2019 Minnesota Timberwolves Off-Season Thread

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tikited said:
I wouldn't want Russell for what we would have had to move and pay. Russell is not worth anything close to a max deal (only if it meant Wiggins being moved). Two #1's is too much and a max signing imo. Having a big three of Towns, Russell and Wiggins would have been beyond terrible.
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I tend to agree. As much as I wanted Russell here, we couldn't have/shouldn't have competed with with the Warriors used to land him.
 

BleedGopher said:
As it stands now, Gorgui Dieng is the only natural four on the Wolves roster or else the team will have to play small ball with Robert Covington potentially at that position, something President Gersson Rosas said the team was open to trying.

One name to watch in that market is JaMychal Green, who has played five seasons with the Clippers, Grizzlies and Spurs. He averaged 9.4 points per game in playing 65 games with the Grizzlies and Clippers.

Both Marcus and Markieff Morris are also available.


http://www.startribune.com/looking-...er-missing-out-on-d-angelo-russell/512061422/

Howl Wolves!!
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Gorgui is not even close to being a natural 4, he's 100% a 5.

JaMychal Green would be a decent pick-up though. I'd rather have Marcus Morris, but Green would probably come cheaper.
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
I tend to agree. As much as I wanted Russell here, we couldn't have/shouldn't have competed with with the Warriors used to land him.
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I can't believe that Russell chose to play with Curry when he could have played here with Johnny Flynn... oh wait....
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
I tend to agree. As much as I wanted Russell here, we couldn't have/shouldn't have competed with with the Warriors used to land him.
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Now let's just hope the Warriors don't convince Rosas to take Russell back at the trade deadline for more than what the Wolves would have coughed up now. Russell will probably look really good playing on the Warriors. Hearing some rumblings that the Warriors could just flip him at the deadline or next offseason for a bunch of assets. Let's hope it's not to the Wolves
 

per STrib:

The Timberwolves are saying goodbye to another veteran from last season's roster, and it's one they've seen walk out the door in previous years.

Forward Anthony Tolliver is set to sign a one-year, minimum deal worth $2.6 million with Portland, a source confirmed. Tolliver played in 65 games last season, averaging five points per game. It was a trying year as Tolliver found himself in and out of the rotation at various times. Between Nov. 14 and Dec. 31 did not play in 15 games under former coach Tom Thibodeau, even though he was healthy

http://www.startribune.com/anthony-tolliver-says-goodbye-to-wolves-for-second-time/512110242/

Howl Wolves!!
 


Chip: New bosses Gersson Rosas, Paul Fenton miss out on free-agency prizes

Gersson Rosas and Paul Fenton should meet at a bar somewhere between Minneapolis and St. Paul to grab a beer(s) and commiserate their free agency experiences.

They can swap tales of rejection over a pint in a dimly lit room.

Rosas: We even rented a helicopter for DLo!

Fenton: Oh yeah, well at least you got a visit. I couldn’t even get Joe Pavelski to meet with us in person.

Rosas: Tough break, brother. Tough break.

Welcome to Minnesota, fellas. Nobody said this would be easy.

The start of free agency for the NBA and NHL left fans of the two local teams feeling a mixture of disappointment and anger. Perhaps some resignation, too.

The Timberwolves were spurned by All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell after media reports created the perception that Minnesota was his preferred destination — the first time in history that sentiment has ever been uttered.

http://www.startribune.com/new-boss...sas-miss-out-on-free-agency-prizes/512091892/

Howl Wolves!!
 

STrib: Timberwolves obtain forward Jake Layman in sign-and-trade deal with Portland

The Timberwolves continued their run on young forwards Wednesday, agreeing to a deal with Portland restricted free agent Jake Layman.

But unlike the deals for Jordan Bell and Noah Vonleh, which were one-year each, Layman is set to sign a three-year, $11.5 million deal with the Wolves, a source confirmed.

The Wolves are acquiring Layman via sign-and-trade with Portland. Layman's salary is comparable to Dario Saric's, meaning the Wolves can use the trade exception they gained on draft night when they sent Saric to the Suns for the No. 6 pick in the draft to sign Layman.

Layman was a useful rotation player last season for Portland after not getting much action in his first two seasons. Layman averaged 7.6 points over 18.7 minutes in 71 games.

A source said Layman's deal may not eat into the Wolves' mid-level exception, that the Wolves could execute the deal without using part of that $9.3 million exception. It all depends on how the rest of free agency goes for the Wolves, who still haven't resolved the situation with restricted free agent Tyus Jones.

http://www.startribune.com/timberwo...-sign-and-trade-deal-with-portland/512201502/

Howl Wolves!!
 


If the Wolves get 33 wins next season with this roster, they would be exceeding expectations. Folks, this continues to be one of the worst run professional sports franchise in any sport.
 



LesBolstad said:
If the Wolves get 33 wins next season with this roster, they would be exceeding expectations. Folks, this continues to be one of the worst run professional sports franchise in any sport.
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Lazy thinking, less. Rosas and his team are the first group that Glen has hired who have had extensive front office experience. McHale and Flip never ran a team. Kahn couldn't run to the store. When Flip came back his front office experience consisted of six months as a GM in the mid 90's under McHale. Thibs the coach and Thibs the POBO should have fired each other.

The new team seems capable of formulating a plan and thinking multiple steps ahead. Rosas 75% had to hire Ryan, but he is surrounding the young coach with a strong staff and a new system. The draft day low cost trade was a good move even though they didn't get Garland. In terms of Russell, sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make. Russell is a talented and very incomplete player. It would have been splashy and sexy, but I'm not sure it would have solved salary cap and roster problems. If forced to make a choice, I'd rather have four years of max Wiggins than four years of max Russell. The devil I know...

The new signings are boring but necessary, for depth, salary cap management and chips for, hopefully, one big move.

As long as Rosas, Ryan et. al. are communicating well with KAT and he buys in, there's no reason not to be patient with the new team. Give it a year before you fall back on the default thinking.

You get the Looney Less Award.
 
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Ok, I'll give it another year. What's one more after 30 years of disappointment? :cry:
 

jamiche said:
Lazy thinking, less. Rosas and his team are the first group that Glen has hired who have had extensive front office experience. McHale and Flip never ran a team. Kahn couldn't run to the store. When Flip came back his front office experience consisted of six months as a GM in the mid 90's under McHale. Thibs the coach and Thibs the POBO should have fired each other.

The new team seems capable of formulating a plan and thinking multiple steps ahead. Rosas 75% had to hire Ryan, but he is surrounding the young coach with a strong staff and a new system. The draft day low cost trade was a good move even though they didn't get Garland. In terms of Russell, sometimes the best deals are the ones you don't make. Russell is a talented and very incomplete player. It would have been splashy and sexy, but I'm not sure it would have solved salary cap and roster problems. If forced to make a choice, I'd rather have four years of max Wiggins than four years of max Russell. The devil I know...

The new signings are boring but necessary, for depth, salary cap management and chips for, hopefully, one big move.

As long as Rosas, Ryan et. al. are communicating well with KAT and he buys in, there's no reason not to be patient with the new team. Give it a year before you fall back on the default thinking.

You get the Looney Less Award.
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That all very well maybe true, but at the end of the day, you need talent. The wolves don't have enough. They may go .500 but I'd rather just bottom out and increase my odds in the lottery. .500 is how you get stuck in mediocrity purgatory like the Wild are

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 

bemidjigopher said:
That all very well maybe true, but at the end of the day, you need talent. The wolves don't have enough. They may go .500 but I'd rather just bottom out and increase my odds in the lottery. .500 is how you get stuck in mediocrity purgatory like the Wild are

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
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Fair point, but they aren't heading towards a .500 season. As less suggested, the current roster probably wins 30-35 games. However, I'll be pretty surprised if this is the roster at the start of the season. It seems like there is a purpose, beyond current roster construction, to assembling what seems like 19 low priced wings and two non guaranteed contracts. It looks like they are actively planning to bring another star here and move out one of the bad contracts. If they can pull it off, the team can win north of fifty games and get into the second round. If not, another lottery year.
 



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Howl Wolves!!
 

per the Wolves:

Where Is He From?
Murphy, 22, grew up in San Antonio, Texas.

Before discussing Murphy, let’s get to know San Antonio a little bit.

Holy moly. A lot to unpack here. If you’re into music, or SPORTS TALK RADIO (in deep, scratchy voice), there are more than 50 radio stations in the San Antonio area. It’s the home of iHeartMedia.

The annual Fiesta San Antonio event nets the city an extra $340 million. We’re already past it, but the event is held every year in April. ROAD TRIP! More than three million people take part in the event that was founded in 1891.

As you can guess, there are lots of cool and fun people from San Antonio. Here are the most interesting to me: Davy Crockett. Shaquille O’Neal. Priest Holmes. George Strait. Shea Serrano. And of course, Jordan Murphy.

Back to big-dog Murph. Dude, this guy. In middle school, he led his team to a 75-0 record. What in the world. He attended William J. Brennan High School and averaged 23.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game. After having interest from Oregon, UCLA and Gonzaga, Murphy ended up signing with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Where Have You Heard Of Him Before?
Well, if you’re from Minnesota, you’re probably pretty familiar with Murphy, a guy who will probably have his jersey retired by the Gophers.

Murphy was a First-Team All-Big Ten Player in 2019, averaging 14.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Murphy is the all-time leading rebounder in Big Ten history.

Describe Him To Us
The goal for Murphy will be to play more perimeter than he did in college. As a Gopher, Murphy played primarily the 4 and 5. In the pros at 6’7, he’ll need to make that transition to more of a 3 and 4.

At practice leading up to Summer League, Murphy looked confident and he’s getting really comfortable with a re-worked shot.

For Minnesota fans, this is going to be fun to watch Murphy play a different role for the state’s professional team.

We’ll see how much Murphy’s shot has improved when a defender leaves him wide open from deep in Las Vegas.

Murphy brings tons of energy and is going to fight for every rebound. Effort will never be a problem for Murphy. He’s a high energy guy who is fun to watch. His hair is also wild and I appreciate that.

https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/get-know-him-summer-league-edition-jordan-murphy

Howl Wolves!!
 

Really, really good article in The Athletic by Britt Robson about the Wolves offseason thus far since draft night.

https://theathletic.com/1064387/2019/07/05/after-a-sugar-high-the-wolves-are-eating-their-vegetables-and-thats-not-so-bad/

It's brutally honest and yet still points out some signs to maybe have hope in the new regime. Gave a brief rundown on the five new players the Wolves acquired, and how those contracts impact where they are now. At the end of the day, they bought five lottery tickets on guys aged 23-28, and if any one of them developed into anything, they paid next to nothing for the lot.

I have to say, I'm still optimistic moving forward that this new front office is going to make the Wolves a more competitive bunch over the next few years.
 

listening to Trent Tucker's radio show. He is pushing for the Wolves to make a play for Russell Westbrook, because he says they have to get a second 'star' player to go with Towns.

Personally, with what the Lakers and Clippers are doing, the Wolves are hosed as long as they're in the West division.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
listening to Trent Tucker's radio show. He is pushing for the Wolves to make a play for Russell Westbrook, because he says they have to get a second 'star' player to go with Towns.

Personally, with what the Lakers and Clippers are doing, the Wolves are hosed as long as they're in the West division.
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RWB makes a ton of money and looks to be declining, but if it gets rid of Wiggins, sign me up.
I doubt the Thunder would even to listen to offers from the Wolves.
 

Wiggins is heading to the Toronto Raptors! Book it!

Toronto is desperate at this point, Wiggins is the hometown boy, and maybe somebody still sees something in Wiggins. Sam Mitchell was on NBA TV this morning and threw out that idea. He didn't speak from having any inside knowledge, just that it's a viable solution.

It wouldn't be the craziest idea for Toronto to try to pick him up after losing both Kawhi and Danny Green. The compensation would be the real issue. Unfortunately, Masai Ujiri isn't exactly someone that I would expect Rosas to fleece; both are pretty sharp guys. Might be something to watch, might be wishful thinking.

A guy can dream, right?
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Wiggins is heading to the Toronto Raptors! Book it!

Toronto is desperate at this point, Wiggins is the hometown boy, and maybe somebody still sees something in Wiggins. Sam Mitchell was on NBA TV this morning and threw out that idea. He didn't speak from having any inside knowledge, just that it's a viable solution.

It wouldn't be the craziest idea for Toronto to try to pick him up after losing both Kawhi and Danny Green. The compensation would be the real issue. Unfortunately, Masai Ujiri isn't exactly someone that I would expect Rosas to fleece; both are pretty sharp guys. Might be something to watch, might be wishful thinking.

A guy can dream, right?
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The rumor was Serge Ibaka for Wiggins and a first.
Nope.
They can't give up any 1sts. Not now.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
The rumor was Serge Ibaka for Wiggins and a first.
Nope.
They can't give up any 1sts. Not now.
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That's a dream come true trade. Ibaka has one year left. That's it. Wiggins has four. Four! Plus, Ibaka would be pretty good with Towns.
 

tikited said:
That's a dream come true trade. Ibaka has one year left. That's it. Wiggins has four. Four! Plus, Ibaka would be pretty good with Towns.
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And what happens when they get out from Wiggins's deal?
Who wants to come here?
That bad contract means little if the can't turn a draft pick into a star.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
And what happens when they get out from Wiggins's deal?
Who wants to come here?
That bad contract means little if the can't turn a draft pick into a star.
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I agree we won't be getting the best. No KD, Davis, Kawhi, etc coming here. Enough of the 2nd and 3rd tier players will follow the money to make it worth it. I'd rather overpay a good player than pay Wiggins. I wouldn't worry too much about one pick leaving if that actually happened.

Just read a rumor of the Wolves in talks with OKC about Westbrook. Culver didn't sign yet... Lots of theories out there. If Paul George costs 5 or 6 picks, then how many would Westbrook cost? Does OKC even want more picks at this point?
 

tikited said:
I agree we won't be getting the best. No KD, Davis, Kawhi, etc coming here. Enough of the 2nd and 3rd tier players will follow the money to make it worth it. I'd rather overpay a good player than pay Wiggins. I wouldn't worry too much about one pick leaving if that actually happened.

Just read a rumor of the Wolves in talks with OKC about Westbrook. Culver didn't sign yet... Lots of theories out there. If Paul George costs 5 or 6 picks, then how many would Westbrook cost? Does OKC even want more picks at this point?
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I don't think Westbrook will bring quite the same haul that George did. The Clippers needed George to get Leonard. Plus George's contract is way more team friendly. It ends when George is 31 years old at 37 million. Westbrook's deal ends when he'll be 33 and pays him 47 million.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
I don't think Westbrook will bring quite the same haul that George did. The Clippers needed George to get Leonard. Plus George's contract is way more team friendly. It ends when George is 31 years old at 37 million. Westbrook's deal ends when he'll be 33 and pays him 47 million.
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Let's hope so. I'd rather pass on Westbrook completley.
 



tikited said:
47 million by the time 2023 hits. No thanks. Unless...Wiggins is involved and Culver isn't. Otherwise it would be another crippling deal.
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My Harrumph was one of concurrence! I think there are still some moves in the works. It will be interesting to see what shakes out
 

STrib: Jarrett Culver joins Timberwolves at Las Vegas Summer League

Jarrett Culver said the nearly two-week waiting period from the time the Timberwolves traded up to select him this year’s draft to when he was officially allowed to join the team on Saturday was “difficult.”

But it made a day like Sunday all the more worth it. From the moment he entered the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Culver had a smile across his face.

“It feels like a big relief off my shoulders,” Culver said. “It’s official now, so I’m just ready to work.”

Except he wasn’t quite able to work as much as he wanted Sunday, as he did not play in the Wolves’ 90-66 victory over the Hawks.

The Wolves opted to rest Culver since Culver got into Las Vegas late Saturday night, for a team dinner around 11 p.m. to officially welcome him to the franchise.

“There’s a lot to like, and we feel like in our system we’re going to be able to maximize him over time,” President Gersson Rosas said. “A prototypical, two-way, playmaking wing in the NBA is super valuable. We feel like we got our hands on one in the draft.”

Culver was hardly sitting on his hands Sunday. He took part in a workout earlier in the day with some of his new teammates, among them Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, and he was scheduled to work out Sunday night as well.

“They want me to come in and be confident and be myself, just like how I was in college,” Culver said. “They want me to improve on my game and take it to the next level.”

Both Culver and Rosas said they expect Culver to make an immediate impact defensively.

“[He has] versatility, he can guard multiple positions,” Rosas said. “He’s coming from a fantastic defensive program that’s been one of the best defensive programs in college. Man-to-man defender, good technique, good skill, good physical tools and as his body improves we feel like that’s going to translate at a high NBA level.”

http://www.startribune.com/jarrett-culver-joins-timberwolves-at-las-vegas-summer-league/512332112/

Howl Wolves!!
 

Wow Tyus is getting offered a lot more than I expected he would.

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