lipoli390 wrote:While some of us might be calculating a different number, I think we all agree our luxury tax space is limited and that we can't afford to sign both Belly and any of the guys we're apparently interested in, namely Tolliver, Amir Johnson or even Dante Cunningham. None of those guys will want come here as the new Cole Aldrich playing behind KAT, Gibson, Gorgui and Belly. Then there's Patton who might someday be able to play.
The real question for us on this Board is whether you'd prefer Belly over Tolliver or Johnson. Obviously, there's no question Belly's the better choice over Dante Cunningham. So what do you guys think?
Agreed! I would be happy either Belly or Tolliver, but would probably lean towards Tolliver.
Tolliver you know what you are going to get. Belly there is still an. Chance he puts it together and becomes a player more in the value of ilyasova. I won't bet on it but...it's not completely insane to hope for it though.
Dante Cunningham I think is absolutely a the level of guy we could get with signing belly. He almost picked us last year (reports from both Wolfson and Jon K say he would like to come here) and he barely got over the vet min last year. What would his role be? That's a fair question but what would his role be other places? Can we sign the next Dante Cunningham type or maybe even a guy that fits our needs better in other words a better shooter? That's not out of the realm of possibility. Look no further than Anthony Tolliver a guy that was undrafted and has had a pretty nice NBA career and has people showing up at his house wanting him to sign with them to play basketball!
The Blazers didn't offer Pat Connaughton the qualifying offer. I wonder what kind of offer he would take. Maybe we could end up with a Joe Harris type player for way less money.
Treveon Graham is a guy that Wolfson said the Wolves have checked in on. He was actually somewhat productive last year for the Hornets. He shoots the 3 well but at low volume and doesn't seem to do a whole lot else. Still CAMELO projections had him as a plus player this year and it's possible we could get him for the vet min. Watching a couple videos he just looks like a big wing wing player that you can play at various positions.
These aren't bigtime possible signings and they may end up being guys that aren't that good but they are younger players with some level of success and experience. They have complimentary skillsets also. If we can just get some solid replacement level players that would be a pretty good offseason when you compare that to last offseason when we added Jamal and Bazz...
I too have interest in Pat Connaughton, but I don't think he'd get minutes here nor do I think he'd sign here. I also would have preferred Shabazz Napier over Derrick Rose. Alas, Rose has Thibodeau's heart in the palm of his hand so it doesn't matter.
I don't know how Thibs and Belly feel about each other, but if there are no issues there, I expect that Belly will be back and use up most of our remaining space under the lux threshold. But if either one doesn't like the other and Belly is gone, my choice would be Tolliver. Not a very exciting off-season, but exactly what I expected given our payroll handcuffs. And what appears to be a successful draft makes up a little for the lack of free agent activity.
longstrangetrip wrote:I don't know how Thibs and Belly feel about each other, but if there are no issues there, I expect that Belly will be back and use up most of our remaining space under the lux threshold. But if either one doesn't like the other and Belly is gone, my choice would be Tolliver. Not a very exciting off-season, but exactly what I expected given our payroll handcuffs. And what appears to be a successful draft makes up a little for the lack of free agent activity.
Both Wolfson and Jon K have reported Belly has been frustrated with his role and lack of playing time. They both report he loves being here the city etc. They also report that Thibs despite lack of playing time does really value him and Thibs has always said Belly is important to the team. So I think Belly wouldn't mind leaving but I don't think the door is closed or anything. It just depends on what kind of offer a team is willing to give him. We have to wait and see. I've thought Thibs actually gives Belly a fair amount of freedom to do what he can do relatively speaking.
I know a lot of people want more from this offseason. I do also. I'd like some players that seem like they would have more of an impact espcially when it comes to shooting. The thing is if the Wolves can finish off this offseason adding 2 replacement level players like Cunningham (he actually wants to come here) and someone else like that it would be a solid offseason. Last year we held out for Bazz and it left us missing that type of guy on the bench. Yes we could have played other guys more but it did feel like we were kinda stuck from the get go. If we have a bench that is just solid and can hold things together (Dieng has to not be crappy or have his minutes replaced) that's a way to really improve.
One other thing I will mention here. I understand people are down on Thibs and there are worthwhile reasons for that. I will say that beyond Former Bulls there are likely players out there that would want to play for him. People have preferences and even if Thibs sucked nearly completely there would be some players that thought he was good. For example there is a supervisor in my company that I have never dealt with but I know 2 people that worked for him. One of the people is one of my best friends and worked for the company around 15 years. He could not stand this person and has outlined why many times. The other person I know who I worked with at another company (and in the field many years) talks about this supervisor she used to work for in absolute glowing terms how she loved working for him how great a guy he was. I trust the judgement of my friend more than my former co-worker but it just shows how one person can be perceived by 2 different people. Personality and preferences are a factor in various situations. Generally speaking I don't consider Thibs and Layden to be assets attracting FAs here. On the other hand I think if someone doesn't pick the Wolves (espcially this season) it's likely due to other factors like money and or lack of role (even if another coach was here it could be pretty limited) so it is what it is. Again if we can just add some solid guys that want to be here and maybe even find a cheap younger player on their way up like a Treveon Graham that could be a nice offseason espcially if one of the rookies actually plays well. I know the West is tough but the Wolves do have a pretty good starting 5 and there is a chance for some worthwhile talent behind them. I'm staying optimistic.
I'll say that even though with Lebron coming west we need to get better just to make the playoffs going into the lux tax makes even less sense. Shore up the roster with the best solid players you can get for the vet min (Dante Cunningham type) and maybe even sign a younger but somewhat experienced player that might be a bit more if they develop. This team has talent to be plenty competitive. Let's get enough depth to not fall apart when we use the bench and or someone gets hurt for a few games.
Tolliver and Rose are almost as good as it gets IMO. Tolliver is coming off his best season but is 33, I prefer him to Belly because Belly would have had more than a 1yr deal and most likely a player option. Belly is a better rebounder but Tolliver is a better team player in my mind. Rose has always done his best under Thibs and looked sharp during the playoffs, our biggest moment in Wolves history in quite sometime. I would have preferred a defensive player, but D. Rose talent at the price is fine by me. Considering limited funds we are doing just fine, the real mistake was handing out shit contracts at the center position in past years.
