***The 2020 NBA Off-Season Thread***

[KGdaBom]

Wonder if Lakers interested in Kuzma for #17 plus a 2nd rder?

I doubt it, but we could offer it.

[Dewey]

I think the Warriors will smoke everyone in the playoffs next year. Curious to see what Miami does to try and get over the hump, I feel like the east should be a lot more competitive next season but who knows. Still surprising the Bucks, Sixers, Celtics, and Raptors got beat out by Miami to the finals.

I have a very hard time following you in faith in the Warriors. They don't have Durant any more and they are old and coming off injuries to their 3 Prime Time Players. If they get somebody good by trading the #2 pick they can compete in the west. I can see them anywhere from a 2-5 seed. I think the team that shall not be named is still superior.

Wiggins will cary them

[jpatrick]

Do we have a new asst coach?

Read on Twitter

[Neeva]

Wonder if Lakers interested in Kuzma for #17 plus a 2nd rder?

Kuzma kind of sucks.

[minimus]

Wonder if Lakers interested in Kuzma for #17 plus a 2nd rder?

Kuzma kind of sucks.

IMO he is overrated. I rather keep our #17 and #33

[shangrila]

Do we have a new asst coach?

Read on Twitter

Apparently.

He was the head coach of the Rockets G League team a few seasons ago before moving to Philly under Brown. I think he won the G League championship, or had a great record at least. So it's likely a good hire.

[minimus]

Players who likely be traded:

* - Russell Westbrook
* - CP3
* - Oladipo
* - Jrue Holiday
* - Aaron Gordon
* - Andrew Wiggins
* - Buddy Hield
* - Eric Bledsoe
* - PG13

Teams in win-now mode:
* - MIL
* - HOU
* - LAL
* - LAC
* - MIA
* - GSW
* - UTA

Teams which have cap space:
* - NYK
* - ATL
* - DET
* - MIA
* - CHA

After NBA calculates salary-cap and luxury-tax thresholds it might trigger multiple trades, where teams will try to absorb some big contracts in order to get additional assets. A few teams will try to keep financial flexibility in order to get Giannis in 2021.

I expect MIN to be a headliner this offseason, and I can't even imagine how our roster will look by the start of the new season. But I think such a unique, messy situation might be beneficial for us, when decision making and diligent work will be main factors.

[Jedzz]

Warriors will now want to send Wiggins back.

[IceManBK1]

damn i feel enticed to trade our #1 pick for Jrue Holiday and maybe Josh Hart plus #13..he's an excellent 2 way player. Just that he doesn't really fit our timeline. But he's considered a win now player. Now if we can trade for Aaron Gordon on a separate trade, i'd pull the trigger. use the MLE on Joe Harris or Jae Crowder, cuz i doubt jerami grant would take the MLE lol. Sign defensive studs with Vet Mins..Nerlens Noel, David Nwaba..trade for guys like bismack biyombo and chris dunn. maybe make a trade with knicks if they wanna trade down for the #13 we get from the Pelicans

Dlo/nwaba(assuming he's healthy from that torn acl)
Holiday/Josh Hart
Joe Harris, Jae Crowder/#13 pick(assuming we get it from the Pelicans)
Aaron Gordon/Huancho
Towns/Noel

That's an excellent defensive team...i defly see us making the playoffs with that balanced lineup.

[IceManBK1]

Warriors will now want to send Wiggins back.

sure..i'll take wiggins+2 for our #1 plus JJ and anyone else besides dlo and towns to match salaries.

[Jedzz]

Warriors will now want to send Wiggins back.

sure..i'll take wiggins+2 for our #1 plus JJ and anyone else besides dlo and towns to match salaries.

wut?

[IceManBK1]

Warriors will now want to send Wiggins back.

sure..i'll take wiggins+2 for our #1 plus JJ and anyone else besides dlo and towns to match salaries.

wut?

j/k we would have a trio of dlo, towns, wiggins and would have to fill out the roster with cheap d-league players lol.

[Jedzz]

sure..i'll take wiggins+2 for our #1 plus JJ and anyone else besides dlo and towns to match salaries.

wut?

j/k we would have a trio of dlo, towns, wiggins and would have to fill out the roster with cheap d-league players lol.

Careful what you dream up and let the universe in on. Sometimes it...

[UnFadeable21]

The Athletic NBA Power Rankings

27. Minnesota Timberwolves (Previously 23rd)

Offseason priority: Find the 3-and-D guys to help their stars shine. They kept Karl-Anthony Towns and they brought in D’Angelo Russell to be his running mate. We barely saw any of that on the court before the shutdown, but the Wolves remain pretty high on the concept. Assuming they draft Anthony Edwards with the first pick instead of moving it, the Wolves still have to find some real defenders. They can’t just marry themselves to all offense. Is re-signing Malik Beasley going to solve that? Can Jarrett Culver develop into that? The Wolves need like three Robert Covingtons to feel comfortable and they don’t have any.

Why did they end up at this ranking? They’re the Timberwolves. How often are they not deserving of a spot this low? Until Towns and Russell prove they know how to win together, it doesn’t make sense to assume it’ll get fixed. The Wolves have zero benefit of the doubt built up.

[Rookie-Mistake]

The Athletic NBA Power Rankings

27. Minnesota Timberwolves (Previously 23rd)

Offseason priority: Find the 3-and-D guys to help their stars shine. They kept Karl-Anthony Towns and they brought in D’Angelo Russell to be his running mate. We barely saw any of that on the court before the shutdown, but the Wolves remain pretty high on the concept. Assuming they draft Anthony Edwards with the first pick instead of moving it, the Wolves still have to find some real defenders. They can’t just marry themselves to all offense. Is re-signing Malik Beasley going to solve that? Can Jarrett Culver develop into that? The Wolves need like three Robert Covingtons to feel comfortable and they don’t have any.

Why did they end up at this ranking? They’re the Timberwolves. How often are they not deserving of a spot this low? Until Towns and Russell prove they know how to win together, it doesn’t make sense to assume it’ll get fixed. The Wolves have zero benefit of the doubt built up.

What is with this obsession with the nba community that Edwards is the consensus pick.. its like they all got together and decided its the case. I expect better from the Athletic as I rate Sam Vecenies detailed write ups but heck this is lazy.

We really need to pay someone like Davis Bertans.

[shangrila]

The Athletic NBA Power Rankings

27. Minnesota Timberwolves (Previously 23rd)

Offseason priority: Find the 3-and-D guys to help their stars shine. They kept Karl-Anthony Towns and they brought in D’Angelo Russell to be his running mate. We barely saw any of that on the court before the shutdown, but the Wolves remain pretty high on the concept. Assuming they draft Anthony Edwards with the first pick instead of moving it, the Wolves still have to find some real defenders. They can’t just marry themselves to all offense. Is re-signing Malik Beasley going to solve that? Can Jarrett Culver develop into that? The Wolves need like three Robert Covingtons to feel comfortable and they don’t have any.

Why did they end up at this ranking? They’re the Timberwolves. How often are they not deserving of a spot this low? Until Towns and Russell prove they know how to win together, it doesn’t make sense to assume it’ll get fixed. The Wolves have zero benefit of the doubt built up.

What is with this obsession with the nba community that Edwards is the consensus pick.. its like they all got together and decided its the case. I expect better from the Athletic as I rate Sam Vecenies detailed write ups but heck this is lazy.

We really need to pay someone like Davis Bertans.

It does make sense from a fit perspective.

[minimus]

Haberstroh: Bulls might trade up to No. 1 or 2 in draft

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/nba-draft-2020-haberstroh-expects-bulls-pursue-trading-no-1-or-2

[minimus]

Read on Twitter

Wood for full MLE, Malik Beasley for 52mil/4yrs, Juancho for 12mil/3yrs. JMac for 9mil/3yrs. Perfect FA offseason.

[UnFadeable21]

Haberstroh: Bulls might trade up to No. 1 or 2 in draft

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/nba-draft-2020-haberstroh-expects-bulls-pursue-trading-no-1-or-2

Which direction will they go? There should be options to address the team’s playmaking deficiencies and lack of wing depth at No. 4. Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley have both also displayed a penchant for draft-day trades at past NBA stops. All options are seemingly on the table.

Speaking on the latest Bulls Talk Podcast with K.C. Johnson, Tom Haberstroh said he’s expecting Karnišovas to pursue a move up in his first draft as executive vice president of basketball operations.

“I think [Karnišovas] might move up, because I think No. 1 with Minnesota and No. 2 (with Golden State) is going to be readily available,” Haberstroh said. “I would be surprised if you didn’t see Charlotte (at No. 3) or Chicago move up in the draft.”

Reports have swirled for months that the Warriors are interested in flipping their No. 2 overall selection for a win-now piece — with a healthy Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and solid supplemental pieces in tow, their championship window remains open. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor said in his latest mock draft that “executives around the NBA say the Timberwolves prefer to trade down or out of this pick to bring in a win-now player…”

For now, there is a leaguewide moratorium on transactions while the NBA and NBPA hammer out modifications to the CBA in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic-affected 2019-20 season. But come draft night, Haberstroh thinks the floodgates could open.

“I also just think people are going to be more trigger-happy, make some deals because they’ve been so far away, so far removed from real NBA stuff that I do think there’s going to be a circus on draft night with the No. 1 pick,” he said on the podcast. “Top five I just think it’s just going to be all hands on deck.”

The Bulls find themselves squarely in that mix. A move up would be a risk, but if made by Karnišovas, you can bet it’ll be a calculated one. It could just be a matter of the price — and if there’s a prospect near the top that catches his eye.

“What is Chicago willing to give up to move up in the draft? If they have a guy that they really want and they don’t want to risk losing that player at No. 4? I don’t know what they’re willing to give up,” Haberstroh said. “But I do think that it wouldn’t be out of the realm, I wouldn’t be surprised if Artūras made a big splash on draft night and got a player that he really, really covets and values.

Via NBCSports: Chicago Bulls want the No. 1 Pick & Minnesota Twolves want to trade down. '

Who says no?

Bulls get Lamelo Ball, James Johnson, Jacob Evans, Omari Spellman = Expiring $20 million cap.

Chicago Bulls get No. 1 NBA Overall Pick & $60 million cap space total for 2021 big free agency class. Sign two max contract free agents

Timberwolves get No. 4 & Zach Lavine. Wolves draft Onyeka Okongwu.

New Squad

DLo
Zach Lavine
Jarrett Culver
Onyeka Okongwu
KAT

Jmac
Beasley
Okogie
Layman
Naz

Pick 17 & 33

[Neeva]

If Bulls trade Lavine they will target Edwards IMO. i definitely see Edwards doing well on the Bulls.