2020 Minnesota Timberwolves Off-Season Thread

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manderson1984 said:
Good points. I fully agree on the situational with Wiseman. GS has a solid culture that will help a lot of guys thrive. Also for sure a terrible year to get the first pick or even a top 3 pick. I do think there is quite a bit of depth however, which makes me hope we can trade back and acquire assets I'm not done with Culver yet, I do think the trade up was plenty worth it and we didn't give up that much. I do think it was with the intent to get Garland though and it fell through which happens. I love this front offices views on analytics so I'm hoping it pays off in the long run. We will see.
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me neither
 




manderson1984 said:
I'm struggling with all the Wiseman love here. He seems like he's a defensive anchor which is something we can find later or even via free agency. I'm hoping we can trade back. I want a 3 and D wing like Vassell or Nesmith. I'd love to see if they could add some assets for next years draft.
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I would love to see them trade down if they get value. I would also like to see them move the other 1st rounder for a 2021 pick. Honestly, I'm not overly worried about "fit". I've seen too many good players passed over on draft night because a certain guy fits "their system". Then the player that was determined to not be a fit goes on to have a successful career, while the guy that fits the system either sucks, or the guy running the system is gone within a year or two, and it's all a moot point. Get the best basketball player available.

Does anybody have any confidence that either Saunders or Rosas will still be here in 3 years? Based on historical reference, I would say I don't.
 


forever a gopher said:
I would love to see them trade down if they get value. I would also like to see them move the other 1st rounder for a 2021 pick. Honestly, I'm not overly worried about "fit". I've seen too many good players passed over on draft night because a certain guy fits "their system". Then the player that was determined to not be a fit goes on to have a successful career, while the guy that fits the system either sucks, or the guy running the system is gone within a year or two, and it's all a moot point. Get the best basketball player available.

Does anybody have any confidence that either Saunders or Rosas will still be here in 3 years? Based on historical reference, I would say I don't.
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Yeah depending on how far down they go, the value wouldn't need to be that much imo. Trading down and then packaging later round picks for future firsts is solid. I am confident that Rosas will for sure still be here. I do not know yet about Ryan, but I do think he's growing as a young HC. Rosas has shared your views on drafting best available over fit too.
 

Yes, still doubt that anybody out there will offer anything of value for the Wolves pick(s). Though on 2nd thought, maybe there is one team out there who'll give the Wolves a good player(s) and future picks for the Wolves spots this year?

I forgot that Tom Thibodeau is now at the Knicks. :unsure:
 

per Shooter:

The best player in the Nov. 18 NBA draft is point guard LaMelo Ball, who has been playing in Australia. The next-best player is center James Wiseman from Memphis. The third-best is guard Anthony Edwards from Georgia.

The Timberwolves have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

The bet here is that they take Edwards. Reason: The Wolves already have point guard D’Angelo Russell and center Karl-Anthony Towns. No need to double up with Ball or Wiseman.

There’s a chance the Wolves trade the pick, but insiders say there are not many teams willing to move up in this draft.

“Gersson (Rosas, Wolves basketball president) is going to look at all options and hasn’t made up his mind on anything yet, I can tell you that,” Wolves owner Glen Taylor said.

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Charley Walters: High-priced vets will be a tough sell for Vikings

There’s little doubt that the Minnesota Vikings (1-5), who last week shipped pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue to Baltimore, have been trying to dump more payroll before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline. The…
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Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
per Shooter:

The best player in the Nov. 18 NBA draft is point guard LaMelo Ball, who has been playing in Australia. The next-best player is center James Wiseman from Memphis. The third-best is guard Anthony Edwards from Georgia.

Go Gophers!!
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Yep, when you're looking for advice about Pro Basketball Shooter is you're guy?

Looked at the Football Forum first. Apparently Bleed is using Shooter to stir-up the natives. :LOL::LOL:
 




County challenging parental rights of Timberwolves' Malik Beasley, wife

Hennepin County officials want to have the 19-month-old son of Minnesota Timberwolves player Malik Beasley put under court-ordered protection citing the felony weapons and drug charges filed last month against the boy's parents as well as new evidence of possible maltreatment.

A petition filed this week in District Court by the county's Human Services and Public Health departments challenges the parental rights of Malik Beasley and wife Montana Yao and levels further allegations against the couple growing out of an altercation the 23-year-old basketball player had in late September with a family outside his Plymouth home.

Beyond the charges filed last week accusing Beasley of aiming a rifle at a couple and their teenage daughter in an SUV outside his house, where a large stash of marijuana and other guns were seized by police, the petition also says Beasley was caught on indoor video surveillance pointing a rifle "in the general direction" of his son in the garage that same day.

The son remains in parental custody as a judge weighs the petition's allegations and whatever response to the filing the parents might offer.

www.startribune.com

County challenging parental rights of Timberwolves' Malik Beasley, wife

Filing says player pointed gun in "general direction" of his 19-month-old son.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Howl Wolves!!
 

NBA Draft Rumors 2020: James Wiseman does not want Timberwolves to draft him No. 1

James Wiseman, likely the top big-man prospect in the 2020 NBA Draft, reportedly does not want to be drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who own the No. 1 pick.

Per Brian Windhorst, in a recent appearance on Darren Wolfson’s radio show in Minneapolis, Wiseman “doesn’t even want to do anything with the Wolves" due to star center Karl-Anthony Towns' presence on the roster.

The Timberwolves were never likely to pick Wiseman unless they had their sights set on a trade anyway. Towns is the future of the franchise, and quiet rumblings have already begun that he is getting antsy to win soon, even though his contract runs through the 2023-24 season. The Timberwolves seem committed to keeping him after they spent valuable draft capital to acquire his good friend D’Angelo Russell last year. Adding a young center with starter potential would have been a strange way to demonstrate commitment to a franchise superstar.

www.masslive.com

Report: James Wiseman does not want to go to Timberwolves

James Wiseman does not want to play for a team that already employs a franchise center, per a report.
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Howl Wolves!!
 

per Britt:

Why Gersson Rosas’ honeymoon phase with the Wolves ends at the NBA Draft

Rosas has been true to his word thus far. He has dramatically overhauled the Timberwolves roster, twice, in October and again in February. He has excised the three most onerous contracts he inherited from his predecessor Tom Thibodeau — trading, in chronological order, Jeff Teague, Andrew Wiggins and Gorgui Dieng. His dogged effort to pair holdover star Karl-Anthony Towns with KAT’s friend and complementary on-court peer, D’Angelo Russell, was realized in the Wiggins trade.

But these flecks of good news amid this initial upheaval stage of the Rosas rebuild are mostly subsumed by the attendant wreckage all his maneuvering has wrought thus far. The 24 different players who logged time for the Wolves last season produced just 19 victories and yielded the third-worst winning percentage among the NBA’s 30 teams. All that losing didn’t come cheap. The Wolves became a luxury-tax payer after their trades in February. But Rosas has said on multiple occasions that getting under the tax for 2020-21, and thereby avoiding any repeater penalties that would hamstring the team, will not be a problem.

All this recent pain hasn’t ensured a future bed of roses, either. In order to unload Wiggins and land Russell, the Wolves agreed to fork over their first-round pick (unless it lands in the top three of the lottery) to Golden State in a 2021 NBA Draft whose class is already coveted for its pool of potentially elite talent. Meanwhile, the harsh truth is that if you were handicapping the 2020-21 NBA season today, the Wolves would be closer to the 15th place basement of the brutally competitive Western Conference than they would to the eighth-place bottom rung of the playoffs.

Bottom line: The Wolves under Rosas have become a spectacular mess. Ironically, that may be why he has managed to extend his honeymoon and retain the faith of die-hard fans of the franchise.

theathletic.com

Why Gersson Rosas’ honeymoon phase with the Wolves ends at the NBA Draft

Loaded with picks, the POBO who delivered on his promise to overhaul the roster now needs to start pushing it forward.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

Howl Wolves!!
 




• Rarely have the No. 1 and 2 picks gone to teams in various win-now stages. Both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors have explored trading their picks for All-NBA-level stars, sources say, but no such deal appears (for now) likely to materialize. The Wizards have shown no interest in trading Beal for either pick, sources say. Ditto for Phoenix with Devin Booker and Philadelphia with Ben Simmons. Again: If Beal forces Washington's hand, a package centered on the No. 1 pick is nothing to sneeze at. Players one tier down are probably not worth a top-two pick.

www.espn.com

Lowe's NBA offseason preview: Giannis' future, All-Star trades and the draft

Here are the teams and names that could make the biggest news when the NBA offseason ramps up.
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• Jarrett Culver's name has entered the rumor mill, and my best read is the Wolves would deal Culver now only in a blockbuster for a star -- or for a high draft pick that would help in acquiring said star. I'd also expect Minnesota to peddle the combination of the No. 17 pick -- via Brooklyn -- and James Johnson's expiring contract. Does that get the Wolves involved in a Danilo Gallinari sign-and-trade? My guess is the Thunder find something better, but No. 17 is a decent asset.

www.espn.com

Lowe's NBA offseason preview: Giannis' future, All-Star trades and the draft

Here are the teams and names that could make the biggest news when the NBA offseason ramps up.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

• Depending on whether Minnesota or Golden State covets a specific prospect, the next logical step would be trading down. That has placed the focus upon the Charlotte Hornets, sitting at No. 3 with an obvious need for a big man.

The Hornets have heard speculation Golden State is leaning toward James Wiseman at No. 2. That would appear to put Minnesota in position to squeeze Charlotte for a bounty -- something like No. 3, Miles Bridges, and at least one lightly protected future first-round pick to move up to No. 1. In drafts with a no-brainer top pick, the value gap between No. 1 and No. 3 is enormous.

This is not that sort of draft. I am not quite convinced Charlotte's appetite for Wiseman is so strong as to meet the kind of price Minnesota (or Golden State) might demand. The Hornets might be fine settling for Onyeka Okongwu. They could also trade for a veteran big -- a placeholder like Al Horford, or someone (Myles Turner?) who better fits their timeline..

www.espn.com

Lowe's NBA offseason preview: Giannis' future, All-Star trades and the draft

Here are the teams and names that could make the biggest news when the NBA offseason ramps up.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

I see Jrue Holiday's being shopped-what are y'all thoughts on adding him? #1 pick too steep? A defensive stopper alongside Russell and Towns (especially with the mess that Malik Beasley is appearing to be) is intriguing.
 

coolhandgopher said:
I see Jrue Holiday's being shopped-what are y'all thoughts on adding him? #1 pick too steep? A defensive stopper alongside Russell and Towns (especially with the mess that Malik Beasley is appearing to be) is intriguing.
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The Beasley mess is getting worse by the minute it appears. Looks like Jail time is possible.
I would love Holiday but have read it would take an awful lot to get him. Like #1, Culver, Johnson and a future #1. If that is true, I would pass. I'd do #17, #33, Johnson and Culver. I doubt NO would.
 

The National Basketball Players Association board of representatives voted Thursday night to approve a plan for a Dec. 22 start to the season that includes a reduced 72-game schedule, clearing the way for the league and union to finalize details on the 2020-21 season, the NBPA announced.

The NBPA's board of player representatives voted to approve the pre-Christmas start on a conference call with NBPA executive director Michele Roberts, sources said. The NBA and NBPA are planning to discuss the opening of free agency as quickly as possible after the Nov. 18 NBA draft to accommodate player movement with such a short window to the opening of training camps on Dec. 1, sources said..

www.espn.com

Player reps OK plan to start NBA season Dec. 22

The NBPA's formal vote of player representatives was completed Thursday night, and they approved starting the 2020-21 season on Dec. 22 and playing a reduced 72-game schedule, the NBPA announced Friday.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

On sponge bob this morning they are giving squidward the business.
 



STrib: As NBA draft nears, Wolves expect trade calls to intensify


This is the time of relative calm for Sachin Gupta and the rest of the Timberwolves front office.

When Gupta, the Wolves’ executive vice president, and his colleagues call around the league taking the temperature of other teams as it relates to their potential interest in draft trades, the conversations can be a little more casual, more filled with small talk before getting down to business.

But as the Nov. 18 NBA draft gets even closer, soon will come the time for what Gupta referred to as the “three phone” calls, when multiple staff members will be juggling multiple phones and multiple conversations with other executives as the impending deadline of the draft looms over them.

“There’s not a whole lot of pleasantries that are happening with those calls,” Gupta said. “There’s no time for it. It’s, ‘What do you want? What do you got for me?’ ”

With the Wolves in possession of the top pick, not to mention Nos. 17 and 33 overall, the phones have already been ringing. Even though there’s no consensus No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, the top pick is still a valuable asset, one that can change the trajectory of the franchise — and one the Wolves might ponder how best to utilize even after Commissioner Adam Silver puts them on the clock.

“There’s always value to being the first to draft and being able to have the pick of the litter ...” Gupta said. “Often during the year you hear different evaluations of the quality of the draft, but then when it gets to draft time, all that goes out the window and it’s about the reality of the decision in front of you.”

www.startribune.com

As NBA draft nears, Wolves expect trade calls to intensify

Endless talk surrounds the Wolves' No. 1 draft pick. Sachin Gupta is listening.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Howl Wolves!!
 

No. 1 — Minnesota Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards, G, Georgia
In the previous versions of this mock draft that we’ve done, I’ve had the Timberwolves taking LaMelo Ball at the top — and not necessarily because I thought they were going to draft and keep him to be the future point guard or combo guard with D’Angelo Russell in the backcourt for the foreseeable future — but I do think that Ball is one of the most tradable assets. I do believe that the Timberwolves want to deal the No. 1 pick if they can to add other good young players, some future draft assets, things like that, as they continue their rebuild under Gerson Rosas. But I think there’s a change at the top going into this one.

After all of the research I’ve done into their motivations, I think they’re still looking to deal the No. 1 pick, but I also think it could be a difficult thing to pull off in terms of finding the right value and getting a deal that they feel comfortable with. So I’m going forward as if they are making the No. 1 selection to keep it. If they’re going to do that, then I think it’s Anthony Edwards from Georgia. When you look at his size and his ability to play the two traditionally, he could fit really well with Russell in the backcourt. I think Ball and Russell would be a little bit redundant and not work very well together. And I think James Wiseman is the other possibility up here, but he is a center, and the Timberwolves have Karl-Anthony Towns. I think that the Wolves will look at Anthony Edwards’ upside and believe he is the player in this draft who could most likely turn into an All-Star-caliber talent, and he’s at a position they need. — Jon Krawczynski

theathletic.com

2020 NBA mock draft, 4.0: Who goes to the Wolves and Warriors at the top?

With the 2020 NBA Draft a week away, our beat writers take one last crack at predicting the top 10.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
 

Today at The Athletic, Hollinger offers a "counterpoint".

1. Minnesota – LaMelo Ball, PG, Illawarra Hawks
Minnesota continues to explore trade opportunities, in part because that’s how this front office is wired. But I’ve also heard some chatter that the Wolves are in win-now mode. To which I would retort a confused … why?

The Wolves aren’t making the playoffs this year with their current roster, and their two best players are at the beginning of long-term deals. Now is the time to assemble all the pieces that make you so good two years from now that Karl Towns and D’Angelo Russell aren’t looking for greener pastures; it is not the time to go all-in on the No. 8 seed and hope that Towns appreciates it three years from now. Why are you doing this, Wolves? WHY?

Anyway …

I’m fairly certain the first pick in the draft will be either LaMelo Ball or James Wiseman. Ball is the biggest talent, but Wiseman could end up No. 1 if the Wolves trade down with Charlotte. (One possible construction: The third pick, Miles Bridges and the 32nd pick for the first pick, Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman.) That would leave the Wolves in a position to gather some assets and select Anthony Edwards with the third pick, who fits better with the Russell-Towns pair than Ball does.

But I think that scenario is slightly unlikely, and if not, I think Minnesota — or whichever team picks here that isn’t Charlotte — takes Ball. He’s the most talented player and likely will have the most trade value. There are still warts here, relative to the top pick in most drafts: His jumper is shaky at best, he needs to dial up the defense, and from what I’ve heard his interviews were somewhere between mediocre and flat-out bad.

One other player to watch out for: Tyrese Haliburton. Minnesota isn’t taking him first, but I could see the Wolves going for him instead of Edwards if they trade down.

theathletic.com

2020 NBA Mock Draft: LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman and trade possibilities

Our former NBA front office executive John Hollinger shares his intel that shapes his mock draft ahead of next week's NBA Draft.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
 

Best and Worst Draft Trades for Present NBA GM

Minnesota Timberwolves | Gersson Rosas (since 2019)
  • Total trades: 7
  • Draft-related trades: 1
  • 2020 draft picks: Nos. 1, 17 and 33
After just his first year on the job, Rosas has been one of the more active executives, turning over a Minnesota roster with seven separate trades (only Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Okogie remain on the roster he inherited).

One of those trades, and the only one that's draft-related, occurred last year when the Timberwolves sent Dario Saric and the draft rights to Cameron Johnson (No. 11) to Phoenix for the draft rights to Jarrett Culver (No. 6).

www.espn.com

The best and worst draft trades for every NBA GM

NBA teams and their top executives have big hits and misses when making trades around the draft.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

The more I study this draft the more confused I get. My early take was: "No LaMelo, no matter what". To my eyes, Ball is still am immensely flawed prospect and agruably my biggest concern with him is he's never had to play on a real team with real expectations. At least Lonzo played a year at UCLA so you could see how he fit in a structured system and compare him to other prospects. That lack of structure is a bigger concern to me than his horrible jumper form, his terrible shot selection, his questionable burst, and his indifference to defense (and all of those are huge red flags!). That said, almost all of the guys I trust the most have him as the top propect in this draft: Schmitz/Givony/Hollinger/Duncan/Leroux all identify him as the best talent in the draft with the highest potential of becoming a superstar. I have come around to the possibility that I am just wrong here.

Edwards: lack of a motor and lack of a jump shot turned me off to him. The new rookie scale means the number 1 pick is going to come in to the league making $9 million a year. The prestige of being the number 1 pick combined with major money immediately make it that much more unlikely that he will discover a way to keep the engine running. If you look at the NBA Finals, neither team had a player on the floor whose motor wasn't running at all times. The other issue with Edwards is: do we have an official measurement on him? Is he 6'3 or 6'5? He's an explosive athlete but a 6'3 SG just isn't that valuable, especially one with a mediocre jump shot.

Wiseman: Bigs don't have much value in the NBA right now and even less so for the Wolves who alread have Towns. I wasn't really considering Wiseman at all until I researched enough of Ball and Edwards to be down on them both. Wiseman seems less likely to be a complete bust than both Ball and Edwards, but also might be the least likely to truly become a star given his position and lack of polished offensive skills. He's supposed to be a great defender in th NBA, but that is based on projection and not what he showed at Memphis or on the shoe circuit. Givony mentioned concerns with his motor too which gives me pause.

The Wolves seem to be playing a rather bad hand in the best way possible. In the last 24 hours I have heard/read from reputable people that they think the Wolves will take Ball, Edwards, and Wiseman! Schmitz and Givony said Ball on the "Lowe Post" podcast and suggested that the Bulls, Pistons, and Thunder have been in contact about acquiring the pick to draft Ball. Givony even suggested the Bulls may give up Wendall Carter plus something else to get to number 1. Johnny K from the Athletic suggested the Wolves might have to stay at number 1 and if they do, thinks they would pick Edwards. On ESPN's the Jump they suggested the Wolves could take Weisman and you also have the rumor going around that Charlotte wants Wiseman and knows they might have to jump Golden State to get him. My take away from all of this is that the Wolves want to move down and are doing a good job of trying to create as much interest as possible in the pick in order to maximize a return. I personally really want to see them get back in to the 2021 draft with an unprotected pick from a fellow lottery team. The dream scenario (IMHO) is trading 1 to Charlotte or Chicago for the 3 or 4 and next years 1. That still seems extremely unlikely to happen, but more likely than it did a week or so ago.
 

per Shooter:

Glen Taylor’s asking price for the Timberwolves and Lynx, estimated two months ago at $1.2 billion, now is about $1.5 billion, according to Forbes last week.

www.twincities.com

Charley Walters: Vikings’ Dalvin Cook was wise to accept contract extension

It turns out that Dalvin Cook’s decision to accept the Minnesota Vikings’ $63 million, five-year contract extension just before the start of the season was the right one. Had Cook, 25, the NFL’s ru…
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Howl Wolves!!
 

The Minnesota Timberwolves may be scheming to land Tyrese Haliburton
Haliburton is a 6-foot-5 guard with an impressive 6-foot-8 wingspan. He’s a solid two-way player who would immediately improve the Wolves’ defense with his length and intelligence and add an intriguing element of playmaking on the offensive end of the floor.

Modest athleticism and a perceived cap on Haliburton’s ceiling are to blame for him not getting consistent steam in the top three the draft, but there’s been plenty of recent steam to suggest that he could be in play as early as pick No. 4.

If the Wolves aren’t going to take him first — and they definitely aren’t going to do that — and trade-backs have reportedly been difficult to work out to this point, how might they go about landing Haliburton?

The first credible mention of the Wolves’ interest in Haliburton came from early November, when the Midwest-based and longtime Journal Times reporter Gery Woelfel reported that the Wolves and Golden State Warriors both had “keen interest” in the Iowa State guard. Woelfel also noted that Minnesota’s front office had spoken with Haliburton “on multiple occasions”..

dunkingwithwolves.com

Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors: Wolves trying to land Tyrese Haliburton

Rumors are swirling that the Minnesota Timberwolves are doing what they can to select Tyrese Haliburton in the 2020 NBA Draft. Much has been made about who...
dunkingwithwolves.com dunkingwithwolves.com
 

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