All Things 2023 Minnesota Timberwolves Off-Season Thread





Im thirsty for a legit KAT trade rumor
If HOU pops up as a KAT suitor, they have some very intriguing prospects to consider in Smith Jr, Green, Eason and #4. Kevin Porter Jr would probably be the salary ballast in any potential deal.
 


If HOU pops up as a KAT suitor, they have some very intriguing prospects to consider in Smith Jr, Green, Eason and #4. Kevin Porter Jr would probably be the salary ballast in any potential deal.
I don't want any of Houston's players. They are immature jerks whom I don't want in the same locker room with Ant, Jaden and Naz, if he stays.
 

I don't want any of Houston's players. They are immature jerks whom I don't want in the same locker room with Ant, Jaden and Naz, if he stays.
I know that Porter Jr is considered a human Fruit Loop but I wasn't aware that the other guys were a team problem. TBH, the only time I've watched any of them is against the Wolves.
 

I don't want any of Houston's players. They are immature jerks whom I don't want in the same locker room with Ant, Jaden and Naz, if he stays.
Naz won't be here and Jaden punched a wall and missed the playoffs.

Ant is immature in the sense that he doesn't show up often.

How are the Houston players any worse?
 

Shit gets complex. Would love to know all of the justifications for these changes
The owners want a cap that has more teeth.

The fact that you could go over the cap to resign your own players and still had other avenues to add talent (MLE and sign waived players) meant that the best teams had to go way over the cap to resign their own players and use the MLE.

What this eventually caused is a bunch of average players getting massive contracts. We avoided the issue with DLo, but he was a prime example. We had a massive contract but letting him walk wouldn't really allow us to get better because we'd still be over the cap. In terms of W/L, there was no incentive to let him walk. You just resign a player to a contract way over their value because their your own player and sign another player with the MLE.

Being a decent player on a team over the cap was a really easy way to get a massive pay day (Jordan Poole, Wiggins, Tim Hardaway Jr., etc.). The owners want to try to end that stuff.
 



Tried to take sections of this column and post it here. The Strib decided that I was using too much of column and posted the whole thing.

Not kidding about that either.:LOL:

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There have been more recent opinions offered by others closer to the Timberwolves' operation that the plan appears to be to run it back again in 2023-24, to find out if a now presumably healthy Towns could mesh more effectively with Rudy Gobert.

My opinion on the subject would be this:

If all those national reporters in cozy relationships with agents and team executives didn't have a whiff that Wolves basketball boss Tim Connelly was going to make the confounding, enormous trade for Gobert last July, we'll only be getting guesses until something actually happens with KAT, or when it doesn't.

You can trade four players and five first-rounders (including the one you drafted two weeks earlier) and all those NBA snoops and gossipmongers hadn't heard a whisper …


I must insist that makes Connelly all-world in keeping things inside a need-to-know circle.

To clarify: All-world in keeping information tight, all-world in crafting most of the team that just won an NBA title for the Denver Nuggets, but certainly not in the horrendous predicament in which he's placed himself and the T-Wolves (T stands for Trouble in River City) with the asinine Gobert trade.
Asinine because Walker Kessler, the 7-foot rookie, basically would have provided the same things as Connelly wanted from Gobert, at $35 million less in salary and with nine years gained in youth.


Towns has played eight seasons in Minnesota. He missed only five games total in his first four seasons. Injuries became an issue for a couple of years, and then he played 74 games in 2021-22 for his best overall season. KAT was the third-team center behind Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid on the official all-NBA teams. That qualified him to sign a four-year, $224 million "supermax" extension one year ago. That monster deal kicks in after the upcoming season.

A month later came the Gobert trade. And then came a calf strain that was more severe than originally advertised. He missed 52 games, came back late and had two or three clunkers in a postseason resulting in two wins in seven games.

Those clunkers were not based on lack of effort. Mostly, it was due to five of those games being against Denver, with the huge and amazing Jokic and a far better overall team (as was proven in the Nuggets' 16-4 run through the playoffs).

We have been asked by some to accept the theory the Timberwolves played the Nuggets tougher in the playoffs than any of the four teams, which is ridiculous because no team actually threatened their title run.

The impression of Wolves' fandom as an entity toward Towns entering this offseason was probably at its lowest point in eight years, and then he enhanced that let's-rip-KAT vibe in a recent appearance on a podcast hosted by Patrick Beverley.

KAT's first mistake was being involved in any public dialogue with the major screwball that is Pat Bev.

These player-interviews-player podcasts are all outrageous kiss-ups, and apparently Beverley took the prize, declaring Towns to be the best center in the NBA only a couple of days after Jokic completed his astounding work in the postseason.

And somewhere in there, KAT said this:
"I feel like when my time's up and I retire ... I feel like there's going to be people who are going to say that I changed the game. And I'm going to be very appreciative of that."

He also said: "When this is all over, there's going to be kids coming up saying they're going to be able to play a different way because I played in the NBA and did it a different way."

Center on the perimeter. Exceptional three-point shooter. Presumably that's what KAT sees as making him unique.

That part didn't make the cut on most tweets and headlines. Just the "changed the game," which is absurd when standing alone.


 

If the Wolves don't trade KAT, then they pay everything to 4 players and the rest of the team will be a bunch of McLaughlin's filling out the roster.

They have to trade him now.
 

If the Wolves don't trade KAT, then they pay everything to 4 players and the rest of the team will be a bunch of McLaughlin's filling out the roster.

They have to trade him now.

Where you been? That's today's NBA.
 




Where you been? That's today's NBA.

Take a look at the Top 4 salaries on each team. They will take up most of the salary cap. The players underneath, good or not, will try to move on if they don't get paid. Even Miami and Denver, the finalists, their top 4 take up most of the cap money.

Below is a team by team breakdown of the upcoming 2023-2024 season.

 
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Where you been? That's today's NBA.
I'm talking tomorrow's NBA

You know, the new cap.

Signing McDaniels and Ant, along with Gobert and Towns will put them over with just those 4 players. Being over the cap is now much worse.

McLaughlins will be basically what you are left with
 

Don't expect a franchise-altering move from the Timberwolves on draft night​


The Timberwolves don't have a first-round pick in Thursday's NBA draft.

It's the first night they will have to swallow hard and deal with what they gave up to get Rudy Gobert from Utah last summer. The Utah Jazz will be making that selection at No. 16.

As things stand, some coffee might be needed if you want to see who the Wolves will select at No. 53 with what is currently their only pick, a late second-rounder.

That can change, of course, as the flurry of draft night trades commences and the Wolves look for opportunities to move around the board.

The Wolves would love to find a way to get back into the late first round, but President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly said Wednesday not much had materialized on that front.

"We've had a lot of conversations. I don't think anything is close for us to get in the first round," Connelly said. "Generally, a lot of the calls are kind of theoretical until the last 24 hours. We'll see."

There's a reason Connelly is looking around to move up. As he said, the history of the 53rd pick isn't filled with a "murderer's row of NBA guys."

If the Wolves aren't able to move up the board, Connelly said they'll be looking for someone they can work with to develop long term.

"A really good guy. Someone that could fit culturally," Connelly said. "Oftentimes if you see the picks they make in the second round, it's who the person is as much as the talent. We'll probably prioritize a guy that can further add to the culture."

As for any franchise-altering moves, don't bet on them for the time being. Connelly again reiterated the organization's desire to keep continuity with last season's roster, which barely played together at all.

Even though the NBA rumor mill is in full churn around the idea that the Wolves would move Karl-Anthony Towns, Connelly's public comments have been consistent since the end of the season: a Towns trade or any other deal involving one of the Wolves' high-salaried players is highly unlikely.

"We have a core and we're excited to run it back," Connelly said. "There were some highs, there were some lows. Our inability to win enough games versus teams that have worse records really came back to bite us. … You can point to specific games and we weren't good enough. Then you look at long stretches of basketball where we thought we looked like a viable team.

"We're pretty excited about our core. [Chris Finch] is an elite coach. Having the year under his belt and hopefully a healthy year, we think we can be pretty good."


Howl Wolves!!
 

Don't expect a franchise-altering move from the Timberwolves on draft night​


The Timberwolves don't have a first-round pick in Thursday's NBA draft.

It's the first night they will have to swallow hard and deal with what they gave up to get Rudy Gobert from Utah last summer. The Utah Jazz will be making that selection at No. 16.

As things stand, some coffee might be needed if you want to see who the Wolves will select at No. 53 with what is currently their only pick, a late second-rounder.

That can change, of course, as the flurry of draft night trades commences and the Wolves look for opportunities to move around the board.

The Wolves would love to find a way to get back into the late first round, but President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly said Wednesday not much had materialized on that front.

"We've had a lot of conversations. I don't think anything is close for us to get in the first round," Connelly said. "Generally, a lot of the calls are kind of theoretical until the last 24 hours. We'll see."

There's a reason Connelly is looking around to move up. As he said, the history of the 53rd pick isn't filled with a "murderer's row of NBA guys."

If the Wolves aren't able to move up the board, Connelly said they'll be looking for someone they can work with to develop long term.

"A really good guy. Someone that could fit culturally," Connelly said. "Oftentimes if you see the picks they make in the second round, it's who the person is as much as the talent. We'll probably prioritize a guy that can further add to the culture."

As for any franchise-altering moves, don't bet on them for the time being. Connelly again reiterated the organization's desire to keep continuity with last season's roster, which barely played together at all.

Even though the NBA rumor mill is in full churn around the idea that the Wolves would move Karl-Anthony Towns, Connelly's public comments have been consistent since the end of the season: a Towns trade or any other deal involving one of the Wolves' high-salaried players is highly unlikely.

"We have a core and we're excited to run it back," Connelly said. "There were some highs, there were some lows. Our inability to win enough games versus teams that have worse records really came back to bite us. … You can point to specific games and we weren't good enough. Then you look at long stretches of basketball where we thought we looked like a viable team.

"We're pretty excited about our core. [Chris Finch] is an elite coach. Having the year under his belt and hopefully a healthy year, we think we can be pretty good."


Howl Wolves!!
jargon from a general manager!
 

Per The Athletic:

Naz Reid lingers

When the Timberwolves opened draft workouts to the media this week, including one on Monday with Gabe Kalscheur, Marcus Carr and other prospects who could be around when the Wolves pick late in the second round, a handful of current Timberwolves players were spotted at the facility.


Gobert was getting a lift in. McDaniels, Jordan McLaughlin, Wendell Moore and Josh Minott were there, too. Also sitting courtside and preparing to watch some of the Monday afternoon workout was Reid, who will become an unrestricted free agent in 11 days.

In some ways, it was unsurprising to see Reid in the gym. He has typically remained in Minnesota in the summers to work on his game rather than relocate to an NBA summer hot spot like Los Angeles, Miami or Houston. He has great camaraderie with many of his teammates, particularly with McDaniels, Nate Knight and Jaylen Nowell.

But it was a tad surprising given that he is so close to becoming a free agent, and several suitors figure to line up to challenge the Wolves’ ability to match the paycheck and/or the playing time that they can offer. Often times players who are about to become free agents, especially players who believe they’re on their way out, will not work out in their team’s facility in the summer. And they almost never stay in Minnesota to do that working out.

It all underscores just how much both sides are hoping to find a way to make it work. Reid loves his teammates, respects his coaches and has enjoyed his time in Minnesota, where he has developed from a doughy, undrafted free agent with an injured foot into a lean, mean, key rotational piece with one of the best handles for a big man in the entire league.

The Timberwolves want him back. That is true from the very top of the organization down through the front office and coaching staff. Taylor, Marc and Rodriguez are all on board with trying to get Reid back, sources told The Athletic. The discussions on a contract have gone on all season and will continue. It has gotten to the point where free agency is so close that Reid almost has to dip his toe in the water to see where the market is before he makes a decision. But the Wolves are very much alive in this situation, which was made even clearer by his presence at the practice facility on Monday.


Howl Wolves!!
 

I would not be opposed to the Timberwolves taking Marcus Carr with a late 2nd round pick.
 


If the wolves would have drafted Curry would that mean le bron would have come to mn? Kahn!
 

I would not be opposed to the Timberwolves taking Marcus Carr with a late 2nd round pick.
The Wolves could desperately use a PG prospect to fall out of the sky. Conley was good for us last year but he's getting up there.

The guy I'm hoping falls to #53 is Emoni Bates.
 

The Wolves could desperately use a PG prospect to fall out of the sky. Conley was good for us last year but he's getting up there.

The guy I'm hoping falls to #53 is Emoni Bates.

I would take Bates there in a second. The backup PG I would be most interested in is Jalen Pickett. Carr likely won't get drafted, but I could see him working his way onto a roster through the G league.
 

The epitome of NBA Trade rumors. Woj announces that a trade is being worked on earlier today. Now he says that's fallen through. Certainly possible. Sounds like Brogdan was hurt.

What's not possible is an NBA reporter saying they were wrong about the rumor in the first place.

 
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Per The Athletic:

Naz Reid lingers

When the Timberwolves opened draft workouts to the media this week, including one on Monday with Gabe Kalscheur, Marcus Carr and other prospects who could be around when the Wolves pick late in the second round, a handful of current Timberwolves players were spotted at the facility.


Gobert was getting a lift in. McDaniels, Jordan McLaughlin, Wendell Moore and Josh Minott were there, too. Also sitting courtside and preparing to watch some of the Monday afternoon workout was Reid, who will become an unrestricted free agent in 11 days.

In some ways, it was unsurprising to see Reid in the gym. He has typically remained in Minnesota in the summers to work on his game rather than relocate to an NBA summer hot spot like Los Angeles, Miami or Houston. He has great camaraderie with many of his teammates, particularly with McDaniels, Nate Knight and Jaylen Nowell.

But it was a tad surprising given that he is so close to becoming a free agent, and several suitors figure to line up to challenge the Wolves’ ability to match the paycheck and/or the playing time that they can offer. Often times players who are about to become free agents, especially players who believe they’re on their way out, will not work out in their team’s facility in the summer. And they almost never stay in Minnesota to do that working out.

It all underscores just how much both sides are hoping to find a way to make it work. Reid loves his teammates, respects his coaches and has enjoyed his time in Minnesota, where he has developed from a doughy, undrafted free agent with an injured foot into a lean, mean, key rotational piece with one of the best handles for a big man in the entire league.

The Timberwolves want him back. That is true from the very top of the organization down through the front office and coaching staff. Taylor, Marc and Rodriguez are all on board with trying to get Reid back, sources told The Athletic. The discussions on a contract have gone on all season and will continue. It has gotten to the point where free agency is so close that Reid almost has to dip his toe in the water to see where the market is before he makes a decision. But the Wolves are very much alive in this situation, which was made even clearer by his presence at the practice facility on Monday.


Howl Wolves!!
If Naz can get more than the MLE, there aren't a ton of teams who can fit him under the cap and would likely require a sign and trade of some sort. Those things can get complicated and it makes sense to me that nothing has happened or will happen until after the draft. If the Wolves want Naz back, they'd also have to get more/as much in return as they want with Naz.

If Naz is not going to get more than the MLE. The Wolves can likely slightly outbid the MLE to keep Naz. So then it will beg the question - MLE at another organization or slightly more money for the Wolves?

The last scenario is that Naz only gets the MLE and we are not interested. He likely still has to wait because most teams aren't really looking at how to use it until the other pieces fall - draft, trades, etc.
 

If Naz can get more than the MLE, there aren't a ton of teams who can fit him under the cap and would likely require a sign and trade of some sort. Those things can get complicated and it makes sense to me that nothing has happened or will happen until after the draft. If the Wolves want Naz back, they'd also have to get more/as much in return as they want with Naz.

If Naz is not going to get more than the MLE. The Wolves can likely slightly outbid the MLE to keep Naz. So then it will beg the question - MLE at another organization or slightly more money for the Wolves?

The last scenario is that Naz only gets the MLE and we are not interested. He likely still has to wait because most teams aren't really looking at how to use it until the other pieces fall - draft, trades, etc.
The NBA announced yesterday that the 2023-24 Salary Cap will increase by $3M up to $136M which could be huge in terms of being able to re-sign both Naz and NAW.

Unfortunately, that might be the only splashes we're able to make this off-season as it appears we will attempt to run it back from last season and hope everyone can stay relatively healthy. Stranger things have happened, though.
 

The NBA announced yesterday that the 2023-24 Salary Cap will increase by $3M up to $136M which could be huge in terms of being able to re-sign both Naz and NAW.

Unfortunately, that might be the only splashes we're able to make this off-season as it appears we will attempt to run it back from last season and hope everyone can stay relatively healthy. Stranger things have happened, though.
Naz is gone unless the wolves offer him way more money than the next team. Hes still young, so hes going to want to maximize his earnings by getting more playing time, improving his value for the next contract. Right now hes behind Rudy, KAT and Finchy favorite Kyle Anderson.
 

Jon K with an analysis of Connelly's first year here. Not sure it's worth rehashing the past, so including the forward looking analysis:

Moving forward

If Gobert does not bounce back this season and Kessler continues to look like a young star in Utah, what has already been a lopsided trade in Utah’s favor will look much worse.

But there is a scenario where everyone is healthier and more comfortable with each other in ’23-24, leading to more wins and, the Timberwolves hope, the second trip beyond the first round of the playoffs in franchise history. Read that sentence again.

Connelly grew more assertive and comfortable as his first season wore on. He made the bold decision to suspend Gobert for the first Play-In game against the Los Angeles Lakers after Gobert fought with Anderson in the huddle during the last game of the regular season. He made the trade for Conley even though he was much older than Russell. He and Finch helped convince Edwards that it was important to train in Minnesota this summer to set a tone, and Gobert came back from France this week to show his face as well.

The Wolves have the 53rd pick in the second round in Thursday night’s NBA Draft, for now. Connelly continues to have conversations with teams about potentially trading into the first round, but nothing has materialized yet.

It was a wild, tense first season for Connelly in Minnesota. Ironically, it ended in Denver, as the precursor to a team he helped build winning the first title in franchise history. No one would have bet on that being possible when the Nuggets missed the playoffs in Connelly’s first five seasons on the job in Denver.

Just like in those early days in Denver, Connelly has a lot of questions to answer. The new CBA looms next summer, which may prompt more significant roster moves.

“We’re pretty excited about where we’re going to be next year,” Connelly said. “We think we’re going to continue to grow off some of the things we did good last year and hopefully improve the areas where we struggled. But you can’t ignore the long-term financial realities. It’s really dependent on the move. It’s depending on how big an impact that player, that trade could potentially make. I think that’ll change our ability or how we view spending.”

He likes the talent they have amassed on this roster. With one season under his belt, he is much more comfortable in Minnesota. Life is easier for him and his family. Now he has to hope that Gobert and the rest of the Wolves feel the same way.


Howl Wolves!!
 

Maybe the Warriors will give Draymond Green that contract extension after all. They just traded Poole to Washington. Maybe at least.;)

 

Maybe the Warriors will give Draymond Green that contract extension after all. They just traded Poole to Washington. Maybe at least.;)


Looks like they have plenty of future cap space now to take on KAT’s contract.
 




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