What move is most important/realistic before the deadline?

[Peezo]

Just like the trade deadline last year, the Wolves are sitting with a ton of assets and a ton of rumors floating around. We probably only have one player who is untradeable at this point (love), but we have lots of guys who should have value as young talent, expiring deals, or solid vets who could help a contender. Combine almost our entire roster with 3 firsts rounders and cap space, and we are one of the most attractive trade partners in the league.

So if you had to think of the move you view as the most important thing they can do, and separately, which move you would most like to see, what is it?

I think the most likely move is that we find a way to get AR. Hopefully we won't give up the MEM pick to do it. It will probably be a PG plus a pick, and I'm hoping its UTAH and Telfair, but NY probably wants more.

Move I would most like to see is us rolling the dice on Iggy. He may not be the no. 1 option we need, but we have a chance to be really good in a few years if we add him to this core and keep the main pieces we have (Beas, Love, and the rights to Rubio).

[Esohny]

The most realistic move is that we do nothing, or at least nothing major.

[Vindicater]

I just can't help myself

FIRE RAMBIS

[Ice32]

I dont think Randolph is the answer when we have Love, Darko, Beasley, Tolliver, Pek, Koufos.

I think a pass first Point Guard that can play some defense, is what this team lacks.

[Peezo]

I'm not sure nothing is the most likely move - nor would I call it a move. Last year we at least saw Darko for Cardinal.

Ice - I'm not saying AR is the answer to anything, simply the most attainable asset we've been related to in rumors.

[Ice32]

Yeah thats true. Interesting times ahead, when this Melo thing gets finally done

[Krapinsky]

I dont think Randolph is the answer when we have Love, Darko, Beasley, Tolliver, Pek, Koufos.

I think a pass first Point Guard that can play some defense, is what this team lacks.

We still don't have any big men that can guard people on perimeter. Randolph projects to help there.

We also need another ball hander on the wing.

[shangrila]

Randolph can help the team. I don't know if he will, since he doesn't seem to do much in limited minutes, but the potential is there for something. He could help with guarding the PnRs, which only Darko seems to be able to do. He could switch onto the perimeter, block shots and, with Rambis, should be able to spread the floor with his newly improved jump shot.

I hope they do something big but I kind of doubt it. I get the feeling this capspace has been overrated a little, a lot like Gomes' contract last year. We won't get guys like Iggy without giving up more that that and I don't know if they're willing to.

It also depends on what the goal is. Is it to push for more wins this year? The get guys that can help right away. I already mentioned what Randolph can do, but getting a better or more consistent point guard to backup Ridnour would be a god send. Flynn is just horrible when he's out there and the team can't afford to have that sort of negativeness for 10-15 minutes a game. Bayless would look good in this role.

[moss_is_1]

I dont think Randolph is the answer when we have Love, Darko, Beasley, Tolliver, Pek, Koufos.

I think a pass first Point Guard that can play some defense, is what this team lacks.

We still don't have any big men that can guard people on perimeter. Randolph projects to help there.

We also need another ball hander on the wing.

I think Tolliver has shown some ability to do that. He did pretty well against Durant the time we played them. But I still think we should pursue Randolph. Also a center to compete with Darko, because Koufus is terrible.

[Fire Mchale]

The biggest move we can make IMO is a deal to use our cap space to gain either a player or a pick(s). Failing to take advantage of our financial situation this year is a huge mistake. We're about to have our young players come off of their rookie deals, so we will have no cap space in the very near future. Deal the space for an injured or overpaid player and add a pick or two or use towards acquiring an Iggy type of player. Sitting tight to me is a massive mistake.

[Krapinsky]

The biggest move we can make IMO is a deal to use our cap space to gain either a player or a pick(s). Failing to take advantage of our financial situation this year is a huge mistake. We're about to have our young players come off of their rookie deals, so we will have no cap space in the very near future. Deal the space for an injured or overpaid player and add a pick or two or use towards acquiring an Iggy type of player. Sitting tight to me is a massive mistake.

This doesn't sound like an option. Well do something with the capspace eventually. It's just a matter of time. From the rumors out there it sound slike the Wolves brass has been active. Just looking for the right deal at the moment.

[shrink]

The biggest move we can make IMO is a deal to use our cap space to gain either a player or a pick(s). Failing to take advantage of our financial situation this year is a huge mistake. We're about to have our young players come off of their rookie deals, so we will have no cap space in the very near future. Deal the space for an injured or overpaid player and add a pick or two or use towards acquiring an Iggy type of player. Sitting tight to me is a massive mistake.

I agree completely.

Hopefully, as we near the trade deadline and an owner's last chance to move a multi-year contract before the lock-out, we will see more motivated sellers arise. For many, they may have picked up an injury or simply determined the team isn't good enough to truly compete for a title this year. I appreciate that Mr. Kahn seems to be doing the legwork, and that we won't miss a chance to take advantage of our financial leverage.

If a player doesn't emerge, then I agree with you, grabbing a non-productive player and picks/prospects would be a great way to preserve that trade value, before the cap space dwindles after the deadline.

Who's a gambler? One wild approach would be to grab a bad contract (plus lots of incentive) for taking on a very bad contract. The hope here would be that the new CBA would contain a new Allan Houston exception, which would allow a team to take one contract off the books to improve their financial situation. While an owner would still pay the cash to the pl;ayer for the buyout, that salary would be ignore when determining payroll in relation to the cap, the lux, etc. It's a big gamble, but we have an ace up both sleeves. First, Glen Taylor is the head of the Board of Governors, and he could help the push for it from some other owners. Second, Taylor could afford to pay the salary (buyout), and still field a good team -- other owners don't have that kind of spending money, or a board of directors who'd say "no."

[Fire Mchale]

I agree completely.

Hopefully, as we near the trade deadline and an owner's last chance to move a multi-year contract before the lock-out, we will see more motivated sellers arise. For many, they may have picked up an injury or simply determined the team isn't good enough to truly compete for a title this year. I appreciate that Mr. Kahn seems to be doing the legwork, and that we won't miss a chance to take advantage of our financial leverage.

If a player doesn't emerge, then I agree with you, grabbing a non-productive player and picks/prospects would be a great way to preserve that trade value, before the cap space dwindles after the deadline.

Who's a gambler? One wild approach would be to grab a bad contract (plus lots of incentive) for taking on a very bad contract. The hope here would be that the new CBA would contain a new Allan Houston exception, which would allow a team to take one contract off the books to improve their financial situation. While an owner would still pay the cash to the pl;ayer for the buyout, that salary would be ignore when determining payroll in relation to the cap, the lux, etc. It's a big gamble, but we have an ace up both sleeves. First, Glen Taylor is the head of the Board of Governors, and he could help the push for it from some other owners. Second, Taylor could afford to pay the salary (buyout), and still field a good team -- other owners don't have that kind of spending money, or a board of directors who'd say "no."

I think this is an important fact - both for our interests in Rubio and in potential acquisitions of of heavy contract players. The key point being that something gets done to take advantage of the situation. It's one of those rare moments that we can take advantage of our not spending on FAs last year. I had really hoped that Murphy was on his way here as he's not only a big expiring, but a functional playoff acquisition for other teams. I really wanted to see us pick him, gain a first, play him for a month and deal him again at the deadline for another pick or player. Looks like we struck out on that one, but hopefully there is more to come.

[Twolves98]

I think the are number one option at the trade deadline needs to be Shane Battier. He defends he is a vet and he is what the Timberwolves need in there lineup.

I was think Pek + Memphis 1st + fillers for him maybe take on some of their cap because they are way over.

And Battier is on the last year of his contract so if we want to we can resign him or not but he would be my number 1 target

[revprodeji]

I would love an Iggy/Randolph deadline, but I still think kahn is in over his head and we will not use our assets very well.

[eyeteeth]

Most likely? Nothing. And I think it might be the right thing to do. This team is almost there as it is, and has a good draft choice coming since we keep losing (though we will probably miss Valenciunas by one, with our luck). All speculation aside, keeping our salary as low as possible is a very safe bet.

I like some of the players out there, but to be honest, all of the ones that seem like they might work are vastly overpaid (eg, Iggy).

What we can say about this CBA is that it creates a situation where there is almost no way to build a good team without going over the luxury tax, to say nothing of the salary cap. This is going to change, one way or another. The NBA owners feel like they have to spend this money to be competitive, but then too often fail to discipline their spending at all. They want a situation where there are limits to what a team can spend at all, in the belief that this will force salaries down. I've got a decent amount of economics education, and I'm not sure this works. If there was only one team, it might. All contracts would have to fit under the cap, and the team could give an offer and stick to it. As it is, though, there are other teams, and some of those teams would be able/willing to offer salary closer to a player's true value, which is what it would be in an unrestricted market. Many big name stars would have to accept far less than they are worth or leave for other teams. These other teams would often be worse teams in smaller markets. This dampens overall revenue for the league. Furthermore, it effectively sets a limit on how good a team could get, which seems intuitively unfair to the American fan. This is not an answer.

Teams need to have some way to compete for the services of superstars. Teams should have the right to offer competitive salaries to their current players even if they have overall high payrolls. Also, some team's salaries are vastly over the lux and many are over the salary cap right now. New rules will have to account for all of these things. Unless they do a phased implementation hard cap that only fully phases in after the longest existing contract right now, I don't see how they can even get to a hard cap. Unless, of course, they make it really high, which defeats the purpose.

The other option is a lower luxury tax limit. This might be the most likely. A low lux threshold coupled with high levels of revenue sharing could achieve some more parity in the league (but not too much, like a hard cap does), and dampen large salaries rather than drive them down.

In any case, long story short, I think David Kahn and Glen Taylor are probably looking past this season rather than within it. Making a move to "use our cap space" makes a lot of sense under the current CBA. It might not make sense under the new one. Better to keep your flexibility intact. This is all especially true given that none of the players out there qualify as the "singular move" that Kahn wrote about.

PS, the obvious exception to this is Anthony Randoph, who is paid peanuts. If they can land him without giving up too much, that would be great. We'll see. I think the key block here is Denver. If they trade Melo to the Nets, then the Knicks strategy obviously changes.

Sorry for the extreme post.

[Peezo]

Really solid post eyetooth. I think you raise a good point about considering our capspace as it applies to next years CBA, instead of the current expiring agreement. My thought is that one of those big types of players could potentially become available if another team who was in danger of the luxury tax / not going anywhere this year had a star they would be willing to move for a wow of a deal. This leaves very few players, but I think someone in the Chris Paul mode would fit the bill. Sorry to NO fans as I think there is no real chance this happens, but I'm just trying to give an example. If they were operating under the same idea of the "new CBA" as you say Kahn probably is (and I think you are probably right) then I would have to think a team being run by the NBA right now would have the same mentality and eye for the future. So my hope is that we are not necessarily standing pat with our space.

[Peezo]

I would love an Iggy/Randolph deadline, but I still think kahn is in over his head and we will not use our assets very well.

How is Kahn in over his head? I'm not necessarily disagreeing, more curious than anything else.

I think he has shown himself to be pretty apt so far with dealing with the different GM situations. However he(or our FO in general) might not have a good eye for drafting the right people

[Krapinsky]

I think the are number one option at the trade deadline needs to be Shane Battier. He defends he is a vet and he is what the Timberwolves need in there lineup.

I was think Pek + Memphis 1st + fillers for him maybe take on some of their cap because they are way over.

And Battier is on the last year of his contract so if we want to we can resign him or not but he would be my number 1 target

So you play Battier over Johnson, Webster, or Beasley?

[shrink]

Really solid post eyetooth. I think you raise a good point about considering our capspace as it applies to next years CBA, instead of the current expiring agreement. My thought is that one of those big types of players could potentially become available if another team who was in danger of the luxury tax / not going anywhere this year had a star they would be willing to move for a wow of a deal. This leaves very few players, but I think someone in the Chris Paul mode would fit the bill. Sorry to NO fans as I think there is no real chance this happens, but I'm just trying to give an example. If they were operating under the same idea of the "new CBA" as you say Kahn probably is (and I think you are probably right) then I would have to think a team being run by the NBA right now would have the same mentality and eye for the future. So my hope is that we are not necessarily standing pat with our space.

Good posts you too. I'm glad that we have the flexibility to take advantage of an opportunity if it arises, but you're right - it could turn out that the best play is no play.

Several teams last summer spent money unwisely. Perhaps they felt they had the cap space, and they'd rather show their fans a bad move (most fans don't care about money) that helps the team, even a little, rather than no move at all.

As we suffer through these close losses, I understand that feeling as a fan too. However, a few more wins this season isn't going to help our team longterm. We need to resist the urge to look for an expensive quick-fix that's only going to get us to the middle of the pack, and make solid transactions which will help usfor a long time.