The DLO Trade Thread

[Monster]

I'll pose this question. If the Wolves and Bucks had swapped DLO and Jrue Holiday last summer, would the Wolves have advanced to the second round of the playoffs? The easy answer in my view is yes. I know there wasn't any change of that swap last summer. Nor is there any hope for that swap in the future. My point is that we don't need DLO to be a star. We just need a third core player at Holiday's level, which is a significantly higher level than where DLO's at.

The next question is whether there's a Holiday-caliber player the Wolves can conceivably acquire this summer to replace DLO as our third guy at around $30M per year? I can't think of anyone right now, but that's a question worth pondering.

Lip I think what you are asking here might need to be it's own thread adding a #3 player. What you are wanting here is an all-star level very good 2 way player. Those guys are pretty damn hard to get. I believe neither of us wants to make a move for Isaac or Simmons so what does that leave of players who reasonably would be available that are upgrades over Russell? Does a Russell for Tobias Harris swap interest you? Not sure I want to pay him even more money especially in 2023 when he makes nearly 40 million. I think the reality is that the Wolves need to continue to add to their roster and also continue to build up their assets for a possible Jrue Holiday move...if it's needed. I just don't see it right now.

You said what if we had Jrue a holiday instead of Russell. What if we had a good Vet player like Thad Young (just the first name that popped into my mind) for that series? One more better player might have made the difference. I don't think Russell's salary for next season is holding us back. If we trade him we have to take back salary anyways it's a sunk cost and we also have some players making less than what their value is on the court like Edwards, McDaniels, Reid and Vanderbilt. The Wolves have a number of ways to improve their roster this summer though FA, the draft or through trades that are less significant than moving a guy like Russell. They probably won't be able to do as well this offseason in the trade dept as they did last season but as we saw last offseason a solid trade can really help the roster.

What might be smart is this offseason sign players to good value deals that both help the Wolves and also be appealing to other teams. That might be taking a chance on a player that's younger or maybe a guy that's has some injury history and could bounce back. The key would be to sign them to contracts that can make them valuable. This could also include resigning Prince to a reasonable deal. I like i have said a few times every roster spot matters. I'm this case it could be in helping facilitate a trade.

[Lipoli390]

Monster - I agree with you.

I was bored tonight so I went through every NBA roster and ran scenarios through Trade Checker. In the end, I couldn't find any remotely realistic deal involving Russell that I could confidentially say would make the Wolves better next season. I tried really hard, but didn't find one.

So I'm with you in thinking the Wolves should resolve to keep DLO next season and use their trade exceptions to sign value players who can shore up weaknesses, especially the Wolves poor defensive rebounding. There might be a Beasley + Naz deal that, when combined with our #19 pick and one or two of our 2nd round picks, could land a big who would move the needle more than any of the available free agent bigs we could afford. Some possibilities include Wendell Carter Jr., Mo Bamba (S&T), and Mitchell Robinson.

[Tactical unit]

I'm all for trading DLO never liked the deal when we brought him in but it was needed as rumblings of KAT not being happy in MN weather true or not were popping up. KAT's buddy being traded for and brought here seemed to put that news to rest.

Cons: Defense is poor, he can be loose with the ball and opts for hero ball in the 4th.

Pros: When he is on he's the straw that mixes the drink with dimes and buckets being abundant.

Obviously it depends on what you can get for DLO but if we keep him they should use him as instant offense off the bench, like a 6th man of the year type. I know he's overpaid for that role but that is his most functional role on a good team. Finch used him that way after he came back from injury in his midseason take over coaching year.

More Cons: DLO eats minutes from guys like J-Mac & P-Bev who I think contribute to winning basketball way more than DLO.

[Monster]

Monster - I agree with you.

I was bored tonight so I went through every NBA roster and ran scenarios through Trade Checker. In the end, I couldn't find any remotely realistic deal involving Russell that I could confidentially say would make the Wolves better next season. I tried really hard, but didn't find one.

So I'm with you in thinking the Wolves should resolve to keep DLO next season and use their trade exceptions to sign value players who can shore up weaknesses, especially the Wolves poor defensive rebounding. There might be a Beasley + Naz deal that, when combined with our #19 pick and one or two of our 2nd round picks, could land a big who would move the needle more than any of the available free agent bigs we could afford. Some possibilities include Wendell Carter Jr., Mo Bamba (S&T), and Mitchell Robinson.

Here is the question Lip how confident are you that any of those players are the guy to play next to Towns especially in the playoffs? I don't feel confident about that for any of them to give up the assets it might take to get one of them. I'd rather draft a player at #19 and get the best player/s I could get in FA. I'm not completely against the type of trade you suggested but I think we also need to be realistic that some deals we are looking at because we want to improve the roster but chances are they aren't the move. It's also possible they are but I think I would rather take a chance on the draft pick working out instead. We can improve the roster this offseason with the mid-level and the only asset we give up is a roster spot. I am open to dealing Naz though.

[Lipoli390]

Monster - I agree with you.

I was bored tonight so I went through every NBA roster and ran scenarios through Trade Checker. In the end, I couldn't find any remotely realistic deal involving Russell that I could confidentially say would make the Wolves better next season. I tried really hard, but didn't find one.

So I'm with you in thinking the Wolves should resolve to keep DLO next season and use their trade exceptions to sign value players who can shore up weaknesses, especially the Wolves poor defensive rebounding. There might be a Beasley + Naz deal that, when combined with our #19 pick and one or two of our 2nd round picks, could land a big who would move the needle more than any of the available free agent bigs we could afford. Some possibilities include Wendell Carter Jr., Mo Bamba (S&T), and Mitchell Robinson.

Here is the question Lip how confident are you that any of those players are the guy to play next to Towns especially in the playoffs? I don't feel confident about that for any of them to give up the assets it might take to get one of them. I'd rather draft a player at #19 and get the best player/s I could get in FA. I'm not completely against the type of trade you suggested but I think we also need to be realistic that some deals we are looking at because we want to improve the roster but chances are they aren't the move. It's also possible they are but I think I would rather take a chance on the draft pick working out instead. We can improve the roster this offseason with the mid-level and the only asset we give up is a roster spot. I am open to dealing Naz though.

Good question, Monster. I'm confident that Carter and Bamba would fit well next to KAT. They're both more in-the-paint players - Carter a rebounder with width & strength, Bamba a shot blocker with tremendous length. KAT's unique versatility among bigs, especially his 3-point shooting prowess, gives the Wolves the luxury of pairing him with more traditional bigs. I'm not as sure about Mitchell because I think he needs and wants the ball more, which would not be optimal next to KAT.

As you know, I'm typically not eager to trade draft picks. But so far I'm not excited about any of the prospects likely to be available at #19. Then again, I haven't really delved into it yet.

[FNG]

I'll pose this question. If the Wolves and Bucks had swapped DLO and Jrue Holiday last summer, would the Wolves have advanced to the second round of the playoffs? The easy answer in my view is yes. I know there wasn't any change of that swap last summer. Nor is there any hope for that swap in the future. My point is that we don't need DLO to be a star. We just need a third core player at Holiday's level, which is a significantly higher level than where DLO's at.

The next question is whether there's a Holiday-caliber player the Wolves can conceivably acquire this summer to replace DLO as our third guy at around $30M per year? I can't think of anyone right now, but that's a question worth pondering.

https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1523095672785756162?s=20&t=vbIkSs6dE9TYLO_ymUSnpQ

Revisionist history, Lip, I know, and a topic we have beaten into the ground. But I also think we would have won the Memphis series if we hadn't done this deal I never supported.

[Carlos Danger]

https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1523095672785756162?s=20&t=vbIkSs6dE9TYLO_ymUSnpQ

Revisionist history, Lip, I know, and a topic we have beaten into the ground. But I also think we would have won the Memphis series if we hadn't done this deal I never supported.

Ugh. Probably a topic for a new thread, but also relevant here since we are batting around DLO trade. Can we collectively list how many trades the Wolves have conclusively "won" over the life of the Franchise? By "won", I mean - 80% of us would probably agree we got the better of it. I'm just thinking of the big ones off the top of my head (KG for Jefferson and picks, Love for Wiggins/Bennett etc). I don't think we "won" those.

Edit: Thinking more after my post. I know "winning" is the ultimate goal, but sometimes, a "push" is fine too (both teams win). Just so we don't lose!

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I'll pose this question. If the Wolves and Bucks had swapped DLO and Jrue Holiday last summer, would the Wolves have advanced to the second round of the playoffs? The easy answer in my view is yes. I know there wasn't any change of that swap last summer. Nor is there any hope for that swap in the future. My point is that we don't need DLO to be a star. We just need a third core player at Holiday's level, which is a significantly higher level than where DLO's at.

The next question is whether there's a Holiday-caliber player the Wolves can conceivably acquire this summer to replace DLO as our third guy at around $30M per year? I can't think of anyone right now, but that's a question worth pondering.

https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1523095672785756162?s=20&t=vbIkSs6dE9TYLO_ymUSnpQ

Revisionist history, Lip, I know, and a topic we have beaten into the ground. But I also think we would have won the Memphis series if we hadn't done this deal I never supported.

Minnesota wouldn't have won 46 games this season, won the play-in game, and even been matched up with Memphis in a playoff series if that trade wasn't made. We'd be prepared for yet another draft lottery and possibly talks of completely blowing the team up. But yeah, somehow we'd be better off with Andrew Wiggins dragging this team to the cellar as we saw for much of the six years he played in Minnesota. Great take.

[Lipoli390]

I'll pose this question. If the Wolves and Bucks had swapped DLO and Jrue Holiday last summer, would the Wolves have advanced to the second round of the playoffs? The easy answer in my view is yes. I know there wasn't any change of that swap last summer. Nor is there any hope for that swap in the future. My point is that we don't need DLO to be a star. We just need a third core player at Holiday's level, which is a significantly higher level than where DLO's at.

The next question is whether there's a Holiday-caliber player the Wolves can conceivably acquire this summer to replace DLO as our third guy at around $30M per year? I can't think of anyone right now, but that's a question worth pondering.

https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1523095672785756162?s=20&t=vbIkSs6dE9TYLO_ymUSnpQ

Revisionist history, Lip, I know, and a topic we have beaten into the ground. But I also think we would have won the Memphis series if we hadn't done this deal I never supported.

As you might recall, I didn't like the DLO deal at the time based mainly on how much we gave up when there didn't appear to be any significant market for DLO. I still believe we gave up more than we needed to and, in that sense, I think we were fleeced. However, DLO has performed better than I thought he would. So if you hold everything else constant, I still think we were better off this season with DLO than we would have been with Wiggins and Kuminga. But it's a much closer call than I would have guessed at the beginning of the season given how well Wiggins and Kuminga have performed and considering the upside of Kuminga.

My thought at the time of the DLO deal, and I continue to believe this, is that the Wolves should have traded Wiggins that summer for a shorter-term contract that some other team was trying to unload so that the Wolves could have freed up cap space. My target at the time was Batum. I suspect that the Hornets would have swapped Batum for Wiggins and we might have received a 2nd-round pick as well. The end game would have been to use the additional space or Batum's expiring contract at the deadline to land a good PG - maybe Lonzo Ball. As it turned out, Batum still had gas in his tank so he would have actually helped the Wolves on the court.

I go back and forth on DLO. After the allstar break and through the play-in game, I was content with DLO and the deal to get him. But after watching him in the playoffs, it reminded me of the issues with him from time to time during the season and previously in his career. His inconsistency is maddening as are his careless turnovers. But I did like the way he defended this season and when his shooting is hot, he's a huge positive. And in the end, I can't envision a realistic DLO deal that would likely improve the team.

Hindsight is typically crystal clear. But interestingly, with DLO the picture remains murky.

[kekgeek]

I'll pose this question. If the Wolves and Bucks had swapped DLO and Jrue Holiday last summer, would the Wolves have advanced to the second round of the playoffs? The easy answer in my view is yes. I know there wasn't any change of that swap last summer. Nor is there any hope for that swap in the future. My point is that we don't need DLO to be a star. We just need a third core player at Holiday's level, which is a significantly higher level than where DLO's at.

The next question is whether there's a Holiday-caliber player the Wolves can conceivably acquire this summer to replace DLO as our third guy at around $30M per year? I can't think of anyone right now, but that's a question worth pondering.

https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1523095672785756162?s=20&t=vbIkSs6dE9TYLO_ymUSnpQ

Revisionist history, Lip, I know, and a topic we have beaten into the ground. But I also think we would have won the Memphis series if we hadn't done this deal I never supported.

Minnesota wouldn't have won 46 games this season, won the play-in game, and even been matched up with Memphis in a playoff series if that trade wasn't made. We'd be prepared for yet another draft lottery and possibly talks of completely blowing the team up. But yeah, somehow we'd be better off with Andrew Wiggins dragging this team to the cellar as we saw for much of the six years he played in Minnesota. Great take.

Exactly. Wiggins is playing really well as a 5th option in GS. Wiggins doesn't suck but he was never going to succeed in MN being a top 2 or 3 option. Wolves needed to get rid of him and at the time it was said 2 1sts would to get off his contract.

The only way the Wolves lose the trade is if kuminga becomes a boarderline all star. At the end of the day the trade benefited both teams.

*we also saw Wiggins as a top 2 to 3 option with the warriors when Curry and Klay were hurt. Wiggins really struggled and fans started to turn on him. Wiggins is a super good 5th option and if he wanted to come back to MN I would not be opposed but the trade needed to be made