This is probably Swaggy's agent trying to drive up the price on his client, but our name was dropped again:
David Aldridge?Verified account @daldridgetnt 5m5 minutes ago
While waiting for inevitable Gordon Hayward Players' Tribune story...another team making strong push for Nick Young, per sources: Minnesota.
Which shooters do we target in free agency?
Re: Which shooters do we target in free agency?
I just can't help, but think that the perfect bench guard for this team would be a guy by the name of Zach Lavine... ugh... what a 6th man that could have been.
Re: Which shooters do we target in free agency?
TheGrey08 wrote:I just can't help, but think that the perfect bench guard for this team would be a guy by the name of Zach Lavine... ugh... what a 6th man that could have been.
I was thinking the same thing. But where we're at now is a remider of the critical role lottery luck plays in the fortunes of NBA teams. And it's not always the obvious situation where a team comes up one slot short of Alonzo Mourning only to end up with Christian Laettner. Often, it's not quite that obvious, but just as impactful. So consider this. If the Wolves have moved up into the top 3 this year, I have no doubt we still would have ended up with Butler. But we would have retained more in the process. Based on reports before our deal, the Bulls offered Butler straight up for Boston's #3 pick. Thibs probably would have jumped at that, in which case, we'd have LaVine and Dunn in addition to Butler. Another possibility would have been trading Zach and Dunn for Butler, while retaining our pick and drafting Tatum, Josh Jackson or Jonathan Isaac. Apparently, Zach and Dunn were the guys the Bulls wanted (especially Zach).
So there you have it. Another "what might have been". But I give Thibs and Layden a lot of credit for getting the most out of the assets we had to get Butler AND the #16 pick in the draft. And while I wasn't a fan of the Rubio deal, I give our front office guys credit for getting a 1st round pick and parleying the cap space into Teague.
Re: Which shooters do we target in free agency?
I don't know if it's the 4th of July or what, but I am really feeling it for Swaggy P...
Re: Which shooters do we target in free agency?
lipoli390 wrote:TheGrey08 wrote:I just can't help, but think that the perfect bench guard for this team would be a guy by the name of Zach Lavine... ugh... what a 6th man that could have been.
I was thinking the same thing. But where we're at now is a remider of the critical role lottery luck plays in the fortunes of NBA teams. And it's not always the obvious situation where a team comes up one slot short of Alonzo Mourning only to end up with Christian Laettner. Often, it's not quite that obvious, but just as impactful. So consider this. If the Wolves have moved up into the top 3 this year, I have no doubt we still would have ended up with Butler. But we would have retained more in the process. Based on reports before our deal, the Bulls offered Butler straight up for Boston's #3 pick. Thibs probably would have jumped at that, in which case, we'd have LaVine and Dunn in addition to Butler. Another possibility would have been trading Zach and Dunn for Butler, while retaining our pick and drafting Tatum, Josh Jackson or Jonathan Isaac. Apparently, Zach and Dunn were the guys the Bulls wanted (especially Zach).
So there you have it. Another "what might have been". But I give Thibs and Layden a lot of credit for getting the most out of the assets we had to get Butler AND the #16 pick in the draft. And while I wasn't a fan of the Rubio deal, I give our front office guys credit for getting a 1st round pick and parleying the cap space into Teague.
Honestly, getting that 16th pick back made me not hate the deal. Getting Butler was a no brainer. The cost was the key to me. Had we not given up Lavine it certainly would have meant not getting #16 and probably needing to include another pick which wouldn't have been an issue if it wasn't for giving away our 1st to ATL.
This is another reason I don't like how the off season is laid out. I would rather have free agency starting before the draft or at least letting teams talk to players. Maybe things play out differently if they are able to line up the Butler and Rubio trades better, which would have required them being able to talk to Teague/others, and would have opened the possibility of gaining a second rounder in this draft.
Plus that would let them factor free agency into the draft, work sign and trades, draft better fits, etc.