All Things 2021 Minnesota Timberwolves Off-Season Thread


No update here, but just remembering the rumors prior to the draft last year of Ben Simmons being traded for the #1 pick. After his disastrous series against the Hawks, one wonders where the 76ers would be with Lonzo Ball or Ant on their team. I'm also buying futures stock on Edwards vs. Simmons moving forward. If that trade was ever on the table, I'm sure glad it wasn't consummated.
 

No update here, but just remembering the rumors prior to the draft last year of Ben Simmons being traded for the #1 pick. After his disastrous series against the Hawks, one wonders where the 76ers would be with Lonzo Ball or Ant on their team. I'm also buying futures stock on Edwards vs. Simmons moving forward. If that trade was ever on the table, I'm sure glad it wasn't consummated.
Would you trade Ricky and Malik for Simmons? I don't think I would do it even if Philly attached a first in this year's draft to the deal. Simmons' contract has four years left at $35m/year and he has shown no willingness so far to expand his game. Also, I'm sure there will be plenty of teams who will think they can get to Simmons (maybe including Rosas), so his trade value will still be strong even though he's the fall guy in Philly. NBA POBO's have big egos.
The guy I would love to see in a wolves uniform is John Collins of the Hawks. He's a beast.
 

Simmons is a much better version of Rubio. Excellent defender, passer, and rebounder. Absolutely no shot.

The Wolves would win more with Simmons than Rubio and Beasley. If Simmons ever develops a shot, then he's an MVP caliber player.
 

CBS Sports looks at potential landing spots for Simmons:

Minnesota Timberwolves

Picture the following scenarios: On Tuesday, Minnesota stuns the basketball world and wins the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 Draft Lottery for the second consecutive season, and, in line with the consensus, select Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham. Perhaps they rise only to No. 3. USC big man Evan Mobley might be gone, but Minnesota-native Jalen Suggs is still on the board. The Timberwolves already have Anthony Edwards. Malik Beasley was stellar last season, though he comes with meaningful off-court concerns. Is the Karl-Anthony Towns-D'Angelo Russell friendship strong enough to overcome the growing backcourt glut in Minnesota?

Perhaps. The Timberwolves did pay a hefty price to get him. Maybe their desperate to win right away would lead them to offer their prized lottery pick to Philadelphia instead. But given their defensive woes, starting Russell, Edwards and a rookie guard together with Towns, a mediocre defender at best, would simply be untenable. They'd have to at least explore alternatives.

How does Simmons and Hill for Russell and Beasley sound? It would hardly help Philly's defense, but Morey can turn around and swing a secondary deal on that front. If he made Curry available, for instance, he'd have no shortage of suitors. Russell would surely disappoint a fan base that once hoped to turn Simmons into an MVP, but 25-year-old former All-Stars don't grow on trees. Russell could steer Philly's offense toward heavier pick-and-roll usage. Beasley's spot-up shooting and supplementary ball-handling would be welcome.

The logic for Minnesota would be obvious: They need defense, and with Towns, Edwards, and a high-level rookie in place, they'd have more than enough scoring. Embiid has never taken more than 4.1 3s per game. Towns has averaged almost twice that at his peak. Spacing wouldn't be a problem for Simmons. He and Edwards would be terrifying together in transition.

This scenario relies on luck to too great an extent. Russell probably doesn't excite Philadelphia, but given Embiid's timeline, trading him for a top draft pick doesn't make much sense unless a third team enters the picture. There's something here, but what exactly remains unclear.


Howl Wolves!!
 


Would you trade Ricky and Malik for Simmons? I don't think I would do it even if Philly attached a first in this year's draft to the deal. Simmons' contract has four years left at $35m/year and he has shown no willingness so far to expand his game. Also, I'm sure there will be plenty of teams who will think they can get to Simmons (maybe including Rosas), so his trade value will still be strong even though he's the fall guy in Philly. NBA POBO's have big egos.
The guy I would love to see in a wolves uniform is John Collins of the Hawks. He's a beast.
I would trade Rubio and Beasley for Simmons in a second. Simmons is light years better than Ricky and Beasley is a head case. I would add a 2nd round pick to boot.
 

I would trade Rubio and Beasley for Simmons in a second. Simmons is light years better than Ricky and Beasley is a head case. I would add a 2nd round pick to boot.
If it was a pickup game, absolutely. Unfortunately, there's $140M reasons not to do it. That contract is too tough to swallow, especially for a guy who resists working on his game. He's had six years to fill in the gaps and something in his head is preventing him from doing it. I'm sure that it isn't because he's lazy. You don't get to his level by being lazy. The human psyche is a mystery.

The point is he is who he is and the wolves can't afford to take on the liabilities of the gaps in his game and that ginormous contract.

I don't know if the money lines up but I'd trade Rubio and Beasely for Collins in a second. Atl would laugh at that.

BTW, this is the best NBA playoffs in years. The injuries suck but at least the finals are not preordained. The finals are looking like ATL/PHO, two young, bouncy teams.
 

I would trade Rubio and Beasley for Simmons in a second. Simmons is light years better than Ricky and Beasley is a head case. I would add a 2nd round pick to boot.
I'd trade Russell and Beasley as well.
 

If it was a pickup game, absolutely. Unfortunately, there's $140M reasons not to do it. That contract is too tough to swallow, especially for a guy who resists working on his game. He's had six years to fill in the gaps and something in his head is preventing him from doing it. I'm sure that it isn't because he's lazy. You don't get to his level by being lazy. The human psyche is a mystery.

The point is he is who he is and the wolves can't afford to take on the liabilities of the gaps in his game and that ginormous contract.

I don't know if the money lines up but I'd trade Rubio and Beasely for Collins in a second. Atl would laugh at that.

BTW, this is the best NBA playoffs in years. The injuries suck but at least the finals are not preordained. The finals are looking like ATL/PHO, two young, bouncy teams.
We have a guy on the team who hasn't worked on his game...Ricky.

The money is a lot, but he would be a really good fit next to Towns as a PF. It's not going to happen anyway as other teams will offer a lot more than we can.

Atlanta almost has to keep Collins now that they are a championship caliber team. He is going to cost a lot and Atlanta will have plenty of suitors if they indeed do try to move him in a sign and trade. I still think he stays.

I agree about the playoffs. After last years snooze fest, this has been great.
 



I just read that Simmons has a 15% trade kicker. That is a big deal and not in a good way.
 

Davion Mitchell would be the best player for the Wolves to somehow land in this draft, whether it's through their own pick or a trade.
 


I think Mobley or Cunningham would be better. Thet have a glut of guards.

Cunningham is a guard too, and I don't see them taking Mobley with Towns. It's just not Rosas style to play two 7 footers.

Mitchell is the best defender in the draft, who is a leader and plays with intensity, which is exactly what this team needs. He's also a good shooter, shot 44% from 3. I still think it's likely they'll move on from Beasley at some point.
 



Timberwolves have plans for anything that could happen in tonight's draft lottery


Gersson Rosas said the team has plans in place if the Timberwolves end up with a top-three pick after Tuesday's draft lottery, or if they have to relinquish the pick to Golden State.

So, does that mean there's a File A and File B they will open depending on how the pingpong balls fall?

"There's like 25 files," the Wolves president said with a laugh last week.

Suffice it to say, Rosas and the Wolves front office have a game plan for whatever happens Tuesday night, when the Wolves have a 27.6% chance of keeping their first-round pick.

The Wolves enter the night with the sixth-best odds in the draft. A late season surge when the Wolves defied tanking and went 7-5 over their last 12 games allowed Detroit, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Cleveland and Houston to finish closer to the bottom.

Rosas and the organization wanted to see what the Wolves looked like when Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell were healthy and playing together. The Wolves were prepared to take the hit in terms of lottery odds to get a better feel for how the team operates when its two max-contract players are on the floor. Before the final weeks of the season, Towns and Russell barely played together.

"There's not a lot of nerves," Rosas said about the lottery. "I think there's excitement for the future and we're looking forward to seeing how that comes together. The finish to the season where our top guys were at, healthy and playing at the end of the year, our young players are developing, that excites us."


Howl Wolves!!
 

Would it be better to keep the pick this year or just give it up? Is the draft next year supposed to be good?
 

Would it be better to keep the pick this year or just give it up? Is the draft next year supposed to be good?
I would love it if we end up getting the 7th or 8th pick and lose it.

If we do keep it, I hope they don't take Suggs. I like Mobley and Mitchell (as GWG mentioned above). Atlanta played two power forwards and a center for a good number of minutes during their series with Philly. I wouldn't say Mobley and Towns are a for sure no-go as GWG also mentioned above. Draft defense if they keep the pick!! Mobley and Mitchell are easily the best fit imo.

It would be a bummer to end up at #4.

This years draft is really deep but lacking the "for sure" super stars. Next years isn't supposed to be as good but who really knows right now.
 





This is a pretty good scenario for the Wolves, right? Gotta love that Golden State didn't end up 2-3 spots higher. And it's nice to now OWE that damn first rounder anymore. I'm good with it!
Best realistic outcome, but still a lousy trade. Rosas was way too eager to get Dlo. Wigs for Dlo straight up is what should have happened.
 

Best realistic outcome, but still a lousy trade. Rosas was way too eager to get Dlo. Wigs for Dlo straight up is what should have happened.
It was a bad trade. Neither player is that great.
 

Best realistic outcome, but still a lousy trade. Rosas was way too eager to get Dlo. Wigs for Dlo straight up is what should have happened.
Bad trade overall with two picks moving out but DLo is still the better player. GS will have to use one of their lottery picks to move Wiggins.
 


Rubio is staying now that Ant told a national audience he was the most important aspect of his rookie season.
Beasley, Russell, Okogie, and Culver can be purged from the roster. Not necessarily all of them, but 2-3 of them would be good.
 

Beasley, Russell, Okogie, and Culver can be purged from the roster. Not necessarily all of them, but 2-3 of them would be good.

Not counting KAT and Ant, Beasley is our most tradeable asset. We will have to get maximum value to trade him, otherwise keep him as he is pretty dynamic when he's not in jail which is where he is now.

Howl Wolves!!
 



To completely beat a dead horse, taking a shooting guard/wing who can’t shoot at 6 overall was an epically bad decision. What a waste.
Not to be pedantic about it while beating that dead horse, but to trade up in the draft and give up a valuable rotational big (Dario Saric) to pick a shooting guard/wing who can't shoot at 6 overall when several players chosen afterwards have proven to be more productive (including the actual pick by the TWolves at #11, Cameron Johnson, who had an excellent game off the bench for Phoenix last night). . .yeah, what a waste.
 

caught a bit of Jim Peterson on KFAN. he was talking up the guy from Argentina - Bolmaro. Drafted last year. a 6'6" guard/wing type.

apparently the party line from the Wolves is that they think Bolmaro will be as good or better than anyone they would have gotten in the draft. you can believe that or not, but that is apparently the line they're pushing.
 




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