Trade Talk (Part Ten): 2022 Offseason Edition

[minimus]

I’ve been giving more thought to Taurean Prince’s next contract, and I think we might give him a big 1-year contract.

The Timberwolves are in a similar situation to the Hawks a couple years back. Our total salaries only come up to the salary cap, well below the lux, and a team payroll of $121 mil would have less talent than one closer to $147. We are not a free agent destination, so even the MLE (which I expect we will try to use on a big) might not bring much talent. When ATL was in this position, they decided to give Gallinari a big, one year contract (actually two - the second season was partially guaranteed). They had the money, they could reward him for his service and keep him there, and they maintained a salary-matching piece for a future trade.

And while it might sound crazy, I could see MIN overpaying their ninth man a big number, even up to $15 mil. This lets them maintain his talent and offcourt leadership on the young Wolves, while giving him incentive to refuse a multi-year deal elsewhere. Since they have his Early Bird rights, they don’t have to use their exceptions, and a big expiring keeps them under the lux now, but gives them flexibility down the road.

It makes sense, since top comboforwards FAs are Ingles, TJ Warren, Kyle Anderson, RoCo, Thad Young and Prince. And Prince looks better than other.

However, I see this problem of improving our roster as a triangle of needs:

*-------------------* PoA defender*
*------------------*/*---------------*\*
versatile big wing <-------------> mobile versatile big

It means that at least two players of this triangle should be on the floor. In our starting five:

*---------* Beverly*
*--------*/*--------* \*
Vando <-------------> KAT

In our bench unit:

*------* McLaughlin*
*-----* /*---------* \*
MCD <-------------> Reid

I am really impressed with McLaughlin AST:TO ratio and pesky defense which produces steals, but he is a bit undersized and does not impact as help defender. It means that if we want to improve our bench we should either find a replacement for McLaughlin or Reid. McLaughlin has team-friendly contract, so Reid is more likely candidate. But if Gupta is able to sign Reid to team friendly extension, then I would try to find an upgrade at wings and replace Prince with bigger, more defensive minded player. If Gupta cannot keep Reid, I'd invest in defensive minded big. Such as Mitchell Robinson. Other candidates are Tony Bradley, Hartenstein, Bismack Biyombo, Damian Jones.

IMO Prince extension depends on other things such as Reid extension, MCD, Beasley progress etc. If MCD can consistently score it would leave less room for Prince in offense but makes more room for defensinve minded big or comboforward.

P.S. I also think that Prince production lately should be viewed as expected production against injury depleted team (same is true for Reid, McLaughlin, Nowell) + it is contract year for Prince, Reid and Nowell.

[old school 34]

I’ve been giving more thought to Taurean Prince’s next contract, and I think we might give him a big 1-year contract.

The Timberwolves are in a similar situation to the Hawks a couple years back. Our total salaries only come up to the salary cap, well below the lux, and a team payroll of $121 mil would have less talent than one closer to $147. We are not a free agent destination, so even the MLE (which I expect we will try to use on a big) might not bring much talent. When ATL was in this position, they decided to give Gallinari a big, one year contract (actually two - the second season was partially guaranteed). They had the money, they could reward him for his service and keep him there, and they maintained a salary-matching piece for a future trade.

And while it might sound crazy, I could see MIN overpaying their ninth man a big number, even up to $15 mil. This lets them maintain his talent and offcourt leadership on the young Wolves, while giving him incentive to refuse a multi-year deal elsewhere. Since they have his Early Bird rights, they don’t have to use their exceptions, and a big expiring keeps them under the lux now, but gives them flexibility down the road.

It makes sense, since top comboforwards FAs are Ingles, TJ Warren, Kyle Anderson, RoCo, Thad Young and Prince. And Prince looks better than other.

However, I see this problem of improving our roster as a triangle of needs:

*-------------------* PoA defender*
*------------------*/*---------------*\*
versatile big wing <-------------> mobile versatile big

It means that at least two players of this triangle should be on the floor. In our starting five:

*---------* Beverly*
*--------*/*--------* \*
Vando <-------------> KAT

In our bench unit:

*------* McLaughlin*
*-----* /*---------* \*
MCD <-------------> Reid

I am really impressed with McLaughlin AST:TO ratio and pesky defense which produces steals, but he is a bit undersized and does not impact as help defender. It means that if we want to improve our bench we should either find a replacement for McLaughlin or Reid. McLaughlin has team-friendly contract, so Reid is more likely candidate. But if Gupta is able to sign Reid to team friendly extension, then I would try to find an upgrade at wings and replace Prince with bigger, more defensive minded player. If Gupta cannot keep Reid, I'd invest in defensive minded big. Such as Mitchell Robinson. Other candidates are Tony Bradley, Hartenstein, Bismack Biyombo, Damian Jones.

IMO Prince extension depends on other things such as Reid extension, MCD, Beasley progress etc. If MCD can consistently score it would leave less room for Prince in offense but makes more room for defensinve minded big or comboforward.

P.S. I also think that Prince production lately should be viewed as expected production against injury depleted team (same is true for Reid, McLaughlin, Nowell) + it is contract year for Prince, Reid and Nowell.

I definitely agree in the part...by no means should Prince like take influential priority in future roster construction & we need to address some glaring weaknesses. But I feel there's so much flexibility with him that he falls into a very realistic final pieces to next season's roster.

And I agree that a big or two definitely help address some of our greatest needs from the current group. I feel it's important to refrain from overpaying there....backup 5's have a ceiling to how many minutes they can be on the floor & influence the game...plus, if overpaid take a greater hit on their potential trade return vs a wing-type like Prince? Just meaning...give me Hartenstein for like 3/yr vs Mitchell for like 10....not interested in paying 10 on a big unless I can uber confident that he can play significant minutes with KAT (which if that's truly the case, probably costs more than 10/yr & we're talking a trade which again would create potentially new holes).

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[minimus]

It makes sense, since top comboforwards FAs are Ingles, TJ Warren, Kyle Anderson, RoCo, Thad Young and Prince. And Prince looks better than other.

However, I see this problem of improving our roster as a triangle of needs:

*-------------------* PoA defender*
*------------------*/*---------------*\*
versatile big wing <-------------> mobile versatile big

It means that at least two players of this triangle should be on the floor. In our starting five:

*---------* Beverly*
*--------*/*--------* \*
Vando <-------------> KAT

In our bench unit:

*------* McLaughlin*
*-----* /*---------* \*
MCD <-------------> Reid

I am really impressed with McLaughlin AST:TO ratio and pesky defense which produces steals, but he is a bit undersized and does not impact as help defender. It means that if we want to improve our bench we should either find a replacement for McLaughlin or Reid. McLaughlin has team-friendly contract, so Reid is more likely candidate. But if Gupta is able to sign Reid to team friendly extension, then I would try to find an upgrade at wings and replace Prince with bigger, more defensive minded player. If Gupta cannot keep Reid, I'd invest in defensive minded big. Such as Mitchell Robinson. Other candidates are Tony Bradley, Hartenstein, Bismack Biyombo, Damian Jones.

IMO Prince extension depends on other things such as Reid extension, MCD, Beasley progress etc. If MCD can consistently score it would leave less room for Prince in offense but makes more room for defensinve minded big or comboforward.

P.S. I also think that Prince production lately should be viewed as expected production against injury depleted team (same is true for Reid, McLaughlin, Nowell) + it is contract year for Prince, Reid and Nowell.

I definitely agree in the part...by no means should Prince like take influential priority in future roster construction & we need to address some glaring weaknesses. But I feel there's so much flexibility with him that he falls into a very realistic final pieces to next season's roster.

And I agree that a big or two definitely help address some of our greatest needs from the current group. I feel it's important to refrain from overpaying there....backup 5's have a ceiling to how many minutes they can be on the floor & influence the game...plus, if overpaid take a greater hit on their potential trade return vs a wing-type like Prince? Just meaning...give me Hartenstein for like 3/yr vs Mitchell for like 10....not interested in paying 10 on a big unless I can uber confident that he can play significant minutes with KAT (which if that's truly the case, probably costs more than 10/yr & we're talking a trade which again would create potentially new holes).

Another thing is in what direction is team defense in NBA trending. I am very curious about how BOS defense works. They switch a lot, they also use a lot weakside help, they have integrated a very smart team defender White, they dont have "true" seven foot bigs, but they have two extremely mobile bigs in Williams and Horford, they have two big guards White/Smart, two big wings Brown/Tatum.

Now my question what type of team defense we want to see MIN play next two seasons? I said many times that I dont believe in adding "true" 7' big next to KAT would improve our team defense. I beilieve that we should be more versatile in defense, add size at wings and hopefully another PoA defender.

We have a solid foundation:

KAT - mobile big. Add here mobile defensive minded big by using our SRP. Let him grow behind KAT.
Vando-MCD - two big wings with high upside as defenders. Add here another versatile two way wing by using FRP, MLE
Beverly - PoA defender, but I see potential in Edwards to be an elite defender as well. We MUST add/develop another reliable PoA defender

We started with high wall - x-out - low man defense this year, but we naturally should morph into more switchable defense at some point. MLE, future FRP, SRPs, Reid, Nowell, Beasley - these are our assets by the start of offseason.

[old school 34]

It makes sense, since top comboforwards FAs are Ingles, TJ Warren, Kyle Anderson, RoCo, Thad Young and Prince. And Prince looks better than other.

However, I see this problem of improving our roster as a triangle of needs:

*-------------------* PoA defender*
*------------------*/*---------------*\*
versatile big wing <-------------> mobile versatile big

It means that at least two players of this triangle should be on the floor. In our starting five:

*---------* Beverly*
*--------*/*--------* \*
Vando <-------------> KAT

In our bench unit:

*------* McLaughlin*
*-----* /*---------* \*
MCD <-------------> Reid

I am really impressed with McLaughlin AST:TO ratio and pesky defense which produces steals, but he is a bit undersized and does not impact as help defender. It means that if we want to improve our bench we should either find a replacement for McLaughlin or Reid. McLaughlin has team-friendly contract, so Reid is more likely candidate. But if Gupta is able to sign Reid to team friendly extension, then I would try to find an upgrade at wings and replace Prince with bigger, more defensive minded player. If Gupta cannot keep Reid, I'd invest in defensive minded big. Such as Mitchell Robinson. Other candidates are Tony Bradley, Hartenstein, Bismack Biyombo, Damian Jones.

IMO Prince extension depends on other things such as Reid extension, MCD, Beasley progress etc. If MCD can consistently score it would leave less room for Prince in offense but makes more room for defensinve minded big or comboforward.

P.S. I also think that Prince production lately should be viewed as expected production against injury depleted team (same is true for Reid, McLaughlin, Nowell) + it is contract year for Prince, Reid and Nowell.

I definitely agree in the part...by no means should Prince like take influential priority in future roster construction & we need to address some glaring weaknesses. But I feel there's so much flexibility with him that he falls into a very realistic final pieces to next season's roster.

And I agree that a big or two definitely help address some of our greatest needs from the current group. I feel it's important to refrain from overpaying there....backup 5's have a ceiling to how many minutes they can be on the floor & influence the game...plus, if overpaid take a greater hit on their potential trade return vs a wing-type like Prince? Just meaning...give me Hartenstein for like 3/yr vs Mitchell for like 10....not interested in paying 10 on a big unless I can uber confident that he can play significant minutes with KAT (which if that's truly the case, probably costs more than 10/yr & we're talking a trade which again would create potentially new holes).

Another thing is in what direction is team defense in NBA trending. I am very curious about how BOS defense works. They switch a lot, they also use a lot weakside help, they have integrated a very smart team defender White, they dont have "true" seven foot bigs, but they have two extremely mobile bigs in Williams and Horford, they have two big guards White/Smart, two big wings Brown/Tatum.

Now my question what type of team defense we want to see MIN play next two seasons? I said many times that I dont believe in adding "true" 7' big next to KAT would improve our team defense. I beilieve that we should be more versatile in defense, add size at wings and hopefully another PoA defender.

We have a solid foundation:

KAT - mobile big. Add here mobile defensive minded big by using our SRP. Let him grow behind KAT.
Vando-MCD - two big wings with high upside as defenders. Add here another versatile two way wing by using FRP, MLE
Beverly - PoA defender, but I see potential in Edwards to be an elite defender as well. We MUST add/develop another reliable PoA defender

We started with high wall - x-out - low man defense this year, but we naturally should morph into more switchable defense at some point. MLE, future FRP, SRPs, Reid, Nowell, Beasley - these are our assets by the start of offseason.

I like where your going there....if you get that 7' guy that's a little less mobile....then he's just a situational guy that's match-up specific vs in the rotation every game....that's why it wouldn't be a giant spend per say? Keep adding that length that can scramble &/or switch to your point. It's funny that you bring up Boston, as I was listening to Lowe's podcast talking about how they're defense has gone up a whole another level after their trades & they're pretty much switching out & refusing to let Williams get in any pick & roll action & him almost exclusively staying as their low man guy...it was a good listen getting into the weeds on how they tweaked it per their personal & how they now had enough switchable depth & Horford's ability to at least just high wall instead of switching every time...very easy to start seeing how that's the direction Wolves should aspire to.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

[life_saver]

glad that the GM didn't do any reactionary Beasley trades last month..another example of why we shouldn't overreact based on 1-2 month sample period for a player that has been in league for more than 4 years. I also found it crazy when some people on here & the Trade&Transactions board used to say that Wolves needed to send out a first to get rid of Beasley..especially when he only had another year remaining on contract at $15M salary.

[minimus]

Another thing is in what direction is team defense in NBA trending. I am very curious about how BOS defense works. They switch a lot, they also use a lot weakside help, they have integrated a very smart team defender White, they dont have "true" seven foot bigs, but they have two extremely mobile bigs in Williams and Horford, they have two big guards White/Smart, two big wings Brown/Tatum.

Now my question what type of team defense we want to see MIN play next two seasons? I said many times that I dont believe in adding "true" 7' big next to KAT would improve our team defense. I beilieve that we should be more versatile in defense, add size at wings and hopefully another PoA defender.

We have a solid foundation:

KAT - mobile big. Add here mobile defensive minded big by using our SRP. Let him grow behind KAT.
Vando-MCD - two big wings with high upside as defenders. Add here another versatile two way wing by using FRP, MLE
Beverly - PoA defender, but I see potential in Edwards to be an elite defender as well. We MUST add/develop another reliable PoA defender

We started with high wall - x-out - low man defense this year, but we naturally should morph into more switchable defense at some point. MLE, future FRP, SRPs, Reid, Nowell, Beasley - these are our assets by the start of offseason.

I like where your going there....if you get that 7' guy that's a little less mobile....then he's just a situational guy that's match-up specific vs in the rotation every game....that's why it wouldn't be a giant spend per say? Keep adding that length that can scramble &/or switch to your point. It's funny that you bring up Boston, as I was listening to Lowe's podcast talking about how they're defense has gone up a whole another level after their trades & they're pretty much switching out & refusing to let Williams get in any pick & roll action & him almost exclusively staying as their low man guy...it was a good listen getting into the weeds on how they tweaked it per their personal & how they now had enough switchable depth & Horford's ability to at least just high wall instead of switching every time...very easy to start seeing how that's the direction Wolves should aspire to.

https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/gordon-wasnt-the-player-the-magic-wanted-but-hes-exactly-who-the-nuggets-need

Another comparison is Aaron Gordon. His stats dont look sensational, but he is exactly that type of player who fits next to Jokic. DEN are incredible without Murray and MPJ, Jokic is a legit MVP, but Gordon has been a very good addtion as well. He is versatile player, who plays on both ends of the floor.

In other words I would love to add Gordon type of player this offseason, so a sligthly bigger, and more athletic version of Prince, maybe less shooter, but more defensive minded, better passer.

[jpatrick]

Another thing is in what direction is team defense in NBA trending. I am very curious about how BOS defense works. They switch a lot, they also use a lot weakside help, they have integrated a very smart team defender White, they dont have "true" seven foot bigs, but they have two extremely mobile bigs in Williams and Horford, they have two big guards White/Smart, two big wings Brown/Tatum.

Now my question what type of team defense we want to see MIN play next two seasons? I said many times that I dont believe in adding "true" 7' big next to KAT would improve our team defense. I beilieve that we should be more versatile in defense, add size at wings and hopefully another PoA defender.

We have a solid foundation:

KAT - mobile big. Add here mobile defensive minded big by using our SRP. Let him grow behind KAT.
Vando-MCD - two big wings with high upside as defenders. Add here another versatile two way wing by using FRP, MLE
Beverly - PoA defender, but I see potential in Edwards to be an elite defender as well. We MUST add/develop another reliable PoA defender

We started with high wall - x-out - low man defense this year, but we naturally should morph into more switchable defense at some point. MLE, future FRP, SRPs, Reid, Nowell, Beasley - these are our assets by the start of offseason.

I like where your going there....if you get that 7' guy that's a little less mobile....then he's just a situational guy that's match-up specific vs in the rotation every game....that's why it wouldn't be a giant spend per say? Keep adding that length that can scramble &/or switch to your point. It's funny that you bring up Boston, as I was listening to Lowe's podcast talking about how they're defense has gone up a whole another level after their trades & they're pretty much switching out & refusing to let Williams get in any pick & roll action & him almost exclusively staying as their low man guy...it was a good listen getting into the weeds on how they tweaked it per their personal & how they now had enough switchable depth & Horford's ability to at least just high wall instead of switching every time...very easy to start seeing how that's the direction Wolves should aspire to.

https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/gordon-wasnt-the-player-the-magic-wanted-but-hes-exactly-who-the-nuggets-need

Another comparison is Aaron Gordon. His stats dont look sensational, but he is exactly that type of player who fits next to Jokic. DEN are incredible without Murray and MPJ, Jokic is a legit MVP, but Gordon has been a very good addtion as well. He is versatile player, who plays on both ends of the floor.

In other words I would love to add Gordon type of player this offseason, so a sligthly bigger, and more athletic version of Prince, maybe less shooter, but more defensive minded, better passer.

That’s a tough player to find. Would we take a chance on Issac, which would probably have to be an overpay? He will not have played in two years by the start of next season. Something is def not being said bc it’s been 18 months since his ACL and he’s not even cleared for contact drills. What will he look like when he returns, if he returns, bc his game was so athleticism based.

If the Magic end up with Holmgren, Banchero, or Smith in the draft with Wagner playing very well as a rookie, you’d think Issac would be on the block. Pre injury he was an ideal fit here. Now? Who knows.

[minimus]

I like where your going there....if you get that 7' guy that's a little less mobile....then he's just a situational guy that's match-up specific vs in the rotation every game....that's why it wouldn't be a giant spend per say? Keep adding that length that can scramble &/or switch to your point. It's funny that you bring up Boston, as I was listening to Lowe's podcast talking about how they're defense has gone up a whole another level after their trades & they're pretty much switching out & refusing to let Williams get in any pick & roll action & him almost exclusively staying as their low man guy...it was a good listen getting into the weeds on how they tweaked it per their personal & how they now had enough switchable depth & Horford's ability to at least just high wall instead of switching every time...very easy to start seeing how that's the direction Wolves should aspire to.

https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/gordon-wasnt-the-player-the-magic-wanted-but-hes-exactly-who-the-nuggets-need

Another comparison is Aaron Gordon. His stats dont look sensational, but he is exactly that type of player who fits next to Jokic. DEN are incredible without Murray and MPJ, Jokic is a legit MVP, but Gordon has been a very good addtion as well. He is versatile player, who plays on both ends of the floor.

In other words I would love to add Gordon type of player this offseason, so a sligthly bigger, and more athletic version of Prince, maybe less shooter, but more defensive minded, better passer.

That’s a tough player to find. Would we take a chance on Issac, which would probably have to be an overpay? He will not have played in two years by the start of next season. Something is def not being said bc it’s been 18 months since his ACL and he’s not even cleared for contact drills. What will he look like when he returns, if he returns, bc his game was so athleticism based.

If the Magic end up with Holmgren, Banchero, or Smith in the draft with Wagner playing very well as a rookie, you’d think Issac would be on the block. Pre injury he was an ideal fit here. Now? Who knows.

Yes, I agree. I mostly hope for draft and our scouting, development programm. Vando, MCD are great examples. Maybe we can acquire comboforward who will be FA after next season (Cam Reddish, Lu Dort?)

[BlacJacMac]

I like where your going there....if you get that 7' guy that's a little less mobile....then he's just a situational guy that's match-up specific vs in the rotation every game....that's why it wouldn't be a giant spend per say? Keep adding that length that can scramble &/or switch to your point. It's funny that you bring up Boston, as I was listening to Lowe's podcast talking about how they're defense has gone up a whole another level after their trades & they're pretty much switching out & refusing to let Williams get in any pick & roll action & him almost exclusively staying as their low man guy...it was a good listen getting into the weeds on how they tweaked it per their personal & how they now had enough switchable depth & Horford's ability to at least just high wall instead of switching every time...very easy to start seeing how that's the direction Wolves should aspire to.

https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/gordon-wasnt-the-player-the-magic-wanted-but-hes-exactly-who-the-nuggets-need

Another comparison is Aaron Gordon. His stats dont look sensational, but he is exactly that type of player who fits next to Jokic. DEN are incredible without Murray and MPJ, Jokic is a legit MVP, but Gordon has been a very good addtion as well. He is versatile player, who plays on both ends of the floor.

In other words I would love to add Gordon type of player this offseason, so a sligthly bigger, and more athletic version of Prince, maybe less shooter, but more defensive minded, better passer.

That’s a tough player to find. Would we take a chance on Issac, which would probably have to be an overpay? He will not have played in two years by the start of next season. Something is def not being said bc it’s been 18 months since his ACL and he’s not even cleared for contact drills. What will he look like when he returns, if he returns, bc his game was so athleticism based.

If the Magic end up with Holmgren, Banchero, or Smith in the draft with Wagner playing very well as a rookie, you’d think Issac would be on the block. Pre injury he was an ideal fit here. Now? Who knows.

I loved Isaac in the draft. I wouldn't touch him with a 10' pole now.

136 games in 5 years. More than 34 games in a season just once.

He's played 700 fewer minutes than Ant. And only 300 more than McDaniels.

I just don't see him having any kind of NBA career.

[BlacJacMac]

Yes, I agree. I mostly hope for draft and our scouting, development programm. Vando, MCD are great examples. Maybe we can acquire comboforward who will be FA after next season (Cam Reddish, Lu Dort?)

I hope it wasn't solely Rosas who found those guys. Gupta is such a wildcard at this point.

[shrink]

What is Minnesota looking to acquire? Are they all in on a Big 3 of KAT-Edwards-Russell OR are they looking to add assets to one of those 3 (most likely Russell, possibly Edwards, unlikely KAT) to get a better high-end player?

This is an excellent question.

Many over-performing teams tend to retain too many players. Pre-season, Vegas had MIN projected to go 34-48. Right now, the hottest team since the break, MIN is up to 41-30. Teams like this, particularly teams that are very young (MIN is the 2nd youngest team in the NBA) and with a productive and improving bench, often bring back most of their players. This looks likely.

Going through the roster, KAT and Edwards have been deemed untouchable. DLo has been much better this season, and he probably has more value to the Wolves than other teams. Beverley was just extended, and Vanderbilt is locked up cheap for two more seasons. The Wolves love McDaniels. Beasley has been the best high volume three point shooter for the last three months, and the team needs him for their strategy (near the top of the nba in three point attempts). Those seven are probably locked in - though Vando could be pushed to the bench if they could get a starting PF/C - his salary fits the back up role. As for the rest, McLaughlin has a ridiculous AST/TO ratio and is locked up cheap. Taurean Prince has a early Bird rights, and is the only way MIN can maintain some salary. That’s nine.

After that, it comes down to what they do with Naz and Jaylen Nowell contracts, Bolmaro (really an “eye-of-the-beholder” youth), and their 1st. Can MIN get a starting PF with the MLE, or at least someone better than Vando? Doubtful. They will likely use the MLE to maintain salary, but it looks like that starting PF/C would need to come from a trade.

[shrink]

So I took a closer look at this, and it’s tough to bring a starting level PF to the team right now. Even if we had the assets (2022 pick, future 1st, extend and trade Naz or Nowell), we are going to struggle to find matching salary. Our best source is a sign-and-trade of Prince, but many teams want to avoid S+T’s because it instantly hardcaps a team for the season.

The list of big men that are $10 mil or less, that might push Vando to the bench is small. Wiseman? Pretty big risk, for the type of player GSW desperately needs, but can’t make their rotation. Maxi Kleber on a $9 mil expiring? DAL needs him, and is unlikely to want to help us. And do either give us more than Vando?

It seems to me we would need to seriously overpay Prince on a one-year deal to bring back a better PF in a salary match trade. Christian Wood on a $14.3 mil expiring? Do we want to pay that guy? Issac is $17.3 for three years. Myles Turner is on an $18 mil expiring.

With free agency so depleted, I doubt we find a better PF than Vando with our MLE.

[Neeva]

That is fine. Draft a future PF and stick with Vando as starter for now till he is ready. I wonder how far wolves can move up with Reid, Nowell, Bolmaro, or 2023 first??
Murray would be so good here and hopefully today’s disappointing game will drop him some where wolves can grab him.

But Sochan, Baldwin jr or Liddell could work as well and wolves wouldn’t even need to trade up from 19/20 for one of them. Maybe use the second picks to move up to late first and get Liddell?

[wolves_89]

If you look at a lot of the top teams, they have benefited greatly from being able to sign good veteran rotation bigs for very little. Being able to add guys like Otto Porter, Nemanja Bejelica, Nic Batum, Jeff Green, Bobby Portis, Paul Millsap, Blake Griffin, Demarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside, JaVale McGee, Isaiah Hartenstein, Dwight Howard, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Adre Drummond for $5M or less is a such a big advantage. What the Wolves need is to be seen as a playoff team on the rise, which would hopefully let them add a big or two from this tier.

[King Malta]

So I took a closer look at this, and it’s tough to bring a starting level PF to the team right now. Even if we had the assets (2022 pick, future 1st, extend and trade Naz or Nowell), we are going to struggle to find matching salary. Our best source is a sign-and-trade of Prince, but many teams want to avoid S+T’s because it instantly hardcaps a team for the season.

The list of big men that are $10 mil or less, that might push Vando to the bench is small. Wiseman? Pretty big risk, for the type of player GSW desperately needs, but can’t make their rotation. Maxi Kleber on a $9 mil expiring? DAL needs him, and is unlikely to want to help us. And do either give us more than Vando?

It seems to me we would need to seriously overpay Prince on a one-year deal to bring back a better PF in a salary match trade. Christian Wood on a $14.3 mil expiring? Do we want to pay that guy? Issac is $17.3 for three years. Myles Turner is on an $18 mil expiring.

With free agency so depleted, I doubt we find a better PF than Vando with our MLE.

I think we need to also be careful to not overly deplete our areas of strength that make us the team that we area to address the issues we have, if that makes sense.

Rebounding and interior defense against big line-ups is clearly a problem, but our shooting, bench depth and flexibility defensively have been huge strengths that are key to where this team is. If we were to trade Prince, a pick and maybe another asset to bring back some size are we truly better even though we've addressed a weakness? How much do we then lose by giving away a guy like Prince for example who has been excellent for us off the bench during our winning run.

I doubt we find a better PF than Vando for the MLE for sure, but for me all we really need is to find a spot starter that can rebound and defend at a high level in our schemes, I wonder if somebody like this can be had for the MLE, especially given the fact we may now be viewed somewhat more positively as a destination with this roster.

[life_saver]

I hope Wolves can keep Nowell beyond his rookie contract. He seems like a dude who will excel if he is given a bigger role. His offensive game is very well-rounded..isn't a one-dimensional scorer and his play-making also looks decent.

[winforlose]

So I took a closer look at this, and it’s tough to bring a starting level PF to the team right now. Even if we had the assets (2022 pick, future 1st, extend and trade Naz or Nowell), we are going to struggle to find matching salary. Our best source is a sign-and-trade of Prince, but many teams want to avoid S+T’s because it instantly hardcaps a team for the season.

The list of big men that are $10 mil or less, that might push Vando to the bench is small. Wiseman? Pretty big risk, for the type of player GSW desperately needs, but can’t make their rotation. Maxi Kleber on a $9 mil expiring? DAL needs him, and is unlikely to want to help us. And do either give us more than Vando?

It seems to me we would need to seriously overpay Prince on a one-year deal to bring back a better PF in a salary match trade. Christian Wood on a $14.3 mil expiring? Do we want to pay that guy? Issac is $17.3 for three years. Myles Turner is on an $18 mil expiring.

With free agency so depleted, I doubt we find a better PF than Vando with our MLE.

I think we need to also be careful to not overly deplete our areas of strength that make us the team that we area to address the issues we have, if that makes sense.

Rebounding and interior defense against big line-ups is clearly a problem, but our shooting, bench depth and flexibility defensively have been huge strengths that are key to where this team is. If we were to trade Prince, a pick and maybe another asset to bring back some size are we truly better even though we've addressed a weakness? How much do we then lose by giving away a guy like Prince for example who has been excellent for us off the bench during our winning run.

I doubt we find a better PF than Vando for the MLE for sure, but for me all we really need is to find a spot starter that can rebound and defend at a high level in our schemes, I wonder if somebody like this can be had for the MLE, especially given the fact we may now be viewed somewhat more positively as a destination with this roster.

V8 is a better SF than PF in our scheme. I say that because time after time opposing bigs roll when KAT high walls. Unless there is a legit PF to meet him that big will score. In our current system two players collapse to make up the difference. That opens the corner 3. Our system has a weak spot based on lack of size and the whole league knows it. Moving V8 to the 3 means bringing in a legit 4 and putting PB in the 2nd unit. I have been saying for months. V8’s defender cheating off does far less damage when he is a small rather than a big.

As for the second unit, for all the good Prince does in scoring he is undersized and comprises paint defense and defensive rebounding. You cannot afford both an undersized 4 and 5. Personally I don’t want either an undersized 4 or 5. Prince strikes me as the 11th man who comes in to backup the 3 or 4 when injury strikes.

[IceManBK1]

dlo and Beasley for Kemba, Mitchell(sign and trade) and alec burke. We get a more consistent PG, a paint patrolling big, and a solid bench piece. use novell as 6th man next yr.

[minimus]

So I took a closer look at this, and it’s tough to bring a starting level PF to the team right now. Even if we had the assets (2022 pick, future 1st, extend and trade Naz or Nowell), we are going to struggle to find matching salary. Our best source is a sign-and-trade of Prince, but many teams want to avoid S+T’s because it instantly hardcaps a team for the season.

The list of big men that are $10 mil or less, that might push Vando to the bench is small. Wiseman? Pretty big risk, for the type of player GSW desperately needs, but can’t make their rotation. Maxi Kleber on a $9 mil expiring? DAL needs him, and is unlikely to want to help us. And do either give us more than Vando?

It seems to me we would need to seriously overpay Prince on a one-year deal to bring back a better PF in a salary match trade. Christian Wood on a $14.3 mil expiring? Do we want to pay that guy? Issac is $17.3 for three years. Myles Turner is on an $18 mil expiring.

With free agency so depleted, I doubt we find a better PF than Vando with our MLE.

I think we need to also be careful to not overly deplete our areas of strength that make us the team that we area to address the issues we have, if that makes sense.

Rebounding and interior defense against big line-ups is clearly a problem, but our shooting, bench depth and flexibility defensively have been huge strengths that are key to where this team is. If we were to trade Prince, a pick and maybe another asset to bring back some size are we truly better even though we've addressed a weakness? How much do we then lose by giving away a guy like Prince for example who has been excellent for us off the bench during our winning run.

I doubt we find a better PF than Vando for the MLE for sure, but for me all we really need is to find a spot starter that can rebound and defend at a high level in our schemes, I wonder if somebody like this can be had for the MLE, especially given the fact we may now be viewed somewhat more positively as a destination with this roster.

Well said! Exactly my thoughts. Our starting lineup has great flexiblity and versatility on offensive end, because of KAT-Edwards-DLo, but our bench unit improved a lot and offers some great offensive tools as well:

Reid is an versatile, mobile scoring big
Prince and Beasley are elite C&S scorers
Nowell is top 6th man in NBA
JMac has fantastic AST:TO rate and is playing pesky on ball defense

Having such strong foundation in offense allows us to play one dimensional players such as Vando, MCD, Beverly. Also usually you pay less for defense than for offense, it means if we can keep Reid, Nowell and TP for reasonable price, than we might be able to sign solid defensive minded players even with limited resources. And I truly believe that our developing offensive versatility might helps us a lot to integrate more defender. And I really want us to get high IQ, high effort guys, regardless of position. I can think of many architypes of players who can fit really well:

Day-Ron Sharpe type of big: 6-11 and 265lbs, big, physical, tough player
Jericho Sims type of big: raw uberathletic big
Xavier Tillman type of big: physical, tough, undersized big with excellent hands, good passer, rebounder, high IQ defender
Brandon Clarke type of big: mobile, athletic rim runner who can finish plays around the rim, rebound
Herb Jones type of comboforward: smart defender, long, athletic
Luguentz Dort type of PoA defender
Josh Green type of big guard

These guys were all drafted with low picks. But we need to keep offensive core together re-signing Reid, Nowell and TP. I think that an underrated here are length of contract and team option. For instance, we should be very carefull offering TP a new fully guranteed multiyear contract. He has been injury prone and inconsistent last three years. If Gupta is able to run this franchise diligenlty we have chance to asssemble a roster around Towns, Edwards and MCD without any overpaid contracts.

[life_saver]

dlo and Beasley for Kemba, Mitchell(sign and trade) and alec burke. We get a more consistent PG, a paint patrolling big, and a solid bench piece. use novell as 6th man next yr.

lol Kemba is washed