GDT: Lakers v Sonics

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I'm definitely still trading Malik Beasley in the off-season, but it'll be a lot easier to extract something of value for him if he continues to play at a high level. Being a prisoner of the moment is very real. While he can catch fire and help you win games there are still too many times where he's off the mark and provides absolutely nothing of value. He's been hot lately, which has been exciting, but I'm sure there's another cold spell coming because that's who he is. We just need him to get hot again at the right time in the post-season.

[Leado01]

I'm going to root for Beasley whether he's on our team or elsewhere.

I'm not 100% sure being Malik Beasley is all that easy....the weight gain, the gun issue, the lethargy early in the season...there are clearly issues that he is working through.

I love having a 6th man that can be (isn't always, but more often than not) a flame thrower.

We've lacked shooting for so many years, I don't understand why we would trade him. Nowell and Beasley are not duplicative.

[Porckchop]

Beasley is a flawed player but he's expected to be the fifth best player on this team which means he comes with some warts. But when he's on he makes this team hard to beat. Joe Harris isn't a perfect player and neither was Reddick but they had games where they could fill the voids when a star player was having an off night. You can't fill your roster top to bottom with perfect players.

[Monster]

Beasley is a flawed player but he's expected to be the fifth best player on this team which means he comes with some warts. But when he's on he makes this team hard to beat. Joe Harris isn't a perfect player and neither was Reddick but they had games where they could fill the voids when a star player was having an off night. You can't fill your roster top to bottom with perfect players.

The difference between Beasley and Joe Harris and Redick is those guys were average defenders.

[AbeVigodaLive]

So is this what not tanking in March looks like?

It's still tanking.

We're just the team taking advantage of it for once.

Portland and OKC might be tanking the hardest of any teams in the league right now.



[Note: But kudos to the Wolves for just plowing right through these bottom feeders.]

[Q-is-here]

Another laugher. What a fun team to watch.

- Beasley....what a turnaround. He's back to being in that 2nd tier of elite 3-pt shooters after Steph Curry. There might only be three or four other guys in the rest of the NBA that can do what Beasley did tonight.

- Malik is 25. His trade value is going up. It's good to have options!

- Good to see Ant back. He did an outstanding job guarding SGA. He has such a great combination of size, strength, quickness, and anticipation that he could truly become an elite two-way player. It's too bad his shot has gone missing for the last month, but he was really dialed in on defense tonight.

- Nowell wasn't much of a shot maker tonight, but he corralled 6 boards and dished out 7 assists with 0 turnovers in 27 minutes.

- McDaniels and Prince really had nice games as well.

Onwards and upwards!

I keep trying to come up with Beasley trades for the offseason and I haven't exactly found anything super exciting. I think to deal him and get enough value it will have to be for a much better player coming back. To me the question I have about Beasley is whether or not he can be a shot maker/scorer as a bench player. He hasn't been able to do that consistently for years. IF he can be a guy that can come in and make shots off the bench then...quite frankly why deal him? Good teams can use a guy like that. The Wolves are a good team. There needs to be opportunities for Nowell to play too but like you said Q it's nice to have options. Ideally Nowell would be able to move ahead of McLaughlin. And play some backup PG and a combo guard alongside another playmaking guard.

The first half of this season was an anomaly for Beasley. Other than that stretch, he's been a very good three-point shooter throughout his career and an excellent three-point shooter since coming to the Wolves. Note that he's also a very good rebounder at his position. Tonight he garnered 5 rebounds in 29 minutes. When you consider his three-point shot making, rebounding, speed, athleticism and reasonable contract, it makes a lot of sense to keep him.

Right now, my thinking is to (1) keep Beasley; (2) re-sign Prince to a multi-year deal at less than his current annual salary of $13M; (3) let Layman go; and (4) use the full MLE to sign the best available big who can upgrade or physicality and rebounding. I'd probably also let Okogie go and release the cap hold on him. But all of this is a discussion for May or June. Right now, it's fun to think about the Wolves competing in a playoff series.

I think ultimately the front office needs to do a deep analysis by isolating all the games we've played this season (and the rest of the season/playoffs) against good teams that were mostly full strength and where we were mostly full strength. There aren't that many, but those are the games the front office needs to look at. What were our strengths? Why did we win if we won and why did we lose if we lost?

I think for those of us that watch most of the games, our eyes tell us that when we get spanked, it's mostly because we get pushed around and just can't match up physically, therefore we resort to fouling. Is that factually true? Do we get out-rebounded and out-free throwed against the better teams? Or is it a shooting/eFG% deficit?

An analysis such as this should help inform what moves need to be made in the offseason. And there is no question that Beasley is a potential trade chip if we believe adding a legit-sized and skilled big is one of the holes that needs filling.

[kekgeek]

Its such an interesting spot were the Wolves are. Legit I like all 11 guys in the Wolves rotation. Credit to Rosas for the roster they put together. Outside of getting another big I don't know exactly where the Wolves 100% need to have an upgrade.

I guess my question is the Wolves current rotation pieces good enough to win a title (I think title or bust is toxic) if Ant makes the jump to a top 20 or better player? Or Mcdaniels becomes a legit above average NBA starter. Maybe I feel this way because this is the first time in 20ish years the Wolves have a legit fun roster so my thoughts might skewed.

I just really like all 11 rotation pieces and I know the roster is going to be expensive soon but I just don't see obvious places to upgrade this roster (Obviously the Wolves need a situational rebounding big)

[WildWolf2813]

I'm definitely still trading Malik Beasley in the off-season, but it'll be a lot easier to extract something of value for him if he continues to play at a high level. Being a prisoner of the moment is very real. While he can catch fire and help you win games there are still too many times where he's off the mark and provides absolutely nothing of value. He's been hot lately, which has been exciting, but I'm sure there's another cold spell coming because that's who he is. We just need him to get hot again at the right time in the post-season.

That's the hallmark of a bench player though. We'd be replacing Beasley with someone who does the exact same thing.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I'm definitely still trading Malik Beasley in the off-season, but it'll be a lot easier to extract something of value for him if he continues to play at a high level. Being a prisoner of the moment is very real. While he can catch fire and help you win games there are still too many times where he's off the mark and provides absolutely nothing of value. He's been hot lately, which has been exciting, but I'm sure there's another cold spell coming because that's who he is. We just need him to get hot again at the right time in the post-season.

That's the hallmark of a bench player though. We'd be replacing Beasley with someone who does the exact same thing.

No, that's the hallmark of a one-trick pony, or in basketball terms a specialist. I'd be replacing Malik Beasley's spot in the rotation with someone who provides more all-around ability and night-to-night consistency, such as Jaylen Nowell.

[Monster]

So is this what not tanking in March looks like?

It's still tanking.

We're just the team taking advantage of it for once.

Portland and OKC might be tanking the hardest of any teams in the league right now.



[Note: But kudos to the Wolves for just plowing right through these bottom feeders.]

OKC is at least still playing SGA and playing the guys they have played all year. They started the season tanking but honestly they have been sorta competitive all year...relative to what it looked like they were trying to do. I don't see them sitting someone that might help them win unless I messed something. Plus they already have like 527 draft picks. Portland? They did start playing Hart again but I agree with you there they seem to be tanking hard. Like you said thankfully the Wolves are taking advantage for once.

Meanwhile there is a team like the Kings that aren't tanking (maybe that will change) they kept a guy like Barnes because they wanted to make a playoff run. I believe they have been struggling. We have been in these situations where should we tank (could we really win if we tried with a bad roster?) should we be trying to win games and see what he have etc? It's more fun actually being legitimately in the playoff picture.