All Things 2021 Minnesota Timberwolves Off-Season Thread

BleedGopher

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STrib: Wolves basketball boss believes he has built a winner

What comes next?​

That segued into the next topic of conversation: Just where does the roster stand? Rosas said in order to be successful, a team has to have "seven, eight players you feel really good about" forming the foundation of the future.

"Right now we're at five," Rosas said.

Towns, Russell, Edwards, McDaniels and Malik Beasley.

"That's a lot better than we were two years ago …" Rosas said. "You can criticize any of our guys who have underperformed and that's fair because our record is what it is, but … those are team-building pieces that are very hard to acquire."

The Wolves might be able to acquire another one in the draft, if the pingpong balls go their way again. Their late-season surge cost them some odds of retaining a top-three pick, which would go to Golden State to complete the Russell trade from a year ago if it falls outside the top four.

"If we get the pick, there's a strategy in place there," Rosas said. "If we don't get the pick, there's a strategy in place there."


Howl Wolves!!
 

I hadn't seen this until this morning; the Wolves may not pick at all in this year's draft? It looks like along with the Golden State 1st rounder they could lose, they also had traded this year's 2nd rounder to OKC. The team doesn't need to get any younger than they already are but not picking at all would make for a boring draft night. You can never rule out Rosas making some deals to get back into the draft though.

I wonder how sure they are that Bolmaro is part of the long term plans, whether it's for 2021-2022 and beyond or as a trade chip?
 





Vanderbilt is excellent defensively. He can't shoot at all, but he's a solid role player.
 

I believe Rosas has already indicated that - if the Wolves lose the draft pick- it won't be the end of the world. Apparently the plan is to try and add some more experienced players through trades or free-agent signings in the off-season. with the draft pick, you're adding another young player to a young roster.

And, according to some NBA "insiders," after the top 5 or so picks, this year's draft really isn't supposed to be that strong.

Not a fan of trading the #1 pick, but apparently that was the price they had to pay to get DLo AND get rid of Wiggins.

and then the NBA changes the lottery process.

remember - even if the Wolves had not traded the pick, they only had - at best - a 40% chance of having a top-3 pick. with the games they won at the end of the year, if the pick goes to Golden State, there is a better chance it will be #6 or lower.
 

For those who watch regularly, what type of a future does Naz Reid have? His stat lines have looked mighty nice through the second half of this season.
 

For those who watch regularly, what type of a future does Naz Reid have? His stat lines have looked mighty nice through the second half of this season.
We actually have good role players off the bench in Vanderbilt and Reid. What we need are three things:

1) a tall wing who can shoot 3s really well, rebound, and play good defense.

2) a power forward who can rebound really well, play good defense, and hit open shots

3) Anthony Edwards needs to improve on offense by quite a lot, particularly his shooting.

If we had those 3 things happen, then we could really compete at a high level.
 



For those who watch regularly, what type of a future does Naz Reid have? His stat lines have looked mighty nice through the second half of this season.

Think he's got a future as player. He's a decent scorer and pretty good rebounder. Can't speak to his defensive skills. Seems more like a PF than Center but he's been mainly playing back-up Center for them.

His numbers, considering how much he's played, aren't too bad.

 

Think he's got a future as player. He's a decent scorer and pretty good rebounder. Can't speak to his defensive skills. Seems more like a PF than Center but he's been mainly playing back-up Center for them.

His numbers, considering how much he's played, aren't too bad.

While you still have your thinking cap on, what about Vanderbilt? I enjoyed Jon K's article in The Athletic, it makes it sound like there's reason for optimism. They sure need the rebounding help but the article (not having watched much Wolves this year) makes it sound like he can't shoot a lick?
 

While you still have your thinking cap on, what about Vanderbilt? I enjoyed Jon K's article in The Athletic, it makes it sound like there's reason for optimism. They sure need the rebounding help but the article (not having watched much Wolves this year) makes it sound like he can't shoot a lick?
Honestly? Not really sure because he doesn't really shoot. He takes less than 3 shots a game though he makes a great percentage of them. He is a pretty lousy free throw shooter. They must feel that he's a lousy 3 pt shooter too. He's only hit 1 out of the 7 he's attempted in his 92 game NBA career.

Guessing that they don't want him shoot because of what they see of him in practice.
 

We actually have good role players off the bench in Vanderbilt and Reid. What we need are three things:

1) a tall wing who can shoot 3s really well, rebound, and play good defense.

2) a power forward who can rebound really well, play good defense, and hit open shots

3) Anthony Edwards needs to improve on offense by quite a lot, particularly his shooting.

If we had those 3 things happen, then we could really compete at a high level.
Again, I'm following the T-Wolves by box scores and highlights, so I don't have my eyes to rely upon, but it sure seems like Edwards took a significant leap after Finch came on board and Towns and Russell came back. This article speaks to that too. It feels like he's the best shot for this franchise to truly be relevant since KG left for Boston.
 



Again, I'm following the T-Wolves by box scores and highlights, so I don't have my eyes to rely upon, but it sure seems like Edwards took a significant leap after Finch came on board and Towns and Russell came back. This article speaks to that too. It feels like he's the best shot for this franchise to truly be relevant since KG left for Boston.
Does this mean we can expect "Da Kids" Part Deux, with like Edwards, Towns and Russell? All nude, to be tasteful?

 

Again, I'm following the T-Wolves by box scores and highlights, so I don't have my eyes to rely upon, but it sure seems like Edwards took a significant leap after Finch came on board and Towns and Russell came back. This article speaks to that too. It feels like he's the best shot for this franchise to truly be relevant since KG left for Boston.


From Today's Marc Stein on Basketball column in today's NYT

The extra games can only help Ball in his bid to hold off Edwards. In the second half of the season, when the Timberwolves went 16-20 after a dreadful a 7-29 start, Edwards averaged 23.8 points per game and shot 45.4 percent from the field, inspiring loud support from fans who felt Ball was prematurely anointed the winner.
 
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We should trade Beasley to secure a quality PF.

Beasley is overpaid, and offers nothing in defense.

He's a good bench shooter who starts on a bad team. Time to part ways.
 

The goal is so he doesn't have to. Edwards and Towns will.
Then he needs to go. You can't have a max contract on a role player. Just dont give up another lightly protected first to get rid of him
 



I believe Rosas has already indicated that - if the Wolves lose the draft pick- it won't be the end of the world. Apparently the plan is to try and add some more experienced players through trades or free-agent signings in the off-season. with the draft pick, you're adding another young player to a young roster.

And, according to some NBA "insiders," after the top 5 or so picks, this year's draft really isn't supposed to be that strong.

Not a fan of trading the #1 pick, but apparently that was the price they had to pay to get DLo AND get rid of Wiggins.

and then the NBA changes the lottery process.

remember - even if the Wolves had not traded the pick, they only had - at best - a 40% chance of having a top-3 pick. with the games they won at the end of the year, if the pick goes to Golden State, there is a better chance it will be #6 or lower.
As with everyone else, giving up the #1 pick with Wiggins to get Russell was a regrettable decision; however, I think the T-Wolves might avoid massive buyers' remorse if they end up outside of the Top 3. It seems like Cunningham, Mobley, and Suggs are the consensus (at this time) with a couple of G League guys in Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga knocking at their door. CBS Sportsline put out a mock draft today that has Moses Moody going at #6 and right around that number are Baylor's Davion Mitchell and UConn's James Bouknight. I loved what I saw from Mitchell on Final Four weekend and it seems like he'll be a solid pro, but I didn't see transformative NBA player on display (can't speak to the G League guys or Moody, Bouknight).

It also seems that where the T-Wolves should direct their attention, given their current roster, is towards the frontcourt and beyond Mobley, the next big (PF/C) projected in the draft is a Turkish center and Kai Jones from Texas, as the #1 power forward, who sounds like a real boom or bust prospect (averaging 9 ppg and 5 rpg doesn't inspire great confidence).

It'd be great and a real turn for the franchise is they jump up into the top three and are able to choose amongst Cunningham, Mobley or perhaps Suggs (I think I'd rather have one of the first two though). But if the pick goes to Golden State it might not be so devastating (although packaging that pick and Beasley might have brought an interesting veteran big onto the team).
 


As with everyone else, giving up the #1 pick with Wiggins to get Russell was a regrettable decision;

I disagree. Wiggins is a max player who is worse than Russell. Dlo was the best player on the Nets and led them to the playoffs just two seasons ago.

Dlo, Ant, and Kat is a very good young trio that will lead the Wolves to the playoffs next season.
 

The Wolves were a wretched 7-29 before the All-Star break and a more palatable 16-20 after it. When Russell returned to the lineup, Minnesota finished the season 11-9 when he and Towns were in the lineup. Not bad. But there were still too many nights, like games against Denver and Boston on the final homestand, when it was clear how outclassed they were. Some issues need to be addressed, and important context needs to be considered in evaluating the team from top to bottom. By all accounts, contending for a playoff spot will be an expectation heading into next season. There is a lot that must happen for that to be a realistic goal..

Frontcourt hole

The Timberwolves’ biggest need heading into the offseason is to find a configuration in the frontcourt that helps address their issues on the glass. Towns is a great rebounder and the Wolves got a workhorse season from Jarred Vanderbilt, but by and large, it was an issue that exacerbated their defensive troubles for most of the season.

In the period after the All-Star break, the Wolves ranked 21st in defensive rebound percentage, meaning that too often they were able to force a missed shot by the opponent but unable to close out the possession because they gave up an offensive rebound. Rosas said they have been examining the recent trend in the NBA away from small ball and seemingly back toward the bigger frontcourts of seasons past.

“It’s been a major point of emphasis for us here over the last six weeks or post-trade deadline,” Rosas said. “Our staff has done a thorough job of exploring any and every option to upgrade that position and to really address the needs on our roster, whether that’s defensively and rebounding. These are big concerns.”

 



Rumors were that Garnett could only get the money from Seattle interests. Or it's Garnett that wanted to keep them here but A-Rod wants to move them to Seattle! Jon K. it also saying that Taylor turned down a $1.4B offer because he would have to turn over running the club right away rather than keep it for 2 more years.

Because Lore & A-Rod would only keep them here if they got that new arena or massive upgrade?

While find out soon. Gonna be a bumpy ride, with a lot of trolls riding along and seemingly only a small % of the population wanting them to stay. Even they agree that the Wolves have given far more heartache, irritation and losses than happiness and wins.


A) Prospective co-owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore keep the operation largely intact without any Earth-shifting changes or demands.

B) They move the team to another market.

C) They use any relocation leverage available to get a new arena built.

Call me a pessimist — or a realist — but one of those options seems less plausible than the others, and it's the one that would bring the least amount of disruption and messiness.

Best guess as to where this is eventually all headed: Option C.

A lawsuit filed by minority partner Meyer Orbach included a revelation that there is no language in the purchase agreement that stipulates the team cannot be moved out of state, contrary to Glen Taylor's assurances in interviews with the Star Tribune (which he also owns) and other media outlets that he will insist on such a clause being part of any sale.

That section of the lawsuit did not go over well with fans of the team already suspicious about the motives and intentions of the new owners. People just assume that Rodriguez/Lore will move the team somewhere more desirable than Minnesota..

Remember the reaction when the Wilf family purchased the Vikings? New Jersey real estate carpetbaggers who are going to move the team. Just you wait.

Granted, the Wilfs secured a new stadium so it's impossible to say what would have happened if the Legislature refused to budge on that issue..

 
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Let the franchise coaching purge begin, Finch will now put his fingerprints on the coaches.


Howl Wolves!!
 




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