Rudy Gobert to the Timberwolves

[Sundog]

I just finished reading Jon K's article on DLO. It was a great read and I highly recommend it. It includes extensive quotes from DLO. I have several take-aways from the article:

1. DLO will definitely be with the Wolves next season via an extension or playing out the last year of his contract. It's obvious that the Gobert deal has made retaining DLO at least for next season a given. There is no other PG at DLO's level available in free agency and the Wolves don't have the assets to acquire one. Meanwhile, it is equally clear that the Wolves coaching staff sees DLO as an even more important part of the team now that Gobert is here. So all those who really can't stand DLO need to swallow hard and accept the reality that DLO is definitely here at least though next season.

2. DLO is truly excited about playing for the Wolves next season. Jon K pointed out that DLO kept using that term, "excited", repeatedly throughout the interview and it comes up in quote after quote. It sure seems genuine, especially when you read his comments about why he's excited. He said that this will be the most talented team on paper he's ever played on. He talked about the impact Gobert has on the defensive end. Like DLO or not, you have to admit he has a really high basketball IQ and really understand the game. I'm excited that he's excited.

3. He's been highly motivated this summer by his failure in the playoffs last season. He admitted that he played poorly in the playoffs and said that he took the fun out of the regular season. He said his workouts this summer have been fueled by his failure in the playoffs last season. I like his reaction because it shows he's honest with himself and also shows he cares.

4. He wants to stay but he's trying not to get too emotionally invested in staying because he knows there's a chance he might not be here beyond next season.

5. He views his role on the team as a facilitator, not a scorer. I like that. Here's my favorite DLO quote from the article, which reflects his enthusiasm for the team and the role he sees for himself:

"I've been on teams like that where everybody gets paid after we win," Russell said. "I don't care about (speculating on) how many games we win. If we just do what we're supposed to do every night, we'll look up and we might have 60 wins. You never know. I'm just excited. We got a nice young team and a nice mix of younger guys and a few older vets. I just want to be that piece that glues everything together."

I remain somewhat skeptical when it comes to DLO -- his durability, whether he'll continue to give effort defensively and and whether he'll keep the ball moving and forgo those dumb forced shots he takes too often. I also continue to view him as overpaid at his current level. However, I don't see anyone better out there who is realistically available. And whatever you think of DLO, he's a talented PG who can both score and facilitate. He was a one-time all-star and was instrumental in the Wolves success last season. So I'm content to have him on this team next season and I'm excited by what we might get from this former #2 pick in the NBA draft who is just barely entering the prime years of his career.

I agree with this take, Lip, you put it so well (as usual). As with the Gobert deal overall, there are significant risks and benefits of extending Dlo. I'm a Dlo bobo so I'd lean toward extending him (maybe 2-3 years, under $25 million/yr) with significant incentives built in to make sure the Wolves are getting what they are buying. I think that kind of deal might be tradable, if that becomes necessary. That's a key.

[Lipoli390]

Draymond Green podcast talking about the Gobert and Brogdon deals. I've always like Draymond. He's a smart basketball mind. It's a long video, but I enjoyed his insights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNGDrhoQEiM

[Phenom]

So unless the Suns cut payroll somewhere they will be into the tax now, as Sarver said. I have to think that had Gobert still been in Utah to this point, that Phoenix would have made contact about him since they didn't/don't like paying Ayton that number. TBH, James Jones isn't doing his job if that wasn't the case.

[AbeVigodaLive]

So unless the Suns cut payroll somewhere they will be into the tax now, as Sarver said. I have to think that had Gobert still been in Utah to this point, that Phoenix would have made contact about him since they didn't/don't like paying Ayton that number. TBH, James Jones isn't doing his job if that wasn't the case.

The Suns can trade Ayton as early as January 15. They resigned him so he wouldn't walk for nothing.

[kekgeek]

So unless the Suns cut payroll somewhere they will be into the tax now, as Sarver said. I have to think that had Gobert still been in Utah to this point, that Phoenix would have made contact about him since they didn't/don't like paying Ayton that number. TBH, James Jones isn't doing his job if that wasn't the case.

The Suns can trade Ayton as early as January 15. They resigned him so he wouldn't walk for nothing.

Ayton has a 1 year no trade clause. It is the problem when you let a team sign your player the Pacers can put all those little annoying things in the contract and that is one

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

So unless the Suns cut payroll somewhere they will be into the tax now, as Sarver said. I have to think that had Gobert still been in Utah to this point, that Phoenix would have made contact about him since they didn't/don't like paying Ayton that number. TBH, James Jones isn't doing his job if that wasn't the case.

The Suns can trade Ayton as early as January 15. They resigned him so he wouldn't walk for nothing.

Ayton has a 1 year no trade clause. It is the problem when you let a team sign your player the Pacers can put all those little annoying things in the contract and that is one

It's worth mentioning that Deandre Ayton can waive that no-trade clause if it's a destination that makes sense for him. I'm also not sure if he has a trade kicker in his deal, but that would be another reason for him to waive the no-trade clause.

[kekgeek]

So unless the Suns cut payroll somewhere they will be into the tax now, as Sarver said. I have to think that had Gobert still been in Utah to this point, that Phoenix would have made contact about him since they didn't/don't like paying Ayton that number. TBH, James Jones isn't doing his job if that wasn't the case.

The Suns can trade Ayton as early as January 15. They resigned him so he wouldn't walk for nothing.

Ayton has a 1 year no trade clause. It is the problem when you let a team sign your player the Pacers can put all those little annoying things in the contract and that is one

It's worth mentioning that Deandre Ayton can waive that no-trade clause if it's a destination that makes sense for him. I'm also not sure if he has a trade kicker in his deal, but that would be another reason for him to waive the no-trade clause.

Correct, like every other no trade clause. I just mentioned it because it's not like January 15th comes along and the Suns just trade him to the highest bidder. Ayton will have all the say in year 1

[AbeVigodaLive]

So unless the Suns cut payroll somewhere they will be into the tax now, as Sarver said. I have to think that had Gobert still been in Utah to this point, that Phoenix would have made contact about him since they didn't/don't like paying Ayton that number. TBH, James Jones isn't doing his job if that wasn't the case.

The Suns can trade Ayton as early as January 15. They resigned him so he wouldn't walk for nothing.

Ayton has a 1 year no trade clause. It is the problem when you let a team sign your player the Pacers can put all those little annoying things in the contract and that is one

It's worth mentioning that Deandre Ayton can waive that no-trade clause if it's a destination that makes sense for him. I'm also not sure if he has a trade kicker in his deal, but that would be another reason for him to waive the no-trade clause.

Correct, like every other no trade clause. I just mentioned it because it's not like January 15th comes along and the Suns just trade him to the highest bidder. Ayton will have all the say in year 1

Yep. My bad. Just heard Zach Lowe tell me I was wrong. And now kekgeek.

Who's next?

[Phenom]

So unless the Suns cut payroll somewhere they will be into the tax now, as Sarver said. I have to think that had Gobert still been in Utah to this point, that Phoenix would have made contact about him since they didn't/don't like paying Ayton that number. TBH, James Jones isn't doing his job if that wasn't the case.

The Suns can trade Ayton as early as January 15. They resigned him so he wouldn't walk for nothing.

Ayton has a 1 year no trade clause. It is the problem when you let a team sign your player the Pacers can put all those little annoying things in the contract and that is one

It's worth mentioning that Deandre Ayton can waive that no-trade clause if it's a destination that makes sense for him. I'm also not sure if he has a trade kicker in his deal, but that would be another reason for him to waive the no-trade clause.

Correct, like every other no trade clause. I just mentioned it because it's not like January 15th comes along and the Suns just trade him to the highest bidder. Ayton will have all the say in year 1

I'd argue that the Suns matched in order to keep that salary slot which indicates they intend to spend the money, just not necessarily on Ayton.

[Monster]

So unless the Suns cut payroll somewhere they will be into the tax now, as Sarver said. I have to think that had Gobert still been in Utah to this point, that Phoenix would have made contact about him since they didn't/don't like paying Ayton that number. TBH, James Jones isn't doing his job if that wasn't the case.

The Suns can trade Ayton as early as January 15. They resigned him so he wouldn't walk for nothing.

Ayton has a 1 year no trade clause. It is the problem when you let a team sign your player the Pacers can put all those little annoying things in the contract and that is one

It's worth mentioning that Deandre Ayton can waive that no-trade clause if it's a destination that makes sense for him. I'm also not sure if he has a trade kicker in his deal, but that would be another reason for him to waive the no-trade clause.

Correct, like every other no trade clause. I just mentioned it because it's not like January 15th comes along and the Suns just trade him to the highest bidder. Ayton will have all the say in year 1

The no trade clause is part of any matched RFA offer sheet. I included a quote and link below. I also included a quote of what "principal" part of the contract matching teams have to keep.

The Suns gambled thinking no team would give Ayton an offer sheet and there are drawbacks to that. Some people like to say let guys that might not get max deals test FA. Ayton is an example of why that might not be the best idea. It may end up working out just fine for the Suns though.

Personally I don't think the trade clause matters much. If a team actually wants Ayton they are gonna want to know if he wants to go there. If he was some good player making 15 million or something sure just trade for him see what happens. The players with a big contract and or significant standing in the league the team acquiring them is gonna get some feedback from them and the team reading him is gonna be willing to facilitate that to maximize their return. Ayton is either gonna be happy he got his money or he will want to or be willing to be traded.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q42

"If a team matches an offer sheet and retains its free agent, then for one year they cannot trade him without his consent, and during that year cannot trade him at all to the team that signed him to the offer sheet. They also can't trade the player in a sign-and-trade transaction (see question number 92). A restricted free agent's resulting contract (whether with the new team or the contract is matched by the player's prior team) cannot be amended in any manner for one year."

Also what is a principal in an offer sheet:

"The principal terms of an offer sheet consist of the following. Any other terms of an offer are not considered to be principal terms, and the player's original team is not required to match:

The number of years, including option years.

The base salary

The amount of any signing bonus or deferred compensation, including the payment schedule

Certain bonuses -- those considered to be "likely" for both teams (see question number 74), and those based on generally recognized league honors

Any allowable amendments such as guarantees, options and trade bonuses"