2026 Second Round Playoff Thread: Minnesota vs San Antonio

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Slim Tubby said:
I might lean heavily towards the group that questions if Finch is capable of taking this roster farther but to try and make an argument that he's a poor coach doesn't carry water with me personally.

I regularly visit a highly active NBA message board with a lot of league fans that know far more than I do. They ran a poll to name the 3rd best team in the NBA behind OKC and SAS and the Wolves were a resounding winner with 32% of the votes (NYK were 2nd with 18%).

I'm not sure I entirely agree with that but there are a ton of unbiased NBA fans that think very highly of the Wolves and especially Finch.
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Yeah, I think we'd be favored in just about any series. I do think we match up really well with Denver but there are teams who would bother us that Denver matches up better with. I could also understand an argument for Cleveland or maybe NY.
 

jamiche said:
I know I'm the outlier on this board but Walker Kessler's numbers have been comparable to Rudy's over the last three years. At Kessler's approx $2M/year it means the wolves could have kept KAT, kept the four #1's, no pick swaps and gained lots of roster flexibility. Rudy has given them a presence in the middle and a defensive identity that has been somewhat overstated except for the year they finished first in defense. Kessler would have done almost the same on defense and added the occasional three point shot at about 1/20th the price. Kessler is no superstar, but he didn't need to be at that price.

Not close to the deal people think it is when you look at the whole picture.
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Jon K. Detailed with data how much better the Wolves are defensively as a team with Rudy on the floor, than him when he’s off the floor, via advanced analytics. No way the Wolves reach the conference finals without him.
 

tikited said:
I was with you for a short while in regards to Kessler, but he is nowhere near as good as Rudy. There is a reason he hasn't become a regular starter. They still had to find a way to get rid of Towns. Salary hell. Had to happen.
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Kessler started all 58 games that he played in 24-25. He missed almost all of last season due to injury.
I went into nerd mode and compared their numbers per 36 minutes and they are nearly identical. Rudy (obviously bigger sample size) averages a point higher and half a rebound higher per 36. Kessler averages a full block per 36 higher, which really surprised me.

The point of this isn't to prove who is the better player. Rudy is. It's who would have been the better overall value for the franchise because of costs and draft picks not lost. Kessler would have been by far. In theory the team would have had comparable production at the position, much, much better production at the PF spot and the four picks.
 

jamiche said:
Kessler started all 58 games that he played in 24-25. He missed almost all of last season due to injury.
I went into nerd mode and compared their numbers per 36 minutes and they are nearly identical. Rudy (obviously bigger sample size) averages a point higher and half a rebound higher per 36. Kessler averages a full block per 36 higher, which really surprised me.

The point of this isn't to prove who is the better player. Rudy is. It's who would have been the better overall value for the franchise because of costs and draft picks not lost. Kessler would have been by far. In theory the team would have had comparable production at the position, much, much better production at the PF spot and the four picks.
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As always, you are completely overrating NBA draft picks and the ability to hit on those pics.
 

jamiche said:
Kessler started all 58 games that he played in 24-25. He missed almost all of last season due to injury.
I went into nerd mode and compared their numbers per 36 minutes and they are nearly identical. Rudy (obviously bigger sample size) averages a point higher and half a rebound higher per 36. Kessler averages a full block per 36 higher, which really surprised me.

The point of this isn't to prove who is the better player. Rudy is. It's who would have been the better overall value for the franchise because of costs and draft picks not lost. Kessler would have been by far. In theory the team would have had comparable production at the position, much, much better production at the PF spot and the four picks.
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Solid points
 


Slim Tubby said:
There's also a reason that UTA will most likely trade Kessler this offseason. He has a lower ceiling, lacks athleticism, can't stay healthy and they don't trust him enough when it comes to committing big money on his upcoming contract.

I think it's fair to question if we gave up too much for Rudy but you can't question the results. I was actually more bothered by the KAT trade, especially after seeing how he has grown his overall game. He still scores and rebounds at a high level but he's also become a great facilitator.
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Kat was 💯 traded due to his contract
 



Slim Tubby said:
There's also a reason that UTA will most likely trade Kessler this offseason. He has a lower ceiling, lacks athleticism, can't stay healthy and they don't trust him enough when it comes to committing big money on his upcoming contract.

I think it's fair to question if we gave up too much for Rudy but you can't question the results. I was actually more bothered by the KAT trade, especially after seeing how he has grown his overall game. He still scores and rebounds at a high level but he's also become a great facilitator.
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Another reason they might trade him is they have Jaren Jackson Jr.
 




jamiche said:
Another reason they might trade him is they have Jaren Jackson Jr.
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JJJ is most effective at PF but he certainly can play extended minutes at C.

When you look at the UTA roster, and considering they will also be adding Petersen or Dybantsa, that's a team that can make a big leap as soon as this year.

C JJJ
PF Markkanen
SF Dybantsa/Petersen
SG Bailey
PG George
 

jamiche said:
Kessler started all 58 games that he played in 24-25. He missed almost all of last season due to injury.
I went into nerd mode and compared their numbers per 36 minutes and they are nearly identical. Rudy (obviously bigger sample size) averages a point higher and half a rebound higher per 36. Kessler averages a full block per 36 higher, which really surprised me.

The point of this isn't to prove who is the better player. Rudy is. It's who would have been the better overall value for the franchise because of costs and draft picks not lost. Kessler would have been by far. In theory the team would have had comparable production at the position, much, much better production at the PF spot and the four picks.
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I agree with this take. This is in part why deciding the wolves are a “winner” from that deal gets a little more nuanced as it all is very dependent on who they end up drafting. Maybe they fan them all, but not like there would’ve been no options to contributing players. Kessler has been a very good player
 




Already looking forward to the 2nd game. Wonder if Diagonal will dump the Caruso/Dort guarding of Wemby? Will the 2 time MVP bounce back with some scoring? Will Fox be ready to go? That 3 pointer from the logo, geeze.
Hopefully tonight is a good one also.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Already looking forward to the 2nd game. Wonder if Diagonal will dump the Caruso/Dort guarding of Wemby? Will the 2 time MVP bounce back with some scoring? Will Fox be ready to go? That 3 pointer from the logo, geeze.
Hopefully tonight is a good one also.
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OKC runs into the same deal then as we did. If they're rolling Hartenstein, he gives nothing from the outside so Wemby can paint rove. Chet is like a worse version of Wemby in every way so he loses that matchup as well, but that's probably the only real matchup they can try run. Goal has gotta be to bang on Wemby more though. They let him play way too passively through much of the game
 

just heard on ESPN that OKC has 13 FR & 16 SR picks between now and 2032🤦‍♂️


Better hope we get moved to the Eastern Conference.
 


Gopher_In_NYC said:
just heard on ESPN that OKC has 13 FR & 16 SR picks between now and 2032🤦‍♂️


Better hope we get moved to the Eastern Conference.
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I guess Weather knows more about the value of draft picks than Presti.

For the record, the wolves have two 1sts and 3 2nds between now and 2032.

Scary.
 
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jamiche said:
I guess Weather knows more about the value of draft picks than Presti.

For the record, the wolves have two 1sts and 3 2nds between now and 2032.

Scary.
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If OKC loses, they’re perfectly positioned for them to trade Holmgren. 2 1st, 2 2nds for Giannis. This makes sense if Wemby kicks Chet’s backside.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
If OKC loses, they’re perfectly positioned for them to trade Holmgren. 2 1st, 2 2nds for Giannis. This makes sense if Wemby kicks Chet’s backside.
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I also think Holmgren’s salary catapults from $7M thus season to $41M next season a/ lotta cash for the third 🍌
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
If OKC loses, they’re perfectly positioned for them to trade Holmgren. 2 1st, 2 2nds for Giannis. This makes sense if Wemby kicks Chet’s backside.
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I doubt they move Chet in a trade. Jalen Williams is far more likely to be included in any potential deal. It's much harder to replace Chet's size and defensive prowess than it is a Wing like Williams.

OKC is going to have some tough choices to make on depth guys that will be up for new deals like Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace.
 

Slim Tubby said:
I doubt they move Chet in a trade. Jalen Williams is far more likely to be included in any potential deal. It's much harder to replace Chet's size and defensive prowess than it is a Wing like Williams.

OKC is going to have some tough choices to make on depth guys that will be up for new deals like Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace.
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In my scenario, Giannis replaces Chet.

That gives them a nice run of 3-4 years with SGA & Freak. I’d rather have Giannis vs. Wemby than Chet🤷‍♂️
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
In my scenario, Giannis replaces Chet.

That gives them a nice run of 3-4 years with SGA & Freak. I’d rather have Giannis vs. Wemby than Chet🤷‍♂️
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Hartenstein will also probably get moved. He has a $28.5M TO for next year and also wants a bigger deal that OKC simply can't afford.

Playing Giannis next to Chet gives them great flexibility on both ends of the court. Just my opinion, though...they have a war chest of trade assets to make multiple substantial deals.
 

Slim Tubby said:
Hartenstein will also probably get moved. He has a $28.5M TO for next year and also wants a bigger deal that OKC simply can't afford.
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He’s come a loooooooooooong way from being a role player on the Knicks.
Slim Tubby said:
Playing Giannis next to Chet gives them great flexibility on both ends of the court.
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True, but how much would SKA, Giannis & Chester cost?
Slim Tubby said:
Just my opinion, though...they have a war chest of trade assets to make multiple substantial deals.
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Tim Connelly says he is optimistic they will bring back Ayo Dosunmu:


"Ayo's our most important free agent. He's a guy we thought we knew pretty well and we liked him from afar. Now seeing him day to day, we love him."
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
In my scenario, Giannis replaces Chet.

That gives them a nice run of 3-4 years with SGA & Freak. I’d rather have Giannis vs. Wemby than Chet🤷‍♂️
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I dunno. I'm probably wrong on this but I think there will be less of a market than people think for soon to be 32 year old, injury plagued Giannis, who was a pain in the ass behind the scenes if Myles Turner was telling the truth. Certainly way more than Julius but not as much as I would have guessed a year ago. I thinking one frontline starter, one rotation guy and a prettily heavily protected first a couple of years out.

We'll see....
 


jamiche said:
I dunno. I'm probably wrong on this but I think there will be less of a market than people think for soon to be 32 year old, injury plagued Giannis, who was a pain in the ass behind the scenes if Myles Turner was telling the truth. Certainly way more than Julius but not as much as I would have guessed a year ago. I thinking one frontline starter, one rotation guy and a prettily heavily protected first a couple of years out.

We'll see....
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Your proposal doesn’t seem that much different than the one I heard; what’s crazy is even if it’s the version I heard, OKC is so asset rich, it’s not a hindrance to them.

Thru can keep cycling through their young guys and dumping them when they get too spendy for the next five years. It’s mind boggling🤓
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
He’s come a loooooooooooong way from being a role player on the Knicks.
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A really solid player and lunch pail guy. The Knicks' loss was OKC's gain. He wasn't as effective or productive this year compared to the previous due to injury issues.

OKC drafted C/PF Sorber last year who sat out all season with an injury. They also have the #12 Pick this year that will put them in position to grab another highly rated bug guy like Lendeborg, Mara or Cenac Jr.
Gopher_In_NYC said:
True, but how much would SKA, Giannis & Chester cost?
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The exact same as FTA, Giannis and Jalen. Chet and Williams have identical new contracts that both kick in next season at $42M per year and escalating from there.

I agree with you completely that MIL would prefer Chet over Jalen in any deal, though.
 

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