Camden wrote:papalrep wrote:This franchise was dead. From ownership to the front office to the roster to the fan base, this franchise was drowning any way you dissect it.
OPTIMISM! Let's have some! I loved the activity, for the simple reason Cam stated. We were dead.
Cam, what is the plan to bring in Booker?
Frankly, the plan to acquire Devin Booker is, at the moment, dependent on several things.
First, Booker has to make it known to the Phoenix Suns' front office that he wants out. I think another losing season -- along with being ruthlessly snubbed in the All-Star game again, and seeing two of his closest friends paired up in Minnesota -- could be enough to fuel his frustrations to that point. Gersson Rosas should be planning for that this summer, if he hasn't been already.
Secondly, the Wolves will need some ping pong balls to go their way for once. Ideally, they'd end up with the No. 1 overall pick as that is usually one of the best bargaining chips to work with. The acquiring team can target any prospect they so choose as well as market that player as the next best thing. We basically lived through that scenario when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the lottery in 2014. Any way you slice it, the Wolves need to not get jobbed in the lottery.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the Wolves need the Suns to value some of these young players that Minnesota has accumulated. Whether that's Malik Beasley, Jarrett Culver, Josh Okogie, Naz Reid, Jacob Evans, Omari Spellman, etc. -- they can help with landing another big fish, if you will, but it depends on how Phoenix assesses their value.
Lastly, and this is probably where the Wolves have done relatively well in asset accumulation and hoarding, Minnesota will have to be willing to package several first-round picks together. They own all of their first-round picks for the future except for the 2021 pick that was used to acquire D'Angelo Russell. Due to the protection, I believe that Minnesota cannot trade their 2022 first-round pick either, though I'd have to double-check that. Regardless, they have the picks necessary to make a deal if they are aggressive enough.
Just to answer your question on the draft pick and trading them going forward. We can trade 1 of our 2 2020 draft picks after the season (obviously can trade both on draft night), cannot trade both because of not having 2021 pick (can't trade 1sts in back to back years). Can't trade 2022 1st because we could technically have to trade it. Also can't trade 2023 pick because technically we could lose the 2022 1st meaning we can't trade the 2023 pick because of the back to back rule.
So the next 1st the wolves can trade is their 2024 1st.
