FA Predictions

[Monster]

Jameer Nelson resigns with Denver. And it sure seems Denver locked up Jokic to one hell of a deal! 4 years for 5.5 mil?!?

Jokic was terrific last year. That's a crazy good deal.

I think you guys have your eastern Europeans mixed up. Jusuf Nurkic is the big, skilled Center that was a rookie last year and had a nice season with Denver. Jokic is a different Center they drafted in the 2nd round last year, but he stayed overseas. Still....they are stockpiling some good looking young players at Center.

I'm still convinced that the draft market discounts these highly skilled Europeans too much. Yes, you might have to wait a year or two to bring them over, but in the meantime, they are developing on someone else's nickel in rigorous professional settings. And although they aren't put on a rookie scale when they do come over, they are still priced at quite a discount

I really wish we would have held onto our second rounders this year and used at least one of them on an overseas stash player.

Yeah you are right I messed up there. It makes more sense it was a different guy! The numbers he put up in the Adriatic league last were pretty nice so the deal sounds pretty good to me. I agree Q I like getting some of the euro guys as 2nd round picks. Of course you can also just sign some guys as FAs from overseas if they are undrafted. We are seeing that happen more often. It's obviously better to have their rights though.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Duncan took 5 million for a contender. 3 million in this market is about the cost of doing business for a rebuilding team hence the 8 million. Not ideal, but not outrageous either.

As noted, $8M/year shouldn't kill the Wolves cap or anything.

But when I read your post, it seemed like you put Duncan and Garnett on the same level... and that MN is simply overpaying for market. Duncan is a VASTLY BETTER player at this point and I don't think it's close. I don't think Garnett deserves anything close to Duncan if we're discussing on-court stuff... only.

Duncan played more minutes in the playoffs the past two seasons than Garnett played during the entire 2015 season. And he nearly matched Garnett's 2014 season too.

Duncan averaged 18 / 11 / 3 / 59% fg in the playoffs. Garnett cannot provide that kind of production at this stage.

Duncan taking 5 in a winning situation is just different then KG talking 8 in a situation where he has to spend a lot of time mentoring young guys. You can't compare players and the money they make based on who's better. If that were the case nobody could make within 10 million of the max after the performance Lebron just put on in the finals on his own. It's always been about the market and Duncan took less to play for a winning team and KG took more because he's also spending time mentoring players which Duncan simply doesn't have to do on that team. Is Duncan in Vegas this week at his team's practices? KG isn't just getting paid for his play on the court so you also can't compare their salaries just based on on-court play. If Lebron took the minimum to play for the Spurs this year does that mean everyone else would have to play for free? That's why you can't just say Duncan is better so KG should make less. Duncan chose to take less than his market value. That's his loss, but it also doesn't mean everyone else has to take a pay cut just because he's a better player.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Duncan took 5 million for a contender. 3 million in this market is about the cost of doing business for a rebuilding team hence the 8 million. Not ideal, but not outrageous either.

As noted, $8M/year shouldn't kill the Wolves cap or anything.

But when I read your post, it seemed like you put Duncan and Garnett on the same level... and that MN is simply overpaying for market. Duncan is a VASTLY BETTER player at this point and I don't think it's close. I don't think Garnett deserves anything close to Duncan if we're discussing on-court stuff... only.

Duncan played more minutes in the playoffs the past two seasons than Garnett played during the entire 2015 season. And he nearly matched Garnett's 2014 season too.

Duncan averaged 18 / 11 / 3 / 59% fg in the playoffs. Garnett cannot provide that kind of production at this stage.

Duncan taking 5 in a winning situation is just different then KG talking 8 in a situation where he has to spend a lot of time mentoring young guys. You can't compare players and the money they make based on who's better. If that were the case nobody could make within 10 million of the max after the performance Lebron just put on in the finals on his own. It's always been about the market and Duncan took less to play for a winning team and KG took more because he's also spending time mentoring players which Duncan simply doesn't have to do on that team. Is Duncan in Vegas this week at his team's practices? KG isn't just getting paid for his play on the court so you also can't compare their salaries just based on on-court play. If Lebron took the minimum to play for the Spurs this year does that mean everyone else would have to play for free? That's why you can't just say Duncan is better so KG should make less. Duncan chose to take less than his market value. That's his loss, but it also doesn't mean everyone else has to take a pay cut just because he's a better player.

I can only take your post (bolded) as satirical. Sorry.

And yes... I know how salaries work in the NBA. And WHY Duncan signed for such a paltry amount. I never argued against any of that.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Let's face it....This is a pure Country Club move to help grease the skids smoothly for KG's inevitable foray into the front office. It seems as if we were bidding against ourselves. Given all the money this franchise paid KG over the years, I find it a little off-putting that we had to spend $8M per year for a guy that may not even play 1,000 minutes for us next season.

If his value is primarily tied to his on-the-court presence, as LST says, than shouldn't the actual amount of time he can BE on the court matter? That $8M would be more like $16-20M if pro-rated to a full-time player.

That Magic Mentoring Potion© better work!

[thedoper]

Let's face it....This is a pure Country Club move to help grease the skids smoothly for KG's inevitable foray into the front office. It seems as if we were bidding against ourselves. Given all the money this franchise paid KG over the years, I find it a little off-putting that we had to spend $8M per year for a guy that may not even play 1,000 minutes for us next season.

If his value is primarily tied to his on-the-court presence, as LST says, than shouldn't the actual amount of time he can BE on the court matter? That $8M would be more like $16-20M if pro-rated to a full-time player.

That Magic Mentoring Potion© better work!

How would you quantify working? Already all of the young players seemed pumped about having him on the team. Just curious as to how you would judge his impact as being positive.

[Phenom]

The young guys are juiced from having KG around already and many of them saw the relationship he has with the fans in Minnesota when he came back. That will have a lasting effect as Ricky already pointed out. He is going to spreading Minnesota love and gives the organization a positive place to build from going forward.

[A Friendly Flatulence [enjin:8907904]]

I don't get why some of you are so condescending on the "mentorship" aspect of KG, its not like this is the first time veteran leadership has been used as an attribute a player brings to the table. And it certainly won't be the last time players past their prime are given the benefit of the doubt because they have valuable experiences that no one else on our roster can bring.

Is it just sour grapes or what?

Is he going to be working on jumpshot form with Rubio no, is he going to be patting Bennett on the back saying "you can do this buddy" of course not, but he is without a doubt a future hall of famer. One of the best to ever play his position, has a title, MVP, DPOY, and brings intensity & drive that you need to become a champion. Couple all of those positives with the fact that he is the greatest player this franchise has ever had and you've got a good mix of nostalgia (which sells tickets too), experience (which our team is missing), and a decent player. We weren't competing for a championship this year or next, we're building a foundation that could contend in 3-5 years if we are lucky.

Could you imagine if we paid KG 30 million this season & weren't able to get any FAs because of him? I think I'd die from all the bitching and moaning from some of you.

AND FINALLY ITS NOT YOUR MONEY.

end of rant.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Duncan took 5 million for a contender. 3 million in this market is about the cost of doing business for a rebuilding team hence the 8 million. Not ideal, but not outrageous either.

As noted, $8M/year shouldn't kill the Wolves cap or anything.

But when I read your post, it seemed like you put Duncan and Garnett on the same level... and that MN is simply overpaying for market. Duncan is a VASTLY BETTER player at this point and I don't think it's close. I don't think Garnett deserves anything close to Duncan if we're discussing on-court stuff... only.

Duncan played more minutes in the playoffs the past two seasons than Garnett played during the entire 2015 season. And he nearly matched Garnett's 2014 season too.

Duncan averaged 18 / 11 / 3 / 59% fg in the playoffs. Garnett cannot provide that kind of production at this stage.

Duncan taking 5 in a winning situation is just different then KG talking 8 in a situation where he has to spend a lot of time mentoring young guys. You can't compare players and the money they make based on who's better. If that were the case nobody could make within 10 million of the max after the performance Lebron just put on in the finals on his own. It's always been about the market and Duncan took less to play for a winning team and KG took more because he's also spending time mentoring players which Duncan simply doesn't have to do on that team. Is Duncan in Vegas this week at his team's practices? KG isn't just getting paid for his play on the court so you also can't compare their salaries just based on on-court play. If Lebron took the minimum to play for the Spurs this year does that mean everyone else would have to play for free? That's why you can't just say Duncan is better so KG should make less. Duncan chose to take less than his market value. That's his loss, but it also doesn't mean everyone else has to take a pay cut just because he's a better player.

I can only take your post (bolded) as satirical. Sorry.

And yes... I know how salaries work in the NBA. And WHY Duncan signed for such a paltry amount. I never argued against any of that.

No, you argued KG should be making less money than Duncan because Duncan is a better player right now. That's just not how this league works and it's poor argument against KG's deal to say he should make a certain amount based on someone else's play. How about you stop cherry picking the Duncan comparison and look at how much someone like Kobe is making as a part-time guy? KG's deal looks reasonable compared to Kobe's doesn't it?

[Porckchop]

I don't get why some of you are so condescending on the "mentorship" aspect of KG, its not like this is the first time veteran leadership has been used as an attribute a player brings to the table. And it certainly won't be the last time players past their prime are given the benefit of the doubt because they have valuable experiences that no one else on our roster can bring.

Is it just sour grapes or what?

Is he going to be working on jumpshot form with Rubio no, is he going to be patting Bennett on the back saying "you can do this buddy" of course not, but he is without a doubt a future hall of famer. One of the best to ever play his position, has a title, MVP, DPOY, and brings intensity & drive that you need to become a champion. Couple all of those positives with the fact that he is the greatest player this franchise has ever had and you've got a good mix of nostalgia (which sells tickets too), experience (which our team is missing), and a decent player. We weren't competing for a championship this year or next, we're building a foundation that could contend in 3-5 years if we are lucky.

Could you imagine if we paid KG 30 million this season & weren't able to get any FAs because of him? I think I'd die from all the bitching and moaning from some of you.

AND FINALLY ITS NOT YOUR MONEY.

end of rant.

Well said..

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Let's face it....This is a pure Country Club move to help grease the skids smoothly for KG's inevitable foray into the front office. It seems as if we were bidding against ourselves. Given all the money this franchise paid KG over the years, I find it a little off-putting that we had to spend $8M per year for a guy that may not even play 1,000 minutes for us next season.

If his value is primarily tied to his on-the-court presence, as LST says, than shouldn't the actual amount of time he can BE on the court matter? That $8M would be more like $16-20M if pro-rated to a full-time player.

That Magic Mentoring Potion© better work!

How would you quantify working? Already all of the young players seemed pumped about having him on the team. Just curious as to how you would judge his impact as being positive.

The only kind of work I can quantify for a professional basketball player is a) minutes played, and b) production/efficiency/effort while playing those minutes. By those two metrics, I don't see how KG is an $8M per year player.

I don't have a problem with KG being on the squad or being part of the team in some way, shape, or form. I agree that his wisdom and experience is useful. What bugs me is the whole process through which he's been brought on board:

1. The trade that brought him here - We could have just signed him as a free agent this offseason.

2. The bait and switch Flip pulled, whereby we all had a feel-good game or two to juice ticket sales and then suddenly he was shelved, almost never to be seen again. How much mentoring was he doing while Gorgui, Hamilton, and Payne were getting their asses handed to them every night in the paint?

3. The $16M two year deal for a player that is only going to be more injury-prone and less productive based on his age and past few seasons. And even when healthy, he can only play about a quarter of the available minutes due to a minutes and games cap. That seems like an overpay.

So yeah, I'm nitpicking the small stuff because it bugs me.