Rudy trade ideas

[Lipoli390]

Does San Antonio need a mentor for Wemby?

Hmm. Perhaps someone fluent in French. How about this:

Spurs Get: Rudy, Wolves #53 pick, rights to Spagnolo
Wolves Get:
- Zach Collins and/or any other 1 or 2 year contracts they choose to give
- Spurs’ pick # 33
- 2025 1st-round pick (Hawks or Bulls)

Spurs get their mentor. Wolves (1) avoid the 2024 luxury tax cliff; (2) get a much better draft opportunity in this year’s second round; and (3) get back one of the four first-round picks they gave up for Rudy. The Wolves retain the core of Ant, KAT and Jaden, which won 46 games two seasons ago, but would also have Slo Mo and substantially improved versions of Ant and Jaden. They’d have the money to keep Naz and NAW. And they’d still have plenty of room to use the full MLE

I can’t stress enough how important it will be for the Spurs to make sure Wemby has a French-speaking mentor at his side next season. The Spurs need Rudy desperately to ensure the development of their #1 pick this year.

[Lipoli390]

Possible Rudy deal with Dallas:

Mavs Get: Rudy + rights to Spagnolo

Wolves Get:
- Bertans
- McGee
- Mavs #10 pick this June
- Mavs 2025 2nd-round pick
- Mavs 2026 1st-round pick (top 4 protected)

Mavs get a top defender in the middle to combine with Luka, Kyrie and Hardaway Jr. They’re not losing anything meaningful in Bertans and McGee. The only meaningful assets the Mavs would be giving up would be their #10 pick this year and their 2026 1st. But the Mavs have to be all-in on winning now with Luka and Kyrie; therefore, those picks should mean less to them than to the Wolves who are building around the 21-year old Ant and 22 year old Jaden.

The main benefit to the Wolves would be cap relief to ensure the Wolves don’t exceed the luxury tax threshold next season or the second apron the following season. The #10 pick would also present an opportunity to add a high-end talent, preferably a PG, who can be integrated into the starting lineup over time with Ant, Jaden and KAT. The 2026 1st would also be a nice asset for the Wolves to help replenish some of the draft stock given away in last summer’s Gobert deal.

The optics would be pretty good for both teams. Getting Gobert as a win-now move for substantially less than the Wolves gave up last summer would look good for Dallas. Meanwhile, getting a top 10 pick along with a figure 1st while simultaneously avoiding the major transactional and financial constraints associated with keeping Rudy and KAT under the new CBA would be decent optics for the Wolves. Even after factoring in the salary of the #10 pick, this deal would trim $15 million from next season’s payroll and $17.4 million the following season when the Wolves would otherwise likely exceed the second apron. The Wolves could comfortably keep both NAW and Naz while making use of their various salary exceptions. They could trade Bertans next summer as an expiring contract if needed for additional salary savings.

The new CBA gives the Wolves’ organization some PR cover. Drafting a high-end talent at #10 would also provide some excitement among the local fan base.

[Lipoli390]

I know it’s unlikely the Wolves will trade Rudy this summer. But I think those who believe TC isn’t at least open to the idea are wrong. i still assume he’s smart enough to put his ego aside and do what’s best for the long-run interest of the team that he recently acknowledged would be build around Ant. Moreover, the new CBA gives him some PR cover now since it’s widely acknowledged the Wolves can’t realistically keep both bigs without exceeding the second apron in 2024 and facing major transactional penalties. Nearly every NBA observer and executive already knows trading for Rudy was a mistake. In fact, most knew it a year ago. So there will be some “see I told you so” remarks in the media. But so what. In any event, this thread isn’t about prediction whether the Wolves will trade Rudy; it’s about whether they SHOULD and what some realistic trades might look like.

I continue to believe the Blazers are the most likely trade partner for Rudy. Other than KAT, there are five current NBA all-star caliber players who would pair well with Lillian and who their current teams might be willing to part with in exchange for Portland’s #3 pick and Simons: Siakam, Jaylen Brown, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and DeJounte Murray. If I were Portland’s PBO, I’d use my #3 pick to pursue Siakam and secondarily Jaylen Brown rather than Towns. Then I’d use my ##23 and 43 picks for another high-end but more limited player - e.g., Rudy Gobert. That seems to make more sense than using their #3 pick and Simons to get Towns.

As I’ve mentioned before, trading Rudy and pick #53 for Nurkic, Little, Knox and picks #23 and 43 makes sense for both teams. It would substantial upgrade Portland at the center position and potentially form a nice win-now core of Lillard, Siakam or Jaylen Brown and Rudy. On the flip side, it would save the Wolves about $19 million in 2024 and give the Wolves a shot at drafting a high-end prospect in this year’s draft. I also still see lots of potential in Little.