So What's Your Plan? The Offseason Roster Construction Thread

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Q-is-here
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Re: So What's Your Plan? The Offseason Roster Construction Thread

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Lipoli390 wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 6:28 pm
FNG wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 2:29 pm
Coolbreeze44 wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 11:24 am Running it back pretty much guarantees we don't get out of the West. Jaden would again be stifled in his offensive game. I just don't understand the logic. SMH.
Cool, I don't agree with the premise that running it back (with the addition of more minutes from our young 3 plus perhaps a draft pick or two) says we won't get out of the West. Here's my logic:

1) I'm a big TC fan, but his need to shake things up every year seems to lead to a slow start to a season before the new pieces get used to each other. That's why I would prefer he not make a big move this offseason like he is accustomed to doing. I'm a big fan of continuity, and it was clear how much better this team was playing at the end of the season than the start.

2) I like that TC and Finchy are both saying that they want to bring everyone back (of course they have to say that) and that the young 3 have proven they are ready and will get a lot of playing time. I mentioned in another thread that OkC and Indy played more players meaningful minutes than any team other than the Warriors, and way more than we did. I think Finchy is smart and notices that the two teams in the finals play more guys and play at a faster pace and are fresher at the end. I can't wait to see what this talented roster can do at a faster pace.

3) I know you're a gambler, so perhaps you're familiar with the expression in horseracing of "bid, hung". Horses that compete for a win but fall just short are described as "bid, hung" and are often a very good bet to win in their next race because they are hungrier. I think an intact Wolves team will be hungry next year, and will come into the season focused on winning a championship.

4) Conversely, teams that win a championship are usually not as hungry the subsequent year. They are not as likely to train hard and work on their games in the offseason. I think OkC is a terrific team, but a lot of their success is due to intensity rather than talent (I personally think we may be a more talented team), and I don't expect them to play with the same urgency and intensity next season...assuming they do beat Indy. If they lose to Indy, I think they might be even scarier next season. It's human nature.

I also don't agree that the same roster is stifling for Jaden. On the contrary, I thought he had his best season ever...career highs in minutes played, points, assists, rebounds, and field goal attempts, and a career low in fouls. I hope he is stifled again next season, it that's what stifling does to him! I thought Jaden's only problem this season was his shooting. Ant, Ju and Conley gave him so many open looks in the corner, but his 33.5% success rate was far worse than any of his previous seasons. I think we all have nightmares of all the open looks he missed from the corner in the first quarter of the final game against OkC. His teammates look for him, he just didn't make the shots. And that's another reason I am bullish on this team if they run it back. I don't think Jaden is a 33.5% shooter from the corners...I think the 38%+ he has achieved the other 4 years of his career is a better indicator of what he is capable of. He's an intense competitor and can't be happy about his shooting this season. I expect him to take about 10,000 corner 3's this summer and shoot much better next season. And I know his teammates will be looking for him just like they did this season.

So that's my logic about wanting them to run it back...continuity after making the conference finals for the second year in a row combined with an expanded rotation. Now, what do I think will happen? If past is prologue, TC will make another huge move that will shake this roster up again. And if he does, I'm enough of a rube to get excited about whatever he pulls together. But I can also be critical, so if he takes a big swing and we don't win 50+ games next season, I'll be the first to say he screwed up when he had a really good thing going.
Interesting debate. I agree with you, FNG, that TC should not “shake things up.” I think trading for Rudy was clearly a shake up as was trading Towns for Randle and Donte. But trading or letting Randle go doesn’t strike me up as shaking it up - at least not nearly to the same degree. The team underperformed with Randle early and then performed really well when he returned from his injury. In between, the team played well in his absence. I like what I saw during that stretch. Jaden probably played his best offensive basketball during that stretch and you could see TSJ and Clark start to blossom. In my view, that’s the foundation for a championship Wolves team in a couple years. I’m OK if we take a half step back next season if that’s what it takes to take a couple steps forward thereafter with a young core that will have a lot of years in front of it. I can appreciate the alternative view but that’s my take. And if we do this right, we don’t necessarily have to take a half step back next season. I have confidence in going forward with Ant, Jaden, Naz, Rudy, Donte next season. I see lots of potential to round out the rotation through some combination of the following: Mike Conley, TSJ, Clark and Dilly. If we trade Randle, we should get a decent rotation player in return. If we let him walk, we’ll have the full MLE to work with. And we also have two nice picks this month as well.
I have a feeling Connelly is going to try to thread the needle of trying to assemble a contender for next season while not mortgaging the future to do so, thus holding onto the majority of draft assets, Dillingham, Clark, and Shannon. I could see using one or two of those assets to get a fairly big fish if needed tacked onto a couple of vets to make salaries work, but no more than that.

On the other hand, I just don't see us running it back with any more than 5 or 6 of our "eight starters" from this season. But if we return 5 out of the top 8 rotation guys plus Finch, that's actually still a good amount of continuity from one season to the next.
D-Loser25
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Re: So What's Your Plan? The Offseason Roster Construction Thread

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FNG wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 10:34 am Lip, listen to Dane Moore’s recent podcast. He lays out a scenario where we can retain all three of Ju, Naz and NAW while remaining under the second apron. Better to watch it on YouTube because it really gets into the weeds. This is my preferred scenario because I see improvement with the familiarity of our guys having played together an entire season and adding more minutes from our young guys plus #17 and/or 31. Running it back though is inconsistent with TCs MO, as he typically does something totally unexpected…I.e. something nobody has thrown out here as a possibility!

I agree it’s unlikely Naz opts in without a long term deal. Those that think he will though think he will bet on himself and become a free agent next year when he there is more money.
I might be missing something here, can you tell me where Naz is going if he opts out? Is he going to Brooklyn or… his other option is taking the mid level from another team if he walks and Brooklyn doesn’t want him, right?

Genuinely wondering if I’m missing something here. Is there another team that could even pay him 20/year this offseason?
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Coolbreeze44
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Re: So What's Your Plan? The Offseason Roster Construction Thread

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If what we're seeing in these finals is the new NBA, Julius Randle will be a liability, as will Rudy. The frenzied defense with waves of players coming at you combined with quick double teams and larcenous hands is a big problem for both. You might be able to get away with having one on the court, but no way you can beat teams like this with both out there. We need multiple good to great ball handlers and active interchangeable parts on defense to compete going forward.
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Re: So What's Your Plan? The Offseason Roster Construction Thread

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This finals series along with that Denver series shows me that OKC isn’t really that far ahead, the wolves just made it look like they were. The wolves were very lucky to get a lakers without an interior presence and warriors team without curry. Let’s drop the illusion that we were the 2nd best team in the west this year and we’re so close to the finals if we run it back. There’s no way TC should consider running it back (and I don’t think he is) This was meant to be a semi transition year, but we played well and got lucky in the playoffs and although it was a good run, we’re not an elite team and will be lucky to avoid the playin next year if we run it back.

The wolves were a very flawed team this year and Randle is a very flawed player. I hope they don’t make the mistake of giving Randle anything long term. I think that would be a huge mistake. If he opts in, which he obviously will, then you trade or keep him for the year. I trust that TC is smart enough to not extend Randle.
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Coolbreeze44
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Re: So What's Your Plan? The Offseason Roster Construction Thread

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D-Loser25 wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 9:40 pm This finals series along with that Denver series shows me that OKC isn’t really that far ahead, the wolves just made it look like they were. The wolves were very lucky to get a lakers without an interior presence and warriors team without curry. Let’s drop the illusion that we were the 2nd best team in the west this year and we’re so close to the finals if we run it back. There’s no way TC should consider running it back (and I don’t think he is) This was meant to be a semi transition year, but we played well and got lucky in the playoffs and although it was a good run, we’re not an elite team and will be lucky to avoid the playin next year if we run it back.

The wolves were a very flawed team this year and Randle is a very flawed player. I hope they don’t make the mistake of giving Randle anything long term. I think that would be a huge mistake. If he opts in, which he obviously will, then you trade or keep him for the year. I trust that TC is smart enough to not extend Randle.
That's my hope as well regarding Randle. And I think you make a good point about OKC not being that far ahead of the pack. Down 2-1 now, they will be fortunate to survive Indy.
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Re: So What's Your Plan? The Offseason Roster Construction Thread

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D-Loser25 wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 9:40 pm This finals series along with that Denver series shows me that OKC isn’t really that far ahead, the wolves just made it look like they were. The wolves were very lucky to get a lakers without an interior presence and warriors team without curry. Let’s drop the illusion that we were the 2nd best team in the west this year and we’re so close to the finals if we run it back. There’s no way TC should consider running it back (and I don’t think he is) This was meant to be a semi transition year, but we played well and got lucky in the playoffs and although it was a good run, we’re not an elite team and will be lucky to avoid the playin next year if we run it back.

The wolves were a very flawed team this year and Randle is a very flawed player. I hope they don’t make the mistake of giving Randle anything long term. I think that would be a huge mistake. If he opts in, which he obviously will, then you trade or keep him for the year. I trust that TC is smart enough to not extend Randle.
I agree with this, we shouldn't be content to run it back as I don't see the current team and coach getting back to the WCF without some upgrades. I don't think we would have beat Denver with a healthy Murray plus they'd be up to settle things based on last year. Next year, OKC returns everyone plus they got the draft ammo to add whatever they think they need. Denver should be good again. Houston is young and talented and have the draft ammo to add a difference maker. Lakers with a center will be a tougher out. Warriors with Curry are a different team. But the Spurs are the team to watch especially if they add a star like Giannis or Durant, but if they opt for a youth movement, they will eventually be scary and a worthy rival to OKC. Dallas if they get Kyrie back by playoffs will have a nice nucleus of Davis, Kyrie and Cooper Flagg. Memphis is an interesting team if everyone is healthy.
Last edited by KG4Ever on Wed Jun 11, 2025 10:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Lipoli390
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Re: So What's Your Plan? The Offseason Roster Construction Thread

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Coolbreeze44 wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 9:00 pm If what we're seeing in these finals is the new NBA, Julius Randle will be a liability, as will Rudy. The frenzied defense with waves of players coming at you combined with quick double teams and larcenous hands is a big problem for both. You might be able to get away with having one on the court, but no way you can beat teams like this with both out there. We need multiple good to great ball handlers and active interchangeable parts on defense to compete going forward.
Spot on, Cool! We have the makings of the sort of team we’re seeing in the Finals. Ant, Jaden, Naz, TSJ, Clark, Dilly,
And Donte all fit the mold. I agree we might be able to get away with one or the other of Rudy and Randle but watching these two teams has me questioning that possibility. One thing you can see watching OKC and Indiana is that all five players on each team is a threat to score outside the paint. So as good as Rudy is defensively, I question whether we can win a championship when one of our starters is completely unable to score outside the paint or even put the ball on the floor and score driving into the paint. It puts the other four at too much of a disadvantage offensively. The problem with Randle is that he’s a really poor defender. He can be great on the offensive end, but his style of play doesn’t lend itself to the space and pace ball-movement offenses we’re seeing from OKC and Indiana. Meanwhile, Houston is on the verge of becoming the next OKC.

I’m just not sure. Maybe we can be successful running it back. But I’m ready to see us pivot to the sort of team that I think you have to have to win a championship in the NBA today. I’ve thought that all season as I’ve repeatedly written about moving on to Wolves 2.0. It will be interesting to see what TC does.
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KG4Ever
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Re: So What's Your Plan? The Offseason Roster Construction Thread

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So TC who lauded the big combo of KAT and Rudy might bail on both. Just terrible roster management by TC. I know some of you are impressed with TC, but to me he's a fkkin idiot terrorist. Now, he apparently wants to get KD so bad, he's willing to throw anyone not named Ant, Jaden or Naz away to get a geriatric rental who has a history of leg and ankle injuries. Just not a sound roster construction method.
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Re: So What's Your Plan? The Offseason Roster Construction Thread

Post by D-Loser25 »

KG4Ever wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 10:35 pm So TC who lauded the big combo of KAT and Rudy might bail on both. Just terrible roster management by TC. I know some of you are impressed with TC, but to me he's a fkkin idiot terrorist. Now, he apparently wants to get KD so bad, he's willing to throw anyone not named Ant, Jaden or Naz away to get a geriatric rental who has a history of leg and ankle injuries. Just not a sound roster construction method.
Yeah, hopefully just a rumor. I’d be fine with Randle, DDV and 31 for Durant, but anything beyond that, I’ll pass.

I was very skeptical on all of TC trades to date, and he’s proven to me that he knows his stuff. Gobert has worked out very well. Getting off of the Kat contract while getting 17 and DDV along with a solid placeholder for a year or two in Randle has proven to be a smart move. And getting NAW and Conley for DLoser!?!? That was his best move. I can’t really doubt the guy anymore - he’s proven himself to me at least
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Re: So What's Your Plan? The Offseason Roster Construction Thread

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D-Loser25 wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 10:59 pm
KG4Ever wrote: Wed Jun 11, 2025 10:35 pm So TC who lauded the big combo of KAT and Rudy might bail on both. Just terrible roster management by TC. I know some of you are impressed with TC, but to me he's a fkkin idiot terrorist. Now, he apparently wants to get KD so bad, he's willing to throw anyone not named Ant, Jaden or Naz away to get a geriatric rental who has a history of leg and ankle injuries. Just not a sound roster construction method.
Yeah, hopefully just a rumor. I’d be fine with Randle, DDV and 31 for Durant, but anything beyond that, I’ll pass.

I was very skeptical on all of TC trades to date, and he’s proven to me that he knows his stuff. Gobert has worked out very well. Getting off of the Kat contract while getting 17 and DDV along with a solid placeholder for a year or two in Randle has proven to be a smart move. And getting NAW and Conley for DLoser!?!? That was his best move. I can’t really doubt the guy anymore - he’s proven himself to me at least
I'd call BS on flexibility if we traded KAT's deal only to turn around and trade for a 37 year old and give him a 2 year $120 mil extension.
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