Wolves/Sixers from ESPN

[TwolvesGeek]

Would you do this?

Chad Ford writes:

The Minnesota Timberwolves are another team in an interesting position. Rashad McCants (who hits restricted free agency this summer) and Jason Collins have expiring contracts. And the team has another asset in Mike Miller.

Yet so far they haven't packaged them together to add another major piece to their rebuilding effort. The Wolves won't have enough cap room next summer to be major players, so the question arises: Why not make a move now?

They need help at both point guard and center. One rumored trade I've heard: McCants, Collins and Brian Cardinal for the Sixers' Samuel Dalembert, who would give Minnesota shot-blocking and athleticism in the frontcourt. But is he worth the two years and $25 million left on his contract?

I think I would do this in a minute. It would not do much this year, but a Jefferson/Love/Dalembert/Smith rotation would be very good. Dally would really compliment the others, and solve a big defensive hole in the middle. It would also allow the team to look more to guards in the draft. Find a big starting PG next year, and the team could be in the mix for a playoff spot.

[PeeDee]

Hell no. Dally is overpaid and a borderline scrub. I'd rather take Thabeet, Aldrich, or Mullins in the draft this Summer. All of them will prolly be just as productive as Dally and much much cheaper.

[revprodeji]

Dally is having an off year, but would be anything we hope TheBeast would be. The problem is it destroys our chance at a Marvin Williams this year. So we need to ask if adding Dally to this group, with a healthy Mike Miller and a nice draft is the foundation we want?

Personally, I would do it. I think the 3-headed big man monster is a great starting point to build around. I have confidence that we can add a decent piece in the draft and we still have plenty of assets to make a move for a 3 or 1 that we do not add in the draft.

[revprodeji]

Are you serious PeeDee? Thebeast hopes to be the pro Dally is.

[drummerrob26]

I am on board with this deal. I agree I think Dally is just a little off. Also maybe this year isnt where you see the overall benefits. You put him next to Al though, and they are both going to look better and I would love the rotation possibilities.

[PeeDee]

I'm just saying the disparity between what any of those rookies will produce and what Dally will produce isn't worth their difference in salary. His gigantic deal WILL handicap us. I was prolly being a little hyperbolistic to make a point.

[collin_k41]

Do it..Thabeet is an overrated defender. Dally is overpayed but fills a big need for us w/o getting rid of Miller. We should get a couple decent players in the draft and we'll look pretty good for next season.

[prefuse73]

I don't know...for that deal (mccants, cardinal, collins), I would probably do it. Dalembert is a great compliment to Jefferson and Love even if he is not worth his contract. If our C can put 10/8/2 blks and at least make people think about it before driving to the hoop, he is worth it to us.

After watching Thabeet last night agains Craig Smith #2 and allow a 6'7 (in shoes) guy put up 24 and 22 or whatever it was, I would not waste a lottery pick on him (perhaps with Miami pick). I would take Jordan Hill however. Dalembert has at least proven that he can be effective. He is still young (28 I believe) and when we get Brewer and Jefferson back, we all of sudden have a good mix of vets and young guys to compete seriously next year. Regardless, it would be nice to have a solution in place now rather than hoping things go right in the draft. If we are able to draft a Jordan Hill or Mullens, they can D-League it for a year and then take Dalembert's place. Hopefullly we can draft the best PG possible with our first pick.

Dalembert (30) - Jefferson (18)
Jefferson (18) - Love (30)
Brewer (28) - Miller (20) - Gomes
Foye (36) - Miller (12)
Draft/FA/Trade - Telfair

[john2jer]

Dally is a bum. Over-paid, stats are crap, has that ugly 3rd year on his deal, dumb as rocks.

I'd rather make a move for Chandler, if we're looking at comparable players. Otherwise, as PeeDee said, put our money on the draft.

[Dewey]

A bird in the hand is better than 2 in the bush. First, there are no guarantees we get Thabeet. Second, we don't know if Thabeet will be any better.

This move would allow us to focus solely on PG. We need that narrow window so we don't boff it.

[Krapinsky]

I also would have to pass on Thabeet after last night's game. Blair though him around like a rag doll.

The benefit of this deal is we get to keep Miller as a piece, while dumping Cardinal. I like the way it balances out the roster. Plus, the possibility of (1) Marvin wanting to sign in Minnesota, and (2) Atlanta not matching, seems slim.

If we get a guard with our first pick, i.e. Harden/Holiday/Evans, and a SF with our second pick (maybe we trade up), i.e. Clark/Summers/Young-- then I would be very happy with this depth chart.

Telfair/#1
Foye/Miller
Brewer/Gomes/#1
Jefferson/Love/Smith
Dalembert/Jefferson

That's a very deep 11 man team.

[Worm Guts]

I think there's too much reaction to 1 bad game by Thabeet. Players like DeJuan Blair are sort of his kryptonite, he did have 36 blocks in the 5 games prior to last night.

[Krapinsky]

Maybe. But after seeing Thabeet get swung over Blair's back, I was literally frightened for his life the rest of the game.

And if players like Blair are sort of his Cryptonite, wouldn't that mean most teams in the NBA would also have Crypotonitic (wc?) players?

[john2jer]

A 28 year old 6pts/8rebs guy making 12mil next year? Yuck. We can get that out of a rookie. He's been much improved since Brand went down, but that kind screams stay away because he'd be just a rotation guy with Jefferson and Love. I could see his numbers being even worse once we're fully healthy.

Jefferson's a 11board a game guy.
Love's been 13/10 the last 20 games.

What's left for Dally? If we expect the production his 12mil salary should command, it's going to hinder Love and probably Jefferson a little.

The Wolves have done a GREAT job of being fiscally responsible the last couple years, Dally completely tosses that out the window.

I agree this package is pretty much nothing to give up for some talent, but it gives up more than just the Vanilla Gorilla, it gives up cap flexibility in 2010, and potentially in 2009 if we make a move for an expiring in the next couple days.

[Worm Guts]

Maybe. But after seeing Thabeet get swung over Blair's back, I was literally frightened for his life the rest of the game.

And if players like Blair are sort of his Cryptonite, wouldn't that mean most teams in the NBA would also have Crypotonitic (wc?) players?

Most NBA players are longer and have a higher center of gravity than Blair. There aren't any NBA centers that look like Blair. That dude's a bowling ball.

[C.lupus]

A 28 year old 6pts/8rebs guy making 12mil next year? Yuck. We can get that out of a rookie. He's been much improved since Brand went down, but that kind screams stay away because he'd be just a rotation guy with Jefferson and Love. I could see his numbers being even worse once we're fully healthy.

Jefferson's a 11board a game guy.
Love's been 13/10 the last 20 games.

What's left for Dally? If we expect the production his 12mil salary should command, it's going to hinder Love and probably Jefferson a little.

The Wolves have done a GREAT job of being fiscally responsible the last couple years, Dally completely tosses that out the window.

I agree this package is pretty much nothing to give up for some talent, but it gives up more than just the Vanilla Gorilla, it gives up cap flexibility in 2010, and potentially in 2009 if we make a move for an expiring in the next couple days.

I agree with this post. I think the team needs some height and defensive to throw in the big man rotation but I think it's also clear that the Wolves are committed to Al and Love. So, we just need a guy to rotate with those two for 25-30 minutes. Paying someone $12 million to do that seems excessive to me. I think there are cheaper options (i.e., draft) or better options for the money (i.e., Chandler).

[dunkonu21]

This how the finances work.

This year we're saving 4.1 Million
Next year we're adding only 5.3
and then in 2010 we're adding 13.012


So you could look at it this way. We're technically only going to pay him in real life 14.2 million over 2 years. That's 7.1 a year, is that a bad deal?

[john2jer]

This how the finances work.

This year we're saving 4.1 Million
Next year we're adding only 5.3
and then in 2010 we're adding 13.012


So you could look at it this way. We're technically only going to pay him in real life 14.2 million over 2 years. That's 7.1 a year, is that a bad deal?

Considering this year's almost over, you'd have to pro-rate that 4.1mil, so it's closer to 16-17mil we're paying him.

Next year we only have like 5mil in cap space, so now we're stuck with the MLE to play with.

But by adding that 5.3mil, that's like saying is he worth 5.1mil MORE than our other options? I say no.

Assuming Big Al is a 36mpg player and Love is a 32mpg player, that leaves 28 minutes for Craig Smith, Ryan Gomes, and Samuel Dalembert to split. Big Al probably won't be back until January of next year at the earliest, so then you're trying to figure out if it's worth paying Dally's outrageous salary for half a year?

Our play-off chances next year are pretty much nill, it's another rebuilding year due to Jefferson's injury. We should be paying and developing building blocks, not 28 year old overpaid scrubs.

[Biff Cooper]

I also vote No. Wouldn't mind having Dalembert at 4 mil per, but not at 12-13 per.

[Krapinsky]

Is Chandler even better than Dalembert?

Chandler: 31 min/8.8ppg/8.3rpb/1.4bpg
Dalembert: 24.6 min/6.0ppg/8.6rpg/1.8bpg

If Dalembert played with Paul his numbers might be better than Chandlers with 25% less playing time.