Free Agency & Trades Thread **NOW OPEN**

[djsunyc]

let's say the #9 pick translates to a solid role player for 25 mins a night and not a superstar. which position would you like to fill using that pick?

[djsunyc]

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my guess is that trade discussion involved julius randle. could re-visit if randle picks up the option or it's a s&t.

[Duffman100]

let's say the #9 pick translates to a solid role player for 25 mins a night and not a superstar. which position would you like to fill using that pick?

Center for sure.

We need to be help to sit Poeltl or have poeltl get injured without it being a complete ****

[Tripod]

Any interest in Sandro Mamukelashvili or Paul Reed as cheap C depth?

We do need some C depth. Luke Kornet would be nice but I'm guessing he probably gets more than 4-5M. We won't have much luxury tax room unless we make some trades.

Yeah he would be a better get but will cost more too. I was thinking more of a cheaper option.

[greekman]

raptors dream lineup for 2026
barnes
anunoby
siakam
powell
poetl

[wegotthabeet]

Absolutely zero chance we can get Naz. The reason the wolves traded Kat was because they had Naz coming up.

True, but what about NAW? Would love to bring him home.

Throw the entire MLE at this guy and bring him home.

Would be a great signing in my opinion.

[Pointgod]

Since this team isn’t going to build through the draft, who’s the young, undervalued player we can trade for like the Pacers did to get Haliburton? Are there any advanced stats darlings that need more reps and a change of scenery?

Who’s the guy we would trade one of our starters for? Or has he not been drafted yet?

[ATLTimekeeper]

Since this team isn’t going to build through the draft, who’s the young, undervalued player we can trade for like the Pacers did to get Haliburton? Are there any advanced stats darlings that need more reps and a change of scenery?

Who’s the guy we would trade one of our starters for? Or has he not been drafted yet?

Well, both SGA and Hali were traded after one season. For Hali it was 1.5. That would have to be a rookie from this class. And the price would have to be someone like Scottie, because neither Hali or SGA came cheaply.

These guys aren't hiding in plain site. They generally make exceptional leaps from good to great to greatest. Maybe Scottie is already on that track?

[StopitLeo]

let's say the #9 pick translates to a solid role player for 25 mins a night and not a superstar. which position would you like to fill using that pick?

Centre. You need elite wings to go far and it’s harder to find a solid centre than it is to find a solid PG who can play defense and shoot the 3.

[WuTang_CMB]

This quote from Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, embedded in Saturday's loaded notebook from the founder of this publication, jumped out amid the wide-ranging reporting:

"In the game today, with all the switching that you see, you need two things," Finch said. "You need passing and you need ballhandling. That's what I think you need. Everybody wants shooting. But I think it's the other things that unlock shooting."

The Timberwolves, like the team they combined with on a stunning blockbuster deal on the weekend before training camps opened, could not get past the conference finals in the end. Neither Minnesota nor New York, after acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns, made it to the NBA Finals which commence Thursday night. Yet it's informative to really listen to Finch's words in the quest to forecast what will happen next.

It's not yet certain whether the Wolves will make another trade run at Kevin Durant after doing so in February. League sources say Minnesota indeed made serious trade inquiries for Durant before the Feb. 6 trade deadline, contacting at least one Eastern Conference club about functioning as a facilitator to help two luxury tax teams that had strayed beyond the second apron combine on a massive in-season maneuver.

What we do know is that the desire to maximize their playmaking quotient was a key factor that drove the Wolves' willingness to abruptly swap Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Yes: There undeniably was a significant financial component, too. The Wolves wanted increased financial flexibility to make it more likely they could re-sign both Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker this summer. Sources stress, though, that the Wolves viewed Randle's ability to barrel into the paint off the bounce, spray passes to the opposite corner and find weakside cutters off his drives as a more optimal supplementary fit next to superstar Anthony Edwards than Towns.

The Wolves also believed DiVincenzo's underrated playmaking could boost the offense and help make up for what they were losing by sacrificing Towns' floor-spacing. Don't forget that, before the Villanova product signed with New York in the summer of 2023, Minnesota's Tim Connelly-led front office chased him hard. The Wolves were widely regarded as DiVincenzo's other leading suitor when he chose the Knicks.

DiVincenzo remains on a value contract that will pay him roughly $12 million in each of the next two seasons. No stress there.

The far more challenging aspects of Minnesota's offseason will be figuring out Randle's role — and salary — as well as deciding whether to persist with the current core or pursue yet another dramatic change. The Suns are expected to make Durant available again in coming weeks after settling upon a new coach. The Wolves will have to decide if they want to rejoin the trade chase for the future Hall of Famer ... or try to keep building on what they've already assembled.


This action shot from the Wolves' Twitter feed captures the spirit of Julius Randle's approach to free agency: He wants to stay in Minnesota.
There's much to think about. The Wolves, on one hand, just made back-to-back trips to the conference finals for the first time franchise history ... after getting that far just once in the team's first 34 seasons of existence. Also true: Minnesota has won only one game in the West finals two springs in a row.

Randle holds a $30.9 million player option that he must exercise or decline by June 29. Reid has his own $15 million option that many around the league expect last season's Sixth Man of the Year to decline. And as Marc Stein covered in Saturday's piece, Alexander-Walker will be an unrestricted free agent in high demand after flourishing this season on a bargain salary of $4.3 million.

To me, though, Randle's situation is the most interesting. The Wolves were never more effective this season than when Randle was absolutely rolling as a downhill driver. By April, according to DiVincenzo's analysis, Randle was making the right read on every play. Draymond Green came away from Golden State's second-round exit to these Wolves describing Randle as just the second big man to outplay him in a head-to-head matchup in Green's Hall of Fame career.

Isn't that the sort of player you want to retain?

Wolves staffers insist they saw hints of what Randle's optimized playmaking could bring as far back as that rushed training camp just days after he got to town. There were also times early in the season, when the offense was stalling, that the coaching staff asked Randle to lean on the score-first approach that led to two All-Star appearances as a Knick.

"And as it turned out, what we needed him to do was a bit of everything," Finch told me in April. "Kind of put up triple-double-like numbers every night."

From their first phone call upon reuniting in the Twin Cities, after their one shared season together in New Orleans, Finch and Randle have maintained constant dialogue. There have been frequent one-on-one conversations after practice about Randle's various responsibilities as an offensive hub alongside Edwards.

"Sometimes Finchy would be like, 'I need you to be more aggressive,' " Randle told me earlier this season. "[And] sometimes: 'I need you to be more of a point forward and get our next action going.' "

By mid-December, Randle's creative impact was starting to take shape. He and DiVincenzo had clicked going back to their tenure with the Knicks. Randle found more and more ways to feed Edwards. He improved his timing on lobs to Rudy Gobert.

"Everybody was benefiting from it," Finch said.

By early January, as Minnesota began to inch away from a worrisome 21-19 start, Randle and Reid started to flourish together in bench units, unlocking the movement shooting that Reid can provide as well as any big man — even Towns.

"Julius was kind of a catalyst for that,” Finch said.

Then came a flashbulb moment. In separate conversations, both Finch and Randle highlighted the same game: Minnesota's trip to Madison Square Garden on Jan. 17. It was the first regular season meeting between the teams since their megatrade in late September.

"Normal me, being a competitor, coming back to the Garden, I'm trying to give 'em 50," Randle said.

Said Finch: "[But] with everything that was at stake for him emotionally, he put all that aside and just came out and kind of wheeled and dealed."

Randle remembers his exact number of shots that night: Six. It was the same as his assist tally on a +20 evening in the box score as the Wolves rolled to a 116-99 victory. Randle put the ball on the deck and found shooters. He cut when the rock wasn't in his hands.

"I just knew our team needed something different," Randle said. “And I just wanted to create movement and flow in our offense."

"And what we realized," Finch added, "is that we needed him to kinda be almost a de facto point guard for us."

For all of Durant's scoring brilliance, that is not his consistent function. Against Green and the Warriors, Randle became the only player in franchise history with consecutive 20-point, 10-assist games. His steady playmaking was likewise a central ingredient to the Wolves finishing the regular season on a 17-4 kick that hiked them up to the West's No. 6 seed … and most crucially out of the Play-In Tournament to proceed to a favorable first-round matchup with the Lakers instead.

How many frontcourt scorers boast similar skill sets? Who is a better fit at Randle's position, among the available options, alongside Edwards? These are some of the hard questions that the Wolves will be asking themselves. Everyone wants an Aaron Gordon or the multi-talented forward who just beat out Tyrese Haliburton for Eastern Conference Finals MVP honors: Pascal Siakam. For Minnesota, Randle appears to be the closest facsimile.

Any trade of magnitude from the Wolves this summer would likely require Randle opting into his deal. His salary could naturally function as a significant piece in the pursuit of a Durant. Of course, in such scenarios, dialogue with Randle and his representation would be required, only adding to the complications.

And then there's this: Wolves officials still talk about how long it took to fully integrate Gobert after the first home run trade swing Connelly took in running the Wolves. That recipe took time to marinate. They could certainly opt to take the same approach with Randle and give the partnership more time to simmer, despite the significant struggles Randle endured in a lopsided West finals matchup with Oklahoma City.

In April, I asked Randle directly about his desire to stay put.

"Sh—, I love it here, man," he said. "I love every guy in this locker room. I love playing with Ant. I love playing with Mike [Conley] — a great veteran. Even Joe [Ingles]. Joe doesn't do sh— on the court. But his presence and his energy in this locker room is tremendous. I love this team. And I just want to keep seeing it through and just keep coming together

[Asif16]

How much cap-space do the Raptors have, assuming we don't bring Boucher back? Do we have the BAE to use? Or a MLE?

Im trying to see if there is bottom barrel free agent shopping we can do, because it's clear as day the Raptors want to be competitive next season

[douggood]

How much cap-space do the Raptors have, assuming we don't bring Boucher back? Do we have the BAE to use? Or a MLE?

Im trying to see if there is bottom barrel free agent shopping we can do, because it's clear as day the Raptors want to be competitive next season

we have like 4-5 mil to fill 2 positions, before we hit tax

[WuTang_CMB]

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[AkelaLoneWolf]

How much cap-space do the Raptors have, assuming we don't bring Boucher back? Do we have the BAE to use? Or a MLE?

Im trying to see if there is bottom barrel free agent shopping we can do, because it's clear as day the Raptors want to be competitive next season

Unless there are targets of opportunity I expect us to be very conservative. We are short on both roster space and cap space.

[AkelaLoneWolf]

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Would Gobert be in the outgoing package. Is that a
Good trade for phoenix? Would they rather have KAT

[AkelaLoneWolf]

let's say the #9 pick translates to a solid role player for 25 mins a night and not a superstar. which position would you like to fill using that pick?

For the long term it’s gotta be guard or wing. Centers are not worth what they were befor

[CazOnReal]

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Would Gobert be in the outgoing package. Is that a
Good trade for phoenix? Would they rather have KAT

It'd have to be Randle, Conley and presumably their 17/31 picks. Maybe you include Dillingham but the Wolves gave up a lot to get him so more likely is they just swap their 2032 1st.

In any case, that's the sort of base package you'd have to work with and you'd need to fudge the salaries a bit to make it comply with the current CBA but I digress. Nothing getting a 3rd team involved for a second or two can't fix.

[mihaic]

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Would Gobert be in the outgoing package. Is that a
Good trade for phoenix? Would they rather have KAT

Lol both are very flawed players on the different side of the floor.

[Psubs]

Since this team isn’t going to build through the draft, who’s the young, undervalued player we can trade for like the Pacers did to get Haliburton? Are there any advanced stats darlings that need more reps and a change of scenery?

Who’s the guy we would trade one of our starters for? Or has he not been drafted yet?

Well, both SGA and Hali were traded after one season. For Hali it was 1.5. That would have to be a rookie from this class. And the price would have to be someone like Scottie, because neither Hali or SGA came cheaply.

These guys aren't hiding in plain site. They generally make exceptional leaps from good to great to greatest. Maybe Scottie is already on that track?

JaKobe is that player. He is untouchable. Scottie is on the Pascal track. Really good defensively and his offense is slowly expanding each year. Maybe his outside shot comes around (to be 35-38%) in his prime in a few years.

[Psubs]

How much cap-space do the Raptors have, assuming we don't bring Boucher back? Do we have the BAE to use? Or a MLE?

Im trying to see if there is bottom barrel free agent shopping we can do, because it's clear as day the Raptors want to be competitive next season

we have like 4-5 mil to fill 2 positions, before we hit tax

Agbaji traded for as high a 1st pick as you can and save $5 million, not taking back any salary. Then use most of the MLE for Luke Kornet.