60WinTim wrote:Alex Schiffer
@Alex__Schiffer
Multiple teams -- including Atlanta, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Chicago and Philadelphia -- are expected to compete for PJ Tucker in free agency. All are expected to offer the full mid-level/TPMLE exception. He is unlikely to return to Miami, per sources.
How many MLE's do we get? :D
My hesitation on Tucker is how long of a contract to give him. It's not surprising a number of teams are interested.
If they are interested in Tucker I hope they are checking in on Thad Young too with a similar offer.
Like Cam said the Wolves are obviously checking in on a bunch of guys. That's good. I think there is quite a few directions they can go.
Camden wrote:Tim Connelly and the Timberwolves have many irons in the fire. Personally, I like that they've been engaged with a number of high-value targets -- both in free agency and in trade discussions. They've clearly identified some weaknesses on the roster -- size, rim protection, rebounding, toughness, etc. -- as well as ways to address them. Leave no stone unturned. I think they've set a price on all of these players they've been rumored to be in on and if they can get them for that price or lower, then great, but they've already shown a willingness to fold their hand if it exceeds that price. That kind of discipline in the front office is a good thing.
Some of that... and also... an experienced head guy taking over a team. Changes are inevitable.
It would be pretty odd if a new GM showed up and said "Nah, we're good. I like the team that the previous guy(s) put together as is."
If that was the case, why not keep Gupta? Whether it's with sports or the business/corporate world, new leaders usually try to change things up fairly quickly.
Abe, one of your old theories is that these GMs are experts at buying themselves time. Are you sure TC can't make a big show of all the deal activity he's dialoguing about but in the end go to his (new) owners and tell them that nothing made sense unless we sacrificed too much of our future? Methinks this is a distinct possibility. That buys him a year to see if running it back yields organic growth, and if not, it will require a much bolder set of actions next offseason.
While I still vehemently believe in that theory... Connelly is in a different situation. He's the proven golden boy. Now, should things sour in a few years... I firmly believe he'll find ways to extend his tenure... if he wanted to stick around and didn't think he'd land quickly elsewhere.
But you might be right about the "big show" of looking for improvements. After all, Russell may not be THE answer, but he's far from terrible and it's only one year. Plus, what legit moves to improve now are out there with Russell right now. He sure seems like a very polarizing player.
Camden wrote:Tim Connelly and the Timberwolves have many irons in the fire. Personally, I like that they've been engaged with a number of high-value targets -- both in free agency and in trade discussions. They've clearly identified some weaknesses on the roster -- size, rim protection, rebounding, toughness, etc. -- as well as ways to address them. Leave no stone unturned. I think they've set a price on all of these players they've been rumored to be in on and if they can get them for that price or lower, then great, but they've already shown a willingness to fold their hand if it exceeds that price. That kind of discipline in the front office is a good thing.
Some of that... and also... an experienced head guy taking over a team. Changes are inevitable.
It would be pretty odd if a new GM showed up and said "Nah, we're good. I like the team that the previous guy(s) put together as is."
If that was the case, why not keep Gupta? Whether it's with sports or the business/corporate world, new leaders usually try to change things up fairly quickly.
Abe, one of your old theories is that these GMs are experts at buying themselves time. Are you sure TC can't make a big show of all the deal activity he's dialoguing about but in the end go to his (new) owners and tell them that nothing made sense unless we sacrificed too much of our future? Methinks this is a distinct possibility. That buys him a year to see if running it back yields organic growth, and if not, it will require a much bolder set of actions next offseason.
I think there's some truth to that theory, but a more-proven executive like Tim Connelly probably doesn't need to jump through those hoops at this stage in his career. He was brought to Minnesota to yield results. The Timberwolves new ownership is pretty clearly results-oriented. I think Connelly has exceptional job security as well as free reign on how to best build this organization up. Everything he does will likely be with building a winner in mind.
Understood and I'm not saying he's purposely playing things up, as a lot of the trade and free agent chatter is driven by outside parties. But I do think he has a mindset that our current roster is mostly innocent until proven guilty, meaning that he knows that he doesn't need to make a major overhaul THIS offseason (other than adding more size) to still move the ball forward next season. That of course won't prevent him from talking to a bunch of other front office folks to explore moves and potentially game-changing trades, but the odds of any of those popping seem very low.
60WinTim wrote:Alex Schiffer
@Alex__Schiffer
Multiple teams -- including Atlanta, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Chicago and Philadelphia -- are expected to compete for PJ Tucker in free agency. All are expected to offer the full mid-level/TPMLE exception. He is unlikely to return to Miami, per sources.
How many MLE's do we get? :D
My hesitation on Tucker is how long of a contract to give him. It's not surprising a number of teams are interested.
If they are interested in Tucker I hope they are checking in on Thad Young too with a similar offer.
Like Cam said the Wolves are obviously checking in on a bunch of guys. That's good. I think there is quite a few directions they can go.
Tucker for one year at the MLE would be fine with me. But NOT for more than one year. I have to believe that Connelly won't offer Tucker more than one year unless subsequent years after 2023 are not guaranteed. Hope I'm right about that.
Camden wrote:Tim Connelly and the Timberwolves have many irons in the fire. Personally, I like that they've been engaged with a number of high-value targets -- both in free agency and in trade discussions. They've clearly identified some weaknesses on the roster -- size, rim protection, rebounding, toughness, etc. -- as well as ways to address them. Leave no stone unturned. I think they've set a price on all of these players they've been rumored to be in on and if they can get them for that price or lower, then great, but they've already shown a willingness to fold their hand if it exceeds that price. That kind of discipline in the front office is a good thing.
Some of that... and also... an experienced head guy taking over a team. Changes are inevitable.
It would be pretty odd if a new GM showed up and said "Nah, we're good. I like the team that the previous guy(s) put together as is."
If that was the case, why not keep Gupta? Whether it's with sports or the business/corporate world, new leaders usually try to change things up fairly quickly.
Abe, one of your old theories is that these GMs are experts at buying themselves time. Are you sure TC can't make a big show of all the deal activity he's dialoguing about but in the end go to his (new) owners and tell them that nothing made sense unless we sacrificed too much of our future? Methinks this is a distinct possibility. That buys him a year to see if running it back yields organic growth, and if not, it will require a much bolder set of actions next offseason.
While I still vehemently believe in that theory... Connelly is in a different situation. He's the proven golden boy. Now, should things sour in a few years... I firmly believe he'll find ways to extend his tenure... if he wanted to stick around and didn't think he'd land quickly elsewhere.
But you might be right about the "big show" of looking for improvements. After all, Russell may not be THE answer, but he's far from terrible and it's only one year. Plus, what legit moves to improve now are out there with Russell right now. He sure seems like a very polarizing player.
Right, there may be more flexibility next offseason when we have potentially a boatload of capspace freeing up to get a pretty solid piece in. It also gives TC a full season to assess the best way to use those $.
60WinTim wrote:Alex Schiffer
@Alex__Schiffer
Multiple teams -- including Atlanta, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Chicago and Philadelphia -- are expected to compete for PJ Tucker in free agency. All are expected to offer the full mid-level/TPMLE exception. He is unlikely to return to Miami, per sources.
How many MLE's do we get? :D
My hesitation on Tucker is how long of a contract to give him. It's not surprising a number of teams are interested.
If they are interested in Tucker I hope they are checking in on Thad Young too with a similar offer.
Like Cam said the Wolves are obviously checking in on a bunch of guys. That's good. I think there is quite a few directions they can go.
Tucker for one year at the MLE would be fine with me. But NOT for more than one year. I have to believe that Connelly won't offer Tucker more than one year unless subsequent years after 2023 are not guaranteed. Hope I'm right about that.
But this illustrates the difference between the Wolves and other teams that are actually potential contenders. TC comes at it from a position of "we can wait another year or two" and therefore makes an offer that maintains cap flexibility in the future. Meanwhile, some other team that is in a contend-now situation will decide to swallow hard and give him a three year deal.
At the end of the day, we're not getting PJ Tucker. If we won 55 games last year and competed in the WCF, it might be a different story.
Camden wrote:Tim Connelly and the Timberwolves have many irons in the fire. Personally, I like that they've been engaged with a number of high-value targets -- both in free agency and in trade discussions. They've clearly identified some weaknesses on the roster -- size, rim protection, rebounding, toughness, etc. -- as well as ways to address them. Leave no stone unturned. I think they've set a price on all of these players they've been rumored to be in on and if they can get them for that price or lower, then great, but they've already shown a willingness to fold their hand if it exceeds that price. That kind of discipline in the front office is a good thing.
Some of that... and also... an experienced head guy taking over a team. Changes are inevitable.
It would be pretty odd if a new GM showed up and said "Nah, we're good. I like the team that the previous guy(s) put together as is."
If that was the case, why not keep Gupta? Whether it's with sports or the business/corporate world, new leaders usually try to change things up fairly quickly.
Abe, one of your old theories is that these GMs are experts at buying themselves time. Are you sure TC can't make a big show of all the deal activity he's dialoguing about but in the end go to his (new) owners and tell them that nothing made sense unless we sacrificed too much of our future? Methinks this is a distinct possibility. That buys him a year to see if running it back yields organic growth, and if not, it will require a much bolder set of actions next offseason.
While I still vehemently believe in that theory... Connelly is in a different situation. He's the proven golden boy. Now, should things sour in a few years... I firmly believe he'll find ways to extend his tenure... if he wanted to stick around and didn't think he'd land quickly elsewhere.
But you might be right about the "big show" of looking for improvements. After all, Russell may not be THE answer, but he's far from terrible and it's only one year. Plus, what legit moves to improve now are out there with Russell right now. He sure seems like a very polarizing player.
Right, there may be more flexibility next offseason when we have potentially a boatload of capspace freeing up to get a pretty solid piece in. It also gives TC a full season to assess the best way to use those $.
That's right, Q. The Wolves are not around $10 million over the cap I think. If DLO leaves next summer, that would leave us $20 million below the cap. Beverley coming off the books would put the Wolves $34 million below the cap. Beasley coming off the books would put us nearly $50 million below the cap. I haven't even mentioned Prince. Of course, I haven't counted some salary increases for Ant, etc. under their contracts. I haven't included a new contract for Nowell either. But I also haven't counted the likely increase in the cap next year. Bottom line is that the Wolves could, if they want, have a lot of cap room next summer for free agents. I'm not suggesting the Wolves should count on that. I'm simply suggesting that the Wolves front office needs to factor that potential financial flexibility into their decision-making this summer. I think that's exactly what they're doing.
60WinTim wrote:Alex Schiffer
@Alex__Schiffer
Multiple teams -- including Atlanta, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Chicago and Philadelphia -- are expected to compete for PJ Tucker in free agency. All are expected to offer the full mid-level/TPMLE exception. He is unlikely to return to Miami, per sources.
How many MLE's do we get? :D
My hesitation on Tucker is how long of a contract to give him. It's not surprising a number of teams are interested.
If they are interested in Tucker I hope they are checking in on Thad Young too with a similar offer.
Like Cam said the Wolves are obviously checking in on a bunch of guys. That's good. I think there is quite a few directions they can go.
Tucker for what? To tie up money for the next 2-3 years? We have players entering their prime, players beginning their careers, and a couple vets. This is a new path, keep filling with young talent or go for a major trade.
We limped into the playoffs. The West will be healthy and stronger via recovery. We are more than next season away.
60WinTim wrote:Alex Schiffer
@Alex__Schiffer
Multiple teams -- including Atlanta, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Chicago and Philadelphia -- are expected to compete for PJ Tucker in free agency. All are expected to offer the full mid-level/TPMLE exception. He is unlikely to return to Miami, per sources.
How many MLE's do we get? :D
My hesitation on Tucker is how long of a contract to give him. It's not surprising a number of teams are interested.
If they are interested in Tucker I hope they are checking in on Thad Young too with a similar offer.
Like Cam said the Wolves are obviously checking in on a bunch of guys. That's good. I think there is quite a few directions they can go.
Tucker for what? To tie up money for the next 2-3 years? We have players entering their prime, players beginning their careers, and a couple vets. This is a new path, keep filling with young talent or go for a major trade.
We limped into the playoffs. The West will be healthy and stronger via recovery. We are more than next season away.
