Carlos Danger wrote:I know TC is in "win now" mode. He's going to make sure this team gets into the playoffs - no matter what. There will be some moves made - believe it. This is a .500 club as is. You are what your record says you are. Let's make a deal and see if we can get some swagger heading down the stretch. Go find me a modern day Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell to put this team over the top.
DLO, Naz and Nowell - I appreciate your contributions to this team. But if you don't want to be here or TC doesn't see the dollars working out, then adios and best of luck with your new teams. Really nobody should be untouchable on this current roster outside of Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Gobert (because TC traded a war chest for him) and KAT (who can't be traded anyhow). That's our core for the next couple years. Everyone else is very replaceable IMO.
But you seem to be assuming that the assets we get back from any of these three will help us this year more than the assets we send out. Are you sure about that? Do you really think we can land a Cassell or Sprewell with any of those guys?
Q, I think the front office's decision will go beyond this year...ideally they want to bring back assets that help us this year, but I'm sure they are also taking a longer view...i.e assets that make us a better team for the next 5-6 years (like replacing draft picks).
And of course we don't know that the assets we get back will make us better. But since DLo is at the epicenter of deal discussions (I rather doubt that anything we get back for Naz or Jaylen will move the needle much), I think we need to evaluate a deal this way: are we comparing what we get back to DLo's performance of the past month, or DLo's performance for his entire career? If it's the former, it's quite unlikely assets we get back will be better than what we have now...he's playing at an elite level. But the latter is a much lower bar. DLo has had a negative net rating on basketball reference every year of his career, but his recent very good play has brought him to a career best minus 1 for this season. Management needs to decide if this version of DLo is sustainable, or if it's a head fake like Wolves fan (and management) have seen before. Their decision will be instrumental in whether we see a major deal this month or not.
Carlos Danger wrote:I know TC is in "win now" mode. He's going to make sure this team gets into the playoffs - no matter what. There will be some moves made - believe it. This is a .500 club as is. You are what your record says you are. Let's make a deal and see if we can get some swagger heading down the stretch. Go find me a modern day Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell to put this team over the top.
DLO, Naz and Nowell - I appreciate your contributions to this team. But if you don't want to be here or TC doesn't see the dollars working out, then adios and best of luck with your new teams. Really nobody should be untouchable on this current roster outside of Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Gobert (because TC traded a war chest for him) and KAT (who can't be traded anyhow). That's our core for the next couple years. Everyone else is very replaceable IMO.
But you seem to be assuming that the assets we get back from any of these three will help us this year more than the assets we send out. Are you sure about that? Do you really think we can land a Cassell or Sprewell with any of those guys?
Q, I think the front office's decision will go beyond this year...ideally they want to bring back assets that help us this year, but I'm sure they are also taking a longer view...i.e assets that make us a better team for the next 5-6 years (like replacing draft picks).
And of course we don't know that the assets we get back will make us better. But since DLo is at the epicenter of deal discussions (I rather doubt that anything we get back for Naz or Jaylen will move the needle much), I think we need to evaluate a deal this way: are we comparing what we get back to DLo's performance of the past month, or DLo's performance for his entire career? If it's the former, it's quite unlikely assets we get back will be better than what we have now...he's playing at an elite level. But the latter is a much lower bar. DLo has had a negative net rating on basketball reference every year of his career, but his recent very good play has brought him to a career best minus 1 for this season. Management needs to decide if this version of DLo is sustainable, or if it's a head fake like Wolves fan (and management) have seen before. Their decision will be instrumental in whether we see a major deal this month or not.
My contention is - and I could certainly be wrong - is that as long as we are in the mix for a top 6 playoff seed, they aren't going to do much at the trade deadline and they will punt the DLO situation to the offseason. Now things can go sideways in a hurry, as we could suddenly find ourselves below .500 again and out of the top 10 within a week! If that's the case, I can absolutely see a big move or a flurry of moves. I personally hope we keep things rolling!
CoolBreeze44 wrote:Carlos isn't saying they should trade Slo-Mo or any other player specifically. He's saying there are a lot of things we as fans aren't qualified to speculate on. We don't know what players are available. We don't know what our front office really feels about our players. We don't know what other teams are looking for. And we don't know how many different ways player X could wind up with team Y. Yesterday the New York Islanders make a big trade for Bo Horvat of the Vancouver Canucks. Horvat was rumored to be on the block and several teams were rumored to have interest. But none of those teams were the Islanders. Just about anything can happen, and it's a little arrogant of posters to argue that we can't get value for whomever. How do you know?
Yep - this is what I was trying to communicate. I love the trade deadlines because stuff happens that it's like "wait - what?" Teams obviously are going to try and separate themselves from the pack and now is the time to do that. Another example from a different sport was the Vikings going out to get TJ Hockenson. I loved that move and he certainly helped us win games down the stretch. I'm not putting anyone down for thinking staying pat is the way to go. I'm just saying I don't see it that way. We'll all be proven right or wrong in a week, so let's just put a pin in it.
Like you guys, I'm interested to see if the Wolves trade Naz, either for a player that could help or draft picks. I think, if it was my decision, I'd hold onto Naz and play it out. He's very talented and we may need him deep into the spring. His development this session could also allow the Wolves to consider trading KAT this summer, recouping players and draft capital that the team gave up for Rudy.
Sundog60 wrote:Like you guys, I'm interested to see if the Wolves trade Naz, either for a player that could help or draft picks. I think, if it was my decision, I'd hold onto Naz and play it out. He's very talented and we may need him deep into the spring. His development this session could also allow the Wolves to consider trading KAT this summer, recouping players and draft capital that the team gave up for Rudy.
My hope is that KAT is getting close, so there is not a big need to hold onto Naz. I'm sure Naz would like to go somewhere where he can get big minutes and I don't see that happening behind Town/Gobert. IF we don't need him for our stretch run, then it sure makes sense to try and get something for him. Knight/Garza are a step down from Naz. But if we are only needing a handful of minutes from those guys, I think we'd be fine without Naz.
Sundog60 wrote:Like you guys, I'm interested to see if the Wolves trade Naz, either for a player that could help or draft picks. I think, if it was my decision, I'd hold onto Naz and play it out. He's very talented and we may need him deep into the spring. His development this session could also allow the Wolves to consider trading KAT this summer, recouping players and draft capital that the team gave up for Rudy.
My hope is that KAT is getting close, so there is not a big need to hold onto Naz. I'm sure Naz would like to go somewhere where he can get big minutes and I don't see that happening behind Town/Gobert. IF we don't need him for our stretch run, then it sure makes sense to try and get something for him. Knight/Garza are a step down from Naz. But if we are only needing a handful of minutes from those guys, I think we'd be fine without Naz.
I think you hit on a big point here. We keep talking about whether the Timberwolves should resign Reid.
But... it seems like he'd have reservations if things stay the same with $80M+ starting ahead of him.
Sundog60 wrote:Like you guys, I'm interested to see if the Wolves trade Naz, either for a player that could help or draft picks. I think, if it was my decision, I'd hold onto Naz and play it out. He's very talented and we may need him deep into the spring. His development this session could also allow the Wolves to consider trading KAT this summer, recouping players and draft capital that the team gave up for Rudy.
My hope is that KAT is getting close, so there is not a big need to hold onto Naz. I'm sure Naz would like to go somewhere where he can get big minutes and I don't see that happening behind Town/Gobert. IF we don't need him for our stretch run, then it sure makes sense to try and get something for him. Knight/Garza are a step down from Naz. But if we are only needing a handful of minutes from those guys, I think we'd be fine without Naz.
I think you hit on a big point here. We keep talking about whether the Timberwolves should resign Reid.
But... it seems like he'd have reservations if things stay the same with $80M+ starting ahead of him.
1. The Timberwolves need Naz Reid on the roster for the rest of this season. Given Karl-Anthony Towns' calf injury and Rudy Gobert's groin injury, Reid's importance as an emergency replacement in the starting lineup and main rotation is very high. Minnesota can get away with Luka Garza and Nathan Knight chipping in with spot minutes off the bench, but they can't rely on them to do what Reid has done all year.
2. Not trading Reid before the deadline doesn't mean he'll walk in free agency for nothing. He has several reported suitors that project to be well over the cap next season, which means that if they want Reid they'll have to be willing to orchestrate a sign-and-trade, assuming Reid commands more than mid-level money. Reid doesn't have to sign with them, obviously, but as a free agent wouldn't you rather secure the bag with a competent and competitive team over a team that is neither? This is all to say that I think a sign-and-trade could very much be in play this off-season.
3. What if we're overestimating how much Reid can command on the free agent market? I just mentioned Reid making more than mid-level money, but what if that's not the case due to his less-than-stellar defensive/rebounding metrics? How much is a center that struggles in those areas worth? Is it possible that Reid's market doesn't materialize as expected and he's left with an Isaiah Hartenstein-like deal? Remember, Hartenstein signed for two-years, $16-million as a 24-year old. Hartenstein, like Reid, had proven to be a quality rotation big on a playoff team. If that's the scenario that unfolds I think Minnesota would be wise to make Reid a competitive offer and figure the fit out later. If nothing else, he would be more useful in a trade a year from now with a larger salary.
