It's time to move on from DLO....

[kekgeek]

Have not listened yet but my buddy just texted me.

Lowe said in his last podcast that minnesota and the spurs had deep talks with the spurs on Murray but thought the ask was too high

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Have not listened yet but my buddy just texted me.

Lowe said in his last podcast that minnesota and the spurs had deep talks with the spurs on Murray but thought the ask was too high

My initial reaction is that was to be expected. The Spurs were reportedly looking for a return similar to what the Pelicans got for Jrue Holiday. In no way, shape, or form is Dejounte Murray worth D'Angelo Russell and multiple first-round picks. I also don't know if Murray elevates this roster as much as his individual talent might indicate he could. It's just not that great of a fit, in my opinion.

[D-Mac [enjin:19736340]]

Chris Finch from Wednesday morning:

"Will D'Angelo Russell still be wearing a Wolves uniform in the Fall?"

"Well, I certainly hope so. He had a great season for us. Probably one of his best seasons that he's had as a professional. He was a big part of our success this year. You know, we felt that we could even grow further with those three guys, and just get better and better. And continue to round out their chemistry."

"There are reports that the Wolves are shopping him around. Is that true?"

"Not that I'm aware of. You know, we've been receiving phone calls on all players throughout our roster. That's just normal at this time of the year. Everybody's kinda checking in with everyone else to see how they're feeling about their team. That's kinda normal business practice. Whether it be at the trade deadline or during the draft. These are the two windows of time when front offices can really make their mark. They can shape the roster in any way that they want and gauge the value of the players as it relates to the rest of the market. With the season that D'Angelo did have for us, of course, there's some teams out there that are interested in him just as they are interested in a lot of our guys."

Some of this is tiptoeing around the question, and holding their cards close to their chest, but a lot of it comes off as authentic. I think the fact that Minnesota had several opportunities to draft a talented point guard in this draft -- but didn't -- speaks to some level of degree that they want to keep Russell around. However, all it takes is one attractive offer or some other domino to fall for everything to change. For now, I think Tim Connelly and Finch are preparing to begin the season with Russell on the roster despite what Dane Moore and other "insiders" have speculated.

Link: https://omny.fm/shows/the-morning-news-with-vineeta-sawkar/timberwolves-head-coach-chris-finch-on-the-nba-dra

Respectfully, I totally disagree. What do you expect finch to say? Posting comments like this from coaches or GMs is a complete waste of time as they are completely worthless. "We hate that player and we're eagerly awaiting the first decent offer, so we can ship him out" - said NO good coach or GM ever!

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Chris Finch from Wednesday morning:

"Will D'Angelo Russell still be wearing a Wolves uniform in the Fall?"

"Well, I certainly hope so. He had a great season for us. Probably one of his best seasons that he's had as a professional. He was a big part of our success this year. You know, we felt that we could even grow further with those three guys, and just get better and better. And continue to round out their chemistry."

"There are reports that the Wolves are shopping him around. Is that true?"

"Not that I'm aware of. You know, we've been receiving phone calls on all players throughout our roster. That's just normal at this time of the year. Everybody's kinda checking in with everyone else to see how they're feeling about their team. That's kinda normal business practice. Whether it be at the trade deadline or during the draft. These are the two windows of time when front offices can really make their mark. They can shape the roster in any way that they want and gauge the value of the players as it relates to the rest of the market. With the season that D'Angelo did have for us, of course, there's some teams out there that are interested in him just as they are interested in a lot of our guys."

Some of this is tiptoeing around the question, and holding their cards close to their chest, but a lot of it comes off as authentic. I think the fact that Minnesota had several opportunities to draft a talented point guard in this draft -- but didn't -- speaks to some level of degree that they want to keep Russell around. However, all it takes is one attractive offer or some other domino to fall for everything to change. For now, I think Tim Connelly and Finch are preparing to begin the season with Russell on the roster despite what Dane Moore and other "insiders" have speculated.

Link: https://omny.fm/shows/the-morning-news-with-vineeta-sawkar/timberwolves-head-coach-chris-finch-on-the-nba-dra

Respectfully, I totally disagree. What do you expect finch to say? Posting comments like this from coaches or GMs is a complete waste of time as they are completely worthless. "We hate that player and we're eagerly awaiting the first decent offer, so we can ship him out" - said NO good coach or GM ever!

Sure, and I mentioned above that some of what has been said is simply tiptoeing around difficult questions. However, these more thoughtful answers from Tim Connelly and Chris Finch aren't exactly the typical platitudes that decision-makers use when talking about a player they know is on his way out. And D'Angelo Russell may still get traded this summer, but they have consistently reaffirmed his fit alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards while making note that they think he can elevate to a higher level in Minnesota given his talent and relative youth.

Connelly, especially, has said several times that he is excited to get to know Russell and that he's been a fan of his for quite some time. I think that's going well above the typical GM speak of, "Hey, we know what we have here and we like everything D-Lo's done as a Timberwolf." On top of that, saying those things about a player while aggressively shopping him behind the scenes would blatantly go against Connelly's whole "relationships and personalities" approach that he's not only been public about, but also had others attest to.

I get the sense that Connelly is exploring many different avenues, but he also knows that the roster as currently constructed -- with Russell -- was a very good team last year. There would be absolutely nothing wrong with running it back this upcoming season with a few calculated tweaks.

[Coolbreeze44]

If they were in deep on Murray, I have to believe DLO was a part of the deal. But the problem is DLO doesn't really factor in to what the asking price is. Sure, the Spurs would take him. He only has one year left on his deal and his salary coming off the books would be a good thing. But it's not like the Wolves could say we're giving you DLO, so that means less picks and futures. No, it really doesn't change anything. At this point the head idiot remains Rosas, and he is the most recent and likely last GM who will give up anything of real value for DLO.

And can we stop with the nonsense that DLO had a great season? I don't know if this is said to try and placate Camden, but it's bullshit and not true. He had a couple of very good months after the all-star break, but nothing about his season was great. It's like saying Trenton Hassell was a great basketball player. Just stop already.

[Sundog]

I'm moving to a point where I think Dlo has to be traded this summer... not like Wiggins had to be traded, ie dumped. I love Dlo almost as much as Cam, but for his own good and the good of the team, he can't be asked to play out his expiring contract. It's too fraught.

But looking at the Knicks - Fournier and Noel works, but that's 3 years of Fournier (could be flippable next year, though... still a valuable player on a not altogether terrible contract) and 2 years of Noel, total of $25 million/yr for 2 years, $8 million in the 3rd if both play out their contracts. I guess I'd do that.

Pacers -- Myles Turner/TJ McConnell works, but I don't know what they might want to do if they move Brogdon.

But my fav deal is probably trade expirings with Cleveland -- Kevin Love for Dlo.

[Coolbreeze44]

I'm moving to a point where I think Dlo has to be traded this summer... not like Wiggins had to be traded, ie dumped. I love Dlo almost as much as Cam, but for his own good and the good of the team, he can't be asked to play out his expiring contract. It's too fraught.

But looking at the Knicks - Fournier and Noel works, but that's 3 years of Fournier (could be flippable next year, though... still a valuable player on a not altogether terrible contract) and 2 years of Noel, total of $25 million/yr for 2 years, $8 million in the 3rd if both play out their contracts. I guess I'd do that.

Pacers -- Myles Turner/TJ McConnell works, but I don't know what they might want to do if they move Brogdon.

But my fav deal is probably trade expirings with Cleveland -- Kevin Love for Dlo.

I love your last suggestion

[Lipoli390]

Lip the idea that drafting Kessler is essentially the Wolves answer to the frontcourt seems unlikely. Maybe your point stands as they instead of going for a mid-level guy that's part of the solution for multiple years they sign a guy for 1 year at the vet min or BAE to be a bridge to Kessler or whatever comes after this coming season. It just seems unlikely they were like damn we got Kessler and we are gonna trade Russell but we aren't gonna draft a PG just in case it doesn't work out.

Here is something I've honestly thought ever since I have considered the Wolves upcoming chance to add a worthwhile player to the frontcourt via FA. I honestly can't say there is a guy I feel really confident that the Wolves could sign that I think is the the actual answer next to Towns. Same with a sign and trade for Bamba? I like it but again is he the guy? Hartenstein as a. FA is a guy everyone here likes but is he a starting level player or a good bench guy? Nobody knows. The Wolves may have looked at the options that are available and thought...maybe none of those guys are the answer. Maybe in FA they just sign the best value they can get regardless of position especially with various guys with only 1 year deals left. We also don't know what possible trades aside from Russell they could have available to them. The reality is the good teams stockpile as much talent as they can. They may still use their mid-level on a PF/C to play significant minutes in their frontcourt. Maybe they use it on another ball handling guard.

My point was that drafting Kessler likely means the Wolves likely won't sign a younger MLE free agent big like Hartenstein, Smith or Bamba. It's not that Hartenstein steps in as the Wolves starting center. But the Wolves likely won't be looking for younger guys who would start next to KAT and potentially be part of the team's long-term horizon. And I doubt any of those younger guys would sign here to join a team with a crowded front court that includes Kessler. The Wolves might pursue Drummond for one year as that bridge guy you mentioned. But drafting Kessler makes the Wolves far less attractive to a guy like Hartenstein or Jalen Smith and makes those sorts of bigs less attractive to the Wolves front office.

The Wolves might sign a lesser big at the vet minimum or using the BAE. But there's also a roster issue. After signing three of the four picks from last night, the Wolves will have only one open roster spot even after releasing Okogie and Layman. If they bring back Prince, they'll have no open roster spots for any free agent. If they trade DLO, they'll need to use their MLE to sign a new PG unless they swap him for another starting PG. It's a far different picture now than it was before the draft when it comes to free agent strategies.

[Lipoli390]

I'm moving to a point where I think Dlo has to be traded this summer... not like Wiggins had to be traded, ie dumped. I love Dlo almost as much as Cam, but for his own good and the good of the team, he can't be asked to play out his expiring contract. It's too fraught.

But looking at the Knicks - Fournier and Noel works, but that's 3 years of Fournier (could be flippable next year, though... still a valuable player on a not altogether terrible contract) and 2 years of Noel, total of $25 million/yr for 2 years, $8 million in the 3rd if both play out their contracts. I guess I'd do that.

Pacers -- Myles Turner/TJ McConnell works, but I don't know what they might want to do if they move Brogdon.

But my fav deal is probably trade expirings with Cleveland -- Kevin Love for Dlo.

I'd consider doing the DLO for Love deal if I was sure we could sign Tyus as a free agent.

[Monster]

I'm moving to a point where I think Dlo has to be traded this summer... not like Wiggins had to be traded, ie dumped. I love Dlo almost as much as Cam, but for his own good and the good of the team, he can't be asked to play out his expiring contract. It's too fraught.

But looking at the Knicks - Fournier and Noel works, but that's 3 years of Fournier (could be flippable next year, though... still a valuable player on a not altogether terrible contract) and 2 years of Noel, total of $25 million/yr for 2 years, $8 million in the 3rd if both play out their contracts. I guess I'd do that.

Pacers -- Myles Turner/TJ McConnell works, but I don't know what they might want to do if they move Brogdon.

But my fav deal is probably trade expirings with Cleveland -- Kevin Love for Dlo.

I'd consider doing the DLO for Love deal if I was sure we could sign Tyus as a free agent.

Agreed I would consider this deal/scenario as well. FWIW Love and The Cavs seem to mutually like having each other around. They are still pretty loaded in the front court but I don't really think the Cavs would do this deal.

It's worth noting that while Memphis drafted Chandler they did also trade away combo guard Melton* to the Sixers for a 1st they used to select Roddy. So at this point they only have 2 ball handling guards on the roster unless I'm missing someone. They might still be willing to pay to keep Tyus around if Memphis was trying to replace Tyus it might mean they know they have little chance of keeping him because of what he will be offered in terms of salary or a starting opportunity or both.

The Grizzlies did a pretty good piece of work with that deal they did with the Suns a few years ago getting Melton, Josh Jackson and a couple 2nd round picks for Javon Carter and Korver. They may have used one of those 2nd to move up to pick one of their solid players in the draft and now trading Melton for a 1st round pick and taking on Danny green seems like a pretty good deal. For the Sixers they did get a solid player in Melton that just turned 24.