When I'm wrong, which is quite often, it's usually a matter of months if not years before we find out I'm wrong. In this case, it was a matter of maybe an hour or two if not minutes. Not long after posting that Kyrie would end up in LA, we find out he's going to Dallas. Is that better than him going to the Lakers? Yes, but barely. Dallas was one of those teams ahead of us who I thought the Wolves could pass if they get their shit together. But I don't the Wolves passing Dallas now with both Kyrie and Luka. They'll be an offensive juggernaut. Meanwhile, the Wolves will be ... well, we don't know what the Wolves are, which is a big part of the problem. Anyway, once negotiations hit an impasse in Brooklyn, it was a certainty that Kyrie would end up on a Western Conference rival. Instead of the Lakers, Clippers or Suns, that rival turned out to be the Mavs. No matter how you slice it, this is bad news for the Wolves. But in the end, if the Wolves continue to hang around the .500 mark and end up in the lottery a bottom 6 seed in the the West, that's on the Wolves - ownership, management, coaches and players.
Q: Did you think Naz would play such a big role? How valuable has he been? Tim Connelly: Yeah, Naz is a guy that, from the outside, I liked and from being around him every day I love. Not just the player. He's a really cool person. A great guy. Has overcome a lot and made it the hard way. We thought his positional flexibility and unique offensive skill set was going to be huge for us this year. His role has varied night to night ... but his consistent approach and personality are so important to our team's success. - via Chris Hine @ Minneapolis Star-Tribune
I don't think Connelly is likely to trade Naz before the deadline. Sure, you'd expect TC to say good things about Naz publicly not only because he believes what he says but also to enhance Reid's trade value. But I think TC focuses more than most GMs on character and it's obvious he loves Naz.
Reports of Ja Morant group threatened the traveling group of the pacers and threatened them in an SUV at gun point with Ja in the car. Could be interesting.
Q: With D'Angelo Russell, he's had a big year offensively. Helped you win a lot of games. Do you think you've seen enough that he can fit in long-term if you want him to be the point guard down the road? Tim Connelly: What I've seen is the guy put in a huge summer. He was in the gym all the time. I don't think it's coincidental he's having such a good shooting year. Every time I looked up, he's down there working out. He knew the expectations were risen this year. He challenged himself to have a better year. He's such a basketball-obsessed guy. Nobody watches more college or NBA. He's had a great year, a tremendous summer where he worked his tail off and certainly there's plenty of scenarios where he's our point guard not just now but for the future as well. - via Chris Hine @ Minneapolis Star-Tribune
This doesn't mean the Wolves won't trade DLO before the deadline. But it's clear TC likes a lot about DLO. He highlighted one of the things I really like about DLO - namely the fact that DLO is a basketball junkie. Truly loving the game is a big deal in an era where money, ego and notoriety are such dominant themes.
How does that make us better though. Like Covington wouldn't be in the rotation and I like Kennard but he would come off the bench and even though I like Jmac I don't think he is a starting caliber player and Jmac is consistently hurt.
Thinking more about the Bones Hyland trade steam after tonight's game against Denver. Seems odd-yet-understandable how disinterested he was on the bench, and even weirder how he logged zero minutes in a game where the Nuggets rested their starters. Perhaps he has been receiving DNP-CD's to preserve his health leading up to the trade deadline, which I completely get, but it still didn't feel right. He's likely on the way out, but he won't be given away.
Darren Wolfson has earned his reputation for being unreliable in the past, but he did mention that he checked with a source in Denver that was unaware of any interest the team had in Naz Reid. Let's assume that's true for a moment. Let's also assume that Tim Connelly has real interest in acquiring Hyland while also having interest in keeping Minnesota's main rotation together, at least for this season. Winning this season is still the top priority. That's been the case since they traded for Rudy Gobert. I truly believe they don't want to cause unnecessary friction there, especially while the wins are accumulating.
With all of that said, I wonder if Connelly could be trying to work a deal for Hyland that centers around Wendell Moore Jr. heading to Denver. It's thought that steady contributor Bruce Brown will test free agency this summer and command a deal closer to the mid-level. They did bring Wendell Moore Jr. in for a pre-draft workout last summer and the Nuggets were targeting wings in that class. I'm sure they're quite familiar with him and Connelly would have a good idea of how highly that front office thought of him considering they reported to him just a year ago.
Typically, young talent still on a rookie contract warrants either draft capital or another young talent in return. If Reid isn't the guy Denver has interest in, according to Wolfson's report, then you have to look at what else Minnesota has to offer that fits the bill. Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels are off the table, obviously. They have no tradable first-round picks until draft night in 2024. That leaves Wendell Moore Jr., Josh Minott, Luka Garza, and second-round picks as expendable assets that have value. Again, this is assuming that Minnesota's main rotation players aren't in the mix for a trade.
Lastly, it hasn't really felt like the Timberwolves are married to Wendell Moore Jr. as a prospect either, or at least not to this point. Minnesota's had plenty of injuries to wing players this season where you'd expect him to be given more opportunities even as a rookie -- a rookie with three years of experience at Duke, no less. Instead they've continued to roll out two-way contractee Matt Ryan, a miserably ineffective Bryn Forbes, and an erratic, inefficient version of Jaylen Nowell. For whatever reason, it is very rarely Wendell Moore Jr. that gets meaningful minutes despite him being a player they're supposed to be invested in. How much do they believe in him?
This is all speculation and a lot of rambling, but maybe the Nuggets bite on a Hyland for Moore Jr. deal with a couple of second-round picks heading their way if they're unable to land a quality veteran wing under contract for next year.
