Offseason trade/FA forum

[Lipoli390]

Excerpts from this morning's Jon K article. An important take-away for me is that Finch has been involved in the decision making this offseason. I trust his basketball expertise and insight into the potential of the players currently on the roster:

The Wolves went 11-11 in their final 22 games after D'Angelo Russell returned from knee surgery and started to find a rhythm with Anthony Edwards attacking the basket and Towns using his gravity to attract defenders and open things up for his teammates in coach Chris Finch's new offense. There were quality wins over Utah (twice), Phoenix, Golden State and Miami, but there is still so much to prove.

"When you have a young group, one of the youngest teams in the NBA, the ability to see that upside come through is important for us," Rosas said. "We really want to move forward with this group and allow them to grow and develop and see what we have with this group."

Finch flew out to Los Angeles with Rosas this week as part of the Wolves contingent that set up shop in one of the NBA's most popular destinations. For the first-time NBA head coach, Finch was involved in discussions about roster-building at a level he never was before. As a coach, someone generally more concerned with winning that night versus winning over the long haul, Finch said he is on board with focusing on Vanderbilt and McLaughlin right now over the pursuit of splashier, and more expensive, options.

"We identified early on that those guys were guys that not only developed here but started to come into their own and play a role," Finch said. "When we played well, they played well. That's something that we wanted to keep going forward with."

[Monster]

It appears to me that Gersson Rosas took his ball and went home this off-season. What I deduced from Jon Krawczynski's article in The Athletic this morning is that the Wolves feel priced out on the remaining notable free agents and they're unwilling to give up the assets necessary to acquire a needle-moving player via trade. Specifically, it appears they are holding firm on Jaden McDaniels as he's more and more coveted around the league (shocker).

Minnesota will almost certainly retain their own restricted free agents Jarred Vanderbilt and Jordan McLaughlin, and run it back this season to see what the group can produce in a full season. You're probably looking at the starting power forward in Vando and the primary backup point guard in J-Mac.

Rosas and Chris Finch also appear ready to talk ad nauseum about continuity, player development, and trusting the talent on the roster. Those will be the repetitive talking points the entire season. If we're lucky, we might even see another trip to the Bahamas and a family dinner at the Taylor's residence. Does anyone know if Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore like meatloaf and bedtime stories? Oof.

To some extent I don't really care what they say (unless it's really ridiculous or they are being jerks) I'm more interested in the results.

I personally like the idea that next offseason they will have some sort of reasonable financial flexibility to sigma. Worthwhile FA plus those three 2nd rounders. I mean they aren't gonna have the ability to do anything wildly drastic that some teams have with massive amounts of cap space but it could list add something to help the roster take the next step. They still have a nice group of expiring contracts to possibly make a deal in season. You never know what will be available in a few weeks or months.

I agree, Monster. I've thought from the outset that it was unrealistic to believe this team could be improved significantly by trades this summer. The truth is you have to give to get, which makes it hard to achieve significant net improvement in that way unless you give up first-round draft picks. The Wolves were behind the eight ball this summer because they have no first or second round pick due to the DLO trade and no financial flexibility as they entered the off season knocking on the door of the luxury tax. Rosas was constrained by circumstances -- and they were circumstances of his own making. But I'll give him credit for not panicking and doing something dumb that would do little if anything to help in the short term and likely hurt the team in the longer term.

This is Gersson's roster. He thought this team was going to be a playoff contender the moment he traded for DLO, Beasley and Juancho. He believed in a KAT-DLO core. He now has Edwards and McDaniels as additions to that core. And he finally has a competent (actually I think a very good) head coach. So let's see what happens.

The Wolves will have some significant financial flexibility next off-season that they don't have now. They will also have their 1st round pick along with three 2nd-round picks. So they'll things to work with they simply don't have now to improve the team.

Lip you are right this is Rosas roster good and bad. I'll say this about the Juancho signing that while it was bad both because he wasn't worth the money and we lost out on a chance at a more useful player...it was for 2 years for less than 14 million. It could be worse. Keep that in mind...

To me the deal that he made that may seem like hampered the franchise the most financially this offseason was adding Rubio for James Johnson. Rosas did get some value this offseason out of Rubio getting 2nd round pick back and a likely somewhat useful player in Prince but Prince is also overpaid. But what could we do with 14+ million in salary instead? As I look through the FAs that have signed so far of course there are guys I would like to have added to the roster. Honestly I think the only guy I feel like we may have really missed out on was Holmes but what would we had to offer him to sign him away from the kings? 15 million a year maybe more and for 4 years? He turns 28 in October and while he has turned into a nice player are we certain he is worth that kind of investment especially once he turns 30? There will be teams this season that will have guys they signed (like Juancho last year) and wonder why they did it for X amount of money/years. Some might be a little obvious that they were overpays but some might have been decent gambles at the time. Theis got 3 years 36 million. He might be worth that but idk. I like Noel a lot but for over 10 million a year I have to think about it more if I thought he was worth that. I'm certainly not suggesting we lucked out not having money to spend or that Rosas mistakes are some sort of blessing in disguise but I think it's worth taking a hard look at what the Wolves really missed out on this summer...so far.

The last few hours we have been spilling A LOT of e-ink about Markkanen...I won't be sad at all if we don't end up with him especially for what I expect he will likely end up getting paid. Let's hope the roster takes a step forward this year and the Wolves of needed can spend on the right FA or trade next year (if they don't make an in season move) that bolsters the team and helps them be more competitive. There are still holes in this roster (PF or C and PG) that it would have been nice to address via FA or in a trade but they are also spots (C and PG) that tend to have guys available that are decent vets that teams can add in season if needed.

The reality is that if McLaughlin is resigned cheap and ends up being a solid backup PG and Vanderbilt is also resigned cheaply and continues to get better this offseason might look pretty good even if nobody added to the roster plays super well. I still think Prince is a guy that could end up playing better this season and becomes a solid asset to the wolves on the court or in a trade. He is sort of the type of guy teams look for to improve in season. What if Nathan light turns out to be a guy that is a legit rotation player? Sure these things aren't all likely to happen but it's not asking for these guys to turn into all-stars it's about finding useful players. Depth has been a problem for this franchise.

On Dane Moore's podcast Brit Robson said "Bad teams shouldn't pay to get rid of their bad players they should wait". I generally agree with that. The Wolves are a few months away from having a boatload of salary come off the books and they can then decide what direction they need to go. Maybe they even spend some of that money keeping one of the expiring guys to a reasonable deal. The reality is that a FA or 2 wasn't going to save this season if the other players we hope to be significant parts of the Wolves success don't play well. You are really high on Finch. I like him but if he turns out to be a good coach that's going to be a big difference. Part of why the Suns turned things around was hiring Monte Williams. That worked out even better than I would have expected.

[Lipoli390]

Great post, Monster! I think you nailed it. I like the Robson comment you quoted. He's absolutely right. Bad teams should not pay to get rid of bad players. I would add that what Robson said is especially true when those bad players on expiring deals - e.g., Juancho, Culver.

The Suns didn't take take their initial big leap forward because of any significant trades or free agent acquisitions. They went from 19 wins in 2018-19 to 34 wins in 2019-20 and they would have likely had more than 34 wins if not for the premature end to the season. The Suns then had that tremendous run in the playoff bubble that year. All of that happened before they acquired Chris Paul. Their improvement resulted largely from the coaching change you mentioned and the improvement of the core young players they drafted - Booker, Ayton and Bridges. Ayton and Bridges in particular improved a lot from their previous rookie season. Edwards and McDaniels are in the same place as Ayton and Bridges were then as they head into their second season. And it wasn't just the addition of Chris Paul that further catapulted the Suns into the NBA finals. It was the continued development of their young players, Booker, Ayton, Bridges and Cam Johnson.

I'm not predicting that the Wolves will double their 23 win total next season a la Phoenix. But I'll put the talent of KAT, DLO, Edwards, McDaniels, Beasley and Naz Reid up against the talent on the Suns team that nearly doubled their win total from the season before and then caught fire in the playoff bubble. How well the Wolves do this upcoming season will depend on the health and development of those core young players I mentioned as well as Vanderbilt. If healthy, I expect the Wolves to win 40+ games this upcoming season. That sort of leap, coupled with picks and financial flexibility next summer, can propel this team forward.

[Monster]

Lip a fun tidbit about Prince he was a 5'8" PG in HS before growing 11 inches! Imagine that wingspan for his height before he grew!!!! :)

[Lipoli390]

Lip a fun tidbit about Prince he was a 5'8" PG in HS before growing 11 inches! Imagine that wingspan for his height before he grew!!!! :)

Lol.

[thedoper]

The yearly optimistic acceptance of the roster after we get burned in free agency has begun. Where's Abe to squash this optimism?

Go Wolves!!!

[FNG]

The yearly optimistic acceptance of the roster after we get burned in free agency has begun. Where's Abe to squash this optimism?

I'll fill in for Abe on this one, doper. I don't think Rosas has improved this roster in any way in the offseason, and meanwhile I see other teams making some nice moves. I don't see us winning more than 30 games this season. Silver lining however: we might be in position for a nice lottery pick next season in what might be a very good draft class, and as others have said, we should have a lot of available cap space next summer also. I guess we have to be patient again. At least we're good at that after lots of practice.

(caveat: I'm such a rube, I'll probably change my tune and get more optimistic as the season approaches...again :cry: .)

[thedoper]

The yearly optimistic acceptance of the roster after we get burned in free agency has begun. Where's Abe to squash this optimism?

I'll fill in for Abe on this one, doper. I don't think Rosas has improved this roster in any way in the offseason, and meanwhile I see other teams making some nice moves. I don't see us winning more than 30 games this season. Silver lining however: we might be in position for a nice lottery pick next season in what might be a very good draft class, and as others have said, we should have a lot of available cap space next summer also. I guess we have to be patient again. At least we're good at that after lots of practice.

(caveat: I'm such a rube, I'll probably change my tune and get more optimistic as the season approaches...again :cry: .)

Yes improved play doesn't change the gaping hole at power forward. Even if McDaniels and Edwards make leaps we dont have a legit, proven 4 on the roster. That's not a shot a Vando either, its just reality. We have a problem, even if McDaniels adds a few pounds.

[Coolbreeze44]

The yearly optimistic acceptance of the roster after we get burned in free agency has begun. Where's Abe to squash this optimism?

Go Wolves!!!

Doper, I know exactly what you mean. We really have nothing to be opdougistic about except>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



We have two young studs in Ant and Jaden that are going to determine if we improve. And I believe that improvement could be significant if things go the way we hope. At least I'm looking forward to the start of the season, unlike last year. when I knew we were going to suck.

[thedoper]

The yearly optimistic acceptance of the roster after we get burned in free agency has begun. Where's Abe to squash this optimism?

Go Wolves!!!

Doper, I know exactly what you mean. We really have nothing to be opdougistic about except>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



We have two young studs in Ant and Jaden that are going to determine if we improve. And I believe that improvement could be significant if things go the way we hope. At least I'm looking forward to the start of the season, unlike last year. when I knew we were going to suck.

It wont take much to convince me. Im super pumped.