Trade season

[Lipoli390]

I’m wondering why we’re not talking about trading for Tyus Jones. His name used to dominate PG trade talk on this message board. His numbers are terrible this season but he’s only averaging around 11 minutes a game and we already know he’s a solid PG.

If we’re looking for a good game manager PG who doesn’t turn the ball over and who might be realistically getable, Tyus fits the bill. My view is that trading for a solid vet PG like Tyus would not make this team competitive with OKC but I could understand trading for him, which should not require us to give us valuable assets.

Trading for a top tier starting PG like Darrick White might be enough but that would depend on who we’d have to give up to get him and I doubt we could get him.

Jrue Holiday might be the answer and could be gettable but it would be a bad longer term move and it’s not clear he can hold up physically this season.

Kyrie Irving could probably make this team competitive with OKC if he comes back 100% from his ACL tear and mentally invests in performing for the Wolves. But the odds of getting both from Kyrie Irving are highly questionable.

Championship organizations don’t scramble or flail around and make desperate deals for one year of an aging Jrue Holiday, a mercurial Kyrie surrounded by yellow caution flags, or an overpaid Coby White who doesn’t bring much more than Bones.

The Wolves should buckle up and ride out this season. The coaching staff should be expected to find out how to get more out of the roster they’ve been given.

We didn’t lose to the Suns the other night because of the PG position. We lost because Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Donte all shot horribly and because Rudy was an idiot. They all need to do better and be far more consistent. More than any particular position, we need players we can count to be consistently good - players we can count on nearly every game.

[D-Loser25]

Not giving up TJ for white. TC is a freaking idiot if he does that, so I won’t be surprised when it happens. DDV for white straight up is probably fair. Not even sure I’m doing that.

[D-Loser25]

Agree here with Rap. We've needed another ball handler since we were eliminated and I was REALLY surprised we didn't address it in the offseason. Now that it's obvious we need a ball handler and court leader we should make a move if we have any hope of competing this season.

Sure we need a ball handler, but running full speed to trade assets for any guard with a hint of name recognition will most likely result in a face plant.

I'm not convinced that the current configuration of the roster is a contender and they certainly aren't beating OKC, but then no one seems to be doing that. That doesn't change the fact that Randle and Dante are good players and valuable assets, so you better be sure you're getting a good player in return. I'd rather not have to squint to convince myself that some like White will benefit the team, especially at that cost

I agree completely. The idea that swapping Donte for Coby would make us competitive with OKC is laughable. Giving up additional assets for Coby would go from dumb to to dumber.

Right! Either give up what it takes to get Derrick white or kyrie or stand pat. Do not trade assets to get Coby white lol. That would stupid. You already traded assets for Dilly… this guy should honestly have his trading privileges revoked

[Wolvesfan21]

I’m wondering why we’re not talking about trading for Tyus Jones. His name used to dominate PG trade talk on this message board. His numbers are terrible this season but he’s only averaging around 11 minutes a game and we already know he’s a solid PG.

If we’re looking for a good game manager PG who doesn’t turn the ball over and who might be realistically getable, Tyus fits the bill. My view is that trading for a solid vet PG like Tyus would not make this team competitive with OKC but I could understand trading for him, which should not require us to give us valuable assets.

Trading for a top tier starting PG like Darrick White might be enough but that would depend on who we’d have to give up to get him and I doubt we could get him.

Jrue Holiday might be the answer and could be gettable but it would be a bad longer term move and it’s not clear he can hold up physically this season.

Kyrie Irving could probably make this team competitive with OKC if he comes back 100% from his ACL tear and mentally invests in performing for the Wolves. But the odds of getting both from Kyrie Irving are highly questionable.

Championship organizations don’t scramble or flail around and make desperate deals for one year of an aging Jrue Holiday, a mercurial Kyrie surrounded by yellow caution flags, or an overpaid Coby White who doesn’t bring much more than Bones.

The Wolves should buckle up and ride out this season. The coaching staff should be expected to find out how to get more out of the roster they’ve been given.

We didn’t lose to the Suns the other night because of the PG position. We lost because Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Donte all shot horribly and because Rudy was an idiot. They all need to do better and be far more consistent. More than any particular position, we need players we can count to be consistently good - players we can count on nearly every game.

Kyrie is interesting, was it an ACL tear? That might not slow him down too much but it is a gamble considering age. It could be he's not closer to 100% till next year. Probably likely.

Assume we'd be sending Ju out in some fashion (3 team deal). I'd take the risk. I can't see any other move making us a serious threat like Kyrie could (potentially). It could also backfire, but how so? You either win it all or you don't and Ju is aging as well. So, I guess the only other argument is going younger. But then you have to do that and how does that work?

Say you have three options.

Stand pat this year (no big trades) and take the longest of longshot odds of winning it all with this group.

Trade for Kyrie who if healthy could vault your chances from miniscule to, hey we have a slight chance.

Trade Ju or Rudy maybe both for younger vets but who and now you might/probably get worse in the short term.

Every street has risk, so I might consider option Kyrie if he is on board. I think I'd gamble. How else are you beating OKC barring them having injury issues?

[60WinTim]

From a Sam Amick article today in the Athletic:

Anthony Edwards needs help, but will he get it?

At first glance, you might think there had been a level of panic within the Minnesota Timberwolves during their somewhat-sluggish start.

After reaching the Western Conference finals for the second consecutive time, they started the season just 10-8 before winning five of their past six games (they’re 15-9; sixth in the West). For a team that has legitimate title-contending aspirations, and a franchise centerpiece in Anthony Edwards who was looking to take yet another leap, that’s enough to cause some concern. Except for one thing: They’ve been here before.

The T-Wolves started just 8-10 last season, and were just 13-11 at this same 24-game mark, before finding their groove in the second half (they won 17 of their last 20 games after starting 32-29). Translation: They aren’t about to make an ill-advised move in response to the early returns.

Still, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has been one of the most aggressive executives in the league for quite some time. As evidenced by the Durant pursuit in the summer, when the Timberwolves took a long, hard look at bringing him to town before he was traded to the Rockets, Connelly always seems to be in on the big stuff. More recently, the Timberwolves were among those teams monitoring the Ja Morant situation with the Memphis Grizzlies (though that move appears very unlikely). And lest anyone forget, his controversial choice to bring Rudy Gobert to Minnesota in the summer of 2022 had everything to do with the team success that came next.

The Timberwolves’ due-diligence approach will likely lead to all sorts of rumors about their squad between now and the deadline, with most of them involving point guards. To that end, the Chicago Sun-Times reported this week that Minnesota inquired about Chicago Bulls point guard Coby White. Our Jon Krawczynski reported that there’s “nothing cooking” there right now in terms of active talks.

A Wolves source confirmed that there is legitimate interest in White, but the 25-year-old’s looming free agency appears to be a significant hindrance to a possible trade. He’s making $12.8 million in the final year of his deal and is widely expected to seek a major raise this summer. But the fear of that unknown, it seems, means this is the kind of “rental” situation that drops the price point precipitously and creates a negotiating gap between the two sides.

If there’s another cold streak in Minnesota when early February rolls around, however, those phones will most certainly heat up. And Connelly, even more than most, is always willing to take a call.

[Phenom]

I’m wondering why we’re not talking about trading for Tyus Jones. His name used to dominate PG trade talk on this message board. His numbers are terrible this season but he’s only averaging around 11 minutes a game and we already know he’s a solid PG.

If we’re looking for a good game manager PG who doesn’t turn the ball over and who might be realistically getable, Tyus fits the bill. My view is that trading for a solid vet PG like Tyus would not make this team competitive with OKC but I could understand trading for him, which should not require us to give us valuable assets.

Trading for a top tier starting PG like Darrick White might be enough but that would depend on who we’d have to give up to get him and I doubt we could get him.

Jrue Holiday might be the answer and could be gettable but it would be a bad longer term move and it’s not clear he can hold up physically this season.

Kyrie Irving could probably make this team competitive with OKC if he comes back 100% from his ACL tear and mentally invests in performing for the Wolves. But the odds of getting both from Kyrie Irving are highly questionable.

Championship organizations don’t scramble or flail around and make desperate deals for one year of an aging Jrue Holiday, a mercurial Kyrie surrounded by yellow caution flags, or an overpaid Coby White who doesn’t bring much more than Bones.

The Wolves should buckle up and ride out this season. The coaching staff should be expected to find out how to get more out of the roster they’ve been given.

We didn’t lose to the Suns the other night because of the PG position. We lost because Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Donte all shot horribly and because Rudy was an idiot. They all need to do better and be far more consistent. More than any particular position, we need players we can count to be consistently good - players we can count on nearly every game.

Trading for Tyus and other similarly priced players is a bit tricky. He makes 7 this year which is a little more than Rob. The Wolves can't take on additional salary. If it was let's say, Rob and Lenny for Tyus, then Orlando is taking on too much salary with their cap situation. At the point you have to include bigger names and salaries from both sides to get a deal done and that point you may as well use those bigger names and salaries on a better player. The other option is a third team but do you have to pay a team an asset to take on salary? Is Tyus worth that?

[Coolbreeze44]

DDV is a certain liability passing and dribbling though, two things White is very good at which could really help unlock our offense more. DDV, slight edge on deep shooting, maybe an edge on defense. I think the two are close. I value White as a better player for us, his defense could even jump playing here.

However I would not give them TJ and a pick, thats ridiculous of course!!! Straight up is probably fair. The kicker is DDV has a fair long term deal, White is a FA.

White has an assist rate barely higher than Ant and DDV. He is not really all that great of a passer by NBA point guard standards. Yes, he's probably slightly less likely to cough the ball up bringing it up the court.

It feels like we can get 80% of White at 20% of the salary in Bones.

It's still higher. Is he elite at point? No, but he's pretty good and other guys like DDV are playing with Ant most of the time, which makes their life that much easier. Which if you project to White playing with Ant could make him a better player as well.

You're just going to get a lot more open shots and easy driving lanes playing with a superstar like Ant.

The only issue I have is he is a FA. Could you agree to a fair extension with a trade though? Maybe. I kind of like the idea overall.

.
Ant doesn't make anybody else better. He has gravity but he doesn't know how to exploit it. His game is highly Ant centric.

[Phenom]

White has an assist rate barely higher than Ant and DDV. He is not really all that great of a passer by NBA point guard standards. Yes, he's probably slightly less likely to cough the ball up bringing it up the court.

It feels like we can get 80% of White at 20% of the salary in Bones.

It's still higher. Is he elite at point? No, but he's pretty good and other guys like DDV are playing with Ant most of the time, which makes their life that much easier. Which if you project to White playing with Ant could make him a better player as well.

You're just going to get a lot more open shots and easy driving lanes playing with a superstar like Ant.

The only issue I have is he is a FA. Could you agree to a fair extension with a trade though? Maybe. I kind of like the idea overall.

.
Ant doesn't make anybody else better. He has gravity but he doesn't know how to exploit it. His game is highly Ant centric.

How would you compare Ant day 1 rookie season and Ant headed into tonight's game is this regard?

[Coolbreeze44]

It's still higher. Is he elite at point? No, but he's pretty good and other guys like DDV are playing with Ant most of the time, which makes their life that much easier. Which if you project to White playing with Ant could make him a better player as well.

You're just going to get a lot more open shots and easy driving lanes playing with a superstar like Ant.

The only issue I have is he is a FA. Could you agree to a fair extension with a trade though? Maybe. I kind of like the idea overall.

.
Ant doesn't make anybody else better. He has gravity but he doesn't know how to exploit it. His game is highly Ant centric.

How would you compare Ant day 1 rookie season and Ant headed into tonight's game is this regard?
[/]

Let's throw out year one as it's an adjustment period for any player. But from year two on he has become a better scorer while not getting better as a facilitator. He's a scorer, and one of the best in the league at it. He's not the complete package like someone like Cade Cunningham.

[Wolvesfan21]

White has an assist rate barely higher than Ant and DDV. He is not really all that great of a passer by NBA point guard standards. Yes, he's probably slightly less likely to cough the ball up bringing it up the court.

It feels like we can get 80% of White at 20% of the salary in Bones.

It's still higher. Is he elite at point? No, but he's pretty good and other guys like DDV are playing with Ant most of the time, which makes their life that much easier. Which if you project to White playing with Ant could make him a better player as well.

You're just going to get a lot more open shots and easy driving lanes playing with a superstar like Ant.

The only issue I have is he is a FA. Could you agree to a fair extension with a trade though? Maybe. I kind of like the idea overall.

.
Ant doesn't make anybody else better. He has gravity but he doesn't know how to exploit it. His game is highly Ant centric.

I disagree, he not only takes the other teams best defender, BIG check, he has faced the most doubles in the NBA over the last season. DDV gets a lot of open looks as well as Jaden. To say otherwise is foolish to be fair, maybe worse then your Rudy take.

Thats where White as a 3rd or 4th option could excel. He's getting far less coverage and not facing elite defenders either.