.” If new ownership had that same mindset I doubt TC would have kept the out in his deal. He wants to run the team in the best way possible and to win things, (WCFs, NBA finals, legacy,) and part of that in this league is spending crazy amounts of money. Cash poor owners who are constantly trying to save dollars by weakening the roster and handcuffing TC (making him sell picks for cash, dump stars, let rotation players walk for nothing, ect…,) they are setting the stage. Again I point to him restructuring but keeping an out for next year.

[BlacJacMac]

No GM has that level of autonomy.

There is a story told on the Wolves pods where Glen is very dubious of the Gobert trade. TC is adamant that it is the right move. The discussion ends with Glen saying something to the effect of “I don’t agree with it, but I trust you, make it happen.” If new ownership had that same mindset I doubt TC would have kept the out in his deal. He wants to run the team in the best way possible and to win things, (WCFs, NBA finals, legacy,) and part of that in this league is spending crazy amounts of money. Cash poor owners who are constantly trying to save dollars by weakening the roster and handcuffing TC (making him sell picks for cash, dump stars, let rotation players walk for nothing, ect…,) they are setting the stage. Again I point to him restructuring but keeping an out for next year.

I think you're reading too much into that. Why wouldn't you want to keep your options open if you have no idea what the outcome of the ownership dispute will be? Neither side is going to show their full hand until things are settled. To have the ability to sit down with whoever wins and talk about the future before committing is a huge boon.

And no GM is given an unlimited budget. Most don't get the crazy amount of freedom that TC has already gotten. He's reshaped the roster. He's been given the green light to trade every 1st round draft pick that the rules allow. We're a 2nd apron team and he was allowed to trade up so we could spend close to 30M extra on a new rookie - and he got to use his other 1st round pick.

And its not just cash poor owners. Denver's owner is worth 6x what Glen is. He's making cost cutting moves. Steve Ballmer is worth 130B and his team is making moves based on 2nd apron penalties. Mat Ishbia is worth close to 10B, and while he doesn't appear to be making financial moves (yet), he's meddled greatly in the building of the team.

What teams did in the past isn't relevant under the new rules. Its a new landscape.

At this moment, according to Spotrac, our "Projected Practical Cap Space" has us 123M over. That's first by a lot. Phoenix is next at 81M.

How much more money should TC be given to throw at the roster?

[winforlose]

No GM has that level of autonomy.

There is a story told on the Wolves pods where Glen is very dubious of the Gobert trade. TC is adamant that it is the right move. The discussion ends with Glen saying something to the effect of “I don’t agree with it, but I trust you, make it happen.” If new ownership had that same mindset I doubt TC would have kept the out in his deal. He wants to run the team in the best way possible and to win things, (WCFs, NBA finals, legacy,) and part of that in this league is spending crazy amounts of money. Cash poor owners who are constantly trying to save dollars by weakening the roster and handcuffing TC (making him sell picks for cash, dump stars, let rotation players walk for nothing, ect…,) they are setting the stage. Again I point to him restructuring but keeping an out for next year.

I think you're reading too much into that. Why wouldn't you want to keep your options open if you have no idea what the outcome of the ownership dispute will be? Neither side is going to show their full hand until things are settled. To have the ability to sit down with whoever wins and talk about the future before committing is a huge boon.

And no GM is given an unlimited budget. Most don't get the crazy amount of freedom that TC has already gotten. He's reshaped the roster. He's been given the green light to trade every 1st round draft pick that the rules allow. We're a 2nd apron team and he was allowed to trade up so we could spend close to 30M extra on a new rookie - and he got to use his other 1st round pick.

And its not just cash poor owners. Denver's owner is worth 6x what Glen is. He's making cost cutting moves. Steve Ballmer is worth 130B and his team is making moves based on 2nd apron penalties. Mat Ishbia is worth close to 10B, and while he doesn't appear to be making financial moves (yet), he's meddled greatly in the building of the team.

What teams did in the past isn't relevant under the new rules. Its a new landscape.

At this moment, according to Spotrac, our "Projected Practical Cap Space" has us 123M over. That's first by a lot. Phoenix is next at 81M.

How much more money should TC be given to throw at the roster?

Do you want to build a contender or a dynasty. All the contending teams throw as much as they can at it and back down when it becomes necessary. We are still in the ramp up. Your point that our money is not unlimited is valid, but you fail to address my point that every time we let something like this get by us our options become more narrow. There are only so many ways to improve a team at this level of spending and at some point we must decide how badly we want to put ourselves in the best position to win.

TC wanting an out says he is wary of the situation. Of course he will sit down with the winner and figure things out. But the fact that he wants an out tells you he isn’t super settled here. Time will tell if new ownership is willing to keep taxes high to keep TC happy.

[BlacJacMac]

There is a story told on the Wolves pods where Glen is very dubious of the Gobert trade. TC is adamant that it is the right move. The discussion ends with Glen saying something to the effect of “I don’t agree with it, but I trust you, make it happen.” If new ownership had that same mindset I doubt TC would have kept the out in his deal. He wants to run the team in the best way possible and to win things, (WCFs, NBA finals, legacy,) and part of that in this league is spending crazy amounts of money. Cash poor owners who are constantly trying to save dollars by weakening the roster and handcuffing TC (making him sell picks for cash, dump stars, let rotation players walk for nothing, ect…,) they are setting the stage. Again I point to him restructuring but keeping an out for next year.

I think you're reading too much into that. Why wouldn't you want to keep your options open if you have no idea what the outcome of the ownership dispute will be? Neither side is going to show their full hand until things are settled. To have the ability to sit down with whoever wins and talk about the future before committing is a huge boon.

And no GM is given an unlimited budget. Most don't get the crazy amount of freedom that TC has already gotten. He's reshaped the roster. He's been given the green light to trade every 1st round draft pick that the rules allow. We're a 2nd apron team and he was allowed to trade up so we could spend close to 30M extra on a new rookie - and he got to use his other 1st round pick.

And its not just cash poor owners. Denver's owner is worth 6x what Glen is. He's making cost cutting moves. Steve Ballmer is worth 130B and his team is making moves based on 2nd apron penalties. Mat Ishbia is worth close to 10B, and while he doesn't appear to be making financial moves (yet), he's meddled greatly in the building of the team.

What teams did in the past isn't relevant under the new rules. Its a new landscape.

At this moment, according to Spotrac, our "Projected Practical Cap Space" has us 123M over. That's first by a lot. Phoenix is next at 81M.

How much more money should TC be given to throw at the roster?

Do you want to build a contender or a dynasty. All the contending teams throw as much as they can at it and back down when it becomes necessary. We are still in the ramp up. Your point that our money is not unlimited is valid, but you fail to address my point that every time we let something like this get by us our options become more narrow. There are only so many ways to improve a team at this level of spending and at some point we must decide how badly we want to put ourselves in the best position to win.

TC wanting an out says he is wary of the situation. Of course he will sit down with the winner and figure things out. But the fact that he wants an out tells you he isn’t super settled here. Time will tell if new ownership is willing to keep taxes high to keep TC happy.

Because ownership isn't settled!

Its not some great conspiracy. The option is 100% his. It only makes sense to leave it in place until the dispute is settled.

All the contending teams throw as much as they can at it and back down when it becomes necessary.

Under the old rules, sure. But we're seeing the opposite under the new ones. Spending 50M/year on Kyle Anderson (or his "salary slot") because you're worried that none of your 1st, 2nd or 3rd year players will step up is lunacy.

[winforlose]

I think you're reading too much into that. Why wouldn't you want to keep your options open if you have no idea what the outcome of the ownership dispute will be? Neither side is going to show their full hand until things are settled. To have the ability to sit down with whoever wins and talk about the future before committing is a huge boon.

And no GM is given an unlimited budget. Most don't get the crazy amount of freedom that TC has already gotten. He's reshaped the roster. He's been given the green light to trade every 1st round draft pick that the rules allow. We're a 2nd apron team and he was allowed to trade up so we could spend close to 30M extra on a new rookie - and he got to use his other 1st round pick.

And its not just cash poor owners. Denver's owner is worth 6x what Glen is. He's making cost cutting moves. Steve Ballmer is worth 130B and his team is making moves based on 2nd apron penalties. Mat Ishbia is worth close to 10B, and while he doesn't appear to be making financial moves (yet), he's meddled greatly in the building of the team.

What teams did in the past isn't relevant under the new rules. Its a new landscape.

At this moment, according to Spotrac, our "Projected Practical Cap Space" has us 123M over. That's first by a lot. Phoenix is next at 81M.

How much more money should TC be given to throw at the roster?

Do you want to build a contender or a dynasty. All the contending teams throw as much as they can at it and back down when it becomes necessary. We are still in the ramp up. Your point that our money is not unlimited is valid, but you fail to address my point that every time we let something like this get by us our options become more narrow. There are only so many ways to improve a team at this level of spending and at some point we must decide how badly we want to put ourselves in the best position to win.

TC wanting an out says he is wary of the situation. Of course he will sit down with the winner and figure things out. But the fact that he wants an out tells you he isn’t super settled here. Time will tell if new ownership is willing to keep taxes high to keep TC happy.

Because ownership isn't settled!

Its not some great conspiracy. The option is 100% his. It only makes sense to leave it in place until the dispute is settled.

All the contending teams throw as much as they can at it and back down when it becomes necessary.

Under the old rules, sure. But we're seeing the opposite under the new ones. Spending 50M/year on Kyle Anderson (or his "salary slot") because you're worried that none of your 1st, 2nd or 3rd year players will step up is lunacy.

Again you are not hearing me. Which to be fair is probably a good thing considering we are talking via text on a message board . My point was that having 9 million to use on getting someone else in February is a good idea. It’s not that you are betting against the young dudes (though rookies are always a risk,) it can be for any number of other purposes. Insurance against an injury, replacing someone like NAW or Naz who could get poached next year, having extra flexibility to send out a player for assets if your young guys blow up, adding salary for moves later if you see a gem in the rough (think NAW from Utah.) The new CBA is designed to lower teams salaries, to make them ramp down. The aggressive teams will ramp up and say give me two or even three years of this **** then I will cycle down and get ready for the next ramp up. The teams you are talking about already ramped up and now the new CBA is forcing them to ramp back down. We haven’t ramped up yet, but this year is our first year in that narrow window. I am saying gun it, make the most of the window, recover afterwards and try to get some ****** glory for a franchise and fanbase starving for it.

[BlacJacMac]

I completely get your point. I just don’t agree with it.

[winforlose]

I completely get your point. I just don’t agree with it.

Fair enough. I respect your position and thank you for being respectful about the debate

[minimus]

I wonder if MIN decision not to offer multiyear contract was a crucial for Kyle. I mean I understand why MIN dont want to enter NEXT offseason with Kyle contract, they will have enough risks with Naz and NAW resignings, but Kyle is looking for the contract of his career.

[winforlose]

I wonder if MIN decision not to offer multiyear contract was a crucial for Kyle. I mean I understand why MIN dont want to enter NEXT offseason with Kyle contract, they will have enough risks with Naz and NAW resignings, but Kyle is looking for the contract of his career.

Kyle had a bad year, and that probably really hurt his chances of getting close to the bag he wanted. I think he expected 12 and was disappointed to settle for 9. Frankly, the best part of him being elsewhere is that Finch cannot play him. Keeping NAW and Naz will be tricky, but then again I expect some trades next year.

[cupcakesnake]

Kyle Anderson is one of my favorite T-Wolves ever.

I know he had a bad year. His shot breaking couldn't have happened at a worse time, because he was already an awkward fit in a big-heavy rotation, so forgetting how to shoot doomed him. Sad to see him go but not surprised because of the fit, the broken shot, and the looming second apron.

But man, cheers 2023 SloMo. Finch making him basically our point guard (and getting D'Lo off the ball) saved our season. Over 14 games in March he averaged 12-7-7 on shooting 52%fg and 42% from 3, with over a block and a steal, and a 4:1 assist to turnover ratio. Good defender, clever bucket getter, but most of all a really capable decision maker on a team full of dumb dumb heads.

We were a weird team this year because our best decision makers (Conley and SloMo) were not our main scorers. I still don't trust Ant to "figure out" defenses in the playoffs, and Kat's decision tree is randomly generated every night. With Anderson now gone, and Conley another year older, the training wheels are coming off on the offensive end.

[Nick K]

I wonder if MIN decision not to offer multiyear contract was a crucial for Kyle. I mean I understand why MIN dont want to enter NEXT offseason with Kyle contract, they will have enough risks with Naz and NAW resignings, but Kyle is looking for the contract of his career.

Kyle had a bad year, and that probably really hurt his chances of getting close to the bag he wanted. I think he expected 12 and was disappointed to settle for 9. Frankly, the best part of him being elsewhere is that Finch cannot play him. Keeping NAW and Naz will be tricky, but then again I expect some trades next year.

I couldn't agree more. Kyle did some good things but he did plenty of bad. We will do just fine without him. We need other guys to step up.

[life_saver]

thank god....no more Rudy, SloMo lineups

[life_saver]

I wonder if MIN decision not to offer multiyear contract was a crucial for Kyle. I mean I understand why MIN dont want to enter NEXT offseason with Kyle contract, they will have enough risks with Naz and NAW resignings, but Kyle is looking for the contract of his career.

Kyle had a bad year, and that probably really hurt his chances of getting close to the bag he wanted. I think he expected 12 and was disappointed to settle for 9. Frankly, the best part of him being elsewhere is that Finch cannot play him. Keeping NAW and Naz will be tricky, but then again I expect some trades next year.

I couldn't agree more. Kyle did some good things but he did plenty of bad. We will do just fine without him. We need other guys to step up.

feel like people have forgotten how much they wanted Finch not to play SloMo anymore at around January...he improved post-ASB but he was terrible in the first 50 games of the season

[minimus]

Kyle had a bad year, and that probably really hurt his chances of getting close to the bag he wanted. I think he expected 12 and was disappointed to settle for 9. Frankly, the best part of him being elsewhere is that Finch cannot play him. Keeping NAW and Naz will be tricky, but then again I expect some trades next year.

I couldn't agree more. Kyle did some good things but he did plenty of bad. We will do just fine without him. We need other guys to step up.

feel like people have forgotten how much they wanted Finch not to play SloMo anymore at around January...he improved post-ASB but he was terrible in the first 50 games of the season

I think that his eye injury, lack of shooting plus backup PG experiments such as Shake Milton affected Kyle game. I can see why Naz-Kyle-Shannon-NAW-Dillingham could have been a very effective unit. But at this point we would never know.

[Zonarosa]

Do you want to build a contender or a dynasty. All the contending teams throw as much as they can at it and back down when it becomes necessary. We are still in the ramp up. Your point that our money is not unlimited is valid, but you fail to address my point that every time we let something like this get by us our options become more narrow. There are only so many ways to improve a team at this level of spending and at some point we must decide how badly we want to put ourselves in the best position to win.

TC wanting an out says he is wary of the situation. Of course he will sit down with the winner and figure things out. But the fact that he wants an out tells you he isn’t super settled here. Time will tell if new ownership is willing to keep taxes high to keep TC happy.

Because ownership isn't settled!

Its not some great conspiracy. The option is 100% his. It only makes sense to leave it in place until the dispute is settled.

All the contending teams throw as much as they can at it and back down when it becomes necessary.

Under the old rules, sure. But we're seeing the opposite under the new ones. Spending 50M/year on Kyle Anderson (or his "salary slot") because you're worried that none of your 1st, 2nd or 3rd year players will step up is lunacy.

Again you are not hearing me. Which to be fair is probably a good thing considering we are talking via text on a message board . My point was that having 9 million to use on getting someone else in February is a good idea. It’s not that you are betting against the young dudes (though rookies are always a risk,) it can be for any number of other purposes. Insurance against an injury, replacing someone like NAW or Naz who could get poached next year, having extra flexibility to send out a player for assets if your young guys blow up, adding salary for moves later if you see a gem in the rough (think NAW from Utah.) The new CBA is designed to lower teams salaries, to make them ramp down. The aggressive teams will ramp up and say give me two or even three years of this **** then I will cycle down and get ready for the next ramp up. The teams you are talking about already ramped up and now the new CBA is forcing them to ramp back down. We haven’t ramped up yet, but this year is our first year in that narrow window. I am saying gun it, make the most of the window, recover afterwards and try to get some ****** glory for a franchise and fanbase starving for it.

[KGdaBom]

Kyle Anderson is one of my favorite T-Wolves ever.

I know he had a bad year. His shot breaking couldn't have happened at a worse time, because he was already an awkward fit in a big-heavy rotation, so forgetting how to shoot doomed him. Sad to see him go but not surprised because of the fit, the broken shot, and the looming second apron.

But man, cheers 2023 SloMo. Finch making him basically our point guard (and getting D'Lo off the ball) saved our season. Over 14 games in March he averaged 12-7-7 on shooting 52%fg and 42% from 3, with over a block and a steal, and a 4:1 assist to turnover ratio. Good defender, clever bucket getter, but most of all a really capable decision maker on a team full of dumb dumb heads.

We were a weird team this year because our best decision makers (Conley and SloMo) were not our main scorers. I still don't trust Ant to "figure out" defenses in the playoffs, and Kat's decision tree is randomly generated every night. With Anderson now gone, and Conley another year older, the training wheels are coming off on the offensive end.

He was damn good 2022-23 season.

[BlacJacMac]

Kyle had a bad year, and that probably really hurt his chances of getting close to the bag he wanted. I think he expected 12 and was disappointed to settle for 9. Frankly, the best part of him being elsewhere is that Finch cannot play him. Keeping NAW and Naz will be tricky, but then again I expect some trades next year.

I couldn't agree more. Kyle did some good things but he did plenty of bad. We will do just fine without him. We need other guys to step up.

feel like people have forgotten how much they wanted Finch not to play SloMo anymore at around January...he improved post-ASB but he was terrible in the first 50 games of the season

I think part of that was forcing him into the SF role that really doesn't fit him anymore.

Its not a coincidence that he started playing better when KAT was out and he was playing PF.

[Klomp]

I wonder if MIN decision not to offer multiyear contract was a crucial for Kyle. I mean I understand why MIN dont want to enter NEXT offseason with Kyle contract, they will have enough risks with Naz and NAW resignings, but Kyle is looking for the contract of his career.

This is a good point. Going into his Age 31 season and seeing what the new CBA is starting to do, this is probably his last chance at (more) real life-changing money.

[shrink]

I asked about whether we don’t get a TPE, or whether we get one and can’t use it unless we drop under the second apron.

In this case, I believe that it’s specifically an outgoing sign and trade. The rules disallow a 2nd apron team from acquiring a player contract by signing and trading away a player. Thus, no TPE. I believe if the player was already under contract and traded away, Minnesota would create a TPE but be unable to use it until they were under the 2nd apron (and would then hard cap themselves at the 2nd apron from using it).

[younggunsmn]

Kyle Anderson is one of my favorite T-Wolves ever.

I know he had a bad year. His shot breaking couldn't have happened at a worse time, because he was already an awkward fit in a big-heavy rotation, so forgetting how to shoot doomed him. Sad to see him go but not surprised because of the fit, the broken shot, and the looming second apron.

But man, cheers 2023 SloMo. Finch making him basically our point guard (and getting D'Lo off the ball) saved our season. Over 14 games in March he averaged 12-7-7 on shooting 52%fg and 42% from 3, with over a block and a steal, and a 4:1 assist to turnover ratio. Good defender, clever bucket getter, but most of all a really capable decision maker on a team full of dumb dumb heads.

We were a weird team this year because our best decision makers (Conley and SloMo) were not our main scorers. I still don't trust Ant to "figure out" defenses in the playoffs, and Kat's decision tree is randomly generated every night. With Anderson now gone, and Conley another year older, the training wheels are coming off on the offensive end.

Lots of really good stuff here.
Once his shot disappeared after the eye injury, having to play with another non-shooter in Rudy really hurt Kyle and made the offense super hard to watch. His fit in GS will depend a lot on which 5 he is playing next to or he will face the same issues.

He did play almost every game though and was a solid contributor who Finch used to help keep the wheels on the bus with our tendency to spiral and chuck haymakers when things start going wrong.

I would add that Kyle was the key reason we were able to stay afloat while KAT was out in '23, and that injury allowed him to spend most of the season playing the 4 which is a much better position for him.
He spent most of '24 backing up McDaniels at the 3 and playing backup PG to Conley.

His BBIQ is off the charts though and I will remember his time here fondly.
I hope he does well in the future but that the Warriors suck.
Luxury tax issues aside, I don't think he was a fit here anyway at 9 mil/year with no minutes at the 4 for him.
That's a really good deal for Kyle, a testament to his reputation around the league that he still got that much with the shot having disappeared. I thought he'd be a borderline vet minimum guy.

Several really good bench guys only getting vet minimum deals like Alec Burks in Miami.
That one was an absolute steal.

Hopefully Joe Ingles will be able to replace his BBIQ and bench passing and add some knock down shooting.
It will be interesting to see if Ingles becomes Finch's security blanket the same way Kyle was.