Just brilliant team building

[KGdaBom]

Thibs tried to do the same thing for KAT with Jimmy Butler and it backfired spectacularly and cost us Zach Lavine and Lauri Markaanen.
It was the impatience and poor judgement that killed us. It was always going to take 3-4 years to build around KAT.

It wasn't the trade for Jimmy itself that killed things. It was Thibs' self-sabotage, refusing to accept Jimmy's trade request to a point where Jimmy decided to go nuclear like a petulant child.

That would not happen with the current regime, because Connelly places value on character above almost anything else.

There's no excuse for Jimmy's behavior. He was a POS simple as that. No team is obligated to trade a player.

[Klomp]

Thibs tried to do the same thing for KAT with Jimmy Butler and it backfired spectacularly and cost us Zach Lavine and Lauri Markaanen.
It was the impatience and poor judgement that killed us. It was always going to take 3-4 years to build around KAT.

It wasn't the trade for Jimmy itself that killed things. It was Thibs' self-sabotage, refusing to accept Jimmy's trade request to a point where Jimmy decided to go nuclear like a petulant child.

That would not happen with the current regime, because Connelly places value on character above almost anything else.

There's no excuse for Jimmy's behavior. He was a POS simple as that. No team is obligated to trade a player.

I didn't say he was obligated to, but I believe refusing to do so initially completely tanked a potential trade return.

He was a massive reason we broke the decade-plus playoff drought. If Thibs obliged in the offseason, the return would have been much better and we would all look back at that era much differently.

[Klomp]

Call me crazy, but just like happened two years ago, I think our continuity is going to give us a leg up on the rest of the West early in the season. So far already, I think us and the Thunder are the only teams to not make significant rotation changes.

[Loaf_of_bread]

I unfortunately maybe have biased confidence that rob will break out, and Mike will play out of his mind in one last championship run.. pg is troubling, but

Almost feel center is as big of a problem. Rudy will slowly decline (even though he is still fantastic, and undervalued by too many people).

Have my eye on Looney being a nice fit for us. Good rebounder, and keeps naz/randle away from c.

Also, while Rudy has been durable, we would be in trouble if he went down.

Is he an option?

[BlacJacMac]

I unfortunately maybe have biased confidence that rob will break out, and Mike will play out of his mind in one last championship run.. pg is troubling, but

Almost feel center is as big of a problem. Rudy will slowly decline (even though he is still fantastic, and undervalued by too many people).

Have my eye on Looney being a nice fit for us. Good rebounder, and keeps naz/randle away from c.

Also, while Rudy has been durable, we would be in trouble if he went down.

Is he an option?

Shams: Free agent center Kevon Looney has agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, sources tell ESPN.

[jpatrick]

I unfortunately maybe have biased confidence that rob will break out, and Mike will play out of his mind in one last championship run.. pg is troubling, but

Almost feel center is as big of a problem. Rudy will slowly decline (even though he is still fantastic, and undervalued by too many people).

Have my eye on Looney being a nice fit for us. Good rebounder, and keeps naz/randle away from c.

Also, while Rudy has been durable, we would be in trouble if he went down.

Is he an option?

Shams: Free agent center Kevon Looney has agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, sources tell ESPN.

These non-Timberwolf deals all coming in lower than I thought today.

And what are the Pelicans doing? They trying to get as many non-shooting bigs as possible: Zion, Missi, Looney, Queen to go with a non-shooting PG (Fears).

[Loaf_of_bread]

I unfortunately maybe have biased confidence that rob will break out, and Mike will play out of his mind in one last championship run.. pg is troubling, but

Almost feel center is as big of a problem. Rudy will slowly decline (even though he is still fantastic, and undervalued by too many people).

Have my eye on Looney being a nice fit for us. Good rebounder, and keeps naz/randle away from c.

Also, while Rudy has been durable, we would be in trouble if he went down.

Is he an option?

Shams: Free agent center Kevon Looney has agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, sources tell ESPN.

Lol, guess not

[Note30]

Call me crazy, but just like happened two years ago, I think our continuity is going to give us a leg up on the rest of the West early in the season. So far already, I think us and the Thunder are the only teams to not make significant rotation changes.

This off-season?

[KGdaBom]

It wasn't the trade for Jimmy itself that killed things. It was Thibs' self-sabotage, refusing to accept Jimmy's trade request to a point where Jimmy decided to go nuclear like a petulant child.

That would not happen with the current regime, because Connelly places value on character above almost anything else.

There's no excuse for Jimmy's behavior. He was a POS simple as that. No team is obligated to trade a player.

I didn't say he was obligated to, but I believe refusing to do so initially completely tanked a potential trade return.

He was a massive reason we broke the decade-plus playoff drought. If Thibs obliged in the offseason, the return would have been much better and we would all look back at that era much differently.

I think Saric and RoCo was the best offer we ever got for Jimmy. Thibs being stubborn got us the best possible return.

[Klomp]

Call me crazy, but just like happened two years ago, I think our continuity is going to give us a leg up on the rest of the West early in the season. So far already, I think us and the Thunder are the only teams to not make significant rotation changes.

This off-season?

Yes. Other than losing NAW (a decision which he made, not the Wolves), everyone else is back.

[Klomp]

I think Saric and RoCo was the best offer we ever got for Jimmy. Thibs being stubborn got us the best possible return.

In November, sure. I guarantee you there would have been a better offer in June/July.

[TimberKat]

There's no excuse for Jimmy's behavior. He was a POS simple as that. No team is obligated to trade a player.

I didn't say he was obligated to, but I believe refusing to do so initially completely tanked a potential trade return.

He was a massive reason we broke the decade-plus playoff drought. If Thibs obliged in the offseason, the return would have been much better and we would all look back at that era much differently.

I think Saric and RoCo was the best offer we ever got for Jimmy. Thibs being stubborn got us the best possible return.

What if it was Wiggins+Dunn for Butler and we kept the Markkanen pick. Butler gets his Max, LaVine was below max (or we have another year to deal with it)? Could we had a good 5 year run. Start rebuild with Cooper Flagg this year?

[KGdaBom]

I didn't say he was obligated to, but I believe refusing to do so initially completely tanked a potential trade return.

He was a massive reason we broke the decade-plus playoff drought. If Thibs obliged in the offseason, the return would have been much better and we would all look back at that era much differently.

I think Saric and RoCo was the best offer we ever got for Jimmy. Thibs being stubborn got us the best possible return.

What if it was Wiggins+Dunn for Butler and we kept the Markkanen pick. Butler gets his Max, LaVine was below max (or we have another year to deal with it)? Could we had a good 5 year run. Start rebuild with Cooper Flagg this year?

Yep. We should have traded Wiggins for Butler and kept the pick. Then we could have extended Butler and everything would have changed.

[KGdaBom]

I think Saric and RoCo was the best offer we ever got for Jimmy. Thibs being stubborn got us the best possible return.

In November, sure. I guarantee you there would have been a better offer in June/July.

I really liked RoCo and Saric. At the time RoCo was close to the best defender in the league and Saric looked like a star in the making.

[younggunsmn]

I didn't say he was obligated to, but I believe refusing to do so initially completely tanked a potential trade return.

He was a massive reason we broke the decade-plus playoff drought. If Thibs obliged in the offseason, the return would have been much better and we would all look back at that era much differently.

I think Saric and RoCo was the best offer we ever got for Jimmy. Thibs being stubborn got us the best possible return.

What if it was Wiggins+Dunn for Butler and we kept the Markkanen pick. Butler gets his Max, LaVine was below max (or we have another year to deal with it)? Could we had a good 5 year run. Start rebuild with Cooper Flagg this year?

We could not give Butler the max extension he wanted that summer under the previous cap rules, since he was only making like 20 million.
We would have had to get under the cap to do it and that was basically impossible.

That trade was doomed the moment we made it, regardless of what players we sent out.

[minimus]

I just realized that with the Ingles signing, MIN has effectively paired every rookie with a mentor:
- Conley – Dillingham
- Gobert – Beringer
- Ingles – Rocco

It’s clear the organization has fully embraced internal development, which obviously carries risks. But credit where it’s due: our front office is trying to minimize those risks and maximize the upside by intentionally providing mentorship and coaching. I also really hope our locker room stays toxic-free but highly competitive. The Minott situation is actually a pretty clear sign that the FO doesn’t want players on the bench who are more focused on about minutes. Minott is understandably worried about his NBA future — that’s fair! But in theory, that mindset can turn toxic if it festers. TC’s decision here seems to be about creating the right environment and replacing Minott with Ingles to support that goal.

[winforlose]

I just realized that with the Ingles signing, MIN has effectively paired every rookie with a mentor:
- Conley – Dillingham
- Gobert – Beringer
- Ingles – Rocco

It’s clear the organization has fully embraced internal development, which obviously carries risks. But credit where it’s due: our front office is trying to minimize those risks and maximize the upside by intentionally providing mentorship and coaching. I also really hope our locker room stays toxic-free but highly competitive. The Minott situation is actually a pretty clear sign that the FO doesn’t want players on the bench who are more focused on about minutes. Minott is understandably worried about his NBA future — that’s fair! But in theory, that mindset can turn toxic if it festers. TC’s decision here seems to be about creating the right environment and replacing Minott with Ingles to support that goal.

You know I totally forgot about the Rocco and Jingles connection. Maybe it was a package deal. Rocco would come here in exchange for us giving his buddy a great view from the bench and minimum to go with it.

[KGdaBom]

I just realized that with the Ingles signing, MIN has effectively paired every rookie with a mentor:
- Conley – Dillingham
- Gobert – Beringer
- Ingles – Rocco

It’s clear the organization has fully embraced internal development, which obviously carries risks. But credit where it’s due: our front office is trying to minimize those risks and maximize the upside by intentionally providing mentorship and coaching. I also really hope our locker room stays toxic-free but highly competitive. The Minott situation is actually a pretty clear sign that the FO doesn’t want players on the bench who are more focused on about minutes. Minott is understandably worried about his NBA future — that’s fair! But in theory, that mindset can turn toxic if it festers. TC’s decision here seems to be about creating the right environment and replacing Minott with Ingles to support that goal.

You know I totally forgot about the Rocco and Jingles connection. Maybe it was a package deal. Rocco would come here in exchange for us giving his buddy a great view from the bench and minimum to go with it.

How are Rocco and Jingles buddies?

[winforlose]

I just realized that with the Ingles signing, MIN has effectively paired every rookie with a mentor:
- Conley – Dillingham
- Gobert – Beringer
- Ingles – Rocco

It’s clear the organization has fully embraced internal development, which obviously carries risks. But credit where it’s due: our front office is trying to minimize those risks and maximize the upside by intentionally providing mentorship and coaching. I also really hope our locker room stays toxic-free but highly competitive. The Minott situation is actually a pretty clear sign that the FO doesn’t want players on the bench who are more focused on about minutes. Minott is understandably worried about his NBA future — that’s fair! But in theory, that mindset can turn toxic if it festers. TC’s decision here seems to be about creating the right environment and replacing Minott with Ingles to support that goal.

You know I totally forgot about the Rocco and Jingles connection. Maybe it was a package deal. Rocco would come here in exchange for us giving his buddy a great view from the bench and minimum to go with it.

How are Rocco and Jingles buddies?

I thought someone pointed out on drafted night (no idea who,) that both are Australian, and like Rudy mentored Wemby, Jingles had a connection to Rocco.

[KGdaBom]

You know I totally forgot about the Rocco and Jingles connection. Maybe it was a package deal. Rocco would come here in exchange for us giving his buddy a great view from the bench and minimum to go with it.

How are Rocco and Jingles buddies?

I thought someone pointed out on drafted night (no idea who,) that both are Australian, and like Rudy mentored Wemby, Jingles had a connection to Rocco.

Both Being Aussies might make them predisposed to get along. I need more to go on to call them buddies.