Post-Mortem: 2021-22 Minnesota Timberwolves

[Flash4thewin]

Good the Wolves are looking to trade Dlo

Yeah but who would want him, and what would they get in return. Would Gorbert, it would help Kat on defense and basically have him play PF on offense.

[Wolfgang630]

Good the Wolves are looking to trade Dlo

Yeah but who would want him, and what would they get in return. Would Gorbert, it would help Kat on defense and basically have him play PF on offense.

The Wolves will see who is offering what for him. Don’t think they’ll get him for Gobert though.

[JimmyPlopper]

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[FNQ]

Good the Wolves are looking to trade Dlo

Yeah but who would want him, and what would they get in return. Would Gorbert, it would help Kat on defense and basically have him play PF on offense.

This trade will likely define the Wolves offseason.. they are no longer the desperate team. And there is likely a few desperate teams out there. Just have to find one with a 'bad contract' that is miscast, and they'll be fine. I dont know the Wolves team well enough to know who to target, but I definitely think its possible.

The rest of the team seems to have gelled to a degree, and they got valuable playoff experience this year. A team on the rise for sure.. but what they get for DLo will tell us whether or not the team is truly a threat to become an elite team in the coming years

[HeartBreakKid]

Honestly just a bad matchup for Russell. He averaged 18/7/3 this past season, albeit on mediocre efficiency. He’s their only true facilitator, and it showed when they had leads late and couldn’t get good shots. A secondary playmaker is needed more than just getting rid of Russell.

Having mediocre efficiency during the RS usually means you're going to be terrible in the post season.

He wasn't good last post season either.

Not a legit scorer, and he's a terrible defender. He's not dropping buckets against any team that is seriously trying.

[alevirfe]

I know this sounds crazy, but what about a a Dlo & Westbrook swap?

The Wolves need a PG and more veteran leadership. The effect Westbrook had on that young Washington team is understated

They don't need a ton of production from him, so long as he can play the games, as he would essentially be replacing Beverley (who already has way too big of a role)

It would also clear up the pecking order and allow more shots for Towns, Edwards, and Mcdaniels

Too crazy?

[cupcakesnake]

- The development I'm most curious about for next season is Jaden and Vando. The majority of Wolves fans expected a breakout season from Jaden this year (at the end of last season people were talking Scottie Pippen) but he started the season just playing miserably and with no confidence. He pushed through it, got back on track, and was a key player for us in the playoffs (still not consistently enough). He's the best defensive player on our roster (sorry Pat Bev, but as you like to say: too small!). Vando was sort of the opposite in that expectations were more modest, but in December and January he really took the league by storm. His offensive rebounding gave him enough offensive value to keep his defense on the floor (and people were talking about another late 90s Bull: Rodman). But once opponents started scouting him more seriously, his high end value fell off and he was a more plain defense/rebounder type without enough offense to be a good starter. What I'd ultimately like to see is Jaden and Jarred developing enough that we can start both of them at the forward spots and have a ton of defensive mobility and length in the frontcourt with Kat. If Edwards can become a more consistent source of fire power, I think the Wolves can afford to focus more on putting defensive players around an Edwards/Towns attack.

- Despite being a longtime D'Lo hater, I actually was really into him this season (until the playoffs obviously). He started off the season ice cold, but was flashing a lot of defensive smarts. He was a big part of us playing like a top 10 defense early in the season, even though everyone was crediting Pat Bev for the culture injection. It was sort of a strange thing, but as soon as D'Lo's shot came back, his defensive disappeared. That vaguely correlates with our defensive drop off and offensive rise. For the second half of the season, I though D'Lo was the perfect offensive guard: strong on and off the ball, good passer, potent in the pick & roll. In the playoffs I compared him to Bargnani: a talented player with an absolutely bizarre level of not seeming to care. I'm not really into the trade idea... we'd be trading him at probably his lowest possible value. We gave up Wiggins and Kuminga for him. Maybe there is a good trade for a team clearing the books for 2023 free agency, but if there's not something there, I'd rather give him a chance to rehab his value next year. D'Lo will be much easier to trade if people are watching him average 18 and 8 (if he can start the season shooting it well) rather than their most recent memory being what a garbage playoff performer he was.

[cupcakesnake]

I know this sounds crazy, but what about a a Dlo & Westbrook swap?

The Wolves need a PG and more veteran leadership. The effect Westbrook had on that young Washington team is understated

They don't need a ton of production from him, so long as he can play the games, as he would essentially be replacing Beverley (who already has way too big of a role)

It would also clear up the pecking order and allow more shots for Towns, Edwards, and Mcdaniels

Too crazy?

- Replace Beverly... a good defensive guard... with a terrible defensive guard.
- We don't need a ton of production from him... but all Westbrook does is produce, whether you want him to/need him to or not.
- Allow more shots.... but Westbrook is one of the biggest attempted of field goals of all-time.
- Westbrook makes 16m more than Russell. You'd need to add Beasley or Beverly to the trade to make it work (or a minimum of 6-7m more in salary). Honestly it sounds like a great deal for the Lakers in that they break up Russ' contract and get 2 rotation level backcourt players back who both fit way better with AD and Lebron (this is a fantastic trade for the Lakers), but why would Minnesota do it? Westbrook was awful last year and I can think of no worse backcourt mate for Ant. Maybe if the Lakers through draft compensation in and we waived Russ.

[tamaraw08]

I know this sounds crazy, but what about a a Dlo & Westbrook swap?

The Wolves need a PG and more veteran leadership. The effect Westbrook had on that young Washington team is understated

They don't need a ton of production from him, so long as he can play the games, as he would essentially be replacing Beverley (who already has way too big of a role)

It would also clear up the pecking order and allow more shots for Towns, Edwards, and Mcdaniels

Too crazy?

Most Lakers fans like me are very desperate to trade Russ but my God, hard no on D’Lo. This guy is probably the most overrated player in the league right now imo.

[alevirfe]

I know this sounds crazy, but what about a a Dlo & Westbrook swap?

The Wolves need a PG and more veteran leadership. The effect Westbrook had on that young Washington team is understated

They don't need a ton of production from him, so long as he can play the games, as he would essentially be replacing Beverley (who already has way too big of a role)

It would also clear up the pecking order and allow more shots for Towns, Edwards, and Mcdaniels

Too crazy?

- Replace Beverly... a good defensive guard... with a terrible defensive guard.
- We don't need a ton of production from him... but all Westbrook does is produce, whether you want him to/need him to or not.
- Allow more shots.... but Westbrook is one of the biggest attempted of field goals of all-time.
- Westbrook makes 16m more than Russell. You'd need to add Beasley or Beverly to the trade to make it work (or a minimum of 6-7m more in salary). Honestly it sounds like a great deal for the Lakers in that they break up Russ' contract and get 2 rotation level backcourt players back who both fit way better with AD and Lebron (this is a fantastic trade for the Lakers), but why would Minnesota do it? Westbrook was awful last year and I can think of no worse backcourt mate for Ant. Maybe if the Lakers through draft compensation in and we waived Russ.

look I'll admit some of this is me playing devil's advocate. I do think from an influence perspective Russel would do a lot of good on this young Minny team

definitely the Lakers would need to add significant compensation. they are a getting a relatively good player for maybe the worst contract in the league

both players are on the last year of their contracts, but I don't see a future for DLo in Minny. I do think if things went well for Russel in Minny, they could resign him to a team friendly deal

I personally think defense at the PG position isn't super important, so what you're losing from Pat Bev there IMO is negligible

I also think WB's drives to the basket would be complimented by the 3-point shooting of Edwards/Towns

WB is also a really good passer/distributor which is something the Twolves currently lack. I think he would do a good job of setting up Towns and allowing Edwards to play some offball/spot up as a shooter

[tamaraw08]

Good the Wolves are looking to trade Dlo

Yeah but who would want him, and what would they get in return. Would Gorbert, it would help Kat on defense and basically have him play PF on offense.

This trade will likely define the Wolves offseason.. they are no longer the desperate team. And there is likely a few desperate teams out there. Just have to find one with a 'bad contract' that is miscast, and they'll be fine. I dont know the Wolves team well enough to know who to target, but I definitely think its possible.

The rest of the team seems to have gelled to a degree, and they got valuable playoff experience this year. A team on the rise for sure.. but what they get for DLo will tell us whether or not the team is truly a threat to become an elite team in the coming years

Portland would probably shop Lillard bec they basically traded everybody there and are probably on rebuild mode but he will be expensive.
Utah probably would want to retool because it's just not been working there. Mitchell? Clarkson?
Knicks? But will Randle and Fournier really help?
Lakers? You'll be crazy to take Westbrook.