All Things 2022 Minnesota Timberwolves Off-Season Thread

GopherWeatherGuy

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Might as well get it started after last night. They are done.

Trade KAT to OKC, draft Keegan Murray
Sign Valanciunas or Nurkic
Hand the key's of the franchise to Ant

Win more games next season
 

as I said on the in-season thread, trading Towns is no slam-dunk. Every other team in the league sees what we see - and what Charles Barkley sees.

So, you're talking about trading a max-contract player who is damaged goods in the eyes of the public. What will - or what could - the Wolves get in return?

I mean - if you were the GM of another team, would you give up anyone good for Towns right now?

The Wolves are more likely to get some other team's overpaid problem in return. I would rather have draft picks - but you have to make the salary work somehow.
 

as I said on the in-season thread, trading Towns is no slam-dunk. Every other team in the league sees what we see - and what Charles Barkley sees.

So, you're talking about trading a max-contract player who is damaged goods in the eyes of the public. What will - or what could - the Wolves get in return?

I mean - if you were the GM of another team, would you give up anyone good for Towns right now?

The Wolves are more likely to get some other team's overpaid problem in return. I would rather have draft picks - but you have to make the salary work somehow.
Every GM or coach sees the talent, and think they can be the one to get through to him.
 

KAT will be fine if he is clearly the #2 guy. He is a great player but not a great leader. He has a lot of the skills to be but sometimes a person just doesn't put them all together.

Unfortunately, Ant is a little young and immature at the moment. Give him some time and I think he will be a leader but he is not quite ready.
 



Now that the season is over, any chance we can unload DLo and the last year of his contract? Or are we better off letting him play it out in a motivational year, let him walk and try to sign a big FA on 2023.

Rebounding killed us, have to address that.

Howl Wolves!!
 

This series was over when they blew game 3, as expected.

KAT and DLo are losers. Trade them both and build around the rest.
 

Memphis sure was good in the 4th in this series. Hopefully a better finish next year. A good rebounder would help
 

This series was over when they blew game 3, as expected.

KAT and DLo are losers. Trade them both and build around the rest.
I'm not watching wolves again until KAT and DLO are gone. Life is too short. DLO is awful and KAT is a front runner. They don't have the mental makeup. Its Ants team.
 




Now that the season is over, any chance we can unload DLo and the last year of his contract? Or are we better off letting him play it out in a motivational year, let him walk and try to sign a big FA on 2023.

Rebounding killed us, have to address that.

Howl Wolves!!
DLo didn't help his trade value with his performance during the series. However, most trades in the NBA are about money and that contract is pretty valuable. Somebody mentioned DLo for Simmons and it's not completely crazy. I'm sure the Nets are ready to blow it up. Maybe if the wolves throw in a 2026 top ten protected 1st, the Nets would bite. Simmons plays defense, moves the ball and rebounds. Finch already looks ten years older than he is. Having KAT and Simmons on the same team, two very immature players, would add ten more years on to Finchy's face.
 

DLo didn't help his trade value with his performance during the series. However, most trades in the NBA are about money and that contract is pretty valuable. Somebody mentioned DLo for Simmons and it's not completely crazy. I'm sure the Nets are ready to blow it up. Maybe if the wolves throw in a 2026 top ten protected 1st, the Nets would bite. Simmons plays defense, moves the ball and rebounds. Finch already looks ten years older than he is. Having KAT and Simmons on the same team, two very immature players, would add ten more years on to Finchy's face.

If we're trying to improve the mental makeup of this team we need to stay far away from Ben Simmons. Plus he can't shoot. I'd much rather ride out the last year of DLo's contract at 30 million, than take on 3 more years of Simmons for 35-40 million.
 

Problems they showed in the 4th Quarter, we've harped on all year. They can't rebound and they can't shoot. When your best rebounder and shooter is a Center you're too easy to defend and without rebounders and shooters NO lead is safe.

- They need to get someone who can rebound in a crowd, which will be the case if they can't add a couple of dependable shooters to the roster.
- Would be nice if they can get one in the draft, but tough to count on considering where they will be picking.
- Russell and Beasley are both way too streaky. One has to go. Make that should.

Not worried about the mental side of this team. They brushed-off two games were they had 20+ leads. In one they had TWO of them! If they were truly mentally "weak" or were as stupid as Barkley said they were (yeah, that's what he meant) they would have quit. They didn't.

Towns? Get a couple of solid shooters and another rebounder and he'll be fine. Oh, as long he he ignores all the "You need to carry this team!" advice.

Even at only 21, Edwards should be the guy running the squad next year. Get him that rebounder and a couple of shooters and maybe more people will pay attention during the regular season.
 



If we're trying to improve the mental makeup of this team we need to stay far away from Ben Simmons. Plus he can't shoot. I'd much rather ride out the last year of DLo's contract at 30 million, than take on 3 more years of Simmons for 35-40 million.
A DLo trade is going to entail more risk than usual because he has so many liabilities and his primary asset is the contract. So we are most likely going to trade our problem for someone else's problem. Until the 2021 playoffs, Simmons was considered to be a top 15-20 player. I doubt DLo was ever in the top 50. In a perfect world (which it isn't) would you trade one year of a top 50 player for three years of team control of a top 15-20 player? I believe the answer is yes. The big risk is can you get Simmons back on the floor and doing the things that he does well? The fact that he can't shoot doesn't bother me that much. Neither can DLo.
 

A DLo trade is going to entail more risk than usual because he has so many liabilities and his primary asset is the contract. So we are most likely going to trade our problem for someone else's problem. Until the 2021 playoffs, Simmons was considered to be a top 15-20 player. I doubt DLo was ever in the top 50. In a perfect world (which it isn't) would you trade one year of a top 50 player for three years of team control of a top 15-20 player? I believe the answer is yes. The big risk is can you get Simmons back on the floor and doing the things that he does well? The fact that he can't shoot doesn't bother me that much. Neither can DLo.

I would understand your logic more if DLo had multiple years left on his deal. But he's an expiring contract next season making him more valuable, and easier to hang onto for one more year.

His numbers were still near his career averages this season, and he was very good in the middle of the season before fading down the stretch. Averaging 7.1 AST per game is his best average in his career, and he still shot 38% from 3 in the playoffs even though he didn't score much. He's a much better shooter than Simmons.

They don't have to take on someone else's problem because he's still productive and on the last year of his deal. Simmons is a massive problem mentally, contractually, and I think he's very overrated as a player. He's the last person I would want to pair with Ant long term.
 




Wolves were outscored 114-58 in the 4th quarters of Games 3, 5 & 6.

that is a rough average of 38-19. In the 4th quarter of a playoff game.

this is not something that you fix by replacing one player. This is a team-wide mindset. Players, coaches, the whole works.

when the going gets tough, the Wolves crap their pants.
 

:unsure:

Tyus Jones, the former Timberwolves point guard from Apple Valley now with the Memphis Grizzlies, in the regular season had 324 assists with just 46 turnovers. That’s the highest singe-season assist-to-turnover ratio in NBA history. This is the fourth straight season that Jones, who turns 26 next week, has led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio — and that, too, is the longest streak in NBA history.

Jones, who scored eight big fourth-quarter points to end the Wolves’ season on Friday night, will become an unrestricted free agent this summer and is completing a $26.4 million, three-year contract. Already the Los Angeles Lakers are getting mentioned as a potential suitor for Jones, who is represented by superagent Bill Duffy and whose next contract should be in the $50 million range for four years.


 

Please don't even consider trading for Simmons. Simmons and Kyrie are the worst teammates in the nba. At least D-Lo plays. If the Wolves can find someone to take D-Lo... do it. Otherwise, let his contract expire and move on.
Simmons provides everything they are missing. Someone who can rebound. Our rebounding sucks. Someone who can play perimeter defense. Our perimeter defense sucks.

He can set others up. He would do this way better than DLO and he'd still get you 16 a game.

I'm basing this on him being ready to play and ready to go.

It would be asinine if he's available to not go get him.
 



KAT will be fine if he is clearly the #2 guy. He is a great player but not a great leader. He has a lot of the skills to be but sometimes a person just doesn't put them all together.

Unfortunately, Ant is a little young and immature at the moment. Give him some time and I think he will be a leader but he is not quite ready.
Ant looks more mature than KAT on the floor.
 

Problems they showed in the 4th Quarter, we've harped on all year. They can't rebound and they can't shoot. When your best rebounder and shooter is a Center you're too easy to defend and without rebounders and shooters NO lead is safe.

- They need to get someone who can rebound in a crowd, which will be the case if they can't add a couple of dependable shooters to the roster.
- Would be nice if they can get one in the draft, but tough to count on considering where they will be picking.
- Russell and Beasley are both way too streaky. One has to go. Make that should.

Not worried about the mental side of this team. They brushed-off two games were they had 20+ leads. In one they had TWO of them! If they were truly mentally "weak" or were as stupid as Barkley said they were (yeah, that's what he meant) they would have quit. They didn't.

Towns? Get a couple of solid shooters and another rebounder and he'll be fine. Oh, as long he he ignores all the "You need to carry this team!" advice.

Even at only 21, Edwards should be the guy running the squad next year. Get him that rebounder and a couple of shooters and maybe more people will pay attention during the regular season.
It doesn't help when your best rebounder also is aspiring to be the best shooting big man in NBA history on offense thus content to hoist up perimeter shots and a poor defender inside. Frustrating skill set.

The Wolves NEED to address their rebounding and defensive deficiencies to take the next step and actually win a series.

Beasley disappeared in the series after a strong game 1. Very disappointing.
 

I would understand your logic more if DLo had multiple years left on his deal. But he's an expiring contract next season making him more valuable, and easier to hang onto for one more year.

His numbers were still near his career averages this season, and he was very good in the middle of the season before fading down the stretch. Averaging 7.1 AST per game is his best average in his career, and he still shot 38% from 3 in the playoffs even though he didn't score much. He's a much better shooter than Simmons.

They don't have to take on someone else's problem because he's still productive and on the last year of his deal. Simmons is a massive problem mentally, contractually, and I think he's very overrated as a player. He's the last person I would want to pair with Ant long term.
What makes DLo's contract valuable to the wolves is what enhances his value in a trade. He is a better shooter than Simmons, but Simmons does everything else better. Simmons was a consensus top 15 player before he became a problem child. DLo's highest rank that I could find was 45. You are never going to get a top 15 for a top 45 without taking on risk. Maybe Simmons is irrevocably a mess, in which case you don't do it. If they think they can get him back on the court, running an offense and playing great defense, maybe they do it.
 

It doesn't help when your best rebounder also is aspiring to be the best shooting big man in NBA history on offense thus content to hoist up perimeter shots and a poor defender inside. Frustrating skill set.

The Wolves NEED to address their rebounding and defensive deficiencies to take the next step and actually win a series.

Beasley disappeared in the series after a strong game 1. Very disappointing.
Could have used Wiggins shooting and rebounding in the series.
 

D’Angelo Russell’s poor finish to season further complicates Timberwolves’ offseason situation

D’Angelo Russell, the man known for having “ice in his veins” — an ode to his clutch shot making — spent the most important minutes of the Timberwolves’ season on the bench.

Russell sat in favor of Jordan McLaughlin for the final five minutes of Minnesota’s Game 6 loss on Saturday at Target Center. That certainly wasn’t Russell’s preference. He noted Saturday that everyone wants to be in a position to do their job.

“Of course I want to be out there,” he said.

But he didn’t earn that opportunity. Not with his play Saturday, not with his play throughout the first-round series, and frankly not with his play over the past couple of months. Over his final 14 appearances of the regular season, Russell averaged just 13.4 points a game, shooting 37 percent from the floor and 29 percent from deep. Over the back portion of the season, Russell had the Timberwolves’ worst defensive rating and net rating.

Then came a dynamic play-in performance against the Los Angeles Clippers that helped Minnesota punch its playoff ticket. But that turned out to be a blip on the radar and not a precursor to playoff success. Russell averaged 12 points and nearly three turnovers per game in the first-round loss, shooting 33 percent from the field.

“D-Lo had a great season for us, and he had a hard time settling into this series,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Sometimes it goes like that. Every series has its own personality. Had we been able to move on, matchup wise, etc., who knows, maybe he could’ve had a great series against Golden State. That’s just how it goes. That’s playoff basketball.”

Asked to assess his own playoff performance Saturday, Russell skirted the question, citing a lack of time between the season’s end and his exit interview.

“I don’t want to get up here and say nothing that is going to stick or give you guys a headline, speaking on the playoffs and my performance,” Russell said. “I haven’t had time to really think about it. So I’m going to save my piece on that.”

Patrick Beverley conceded that Russell “could have ended better.”


Howl Wolves!!
 

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand as they tie a bow on the Wolves' season and look ahead to the Wild's playoff series starting tonight against St. Louis.

Reusse and Rand agree: The Wolves' backcourt is a concern, and if there's a way to move off of D'Angelo Russell this offseason the organization should pursue a trade. After a 46-win season and competitive playoff series, this appears to be a team on the rise, but even getting back to that point next season will be difficult.


Howl Wolves!!
 

Where does D'Angelo Russell fit with the Timberwolves moving forward?​


In the final minutes of an elimination game, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch pulled $30 million point guard D'Angelo Russell and substituted $2 million point guard Jordan McLaughlin.

Finch had said all series the playoffs can expose more than the regular season what a team does well and what it doesn't, what weaknesses a player has and what his strengths are.

Russell struggled all series. He averaged 12 points and shot just 33%.

He had seven points and four turnovers in series-closing Game 6 and with the season on the line, when all pretense of playing someone because they have a big salary goes out the window, Finch made the decision to bench Russell in crunch time for McLaughlin, who had been facilitating the offense better the second half of the series.

The Timberwolves held exit interviews Saturday and when asked if he was OK with the benching, Russell said, "No. Not at all."

He then asked a reporter if he would like it if he were denied an opportunity to do his job. The same went for him.

"Of course I want to be out there," Russell said.


Howl Wolves!!
 




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