LOL, we've gone from visions of Looney and Tyus Jones to fighting for scraps off summer league rosters!
lol. Hey Q, Those were your visions, possibly fueled by a special mushroom pizza. I avoided those visions to spare myself the inevitable disappointment. . Now it’s up to TC to find a diamond in the scrap heap. That’s why we pay him the big bucks.
Vision A: Randle + piece parts for Derrick White, sign Kevon Looney as FA
.
.
.
.
.
Vision G: Compete with Charlotte for a heretofore unknown summer league ball handler from Poland.
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 01, 2025 10:03 pm
Tony Jones: The Denver Nuggets are getting Tim Hardaway Jr. for the Vet Minimum, according to league sources. Shocking they can get a guy of that caliber on that contract, but the market is drying up, so the Nuggets got a bit fortunate there – via x.com
The Nuggets are having a great offseason. Right now, I’d say the Wolves rank 4th in the West behind OKC, Houston and Denver in the West. And look out for the Mavs if Cooper’s as good as expected and both Kyrie and Anthony Davis stay healthy. I wouldn’t sleep on the Spurs either.
It’s really interesting that Hardaway signed with Denver for the minimum. I guess the market for 3-point marksman isn’t what it used to be.
Beasley was gonna get paid before the Pistons found out about him being an idiot. The pivoted and gave Duncan Robinson over 40 million. 3 point shooters can still get paid.
Hardaway likely signed with Denver because they have a rotation spot open for him to play regular mins and they are legit contenders. He has already made over 150 million so if he wants to take a vet min deal for 3 million that might be relatively easy for him to do. Who knows what other teams were offering.
It would be nice to get a cheap worthwhile guy to sign here but the problem is the Wolves don't really have a clear path for someone to come here for an opportunity to play. Legit vet players aren't going to come here to take less money and sit on the bench and basically only play if someone gets hurt and/or a young guy falls flat on their face and sucks. As FA goes on and they don't have great options...sure maybe but not now they are gonna look for something better.
That’s a good assessment, Monster. Most NBA free agents make likely base their signing decisions on playing opportunity or clear role (getting meaningful minutes) and winning as well as money. Location can factor in as well - i.e., how close to home, climate, etc. Different players weigh these factors differently. The Wolves have two factors working against our ability to sign the better free agents: (1) we can’t pay more than the $5.7 TMLE or vet minimum; and (2) we can’t offer a clear path to a role in our rotation unless we trade one of our existing likely rotation players. That’s why the Jones brothers, Schroeder, Kornet, Looney, etc. were never viable options for the Wolves. What we have to offer is a good chance to win, maybe challenge for a title, and a good team culture. Those two things plus some portion of the TMLE might be enough to sign a guy like Dinwiddie, but that’s about it.
Speaking of Dinwiddie, I like the idea of signing him more and more as I think about it. He’s still 32 years old and not in decline. He’s a good playmaker who can help facilitate the offense effectively. He has a reputation as a class act and good teammate. And he has excellent size for a PG as an alternative to the smaller Conley and Dilly. He could potentially even play next to Conley or Dilly. I don’t think we’d have to use the entire TMLE to sign him and we might be able to sign him for the vet minimum. He seems like the perfect fit for what we need and a solid bridge from Conley to Dilly.
Lip your dreams of being able to sign must mean you have your own special pizza!
Personally I don't think the difference for vet guys between the TMLE and a vet min deal is gonna make much difference its only 2 million bucks. I don't think he is gonna come here when they isn't a clear path for playing time and will be taking less money. I'm not saying a guy like him or Brogdon won't sign here but I think it's unlikely.
lol. Hey Q, Those were your visions, possibly fueled by a special mushroom pizza. I avoided those visions to spare myself the inevitable disappointment. . Now it’s up to TC to find a diamond in the scrap heap. That’s why we pay him the big bucks.
Vision A: Randle + piece parts for Derrick White, sign Kevon Looney as FA
.
.
.
.
.
Vision G: Compete with Charlotte for a heretofore unknown summer league ball handler from Poland.
Q - I want a slice of your pizza!
Lol
As one of the guys I went to college with once said to me with wisdom in his voice..."Always set your goals low and you will nearly always succeed."
Vision A: Randle + piece parts for Derrick White, sign Kevon Looney as FA
.
.
.
.
.
Vision G: Compete with Charlotte for a heretofore unknown summer league ball handler from Poland.
Q - I want a slice of your pizza!
Lol
As one of the guys I went to college with once said to me with wisdom in his voice..."Always set your goals low and you will nearly always succeed."
As one of the guys I went to college with once said to me with wisdom in his voice..."Always set your goals low and you will nearly always succeed."
lol. Love it! Definitely words to live by.
What made it more funny is he was definitely a high achiever and always doing things a lot of them not college student types of things. He was day trading in college and doing reasonably well at it. I believe he was a hospital CEO at 25. He didn't really seem to do anything halfway including playing basketball.
Beasley was gonna get paid before the Pistons found out about him being an idiot. The pivoted and gave Duncan Robinson over 40 million. 3 point shooters can still get paid.
Hardaway likely signed with Denver because they have a rotation spot open for him to play regular mins and they are legit contenders. He has already made over 150 million so if he wants to take a vet min deal for 3 million that might be relatively easy for him to do. Who knows what other teams were offering.
It would be nice to get a cheap worthwhile guy to sign here but the problem is the Wolves don't really have a clear path for someone to come here for an opportunity to play. Legit vet players aren't going to come here to take less money and sit on the bench and basically only play if someone gets hurt and/or a young guy falls flat on their face and sucks. As FA goes on and they don't have great options...sure maybe but not now they are gonna look for something better.
That’s a good assessment, Monster. Most NBA free agents make likely base their signing decisions on playing opportunity or clear role (getting meaningful minutes) and winning as well as money. Location can factor in as well - i.e., how close to home, climate, etc. Different players weigh these factors differently. The Wolves have two factors working against our ability to sign the better free agents: (1) we can’t pay more than the $5.7 TMLE or vet minimum; and (2) we can’t offer a clear path to a role in our rotation unless we trade one of our existing likely rotation players. That’s why the Jones brothers, Schroeder, Kornet, Looney, etc. were never viable options for the Wolves. What we have to offer is a good chance to win, maybe challenge for a title, and a good team culture. Those two things plus some portion of the TMLE might be enough to sign a guy like Dinwiddie, but that’s about it.
Speaking of Dinwiddie, I like the idea of signing him more and more as I think about it. He’s still 32 years old and not in decline. He’s a good playmaker who can help facilitate the offense effectively. He has a reputation as a class act and good teammate. And he has excellent size for a PG as an alternative to the smaller Conley and Dilly. He could potentially even play next to Conley or Dilly. I don’t think we’d have to use the entire TMLE to sign him and we might be able to sign him for the vet minimum. He seems like the perfect fit for what we need and a solid bridge from Conley to Dilly.
Lip your dreams of being able to sign must mean you have your own special pizza!
Personally I don't think the difference for vet guys between the TMLE and a vet min deal is gonna make much difference its only 2 million bucks. I don't think he is gonna come here when they isn't a clear path for playing time and will be taking less money. I'm not saying a guy like him or Brogdon won't sign here but I think it's unlikely.
Dammit now I want pizza...
I’ve never thought we’d be able to sign any of the FAs many on this board covet, even for the full TMLE. So I agree, the tier of realistic FAs are probably gettable at the vet minimum. However, the difference between around $3.3M and $5.7M over a couple years could easily be enough to steer a player to us over another team even if there’s a more certain path to playing time with another team. Obviously, multiple factors go into a FA’s decision. Money is always a significant factor among others. Who wouldn’t be attracted to another nearly $5M over two years. And if a player doesn’t need or covet the money, it’s often a matter of pride.
The question for TC and his front office cohorts will be whether a particular FA is worth paying an extra $2.5M per year for one or two years with very little room under the 2nd apron.
As one of the guys I went to college with once said to me with wisdom in his voice..."Always set your goals low and you will nearly always succeed."
lol. Love it! Definitely words to live by.
What made it more funny is he was definitely a high achiever and always doing things a lot of them not college student types of things. He was day trading in college and doing reasonably well at it. I believe he was a hospital CEO at 25. He didn't really seem to do anything halfway including playing basketball.
That’s funny. I wonder what his actual goals were. Manager at McDonald’s? He certainly exceeded that goal.
Has or can someone explain how the traded player trade exception works with the other exceptions? Which is the more limiting with regard to what the Wolves can do?
What made it more funny is he was definitely a high achiever and always doing things a lot of them not college student types of things. He was day trading in college and doing reasonably well at it. I believe he was a hospital CEO at 25. He didn't really seem to do anything halfway including playing basketball.
That’s funny. I wonder what his actual goals were. Manager at McDonald’s? He certainly exceeded that goal.
I'm sure most of his goals were high. He was also very good at sarcasm.
That’s a good assessment, Monster. Most NBA free agents make likely base their signing decisions on playing opportunity or clear role (getting meaningful minutes) and winning as well as money. Location can factor in as well - i.e., how close to home, climate, etc. Different players weigh these factors differently. The Wolves have two factors working against our ability to sign the better free agents: (1) we can’t pay more than the $5.7 TMLE or vet minimum; and (2) we can’t offer a clear path to a role in our rotation unless we trade one of our existing likely rotation players. That’s why the Jones brothers, Schroeder, Kornet, Looney, etc. were never viable options for the Wolves. What we have to offer is a good chance to win, maybe challenge for a title, and a good team culture. Those two things plus some portion of the TMLE might be enough to sign a guy like Dinwiddie, but that’s about it.
Speaking of Dinwiddie, I like the idea of signing him more and more as I think about it. He’s still 32 years old and not in decline. He’s a good playmaker who can help facilitate the offense effectively. He has a reputation as a class act and good teammate. And he has excellent size for a PG as an alternative to the smaller Conley and Dilly. He could potentially even play next to Conley or Dilly. I don’t think we’d have to use the entire TMLE to sign him and we might be able to sign him for the vet minimum. He seems like the perfect fit for what we need and a solid bridge from Conley to Dilly.
Lip your dreams of being able to sign must mean you have your own special pizza!
Personally I don't think the difference for vet guys between the TMLE and a vet min deal is gonna make much difference its only 2 million bucks. I don't think he is gonna come here when they isn't a clear path for playing time and will be taking less money. I'm not saying a guy like him or Brogdon won't sign here but I think it's unlikely.
Dammit now I want pizza...
I’ve never thought we’d be able to sign any of the FAs many on this board covet, even for the full TMLE. So I agree, the tier of realistic FAs are probably gettable at the vet minimum. However, the difference between around $3.3M and $5.7M over a couple years could easily be enough to steer a player to us over another team even if there’s a more certain path to playing time with another team. Obviously, multiple factors go into a FA’s decision. Money is always a significant factor among others. Who wouldn’t be attracted to another nearly $5M over two years. And if a player doesn’t need or covet the money, it’s often a matter of pride.
The question for TC and his front office cohorts will be whether a particular FA is worth paying an extra $2.5M per year for one or two years with very little room under the 2nd apron.
Lip I don't think they are gonna use that at all. I'd bet $20 and a 1 topping Domino's Pizza on the Wolves not using any of that TMLE money. I never bet on anything.
They will wait things out. There will be worthwhile players to sign for the vet min. Keep in mind there are some players that aren't on the FA lists that would be worth signing and that doesn't even include someome that might be very intriguing that has been toiling away in the G-league.
