Krawczynski: Tim Connelly as POBO (Official! page 6)

[Calinks]

What happens to Gupta?

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He's probably out of here and that makes me sad. In an ideal world he would stay on and work with Connelly but this will probably rub him the wrong way and he will feel like he isn't wanted. Arod and Lore want to make their impact.

[D1SGRUNTL3D]

Read the nuggets subreddit…lots are mad about losing him


Must be a good hiring

[shangrila]

What happens to Gupta?

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He's probably out of here and that makes me sad. In an ideal world he would stay on and work with Connelly but this will probably rub him the wrong way and he will feel like he isn't wanted. Arod and Lore want to make their impact.

Watching people freak out over potentially losing Gupta has been about the most Minnesotan thing I’ve seen in the last decade or so.

It’s the FO equivalent of passing on an Ingram deal because we might lose McDaniels.

[Calinks]

What happens to Gupta?

Sent from my SM-G991B using RealGM mobile app

He's probably out of here and that makes me sad. In an ideal world he would stay on and work with Connelly but this will probably rub him the wrong way and he will feel like he isn't wanted. Arod and Lore want to make their impact.

Watching people freak out over potentially losing Gupta has been about the most Minnesotan thing I’ve seen in the last decade or so.

It’s the FO equivalent of passing on an Ingram deal because we might lose McDaniels.

I don't know about that. Gupta's contract skills are pretty well noted (Gupta specials), he has some really creative ways of working with the cap and salaries. He's pretty highly regarded and I love what Rosas did, I don't know how much input Gupta had in that. He could be really good and he already has chemistry with Finch and the players, I'm not sure how much better Connelly is at the end of the day.

[wolves_89]

He's probably out of here and that makes me sad. In an ideal world he would stay on and work with Connelly but this will probably rub him the wrong way and he will feel like he isn't wanted. Arod and Lore want to make their impact.

Watching people freak out over potentially losing Gupta has been about the most Minnesotan thing I’ve seen in the last decade or so.

It’s the FO equivalent of passing on an Ingram deal because we might lose McDaniels.

I don't know about that. Gupta's contract skills are pretty well noted (Gupta specials), he has some really creative ways of working with the cap and salaries. He's pretty highly regarded and I love what Rosas did, I don't know how much input Gupta had in that. He could be really good and he already has chemistry with Finch and the players, I'm not sure how much better Connelly is at the end of the day.

I think it would be really beneficial for the Wolves if they can convince Gupta to stay (at least until he gets a top job of his own). A couple of Connelly's major weaknesses are making successful trades and getting guys to sign good contracts, both things that Gupta is well known to be great at. It seems like Connelly and Gupta would be a near ideal pairing of skills.

[Neeva]

Yep Connelly is way too generous with contracts. I know Denver is small market so maybe he felt he needed to pay up more than he had to.

[shangrila]

He's probably out of here and that makes me sad. In an ideal world he would stay on and work with Connelly but this will probably rub him the wrong way and he will feel like he isn't wanted. Arod and Lore want to make their impact.

Watching people freak out over potentially losing Gupta has been about the most Minnesotan thing I’ve seen in the last decade or so.

It’s the FO equivalent of passing on an Ingram deal because we might lose McDaniels.

I don't know about that. Gupta's contract skills are pretty well noted (Gupta specials), he has some really creative ways of working with the cap and salaries. He's pretty highly regarded and I love what Rosas did, I don't know how much input Gupta had in that. He could be really good and he already has chemistry with Finch and the players, I'm not sure how much better Connelly is at the end of the day.

For starters, let's be honest about these "Gupta specials"; they're literally just rookie scale contracts given to non-1st rounders. They're not revolutionary or anything.

For the rest...it's just taking a risk over a known quantity, one that's proven to be highly effective. It just strikes me as odd, especially when the only things people can point to is that Gupta is nice (a Minnesotan requirement), he brings "stability" (we fell in the playoffs in large part due to issues we all knew were present all season long that weren't addressed because "chemistry") and he may have possibly been involved in some capacity in deals done in prior FOs to some undefined degree. Maybe.

Don't get me wrong, I like Gupta and I wouldn't be upset if he got a chance at the top job. But the way I've seen some people acting you'd think TC was some scrub ballboy from the Kings that was getting the job because he's Glen's long lost nephew. He's legitimately one of the best in the business and the fact new ownership is aggressive in trying to get him is a good thing.

[Shaka_Zulu]

Read the nuggets subreddit…lots are mad about losing him


Must be a good hiring

Also read the General board thread about him, lots of Nuggets posters critical of him, despite being overall quality drafter and culture builder, they highly critical of his flawed trading, free agency signings and maxing underwhelming players or missing tons of opportunities to improve team etc. So its not all rosy. Even if he is a bigger name in his field.

[Shaka_Zulu]

Watching people freak out over potentially losing Gupta has been about the most Minnesotan thing I’ve seen in the last decade or so.

It’s the FO equivalent of passing on an Ingram deal because we might lose McDaniels.

I don't know about that. Gupta's contract skills are pretty well noted (Gupta specials), he has some really creative ways of working with the cap and salaries. He's pretty highly regarded and I love what Rosas did, I don't know how much input Gupta had in that. He could be really good and he already has chemistry with Finch and the players, I'm not sure how much better Connelly is at the end of the day.

I think it would be really beneficial for the Wolves if they can convince Gupta to stay (at least until he gets a top job of his own). A couple of Connelly's major weaknesses are making successful trades and getting guys to sign good contracts, both things that Gupta is well known to be great at. It seems like Connelly and Gupta would be a near ideal pairing of skills.

Yeah exactly, they could be really complimentary to eachother, so unless Gupta is getting POBO elsewhere immediately, we should do everything we can to keep a competent specialist like him to work under new boss.

[shrink]

For starters, let's be honest about these "Gupta specials"; they're literally just rookie scale contracts given to non-1st rounders. They're not revolutionary or anything.

Gupta (or Hinkie) Specials are different in several ways

1. They are true minimums each year
2. They are team options that are decided upon after the season, as opposed to a year ahead with rookie scale.
3. They must be agreed to by the player.
4. They didn’t exist until Hinkie/Gupta invented them. Before that, 2nd rounders and undrafted players, if they even made the team, would play each year, as a make good contract. Teams didn’t want to risk any future cap space whatsoever on these players. Hinkie and Gupta realized that they could leverage these players desperate for a little guaranteed money up front to get extremely team-friendly deals.

I don’t know if Hinkie or Gupta invented them, but they are a pretty big deal, especially now with younger kids getting drafted, and a greater chance to find useful players in the second round and as two-way players.

[shrink]

I am worried about the eight year contract. If that’s true, that seems like too long for anyone in a rapidly changing NBA. I’m old enough to remember 7 year deals to guys like Mario Jaric, which cost assets to get off of. ARod and Lore are not rich by owner standards, and if Connelly isn’t working out, I doubt they can afford to fire him and bring in someone else.

[KGdaBom]

I am worried about the eight year contract. If that’s true, that seems like too long for anyone in a rapidly changing NBA. I’m old enough to remember 7 year deals to guys like Mario Jaric, which cost assets to get off of. ARod and Lore are not rich by owner standards, and if Connelly isn’t working out, I doubt they can afford to fire him and bring in someone else.

Agreed. 8 years at big money is crazy long.
What I want to know is I've seen posts here acting like Connelly is already signed by the Wolves. He isn't or is he?

[jscott]

I am worried about the eight year contract. If that’s true, that seems like too long for anyone in a rapidly changing NBA. I’m old enough to remember 7 year deals to guys like Mario Jaric, which cost assets to get off of. ARod and Lore are not rich by owner standards, and if Connelly isn’t working out, I doubt they can afford to fire him and bring in someone else.

Agreed. 8 years at big money is crazy long.
What I want to know is I've seen posts here acting like Connelly is already signed by the Wolves. He isn't or is he?

At this point, he isn’t (or at least there are no reports claiming they’ve signed him already.)

[wolves_89]

I am worried about the eight year contract. If that’s true, that seems like too long for anyone in a rapidly changing NBA. I’m old enough to remember 7 year deals to guys like Mario Jaric, which cost assets to get off of. ARod and Lore are not rich by owner standards, and if Connelly isn’t working out, I doubt they can afford to fire him and bring in someone else.

Agreed. 8 years at big money is crazy long.
What I want to know is I've seen posts here acting like Connelly is already signed by the Wolves. He isn't or is he?

At this point, he isn’t (or at least there are no reports claiming they’ve signed him already.)

There's no official news that a deal has been finalized. But meeting with Taylor is usually the last step before a deal is signed, and I would guess that meeting wouldn't happen unless something was very close to being done.

[shrink]

What I want to know is I've seen posts here acting like Connelly is already signed by the Wolves. He isn't or is he?

At this point, he isn’t (or at least there are no reports claiming they’ve signed him already.)

There's no official news that a deal has been finalized. But meeting with Taylor is usually the last step before a deal is signed, and I would guess that meeting wouldn't happen unless something was very close to being done.

Yes, and remember, right now, ARod and Lore are spending Glen’s money in the offer, and there is still a lot of questions whether they can come up with the bulk of the money to complete the sale.

[Klomp]

Watching people freak out over potentially losing Gupta has been about the most Minnesotan thing I’ve seen in the last decade or so.

It’s the FO equivalent of passing on an Ingram deal because we might lose McDaniels.

I don't know about that. Gupta's contract skills are pretty well noted (Gupta specials), he has some really creative ways of working with the cap and salaries. He's pretty highly regarded and I love what Rosas did, I don't know how much input Gupta had in that. He could be really good and he already has chemistry with Finch and the players, I'm not sure how much better Connelly is at the end of the day.

That right there is the Minnesotan part of it. Yes he is all of those things as a GM and does have the potential to do well. But Connelly is there and has already done it for 7 years, building a regular playoff contender. Gupta might have that potential. But he also might flame out and just not make the right decisions when he's the man in charge. Some people aren't wired to lead.

[Nick K]

What happens to Gupta?

Sent from my SM-G991B using RealGM mobile app

He's probably out of here and that makes me sad. In an ideal world he would stay on and work with Connelly but this will probably rub him the wrong way and he will feel like he isn't wanted. Arod and Lore want to make their impact.

Watching people freak out over potentially losing Gupta has been about the most Minnesotan thing I’ve seen in the last decade or so.

It’s the FO equivalent of passing on an Ingram deal because we might lose McDaniels.

That was good....and true. I like Gupta but none of us really know just how saavy he really is. Connelly is proven as a top POBO so getting him is a great get as far as I'm concerned. Hiring Connelly doesn't mean Gupta is leaving. There is room for both guys.

If he's coming to meet Glen Taylor then I would think the deal is 95% done.

When considering the front office and coaching staff plus the new ownership, we now, at last, have a first rate group all around.

[Nick K]

At this point, he isn’t (or at least there are no reports claiming they’ve signed him already.)

There's no official news that a deal has been finalized. But meeting with Taylor is usually the last step before a deal is signed, and I would guess that meeting wouldn't happen unless something was very close to being done.

Yes, and remember, right now, ARod and Lore are spending Glen’s money in the offer, and there is still a lot of questions whether they can come up with the bulk of the money to complete the sale.

I don't know of any questions that they can come up with the money. The money will be no problem for them to come up with. Lore is worth 4 billion alone. They will finance a significent amount of it with cheap money. No problem.

[Klomp]

There's no official news that a deal has been finalized. But meeting with Taylor is usually the last step before a deal is signed, and I would guess that meeting wouldn't happen unless something was very close to being done.

Yes, and remember, right now, ARod and Lore are spending Glen’s money in the offer, and there is still a lot of questions whether they can come up with the bulk of the money to complete the sale.

I don't know of any questions that they can come up with the money. The money will be no problem for them to come up with. Lore is worth 4 billion alone. They will finance a significent amount of it with cheap money. No problem.

Yeah I've been a bit perplexed why some in the media (aka Doogie) think this is such a potential concern. I think it's just the fact that it's a gradual sale and wasn't just an outright buy that causes the panic, but I don't think there's much to worry about here.

[Klomp]

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