Trades and Transactions thread cont - we still need a center

[jvsimonetti0514]

I don’t love the idea of Kat but being able to play 5 out is intriguing. I’m also less concerned about Kat matching up with 5 like Embiid or KP and more worried with what happens with our rim protections. Maybe with Mikal and OG on the wings it will be tougher for teams to get to the rim but I doubt it eliminates the threat completely. It also really messes with our depth unless they think Kolek or Rokas is ready to contribute right away.

I’m just not sure why the wolves would do this. We both need to send out matching salary to not get hard capped. So it’s not like this would save them money immediately and losing towns would really hurt their spacing and we don’t have any picks to give them either. Maybe they think they can sign Randle for cheaper than towns and let Mitch expire? Or Randle is a better creator from the perimeter than Kat is? Just having a tough time figuring out their rationale for trade him.

This is also a been a rumor forever and I don’t think CP is making it up. He usually doesn’t pretend to be an insider either. When our front office has interest in someone, pretty much everyone knows. Even the Mikal trade had some reporting that us, Houston, and another team were checking in with Brooklyn.

[DaGawd]

Gut feeling, the KAT trade happens.

Rosas in.
WWW always here.
Rose always stating he's here to bring in a "star"

Rose, but particularly WWW, will be cementing their legacy when this happens. Obviously the Wolves have to have an interest, but if Rose/WWW pull this off, their reputation for the future, their legacy, will be greatly enhanced.

I think that matters to both of them, especially WWW, who has lost some of his reputational shine.

Let me make it clear, I don't think they do it if it doesn't make basketball sense, and yes, I get the downsides as well as the upsides of the potential move.

But I think Rose and WWW would be working overtime to make this happen.

It buys them, easily, 5 more years of being paid by Dolan. It cements their career legacies. If it brings a championship (up for debate), then all the more so.

I think there is fire with the smoke this time.

Jermey Cohen (KFS) a few days ago thought the target was Giannis.

Maybe NY views KAT as plan B. Plan A would be Giannis.


In 2026-27 KAT and Giannis make about the same amount of $$$.

Randle + Mitch (consolidation of assets) ---> KAT ---> Giannis

We'd only be sending 1 player out in that deal + picks. Roster would stay intact.


If Giannis doesn't leave Milwaukee you at least have Plan B and pivot from there.

ngl i don’t think we have the draft capital to get greek whenever he ask out if he ever did now.. unless the bucks would be interested in staying competitive and taking a package centered around some combination of randle, og, the nova crew minus brunson etc..

[thebuzzardman]

thats a very fair question. And something I'm sure the front office is wondering...but would you put your future flexibility on the line with that assumption....all it takes is one team.

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=W09F6FrMDfp5_y1gKYgF1g

Leon is cooking something up MP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

shidddd get me sengun then

Kanter with passing. Pass

[NoLayupRule]

Randle is one of the leagues most underrated players

he is generally good for solid and meaningful points and assists. His rebounding numbers feel inflated to me and his turnovers are of great concern.

But he also generally plays most games in a season and thats important.

You cant let him walk.

But if Brunson is taking a pay cut we should expect nothing less from Randle
hes not a max player
itll be hard to convince him otherwise with OG making max $ though

[robillionaire]

I’m just not sure why the wolves would do this.

honestly, Randle has been a better player than towns over the past 3-4 seasons. But that may not continue. Randle would be a great fit next to Gobert. I don’t know why they’d want Mitchell Robinson though. Maybe there’d be a 3rd team involved

[mpharris36]

sengun would be perfect.. he’s ihart on steroids

how are you acquiring and him and he's ihart on steroids offensively...it would be a huge downgrade defensively.

[sol537]

I can't see MIL trading Giannis this season. If they do, would they take Randle, Mitch, McBride, and all our remaining picks/swaps? I dunno...

Randle, Mitch, McBride, and some second rounders for KAT and Kessler? I could see MIN taking such a deal if it reduces their tax implications as they'd only take Randle and a trade exception back in place of KAT's fat salary.

I'm not a fan of KAT though. I'm also not the biggest Randle fan either so this seems like a lateral move. The main positive would be that DDV would get to start again and he was great last season.

[mpharris36]

Kessler is 4 years younger so there’s also that, maybe he has slightly more upside

I think Richards is a pretty competent rim protector. Kessler is 4 years younger so has upside going for him

I didn't mean that as a slight. Kessler is younger and is on a rookie scale contract so we will have RFA with him to bring him back when Richards basically jsut has a 2 year $5 per contract and then he's unrestricted...so a little more flexibility also with Kessler.

I was just saying Richards doesn't have much of an offensive game outside of dunks and put backs. Its the same offensive player.

But Richards allowed nearly 63% at the rim vs Kessler at 50% and kessler

Kessler also avgs 3.7 blocks per 36
Richards avgs 1.5 blockes per 36

all the other defensive metrics favor Kessler as well. So its night and day difference in them defensively (maybe the knicks see something where they can improve his defense)....and they probably are pretty equal offensively.

But the difference here is Richards probably is much more reasonable to acquire than Kessler.

So you have to factor in acquisition cost as well.

I guess I’d factor with the numbers Richards started 51 of 67 games(on a terrible team) and Kessler started 22 of 64 games so he was going up against backups more often. Kessler’s advanced stats are better and he’s surely a great shot blocker. Ultimately I agree with you, if the price is the same I’m taking Kessler but it probably isn’t the same

I think thats fair...I think anyone would be crazy to think Richards is better...because ultimately for what we need you take the more impactful defender which Kessler is.

But to your point if Richards is say half the acquisition cost of Kessler or something like that...you have to factor that in as well.

[DaGawd]

sengun would be perfect.. he’s ihart on steroids

how are you acquiring and him and he's ihart on steroids offensively...it would be a huge downgrade defensively.

idk if it’s even financially possible really.. if def be interested in sending randle as a main piece back and us taking a large salary dump back if that’s what it took. i agree about the defense but we have enough perimeter defense to cover imo, rockets defense managed to be pretty solid and i think we have better defensive personnel overall

[Guano]

I'm wagering all the monies right now that If KAT becomes a Knick he gets in a physical confrontation with Josh Hart at some point.

Watch on YouTube

Seems like a good wager. That said, Josh doesn't seem to have a temper.

No, no - I'm wagering TOWNS blow up and tries to fight him. Josh is an unbridled assh*le, especially about picking on/bullying type stuff, by all accounts of those that are close to him, and KAT is both an easy target and sensitive about that kind of stuff.

Donte, Jalen, and Mikal have all said earnestly that they hated Josh when they met him because he was just such an assh*le. Donte even tried to kill him in the weight room at Nova . He's the classic snarky, aggressively disrespectful to be funny, why are you so mad, go ahead and do something about it then, type guy.

I think there's a great chance he's the natural successor to Jimmy's work with KAT. Like, if Jimmy was Pusha, Hart is Kendrick.

This has been the most compelling argument in favor of getting KAnTner.

Most likely the knicks will never win a chip. So if they don't I want them to be highly entertaining. And Josh pushing a teammate to the point of violence is PEAK entertainment.

[robillionaire]

Unironically saying the G word in the trades and transaction thread should be an auto ban

[mpharris36]

I don’t love the idea of Kat but being able to play 5 out is intriguing. I’m also less concerned about Kat matching up with 5 like Embiid or KP and more worried with what happens with our rim protections. Maybe with Mikal and OG on the wings it will be tougher for teams to get to the rim but I doubt it eliminates the threat completely. It also really messes with our depth unless they think Kolek or Rokas is ready to contribute right away.

I’m just not sure why the wolves would do this. We both need to send out matching salary to not get hard capped. So it’s not like this would save them money immediately and losing towns would really hurt their spacing and we don’t have any picks to give them either. Maybe they think they can sign Randle for cheaper than towns and let Mitch expire? Or Randle is a better creator from the perimeter than Kat is? Just having a tough time figuring out their rationale for trade him.

This is also a been a rumor forever and I don’t think CP is making it up. He usually doesn’t pretend to be an insider either. When our front office has interest in someone, pretty much everyone knows. Even the Mikal trade had some reporting that us, Houston, and another team were checking in with Brooklyn.

I guess that is how they see it if KAT is the target. OG and Mikal on the wings to really help dribble pentation. Towns when he first came into the league was an ok rim protector he just hasn't done that much lately because of Gobert.

If they went this route they certainly are trying to mimic what BOS can put out there.

A finishing lineup of

Brunson
DD
Mikal
OG
KAT

I mean offensively that floor is completely spaced for Brunson to do whatever he wants. And you still have 2 elite defenders on the court as well.

[Guano]

This guy is pretty connected.. not sure how I feel about this

Read on Twitter

When the reality of losing deuce sets in the jokes stop, eh


Congrats on your win deeeeeeeeeez.

[stuporman]

Who exactly is going to give Randle a max contract if he goes to FA? I have a hard time figuring out which team is eager to pay him $50mil per year after he's 30 years old. I'm pretty sure even the Knicks don't want to.

Explain to me which team is going to pay him like a number one option in this cap climate and think he is the piece that makes them a title contender? I'll wait...

thats a very fair question. And something I'm sure the front office is wondering...but would you put your future flexibility on the line with that assumption....all it takes is one team.

Paying a +30 year old Randle $300mil/5 years does what exactly to improve future flexibility? Apparently, you want that one team to be the Knicks.

[mpharris36]

its been about a week now since the Mikal deal was agreed to with the other pieces to not hard cap us at the 1st apron. Something is def up whatever it is. Knicks wouldn't be just negotiating for example with Precious for an entire week. That **** would have been locked up by now.

Then you had in these other subtle hints. Also Bertans interest now makes more sense if we do lose a 2 for 1 type thing with Mitch+Randle.

Who knows whats going on but something is...

[KnixinSix]

Gut feeling, the KAT trade happens.

Rosas in.
WWW always here.
Rose always stating he's here to bring in a "star"

Rose, but particularly WWW, will be cementing their legacy when this happens. Obviously the Wolves have to have an interest, but if Rose/WWW pull this off, their reputation for the future, their legacy, will be greatly enhanced.

I think that matters to both of them, especially WWW, who has lost some of his reputational shine.

Let me make it clear, I don't think they do it if it doesn't make basketball sense, and yes, I get the downsides as well as the upsides of the potential move.

But I think Rose and WWW would be working overtime to make this happen.

It buys them, easily, 5 more years of being paid by Dolan. It cements their career legacies. If it brings a championship (up for debate), then all the more so.

I think there is fire with the smoke this time.

Let's look at the dynamics of this kind of rotation:

KAT (15), Richards (28), Sims (5)
OG(25), KAT (17), Hart (6)
Bridges (25), Hart (15), OG(8)
DDV(30), Hart(10), Bridges (8)
Brunson (32), Kolek (16)

1. Offensive 'juggernaught' line-up

KAT
OG
Bridges
DDV
Brunson

-3 ball 1 to 5
-tremendous spacing
-Decent length/wingspan at most positions, not elite but still strong rebounding potential
-Not an elite defensive line-up but OG and Bridges make it still pretty good
-5 guys capable of 20+ scoring nights


2. 'Balanced' line-up

Richards
KAT
OG
Bridges
Brunson

-3 ball 1 to 4
-strong spacing
-Excellent length/wingspan at all positions except maybe the 1, near elite rebounding potential
-Near elite defensive line-up

3. 'Lock-Down' line-up

Richards
OG
Bridges
Hart
Brunson /Kolek

-3 best defenders on floor simultaneously
-ok spacing
-Good length/wingspan at all positions except maybe the 1, near elite rebounding potential
-Lock down defensive line-up, 'protect the lead' at end of games line-up

[mpharris36]

Who exactly is going to give Randle a max contract if he goes to FA? I have a hard time figuring out which team is eager to pay him $50mil per year after he's 30 years old. I'm pretty sure even the Knicks don't want to.

Explain to me which team is going to pay him like a number one option in this cap climate and think he is the piece that makes them a title contender? I'll wait...

thats a very fair question. And something I'm sure the front office is wondering...but would you put your future flexibility on the line with that assumption....all it takes is one team.

Paying a +30 year old Randle $300mil/5 years does what exactly to improve future flexibility? Apparently, you want that one team to be the Knicks.

I don't want to pay Randle that money at all. Do you know me?

I'm just saying if Randle is not going to agree to the extension this summer just assuming no team is going to offer him a big pay day the following year after he opts out would be bad management...you know what they say about assuming.

[spree8]

From the moment we drafted the French kid, I felt we did it because we had some kind of knowledge that another team wanted him and were planning on using him for trade bait. Now, we find out Utah liked him. And we also find out we are interested in Kessler. The FO had to have an idea about iHart for a while, especially since we’ve made deals with OKC a lot, and even this season. We had to have asked.

I’d rather wait a few weeks and trade the kid along with Sims and a pick or two (Washington & Detroit) for Kessler than trade Deuce for Richards. It’s a lot, but it’s the better deal and we maintain our depth.

Jalen / Deuce / Kolek
Mikal / Donte
OG / Hart
Julius / KBD
Mitch / Kessler / Huk

[stuporman]

Who exactly is going to give Randle a max contract if he goes to FA? I have a hard time figuring out which team is eager to pay him $50mil per year after he's 30 years old. I'm pretty sure even the Knicks don't want to. If people wouldn't want to pay KAT that money what makes you think there are teams ready to pay Randle it?

Explain to me which team is going to pay him like a number one option in this cap climate and think he is the piece that makes them a title contender? I'll wait...

Listen if Hartenstein can make 30M a year a 3x potentially 4x all star can make whatever he wants to make. People have been grossly underestimating what our guys would fetch on the open market. People thought nobody would pay 20M for IQ and he got a 5 year 175M deal

The Thunder probably feel like they were a starting center away from a finals appearance and have most of their whole team of young stars on rookie contracts...iHart's contract is guaranteed for 2 years at that amount.

This is different than playing Randle $50mil per for 5 years after he's the age of 30 and expecting him to be the guy who leads a team to the finals.

Which team is doing that? You haven't answered the question, even though you replied as if you know which one will. Do tell.

[jvsimonetti0514]

I’m just not sure why the wolves would do this.

honestly, Randle has been a better player than towns over the past 3-4 seasons. But that may not continue. Randle would be a great fit next to Gobert. I don’t know why they’d want Mitchell Robinson though. Maybe there’d be a 3rd team involved

Good point. Seems like a bad decision by our front office to trade a better player for a more expensive player. Can’t imagine Randle getting a full max from anyone and I wouldn’t be super concerned about him leaving. Especially after him rejoining CAA.