Northwest Exchange (MIN-UTA-DEN)

[Colbinii]

He's cheap for 1 more year before getting a new contract. He might be the eventual gobert replacement too. I think thats pretty good compared to nothing (after naw walks)

I'm not sure NAW walks though. How much more is he going to get than what Minnesota can offer on the open market?

I think he will get MLE money on the market and more importantly for him, a bigger role, possibly starting. He is locked as the 8th man right now in minny

I think NAW could be starting this year for Minnesota if Conley continues to show his age.

I'm going to put this out there--I think NAW is currently a low-end starting caliber guard who is excellent defensively, reliably shoots the 3 and is the epitome of a "3+D Guard". He is what people thought Davion Mitchell would be. He has decent size, he plays within himself offensively [in an albeit limited role] and when he shoots, you expect it to go in as long as it's a semi-open 3.

NAW's value to a team trying to win is unquestioned. He would play on the playoff rotation of 29 other teams if they made the playoffs--without removing a player from the rotation.

Kessler's value comes as a limited offensive player but is oozing with defensive potential and is already a positive impact player as a low-usage center who can move well enough and deter shots around the rim. Minnesota is also in clear need of another big as Naz has very much become a big who is a '4' [for whatever that means in the modern NBA] and sacrifices defense and rebounding in exchange for cutting and shooting. Minnesota also has Josh Minott awaiting in the wings--who on paper is a perfect fit next to Naz in the front-court, with his realized version being something you can very much relate to--Chris Boucher with instincts.

Now I am in the camp that Minnesota needs back-court depth over front-court depth. I am also in the camp that NAW is simply better and more interchangeable than Kessler. NAW has a skill-set that is 100% co-existent. He fits with literally 100% of the NBA. Notably, he is a perfect pseudo Point Guard next to Julius Randle with his defense and shooting complimenting Randle's playmaking arsenal. A Center like Kessler--a non-game changer with a limited offensive game--simply isn't as valuable to me when I assess championship caliber teams, roster construction and line-ups. I simply don't value lower-tier, starting caliber Centers, because I see them as acquirable at a low cost and easily replaceable.

I don't consider elite POA defenders with decent size and respectable shooters [we aren't talking about Davion Mitchell here on either account of size or shooting] as easily irreplaceable.

That's where the "agree to disagree" line lies for me in regards to Kessler and NAW.

[Godaddycurse]

I'm not sure NAW walks though. How much more is he going to get than what Minnesota can offer on the open market?

I think he will get MLE money on the market and more importantly for him, a bigger role, possibly starting. He is locked as the 8th man right now in minny

I think NAW could be starting this year for Minnesota if Conley continues to show his age.

I'm going to put this out there--I think NAW is currently a low-end starting caliber guard who is excellent defensively, reliably shoots the 3 and is the epitome of a "3+D Guard". He is what people thought Davion Mitchell would be. He has decent size, he plays within himself offensively [in an albeit limited role] and when he shoots, you expect it to go in as long as it's a semi-open 3.

NAW's value to a team trying to win is unquestioned. He would play on the playoff rotation of 29 other teams if they made the playoffs--without removing a player from the rotation.

Kessler's value comes as a limited offensive player but is oozing with defensive potential and is already a positive impact player as a low-usage center who can move well enough and deter shots around the rim. Minnesota is also in clear need of another big as Naz has very much become a big who is a '4' [for whatever that means in the modern NBA] and sacrifices defense and rebounding in exchange for cutting and shooting. Minnesota also has Josh Minott awaiting in the wings--who on paper is a perfect fit next to Naz in the front-court, with his realized version being something you can very much relate to--Chris Boucher with instincts.

Now I am in the camp that Minnesota needs back-court depth over front-court depth. I am also in the camp that NAW is simply better and more interchangeable than Kessler. NAW has a skill-set that is 100% co-existent. He fits with literally 100% of the NBA. Notably, he is a perfect pseudo Point Guard next to Julius Randle with his defense and shooting complimenting Randle's playmaking arsenal. A Center like Kessler--a non-game changer with a limited offensive game--simply isn't as valuable to me when I assess championship caliber teams, roster construction and line-ups. I simply don't value lower-tier, starting caliber Centers, because I see them as acquirable at a low cost and easily replaceable.

I don't consider elite POA defenders with decent size and respectable shooters [we aren't talking about Davion Mitchell here on either account of size or shooting] as easily irreplaceable.

That's where the "agree to disagree" line lies for me in regards to Kessler and NAW.

i agree with everything you said, which is why i expect NAW to price himself out of Minny unless he is promised a starting spot (not likely to happen given the chemistry between gobert and conley + investment into dillingham).

[Klomp]

RE your thoughts on balancing: Minnesota needs to at least include a first to turn NAW into Kessler. I like NAW, he is a nice bench player, but he is a UFA and nothing more than a 7th-9th man. Kessler is a solid starter or elite backup already (at 23) still on a rookie deal.

Holmes really does nothing for me. He is only a year younger than Kessler, a much less valuable archetype, and has not shown anything in the NBA. He's also injured and we don't know what he will look like once he recovers. Holmes and a first wouldn't be terrible, but isn't exciting.

NAW is a 15-20 minute guy for a playoff team.

Those guys are worth 3-4 2nds, no?

What's Kessler worth? I doubt anyone gives more than a late 1st for him.

We've had this discussion before. I think he's worth two late firsts or a late lotto/mid first pretty easily given his age, contract, and productivity. So, IMO, significantly different from NAW's value.

Well Holmes is one 1st already. I think I'd be more willing than others to include a 1st in the trade. It's certainly not a dealbreaker for me, anyways.

[wemby]

In his rookie season (3rd in ROY) Kessler was a top-10 impact center by several metrics. His sophomore season wasn't great, top-25 to -35 depending on the metric. Which player is he? Likely somewhere in between

He's clearly worse than Jokic, Embiid, Wemby, Anthony Davis, Bam, Chet, Gobert, Sabonis, KAT, Myles Turner, Sengun, Porzingis, JJJ, Lively, Claxton, Jarrett Allen, Zubac, Draymond,
He isn't clearly better than Brook Lopez, Poeltl, Hartenstein, Wendell Carter Jr, etc.
Maybe a bit better than Okongwu, Mark Williams (mainly due to injuries), Gafford, etc.
All in all, low end starter. Those don't break the bank.

[shrink]

Denver with Jokic is a dangerous team, and the Nuggets could clearly use a point-of-attack defender like NAW to replace previous elite rosters with Brown and KCP. I love the fit so much that I think the Nuggets would pay the most for NAW, but if MIN’s goal is also to win a ring this year, that’s one team I would worry about fixing their biggest hole.

[Cappy_Smurf]

A lot of people swore up and down that Utah absolutely must trade Lauri in order to tank properly. So far, that looks like a lot of hooey.

Utah doesn't want to be rebuilding for 6-10 years. They want to keep players like Lauri and Kessler so that the rebuild can be as short as possible when they do find a player to build around.

Like Skyhook said, Kessler could probably be had for the right price, but Utah is more than happy to hold on to him for what some people consider fair value. You keep your fair value and Utah will keep Kessler.

[eminence]

Don't see it for Utah without another notable piece/pick. Holmes was pick 22 in a universally panned draft who immediately tore his achilles. I doubt he has 1st round value at this point, I certainly wouldn't deal either the CLE or MIN picks this year for him which are likely to be quite late.

[babyjax13]

In his rookie season (3rd in ROY) Kessler was a top-10 impact center by several metrics. His sophomore season wasn't great, top-25 to -35 depending on the metric. Which player is he? Likely somewhere in between

He's clearly worse than Jokic, Embiid, Wemby, Anthony Davis, Bam, Chet, Gobert, Sabonis, KAT, Myles Turner, Sengun, Porzingis, JJJ, Lively, Claxton, Jarrett Allen, Zubac, Draymond,
He isn't clearly better than Brook Lopez, Poeltl, Hartenstein, Wendell Carter Jr, etc.
Maybe a bit better than Okongwu, Mark Williams (mainly due to injuries), Gafford, etc.
All in all, low end starter. Those don't break the bank.

Claxton is so overrated, IMO. I'd move he and Draymond to "isn't clearly better than". But yah, 20-30 is where he lives, but he is young with some good flashes. I get teams might not want to allocate assets to center, but if you want a defensive anchor who is cheap, he's kind of the only option that might reasonably be available (and healthy)...

[schaffy]

Don't see it for Utah without another notable piece/pick. Holmes was pick 22 in a universally panned draft who immediately tore his achilles. I doubt he has 1st round value at this point, I certainly wouldn't deal either the CLE or MIN picks this year for him which are likely to be quite late.

It's fine to say the injury dings his value. But the draft part - it was the top of the draft that people thought poorly of as far as their being superstar talent. The depth of the draft was not thought of that same way.

Also, Kessler was the 22 pick in his draft as well...

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