All Things Minnesota Timberwolves 2022-2023 In-Season Thread

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Iceland12 said:
It was enough to prompt veteran Kyle Anderson to conjure images of Will Smith hollering at Martin Lawrence in “Bad Boys II.”

“‘From now on, that’s how you shoot!’” Anderson said, mimicking the famous line with a wide smile. “I’d say when he’s knocking down shots like that, that’s the Lo we know and the Lo we love.”

In 22 games since Dec. 1, Russell is shooting 49.8 percent from the field, 42.0 percent from 3 and 93.1 percent on free throws, the hallowed 50/40/90 club. It has been exactly what the Wolves needed, especially after Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a calf strain at the end of November.

So, the question becomes: Do the Timberwolves really want to trade him?

Russell has settled into an offensive role that is more off the ball, trying to give more opportunities to Edwards to run the show. The result has been one of those shooting runs that Russell has become known for in eight seasons in the league, with the Wolves trying to ride the wave as long as it lasts. For a team that has been short on shooting and needs to scratch and claw its way back into the playoff conversation, Russell’s reliability from the perimeter has been important.

Since acquiring him in a trade with Golden State in 2020, they have seen the highs and the lows..

theathletic.com

As trade deadline nears, D'Angelo Russell gives us something to think about

Russell's game and impact is known to fluctuate, and we saw both sides of the coin Thursday night against the Raptors.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
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Still trade him
 



Again no Gobert. Means zero interior defense and little rebounding. The Wolves also are shooting terribly. Lucky Houston is awful or the Wolves would be down by way more than 2 at the Half.

Edit: After that abysmal 1st half the Wolves(24-24) still ended-up getting hammered on the boards 56 to 30, but they outshot the Rockets(10-36) in the 2nd Half and beat them 113 to 104. Edwards had 44, Russell 23 and Nate Knight, who got 25 minutes because Reid and Garza were awful, had 19.

Ball handling also improved greatly in that 2nd Half. Wolves had 12 steals and only 11 turnovers for the game against 4 and 21 for Houston.

Wolves and Houston play again Monday night down in Houston.
 
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they started Naz at center last night, and while he didn't play a ton, he had 2 rebounds.

McDaniels, who is 6'9"......played 31 minutes and had 2 rebounds.

DLO had 1 rebound

I'm sorry, but............................................................................ that's friggin putrid from those 3 players.
 
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Breakin' The Plane said:
Noticed KAT was not on the bench last couple of games.
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Who cares?:ROFLMAO:

Re-thinking that. Now that the word is out that the Timberwolves were lying all along about how severe the injury was, there is no need to have him there. Wolves players don't need another cheerleader and management's need to show that "he's almost ready" to come back is gone.
 
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JimmyJamesMD said:
Still trade him
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None of the floated trades really change our situation much.

Russell for Lowry? He's been awful this year and he appears cooked. I guess if they threw in a first I'd be open to it.
Russell for some combo of contracts from Washington? Again, I don't see the point unless they are throwing in a first.
Russell for Mike Conley? I guess maybe. But he seems pretty cooked too.

I think I'd probably push towards Conley, especially if we could get anything attached to it. Then we could kick the can on his contract another year and hopefully sign him for significantly less.

It's unfortunate because none of the moves will free up cap space, letting him walk won't free up cap space, the only way to extract any value from him would be to get some future asset (young player or pick) attached to an equally shitting contract.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
None of the floated trades really change our situation much.

Russell for Lowry? He's been awful this year and he appears cooked. I guess if they threw in a first I'd be open to it.
Russell for some combo of contracts from Washington? Again, I don't see the point unless they are throwing in a first.
Russell for Mike Conley? I guess maybe. But he seems pretty cooked too.

I think I'd probably push towards Conley, especially if we could get anything attached to it. Then we could kick the can on his contract another year and hopefully sign him for significantly less.

It's unfortunate because none of the moves will free up cap space, letting him walk won't free up cap space, the only way to extract any value from him would be to get some future asset (young player or pick) attached to an equally shitting contract.
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I get the salary slot, but I'm trying to be realistic. No way they pay 4 max salaries and give jaden an extension when they haven't proven anything

And if they can't trade him, cut him. Addition by subtraction
 

Iceland12 said:
Who cares?:ROFLMAO:

Re-thinking that. Now that the word is out that the Timberwolves were lying all along about how severe the injury was, there is no need to have him there. Wolves players don't need another cheerleader and management's need to show that "he's almost ready" to come back is gone.
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Just found it interesting. He had been there until recently. JMac has still been on the bench.
 



JimmyJamesMD said:
I get the salary slot, but I'm trying to be realistic. No way they pay 4 max salaries and give jaden an extension when they haven't proven anything

And if they can't trade him, cut him. Addition by subtraction
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Lol we're back to cutting DLo, our 2nd best player who scored 23 last night and is having his best shooting season so far in his career? We didn't need those points last night, right?
 

IF you're going to move DLo, I almost think it has to be for someone with an expiring contract. that gives you some cap space and options for the off-season.

don't forget, thanks to the Gobert trade, no 1st-round Draft pick this year.

any help is going to have to come through free-agency - unless you go for a monster trade for KAT.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
IF you're going to move DLo, I almost think it has to be for someone with an expiring contract. that gives you some cap space and options for the off-season.

don't forget, thanks to the Gobert trade, no 1st-round Draft pick this year.

any help is going to have to come through free-agency - unless you go for a monster trade for KAT.
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Wolves have no material cap space if they let DLO expire

That's why @Bob_Loblaw wants to trade him for assets that extend past this year so we dont lose that salary cap space slot. I agree I just don't think ownership will have the appetite to pay lux tax without a proven playoff team
 
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GopherWeatherGuy said:
Lol we're back to cutting DLo, our 2nd best player who scored 23 last night and is having his best shooting season so far in his career? We didn't need those points last night, right?
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Im glad he did so well vs trash rockets. As long as he is on roster team will go nowhere. He still doesn't rebound or play D and has proven he cant handle pressure situations. Addition by subtraction
 

While so many of his teammates struggled Saturday, Edwards made sure there would be no disappointment on this night. When it was all over, he put up 44 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals, willing the Wolves to their seventh win in 10 games to bring them back to .500 (24-24) on the season..

Midway through the third quarter, Edwards was 11-for-18 (.611) from the field and 5-for-10 (.500) from 3. His teammates were 10-for-35 (.286) and 3-for-15 (.200) from deep. The normally reliable Kyle Anderson and Jaden McDaniels were both struggling. A banged-up Naz Reid couldn’t hang with Şengün on the glass. Taurean Prince left the game with a sprained left ankle.

The Wolves got some help in the form of Nathan Knight, who came off the bench to score 19 points and pick up three steals in 23 minutes, and D’Angelo Russell, who scored 23 points, hit a pair of big 3s in the fourth and had eight assists. But it was Edwards who brought the aggression and the intensity from the start. He has also started to guard the opponent’s best scorer down the stretch, including taking Pascal Siakam out of the game in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s win over the Raptors..

The Wolves are now in a virtual tie with the Golden State Warriors (23-23) for the No. 6 seed in the muddled Western Conference. Over the last two months without Towns, Edwards has steadily increased his production and leadership to keep the Wolves from falling off a cliff. Some of that progress has been subtle, in the form of messages delivered to teammates in the locker room or accepting tough defensive assignments in the fourth quarter. All of that has been needed..

theathletic.com

Led by dunks and defense, Anthony Edwards seizes his All-Star moment

Minnesota has lost more than a few games like the one Saturday. But it didn't happen again because Edwards wouldn't allow it.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Lol we're back to cutting DLo, our 2nd best player who scored 23 last night and is having his best shooting season so far in his career? We didn't need those points last night, right?
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Wolves won last night and have won 8 out of their last 11. Losing generates more discussion on here than winning. When they win, the talk is usually about anything except the win. Though there's always a smattering of "they should have looked better doing it".
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
Im glad he did so well vs trash rockets. As long as he is on roster team will go nowhere. He still doesn't rebound or play D and has proven he cant handle pressure situations. Addition by subtraction
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He was the main reason the Wolves beat the Clippers in the play in game last season. He and Edwards are the main reason the Wolves have dug themselves out of the hole they were in over the last few weeks.

The Wolves will still either trade DLo or let him walk in the offseason. Thinking he's going to get cut during the season may be the dumbest thing I've ever read on here, and that's saying something. The chance of that happening is zero.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
He was the main reason the Wolves beat the Clippers in the play in game last season. He and Edwards are the main reason the Wolves have dug themselves out of the hole they were in over the last few weeks.

The Wolves will still either trade DLo or let him walk in the offseason. Thinking he's going to get cut during the season may be the dumbest thing I've ever read on here, and that's saying something. The chance of that happening is zero.
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and then disappeared in the playoffs like he does so often in the regular season. I'm glad you're so short sighted that a good shooting game pleasures you so. There's so much more to your point guard getting hot once in awhile. He plays with zero intensity, commits awful turnovers, and has no hustle. DLO made JMAC look like the reincarnation of John Stockton's prime during the memphis series. Dude got pulled during crunch time.

I'm interested in them figuring it out this year, you're obviously cool with their .500 record and little 2 game winning streaks they pull off from time to time.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
He was the main reason the Wolves beat the Clippers in the play in game last season. He and Edwards are the main reason the Wolves have dug themselves out of the hole they were in over the last few weeks.

The Wolves will still either trade DLo or let him walk in the offseason. Thinking he's going to get cut during the season may be the dumbest thing I've ever read on here, and that's saying something. The chance of that happening is zero.
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He scores 25 and gives up 30. He holds the ball and doesn't move the ball.

Our perimeter defense sucks, and he's the worst I've ever seen out front.

Get him the hell out of Minnesota. Trade him for something.
 

kg21 said:
He scores 25 and gives up 30. He holds the ball and doesn't move the ball.

Our perimeter defense sucks, and he's the worst I've ever seen out front.

Get him the hell out of Minnesota. Trade him for something.
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No he doesn't.
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
and then disappeared in the playoffs like he does so often in the regular season. I'm glad you're so short sighted that a good shooting game pleasures you so. There's so much more to your point guard getting hot once in awhile. He plays with zero intensity, commits awful turnovers, and has no hustle. DLO made JMAC look like the reincarnation of John Stockton's prime during the memphis series. Dude got pulled during crunch time.

I'm interested in them figuring it out this year, you're obviously cool with their .500 record and little 2 game winning streaks they pull off from time to time.
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And Ant never disappears, neither does KAT, or Gobert....

And it wasn't one good shooting game, DLo has been a good shooter all season. He's one of the reason's they are even .500 right now in the first place and would be far below .500 without him. The reasons they aren't better is because of KAT's and Gobert's play, or lack there of it.

But please let me know how many playoff contending teams have just cut a starter averaging 17 PPG and 6 APG in the middle of the season. I'm sure that list is long... :rolleyes:
 

kg21 said:
He scores 25 and gives up 30. He holds the ball and doesn't move the ball.

Our perimeter defense sucks, and he's the worst I've ever seen out front.

Get him the hell out of Minnesota. Trade him for something.
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Phew!!
 

This Wolves team wins when they shoot well and take care of the ball. IMHO it seems like Russell has been playing pretty well now that Finch has figured out that his best position is playing off the ball, not being a PG and directing traffic.

That said, except for a full season and a couple of half seasons, Russell has been far to up-and-down to commit to another big money contract. Would be happy if they could get Conley, a guy on a reasonable contract, who's played well with Gobert, and draft pick(s) in return.

If not let someone else handle they ball, let Russell shoot it and wait until the off-season to make a decision.
 

Iceland12 said:
This Wolves team wins when they shoot well and take care of the ball. IMHO it seems like Russell has been playing pretty well now that Finch has figured out that his best position is playing off the ball, not being a PG and directing traffic.

That said, except for a full season and a couple of half seasons, Russell has been far to up-and-down to commit to another big money contract. Would be happy if they could get Conley, a guy on a reasonable contract, who's played well with Gobert, and draft pick(s) in return.

If not let someone else handle they ball, let Russell shoot it and wait until the off-season to make a decision.
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Fair. Let him play 2 guard and dont ask much of him. Give him the worst perimeter player on the other team when hes out there.

I love the Conely idea, i just dont know how what else we give up.
 


Ant is going to barely be a 5 WS player in year 3.

He's not the answer. The Wolves don't have a truly elite player on their roster anywhere. That's their problem.
 

kg21 said:
He scores 25 and gives up 30. He holds the ball and doesn't move the ball.

Our perimeter defense sucks, and he's the worst I've ever seen out front.

Get him the hell out of Minnesota. Trade him for something.
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I don't think you'll get something for him. You'll likely only get another version of nothing.

Would you rather have him or Kyle Lowry?
 

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