KG4Ever wrote:I'd rather the Wolves had improved their chances to get a top 3 pick as while it might feel good to get a few more wins, the benefits are fleeting. The Wolves have a big two of KAT and Ant and need a real third cornerstone to contend. I don't see the Wolves as likely to be able to trade for a third one or attract one in free agency. The draft is where the Wolves got KAT and Ant and they need to build through the draft.
I agree with you about building through the draft. I also agree that, right now, we appear to have to cornerstone players in KAT and Edwards. But McDaniels has a really high upside. And while I'm not a DLO fan, he was the 2nd pick in the draft and was an Eastern Conference all-star a few seasons ago. This upcoming season will be telling If we end up in the bottom 6 again, then we'll have another shot at adding an elite talent through next year's draft.
I'm torn on this one. Part of me thinks tanking would have been best, but the play time experience the core got down the stretch as well as a little winning is definitely a positive. There's also the salary cap issue that a high 1st rounder would have made worse, granted they could have tried dumping additional salary as well.
They may actually be playing this is well as they can. Slow play Jmac and V8 seeing where the market is at. Look for a big trade if available, if not just add another 4 and roll with it before looking to unload the expiring contracts at the deadline if a worthwhile deal comes up. 27m+ in possible expiring deals including Prince and Okogie is kinda nice. Otherwise they have flexibility with Culver, Layman, Prince and Okogie being UFA, RFA or team options.
KG4Ever wrote:I'd rather the Wolves had improved their chances to get a top 3 pick as while it might feel good to get a few more wins, the benefits are fleeting. The Wolves have a big two of KAT and Ant and need a real third cornerstone to contend. I don't see the Wolves as likely to be able to trade for a third one or attract one in free agency. The draft is where the Wolves got KAT and Ant and they need to build through the draft.
I agree with you about building through the draft. I also agree that, right now, we appear to have to cornerstone players in KAT and Edwards. But McDaniels has a really high upside. And while I'm not a DLO fan, he was the 2nd pick in the draft and was an Eastern Conference all-star a few seasons ago. This upcoming season will be telling If we end up in the bottom 6 again, then we'll have another shot at adding an elite talent through next year's draft.
I'm with you, but Andre Drummond was a multi-year all-star and not a late fill-in all-star like DLO and he is at a near minimum contract while DLO is eating up $30 million. Honestly, I'd rather we had the free capspace and of course those picks back. While I love the potential of McDaniels its premature to put him in the cornerstone category. Hopefully, he'll grow into a two way star but that is still at least a couple years away. I really hope both Ant and McDaniels take a big jump this year. Of course, I hope the Wolves keep their pick next year and nail it.
KG4Ever wrote:I'd rather the Wolves had improved their chances to get a top 3 pick as while it might feel good to get a few more wins, the benefits are fleeting. The Wolves have a big two of KAT and Ant and need a real third cornerstone to contend. I don't see the Wolves as likely to be able to trade for a third one or attract one in free agency. The draft is where the Wolves got KAT and Ant and they need to build through the draft.
I agree with you about building through the draft. I also agree that, right now, we appear to have to cornerstone players in KAT and Edwards. But McDaniels has a really high upside. And while I'm not a DLO fan, he was the 2nd pick in the draft and was an Eastern Conference all-star a few seasons ago. This upcoming season will be telling If we end up in the bottom 6 again, then we'll have another shot at adding an elite talent through next year's draft.
I'm with you, but Andre Drummond was a multi-year all-star and not a late fill-in all-star like DLO and he is at a near minimum contract while DLO is eating up $30 million. Honestly, I'd rather we had the free capspace and of course those picks back. While I love the potential of McDaniels its premature to put him in the cornerstone category. Hopefully, he'll grow into a two way star but that is still at least a couple years away.
I agree, KG4.
I didn't like the DLO deal and would have preferred to have had both of our draft picks this summer and dealt Wiggins for a lower-priced deadweight player on a shorter contract. However, the good news is that DLO is not dead weight and, while not worth a max contract, I haven't given up hope that he can be a net positive contributor. With Edwards here, we no longer have to rely on DLO as a #2.
I also agree that it's premature to put McDaniels in the cornerstone category. But his potential is really exciting.
I'll add that I wasn't exactly convinced that the guys at the top of the draft were franchise changers (I wouldn't mind getting one of them) plus those top draft picks do cost a significant amount when it comes to salary.
monsterpile wrote:I'll add that I wasn't exactly convinced that the guys at the top of the draft were franchise changers (I wouldn't mind getting one of them) plus those top draft picks do cost a significant amount when it comes to salary.
I think Cade Cunningham is close to a sure bet to be in that category. I think Jalen Green is very likely to be one too. Mobley looks good but you never know how bigs translate as Wiseman, Okafor and Bagley are cautionary tales of taking bigs too early while plenty of bigs taken much later do become stars. There will certainly be more stars from this draft but not sure how many others will be franchise changers.
FNG wrote:OK, I'm going to hang myself out to dry here, but I sense Pork's question implies he didn't see much value in the late season wins...I'm mostly with him on this one. To be perfectly honest, I was hoping to see the team play well and be entertaining, but not win. I admit I got a kick out of the Utah wins, and I was at the home game win and loudly cheering for that win...but deep down inside, I wanted the best chance of getting one of those top three picks. I hear Cam's point that the ping pong balls could have easily gone against us even if we had the most, but I still would have preferred having the best odds on lottery night. I think adding Cunningham, Suggs or Mobley in the draft could have significantly changed Rosas's approach the past couple weeks. Instead, we had no draft pick and a blah free agency with only the blockbuster Rubio/Prince deal.
I just don't buy into the whole "culture" thing, and don't think a couple meaningless wins at the end of the season will carry over to next season. But having a better chance of a top 3 pick could have significantly changed the fortunes of this woebegone franchise.
But let's revisit Pork's question a year from now. I am on record that, absent a true blockbuster deal in the next month, the Wolves will be in the lottery next season and maybe even deep in the lottery. Having a lot of ping pong balls in next year's stacked draft may change my mind about Pork's question, and not having a pick in this year's draft plus making a trade that in my opinion won't lead to more wins, may be just the ticket we need to ensure a great draft pick next year. But if we go 33-49 next season and have several tanking teams with more ping pong balls than us, I'll be terribly unhappy about those meaningless wins this spring.
Pork, is that where you are too, or did you need those wins?
Yeah those wins will ultimately mean nothing in my eyes. If winning a couple games in the middle of the season doesn't lead to more success in the same season why would a couple wins at the end of the season be meaningful towards wins in the next? I don't buy that stuff.
What I do know is that Cunningham is considered the most well rounded player to come out of the draft in quite some time.
Losing a few more games and giving us even just little more of a chance at getting him would've been prudent.
The real value in those extra wins -- not tanking -- lies with the front office being able to point at that 11-11 finish and preaching continuity, development, relying on our guys, etc. in the off-season after they failed to make any additions to the roster that would raise the floor OR ceiling of this team heading into the next season. We're witnessing it now. The remainder of the summer will center around re-signing Jarred Vanderbilt and Jordan McLaughlin so they can run it back hopefully with no major injuries. I can understand wanting to see the product you put together, but I would appreciate a more aggressive strategy leading to a more talented group heading into the upcoming season.
Pork tends to get bent out of shape when there isn't enough stimulation in the offseason. But if he can hang in there and be a little patient, we might just have a happy ending. At a minimum he should stiffen up and get ready for a long ride.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:Pork tends to get bent out of shape when there isn't enough stimulation in the offseason. But if he can hang in there and be a little patient, we might just have a happy ending. At a minimum he should stiffen up and get ready for a long ride.
I get bent out of shape with anything to do with this team. I haven't been stimulated in over 15 years.
I'll just leave that one on a tee for anyone to take a swing at.
