All Things 2023 Minnesota Timberwolves Off-Season Thread

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The Blazers already went down this path for years with 2 similar guards. Scoot will end up on the Wolves as a part of a package for Towns.
 




CBS draft grades:

33. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Spurs): SF Leonard Miller, G League Ignite

The Spurs made this pick and flipped it to Minnesota, giving the Timberwolves — for my money — a lottery-level talent and one of the better value acquisitions of the night. Miller has a funky-but-effective game as a big wing who can put the ball on the floor, pass and defend with versatility. He's a high motor forward who will fit nicely as they build around Anthony Edwards. Grade: A

53. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Knicks): SG Jaylen Clark, UCLA

Defense, defense, defense. That's what Clark brings to the table for Minnesota. He had an Achilles injury at the end of last season that might've pushed him down the board, but the two time All-Pac 12 defense honoree is a disruptive defensive presence worth betting on. Grade: A

www.cbssports.com

2023 NBA Draft grades: Pick-by-pick analysis of all 58 selections with intrigue starting right after No. 1

Here's the pick-by-pick breakdown, complete with a grade for each pick of the 2023 NBA Draft
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

Howl Wolves!!
 



JimmyJamesMD said:
sure hope so
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remember the Wolves cant trade KAT until July 7th.

Remember how long it took the wolves and cavs to complete the wiggins love trade. And wigs was #1 overall. No reason blazers cant still trade scoot
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
remember the Wolves cant trade KAT until July 7th.

Remember how long it took the wolves and cavs to complete the wiggins love trade. And wigs was #1 overall. No reason blazers cant still trade scoot
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Trading Scoot isn't the problem. Towns and his contract is.

First they'd have to match-up salaries and then, far worse, they'd have to find a team that would be willing to pay him over $150,000,000 from '24-25 through '26-'27 with a player option of over $64,000,000 for '27-'28.

Unless they can find another Glen Taylor like owner out there, Towns is not going anywhere.

www.spotrac.com

Karl-Anthony Towns | NBA Contracts & Salaries | Spotrac.com

Karl-Anthony Towns contract and salary cap details, full contract breakdowns, salaries, signing bonus, roster bonus, dead money, and valuations.
www.spotrac.com www.spotrac.com
 

Iceland12 said:
Trading Scoot isn't the problem. Towns and his contract is.

First they'd have to match-up salaries and then, far worse, they'd have to find a team that would be willing to pay him over $150,000,000 from '24-25 through '26-'27 with a player option of over $64,000,000 for '27-'28.

Unless they can find another Glen Taylor like owner out there, Towns is not going anywhere.

www.spotrac.com

Karl-Anthony Towns | NBA Contracts & Salaries | Spotrac.com

Karl-Anthony Towns contract and salary cap details, full contract breakdowns, salaries, signing bonus, roster bonus, dead money, and valuations.
www.spotrac.com www.spotrac.com
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We were able to trade D-Lo. Anything can happen.
 



Tim Connelly has always been great in the draft. I like both picks from last night.

He's also always been pretty terrible at trades, but the D'Lo for Conley trade was good.
 

tikited said:
We were able to trade D-Lo. Anything can happen.
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They did what LeBron demanded. He got his guy.

Though D'Angelo Russell had only 17 games and one season left on his contract. A contract that was for $31,377,750 total last season. The Lakers can walk away from that this Summer. It was a dumb move but affordable.

Towns will have to be paid over $269,000,000.

Think anybody out there is demanding their team get Towns and pay him that King's Ransom? Though many Timberwolves fans could be hoping for it.

Good thought though.:drink:
 
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“The Wolves received a ton of interest in Jaden McDaniels, league sources say, with teams all over the draft board calling and inquiring on his availability,” The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski wrote. “The Wolves rebuffed every offer, viewing McDaniels as a huge piece of the team’s long-term future.”
 



Vencenie and Hollinger on Leonard Miller.

33. Minnesota Timberwolves (via San Antonio Spurs)​

Leonard Miller | 6-foot-9, forward | 19 years old | G League Ignite​

Vecenie’s ranking: 13.

Miller is going to be an incredibly polarizing prospect. He was last cycle as well. The only difference is that this time evaluators are forced into making a decision on him as opposed to being able to kick the can down the road. The other key difference is that Miller has displayed success against elite competition after his last month and a half in the G League. Miller does stuff you can’t really teach. He’s a big ballhandler who hits the glass and can really attack and cover ground quickly with long strides but also decelerate and change direction with the ball. His athleticism is a rare blend. He’s an elite finisher with incredible touch around the basket – the touch that kind of gives you hope long term that an elite shooting coach will be able to fix it. There’s some passing ability here. There’s some defensive upside here. It’s all just in the form of an entirely unshaped diamond who may never reach its full form because he’s starting from such a deficit in terms of experience.

Miller had never played a level above the Ontario Scholastic League prior to this past season. He didn’t get to play AAU basketball against high-level athletes who can match him. Before he played at Nike Hoop Summit and the combine last year, he’d never even consistently played in games against Division I-level talent. For him to figure out the G League within a year is remarkable when put in that context. But even with that terrific play, he still has a lot of warts that will be taken advantage of to a greater degree in the NBA. I just hope Minnesota is a positive developmental situation that will be willing to take their time and teach him. The intel is pristine. He is a sponge who wants to learn. If you’re willing to be patient, you could end up with a steal.

To answer the question posed above regarding a lack of experience meaning lost reps or upside, I think the answer depends on the person. With Miller, I tend to buy that there is real upside here because I buy the human being involved. Miller is intellectually curious and wants to be great at basketball. I’ll buy that he can pick up the time he’s lost already because I think he’ll put in the extra time to do so.

Hollinger’s analysis: This pick was traded to Minnesota for two future seconds. I had a top-20 grade on Miller so I highly approve of this pick; Miller is a young forward whose shot needs work, but he’s big, he can handle the ball, he’s a good rebounder, and he was very productive as a teenager in the G League last season.
 

Vencenie and Hollinger on Jaylen Clark

53. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Knicks, Timberwolves)​

Jaylen Clark | 6-foot-4, guard | 21 years old | UCLA​

Vecenie’s ranking: 51.

Clark is a prospect of extremes. The defense is elite. You could put him on an NBA court right now after about a month of adjusting to his team’s scheme, and he’d be able to impact the game. He has a very strong case as the best perimeter defender in this draft class, and he’s one of the better ones I’ve evaluated in the last few draft cycles. But the offense is a real worry outside of running the court in transition. In his jumper’s current state, I’m worried teams won’t have to guard him when he’s spacing the court. One idea I’ve heard from scouts is that he can be Gary Payton II or Bruce Brown by playing in short rolls almost as a smallball four and be effective, but both of those players grew up as point guards, are much more athletic than Clark and entered the league with more developed passing skills.

The Timberwolves’ selection of Clark comes down to how confident they are in his jumper improving. Do they have a plan to help him get better? I think the defense is so good that I’d have taken a top-50 flier in this class. And, of course, the Timberwolves will need to make determinations on his injury situation and how long it will take him to recover.

Hollinger’s analysis: A ball-hawking guard whose draft stock may have suffered due to a late-season Achilles injury, Clark is short for a wing and his 3-point shot is suspect, but he has some discount De’Anthony Melton potential if everything clicks.
 

Iceland12 said:
Vencenie and Hollinger on Leonard Miller.

33. Minnesota Timberwolves (via San Antonio Spurs)​

Leonard Miller | 6-foot-9, forward | 19 years old | G League Ignite​

Vecenie’s ranking: 13.

Miller is going to be an incredibly polarizing prospect. He was last cycle as well. The only difference is that this time evaluators are forced into making a decision on him as opposed to being able to kick the can down the road. The other key difference is that Miller has displayed success against elite competition after his last month and a half in the G League. Miller does stuff you can’t really teach. He’s a big ballhandler who hits the glass and can really attack and cover ground quickly with long strides but also decelerate and change direction with the ball. His athleticism is a rare blend. He’s an elite finisher with incredible touch around the basket – the touch that kind of gives you hope long term that an elite shooting coach will be able to fix it. There’s some passing ability here. There’s some defensive upside here. It’s all just in the form of an entirely unshaped diamond who may never reach its full form because he’s starting from such a deficit in terms of experience.

Miller had never played a level above the Ontario Scholastic League prior to this past season. He didn’t get to play AAU basketball against high-level athletes who can match him. Before he played at Nike Hoop Summit and the combine last year, he’d never even consistently played in games against Division I-level talent. For him to figure out the G League within a year is remarkable when put in that context. But even with that terrific play, he still has a lot of warts that will be taken advantage of to a greater degree in the NBA. I just hope Minnesota is a positive developmental situation that will be willing to take their time and teach him. The intel is pristine. He is a sponge who wants to learn. If you’re willing to be patient, you could end up with a steal.

To answer the question posed above regarding a lack of experience meaning lost reps or upside, I think the answer depends on the person. With Miller, I tend to buy that there is real upside here because I buy the human being involved. Miller is intellectually curious and wants to be great at basketball. I’ll buy that he can pick up the time he’s lost already because I think he’ll put in the extra time to do so.

Hollinger’s analysis: This pick was traded to Minnesota for two future seconds. I had a top-20 grade on Miller so I highly approve of this pick; Miller is a young forward whose shot needs work, but he’s big, he can handle the ball, he’s a good rebounder, and he was very productive as a teenager in the G League last season.
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Miller has a "herky jerky" style but he's an excellent ball handler for a guy his size. His game and size reminds me a little of Walt Williams if anyone remembers him.
 
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kg21 said:
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.
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IF they do trade KAT, they will have to pay everything to 3 players and rest of the team will be a bunch of McLaughlin's filling out the roster.

If we move KAT and another big contract - we have some roster flexibility.

If we just move KAT, it'll be really hard to add any roster flexibility.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
IF they do trade KAT, they will have to pay everything to 3 players and rest of the team will be a bunch of McLaughlin's filling out the roster.

If we move KAT and another big contract - we have some roster flexibility.

If we just move KAT, it'll be really hard to add any roster flexibility.
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If they trade him, they will get younger talent with an expiring. That would be the whole point.

That Towns contract is going to be insane.
 

kg21 said:
If they trade him, they will get younger talent with an expiring. That would be the whole point.

That Towns contract is going to be insane.
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Getting younger players on Rookie contracts would help balance out the roster but when Ant and Jaden get their new deals, those two (2) along with Rudy will total at least $100M of the cap space.

Trading KAT will only help keep us under the 2nd cap. It really won't provide any long-term cap relief as far as having a deep bench.

If there was a deal to get a stud PG on a Rookie deal like Scoot, that would help immensely. POR has it's hands full with the Lilliard situation.
 

Slim Tubby said:
Getting younger players on Rookie contracts would help balance out the roster but when Ant and Jaden get their new deals, those two (2) along with Rudy will total at least $100M of the cap space.

Trading KAT will only help keep us under the 2nd cap. It really won't provide any long-term cap relief as far as having a deep bench.

If there was a deal to get a stud PG on a Rookie deal like Scoot, that would help immensely. POR has it's hands full with the Lilliard situation.
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I don't believe Gobert will finish his contract out in Minnesota.
 

kg21 said:
I don't believe Gobert will finish his contract out in Minnesota.
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Very possible. His contract won't look so bad as the new Max deals come out.

He's taken a lot of heat for the trade he had no control over but when he was on the court last season, the Wolves had the 2nd best team defensive rating in the entire NBA. His limited offensive game really hurts his overall value, though.
 







Prediction: KAT gets traded to Knicks after July 7th (but this summer)
 

Souhan: Timberwolves are building a roster that can contend around Rudy Gobert — with a backup plan

The Wolves' recent moves indicate Connelly is operating on two levels. He's trying to give the Gobert experiment every chance to succeed over the next year or two before breaking up his best core players. He's also trying to infuse the organization with inexpensive young talent that could either supplement the current roster or speed rebuilding if Gobert again plays like he is made of ill-fitting Legos.

The Wolves' current rotation features Towns, Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, Kyle Anderson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Reid and Taurean Prince. For all of the trauma the Wolves caused their fans last season, that's a winning group that lacks only a pure backup point guard.

The Wolves should be better next season. They will also face new challenges.

The Utah Jazz — home of former Wolves draft pick Walker Kessler — traded for talented Hawks forward John Collins on Monday, making the Jazz almost certain playoff contenders.

The San Antonio Spurs chose Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in last week's draft, and Wembanyama, playing for Gregg Popovich, makes the Spurs instant contenders.

The Wolves will also have to deal with a full season of Kevin Durant in the West, with the Phoenix Suns.

It's nothing one of the three or four most prestigious sports franchises based in downtown Minneapolis can't handle.

www.startribune.com

Souhan: Wolves build a roster that can contend now — with a backup plan

Timberwolves President Tim Connelly is building a roster that can supplement the Rudy Gobert experiment, but a young core is taking shape if things fall apart.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Howl Wolves!!
 

Ope3 said:
I just passed Naz Reid in the skyway walking from Mayo to Target Center. Big fella.
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kg21 said:
Or did. you ask him if he's staying?
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In the back of my mind, I did think seeing Naz still in Mpls in late May was a good sign that he would be re-signing with the Wolves.

Sure he was rehabbing the wrist, but he could have been doing that anywhere, especially as a pending Free Agent.
 

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