Flip on In the Zone this morning

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Flip paid a quick visit this morning to the always listenable In the Zone with TT and Dave Sinykin. Nothing earth-shattering, but I thought I'd report in anyway.

1) TT and Sinykin had been talking about Bjelica, so Flip started there. I may not have understood him correctly, but it sounded like he said something like this (paraphrased): "Yeah, we like Nemanja, but you need to understand that he is going to do what he wants to do. We only own his rights until July 1". Is that true? I know we don't hold on to his rights forever, so maybe they do run out in a couple weeks...I can't find anything about it on the net. If so, we can't really consider him as a trade chip, unless some team does a sign and trade with us.

2) First pick: Sinykin came right out and said "you're taking Towns, aren't you", in a manner that made it sound like any other choice would be foolish. Flip just laughed and said "You sound like everybody else", but added nothing more. I actually found that somewhat positive. At least it shows that Flip is aware that Towns is far and away the consensus choice (Ha, how could he not be aware?). Flip can be independent. but unlike David Kahn, I don't see him as constantly trying to prove he is the smartest guy in the room and overthinking things. I don't know that he has the cojones to select someone other than Towns, and that's a good thing. If the top guys are bunched together in his estimation, the safe job-saving move is to take Towns.

3) Second round: Flip said he knows there will be good players available at 31 and 36, but thought they might be at positions where there isn't a big need...and he specifically mentioned PF and SF as positions where players will be available early second round. I agree that we are set at SF, but I was disappointed to hear that Flip thinks we are set at PF. On the positive side, maybe it signals his intent to draft Towns as a C/PF and his confidence in KG, AB and Payne. If he's right, then that's very good news.

4) He confirmed (to Sinykin's surprise) that he has worked out all of the players in play for the first pick, but didn't say how many that constituted. He did say it was a 5-player draft, and I know Towns, Okafor, Russell and Mudiay have all been in town, but this makes it sound like Porzingis has been here too. He had nothing more to say other than he took Russell to his first big league baseball game. Kind of surprising, but not as much knowing he grew up in Louisville.

5) Finally Flip joked about this being a reprise of Wolves After Dark, the great TT/Sinykin radio program from the mid-90s that Flip was often on. He suggested they bring it back, and TT was all over that idea. Sinykin said KFAN would need to get the Wolves back first (not sure why he said that), but said as a minimum they should consider a podcast.

That's all. I can only assume Flip was available because Towns was sleeping in.

[Carlos Danger]

Thanks for posting that. Interesting stuff. Would love to learn when/if our rights to Bjelica expire. That's a new nugget for me too.

[Monster]

From the CBA FAQ.

"51. What if the team and their drafted player can't agree to a contract? What options does the player have? How long does the team keep his draft rights?

The player's options are limited. What happens depends on a number of factors:

If the player is already under contract to, or signs a contract with a non-NBA team, the team retains the player's draft rights for one year after the player's obligation to the non-NBA team ends. Essentially, the clock stops as long as the player plays pro ball outside the NBA. Players are not included in team salary during the regular season while the player is under contract with a non-NBA team.
If the player goes on to play college ball after he was drafted, then the team retains the player's draft rights until one year following the draft the player would have entered had he not declared early. For example, if a team drafts a college sophomore in 2012 and he returns to college and plays intercollegiate basketball, then they retain his draft rights until the 2015 draft. Note that the NCAA rules state that players lose their NCAA eligibility if they are drafted, so the player currently cannot return or go on to play college ball. This rule exists in the CBA in the event the NCAA rules ever change.
If the player was eligible to play in college before he was drafted but does not go on to play college basketball, then the team retains the player's draft rights until the draft the player would have entered had he not declared early. For example, if a team drafts a college sophomore in 2012 and he does not return to college and play intercollegiate basketball, they retain his draft rights until the 2014 draft.
For all other players, the team retains the player's draft rights until the date of the next draft.
In any of the above cases, if the team does not sign the player in the allotted time, the player can enter the next draft. If the team that selects the player in the next draft doesn't sign him either, he becomes a rookie free agent on the date of the following draft.

When a team signs a first round draft pick within three years after he is drafted, they use the salary scale for the year in which he signs (usually the player signs in the same year he is drafted). After three years they have the option of either using the salary scale or signing him as if he was a free agent -- using their cap room or any available exception, with the standard raises. They can only do the latter if the player did not play intercollegiately in the interim. Such a contract must be for at least three seasons, and the salary in the first season must be greater than 120% of the applicable rookie scale amount."

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q51

[60WinTim]

Thanks for posting this, LST.

I think you mis-heard Flip on Bjelica. I thought I heard the comment in reference to a buyout clause, and Flip was pointing out the Bjelica can do whatever he wants over in Europe. But the Wolves still own is NBA rights.

[TXviking [enjin:6602528]]

per monster's post it sounds like he has to op-out of his current contract and be out of bb for one year then he comes off the wolves draft card

[Phenom]

Yea we dealt with this with Ricky before. All Knick fans said he would simply reenter the 2010 draft if the Wolves didnt trade him to NY. He would have to sit out of basketball for one year first.

[Monster]

I just finished listening to this it was actually pretty Interesting.

1. This is the most I've heard Flip talke about Bjelica since last year around this time. He said he has no buyout and is free to sign with an NBA team afte July 1. Flip was being coy about how much he liked him but he said he is a 3-4 (response to asking him if he was a 4) and is a playmaker is a good player and he can be a rotation player for just about any team in the league and he can play. He said they have room as far as contracts to make something work.

2. Flip in talking about the 2nd round said that the problem may be that the Wolves may have a "glutton" of players at the positions he sees as best guys that likely will be available and then said PF (Bjelica could add to this and there are plenty of guys at PF already which my guess is part of the hesitation with him) and SF are those spots. He said other positions might not have the same level of talent unless someone slips. He said he has put it out there he would give up 31 and 36 for a 1st rounder.

3. The guys had been talking about Martin because a caller suggested trading Martin for a pick and a couple of them were all over it saying Flip would trade him in a heartbeat for a low first rounder and he was grossly overpaid all except TT. Of course Flip came on a couple minutes later and told them he has been saying for a year and a half he wasn't trading Martin and his contract actually is a bargain particularly when the cap goes up and he will be paid less than the mid-level.

4. He was asked about Lavine's offseason and Flip says he has filled out a little and he is happy with his process and said with his jumper he is working on not jumping over everyone when shooting and he is working hard.

If you go to listen this start at about 1:08 when Flip comes on.

EDIT: I will speculate based on a couple things Flip said that there are some moving parts he is either considering or thinks has a chance of happening to move salaries and open up some spots. One of those is likely something with Bud.

[mrhockey89]

Thanks for the heads up LST, listened to it just now.

I won't rehash what everyone just recapped but I'll give my perspective on what I heard.

-sounds like Martin won't be going anywhere, which I think is the right move.

-it's a near lock that they trade up from the second

-bjelica, no more euro buyout, ready to come now if there's an agreement. Flip likely has received calls from contenders on his availability which gives him confidence in saying he's a rotation player on any team. Flip is open to keeping or trading him, depending on what he's able to turn it into, imo he's the most likely player traded on draft day.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Thanks for the additions to my post, guys, and the clarification on the Bjelica comments. I'm still confused though about Flip's July 1 reference. Is July I the date on which he is no longer under contract to his overseas team, and thus not subject to any buyout? Do we know how long the Wolves have his exclusive rights? I start to read that CBA stuff and my eyes glaze over...maybe explains my C in Business Law in college.

[Monster]

Thanks for the additions to my post, guys, and the clarification on the Bjelica comments. I'm still confused though about Flip's July 1 reference. Is July I the date on which he is no longer under contract to his overseas team, and thus not subject to any buyout? Do we know how long the Wolves have his exclusive rights? I start to read that CBA stuff and my eyes glaze over...maybe explains my C in Business Law in college.

Yes July 1 is the date he is free to sign with anyone and has no buyout according to Flip. After that we have 1 year to sign him but he would have to basically do nothing when it comes to basketball for that year to expire. We will either sign him or trade him or he plays for another team in Europe there is basically no chance we lose his rights. There really isn't any hurry to sign him. The only really new things that Flip said about his contract status was that he had no buyout not that it really makes much difference 500k of buyout money or whatever isn't going to keep a team (generally speaking) from signing or not signing a guy.