Trade season

[Wolvesfan21]

Yeah sure. But i haven't been this down on the team in awhile. Last season we were lazy against bad teams only. But played extremely well against all the elite teams. So i knew this team would get up for the playoffs. Same with Kats final year. This season however, we are mostly beating bad teams and playing very meh against not just elite teams but also the good ones. So i just don't see us winning more than round 1 since we struggle so much and so often. Yes not having Giannis for a few weeks would hurt us. But are we really that much worse off than how this roster is performing this season? I am not so sure. Having the wrong mentality players on this roster is why we are struggling so much. In my opinion.

I'm a bit on the fence honestly. I think this teams potential is still championship, even without a trade (still a solid vet PG makes sense). I sort of feel like they have half assed effort wise most of the time, most games.

I'm not sure giving up say Jaden and Ju is a solution for either the near or long term. I can maybe see Rudy and Ju. I still struggle with having Rudy and Giannis on offense together. Seems super cloggy in the paint. Giannis needs space to do his thing as a career terrible 3P shooter.

Then we have to consider the lack of near term cohesion. Do you think you can do a massive swing and gel in time for the playoffs this year? Seems unrealistic. Not even considering Giannis' calf.

If there was a vet PG to get via trade that i felt could boost us then i would do that and gamble the giannis thing wont happen till summer trade season. The problem is i do not believe that PG is available right now. I am not a fan of any of the names being floated. Like any of those Bulls players.

I actually think even a decent PG could make a sizable difference. Just look at the games that Bones has played well in versus not. Our depth is the biggest issue and many of the bench guys are really hit or miss most nights. A more consistent player could really help.

[Wolvesfan21]

Yeah sure. But i haven't been this down on the team in awhile. Last season we were lazy against bad teams only. But played extremely well against all the elite teams. So i knew this team would get up for the playoffs. Same with Kats final year. This season however, we are mostly beating bad teams and playing very meh against not just elite teams but also the good ones. So i just don't see us winning more than round 1 since we struggle so much and so often. Yes not having Giannis for a few weeks would hurt us. But are we really that much worse off than how this roster is performing this season? I am not so sure. Having the wrong mentality players on this roster is why we are struggling so much. In my opinion.

I'm a bit on the fence honestly. I think this teams potential is still championship, even without a trade (still a solid vet PG makes sense). I sort of feel like they have half assed effort wise most of the time, most games.

I'm not sure giving up say Jaden and Ju is a solution for either the near or long term. I can maybe see Rudy and Ju. I still struggle with having Rudy and Giannis on offense together. Seems super cloggy in the paint. Giannis needs space to do his thing as a career terrible 3P shooter.

Then we have to consider the lack of near term cohesion. Do you think you can do a massive swing and gel in time for the playoffs this year? Seems unrealistic. Not even considering Giannis' calf.

I more or less agree. I think this team can compete for a championship as is (although I'd feel better if there was little more help coming off the bench), so it's hard to imagine a trade for Gannis that makes the team better this year, because any deal is likely to be too costly to their depth.

Not only that but I think you really risk the long term situation of the team if you sell Jaden- which I think TC knows and is absolutely unwilling to do.

The long term is the biggest issue, say you trade for Giannis now, likely not win a chip this year and also lose more depth because you are giving up two good players for one. Then consider Jaden is ascending, while Giannis and already hurt is not. The trade off is a big gamble. With our depth already a concern too, I just don't know.

I guess I would lean go for a vet PG just to expand our depth and consistency.

[Mnwild1128]

I'm a bit on the fence honestly. I think this teams potential is still championship, even without a trade (still a solid vet PG makes sense). I sort of feel like they have half assed effort wise most of the time, most games.

I'm not sure giving up say Jaden and Ju is a solution for either the near or long term. I can maybe see Rudy and Ju. I still struggle with having Rudy and Giannis on offense together. Seems super cloggy in the paint. Giannis needs space to do his thing as a career terrible 3P shooter.

Then we have to consider the lack of near term cohesion. Do you think you can do a massive swing and gel in time for the playoffs this year? Seems unrealistic. Not even considering Giannis' calf.

I more or less agree. I think this team can compete for a championship as is (although I'd feel better if there was little more help coming off the bench), so it's hard to imagine a trade for Gannis that makes the team better this year, because any deal is likely to be too costly to their depth.

Not only that but I think you really risk the long term situation of the team if you sell Jaden- which I think TC knows and is absolutely unwilling to do.

The long term is the biggest issue, say you trade for Giannis now, likely not win a chip this year and also lose more depth because you are giving up two good players for one. Then consider Jaden is ascending, while Giannis and already hurt is not. The trade off is a big gamble. With our depth already a concern too, I just don't know.

I guess I would lean go for a vet PG just to expand our depth and consistency.

I think we can get lots of depth bench guys. Especially if the Bucks take none of our guys and instead take the bigger contracts from the other teams taking our guys. Draft capital also going to bucks. With near minimum guys coming to us.

For example:

If Hornets or Suns want Gobert, we could take Nic Richards or Mason Plumlee. We could potentially take Josh Green or Sexton.

If Blazers want Jaden so that Bucks can get their two draft picks back and properly tank in coming seasons, we can take Jrue as our PG.

If Pistons want Naz, we can take Lavert or Reed.

From Bucks we could take any of: Prince, Trent Jr. or Coffee.

[FNG]

The board is almost unanimous that the main issues the team needs to try to address via trades are depth, a true PG, and a defensive backup center. My take is different. While this roster is not perfect, I don't see any perfect rosters in the league...even OkC who we just trounced a couple days ago. As we showed Thursday, this roster is good enough to compete for a championship...when they play hard. The biggest factor holding this team back is not the three issues named above...it's inconsistent effort by Ant and Julius. When they play hard on defense, we have shown we can play with any team in the league. So I'm not on board with shaking things up unless we could land a vet who could inspire Ant to bring the effort he brought Thursday night every game...someone like a Pat Beverley. Ant's offensive game was not at the brilliant level it is at now while Beverley was here, but his defensive effort was much more consistent. This team wins with defense, as we showed Thursday, and of course Giannis would help. But the cost to get him is far too high. And I think we can all agree that Coby White would not make us a better defensive team. So I'm a no on all the trades that are being rumored here. But if there were a PatBev type vet out there who could impact Ant's effort like he did, I would be totally on board with bringing him in. I just don't know how that guy is.

[Wolvesfan21]

The board is almost unanimous that the main issues the team needs to try to address via trades are depth, a true PG, and a defensive backup center. My take is different. While this roster is not perfect, I don't see any perfect rosters in the league...even OkC who we just trounced a couple days ago. As we showed Thursday, this roster is good enough to compete for a championship...when they play hard. The biggest factor holding this team back is not the three issues named above...it's inconsistent effort by Ant and Julius. When they play hard on defense, we have shown we can play with any team in the league. So I'm not on board with shaking things up unless we could land a vet who could inspire Ant to bring the effort he brought Thursday night every game...someone like a Pat Beverley. Ant's offensive game was not at the brilliant level it is at now while Beverley was here, but his defensive effort was much more consistent. This team wins with defense, as we showed Thursday, and of course Giannis would help. But the cost to get him is far too high. And I think we can all agree that Coby White would not make us a better defensive team. So I'm a no on all the trades that are being rumored here. But if there were a PatBev type vet out there who could impact Ant's effort like he did, I would be totally on board with bringing him in. I just don't know how that guy is.

The "playing hard" is not that big of an issue to me. Sure we all would like to be the number 1 seed. But if not, we've proven that we can win on the road in the playoffs. So do regular season games really matter all that much?

What I am thinking about is playoff basketball. A Coby White could do a lot for us in a series against OKC who stomped on us last year. We needed another scorer/passer to help and without NAW we're even worse depth wise. Also a guy who won't turn it over.

A guy who can create, take and not turn it over is what we need. Regular season defense? Doesn't matter too much to me, we've seen these guys turn it on when it matters effort wise.

[FNG]

WF, if you think that scoring is what this team needs, then Coby White might be your guy. But when you already have two elite scorers in Ant and Ju, plus three guys in Jaden, Donte and Naz capable of getting you 20 on any night, I don't think scoring is what we need. And I don't want him taking shots away from our two best scorers.

I agree that we could use someone who can facilitate and doesn't turn the ball over, especially at the end of games. But that ain't Coby. His assist to turnover ratio is a paltry 1.6. Compare that to some of other point guards: Mike (4.8), Bones (2.8), Donte (2.8). Heck, even Rob is slightly better. And then there is Coby's defense...statmuse has him at a disastrous 120.2 this season. Compare that to our guys: Mike (115.7), Bones (114) and Donte (112.9). Some of us have noticed Donte's defense this year, and 112.9 matches the eye test. Coby's stat also matches the eye test.

So the question is: how much are we willing to give up for a guy who is a good scorer (albeit not as efficient as several players on our roster), but turns the ball over and doesn't play defense...and is due for a payday next year? I agree that he seems to be the most likely trade candidate for us (although Chicago is in the playoffs and he is their high scorer), but I will not be happy if we trade for him. Further, will Coby be happy? NBA players don't generally like going from top scorer on a team to becoming a 3rd, 4th or even 5th option.

[Q-is-here]

WF, if you think that scoring is what this team needs, then Coby White might be your guy. But when you already have two elite scorers in Ant and Ju, plus three guys in Jaden, Donte and Naz capable of getting you 20 on any night, I don't think scoring is what we need. And I don't want him taking shots away from our two best scorers.

I agree that we could use someone who can facilitate and doesn't turn the ball over, especially at the end of games. But that ain't Coby. His assist to turnover ratio is a paltry 1.6. Compare that to some of other point guards: Mike (4.8), Bones (2.8), Donte (2.8). Heck, even Rob is slightly better. And then there is Coby's defense...statmuse has him at a disastrous 120.2 this season. Compare that to our guys: Mike (115.7), Bones (114) and Donte (112.9). Some of us have noticed Donte's defense this year, and 112.9 matches the eye test. Coby's stat also matches the eye test.

So the question is: how much are we willing to give up for a guy who is a good scorer (albeit not as efficient as several players on our roster), but turns the ball over and doesn't play defense...and is due for a payday next year? I agree that he seems to be the most likely trade candidate for us (although Chicago is in the playoffs and he is their high scorer), but I will not be happy if we trade for him. Further, will Coby be happy? NBA players don't generally like going from top scorer on a team to becoming a 3rd, 4th or even 5th option.

We've got the 4th best Defensive Rating in the league and 10th best Offensive Rating and that's with Julius and Ant playing defense on a part-time basis, something that will absolutely change for the better in the playoffs.

Rudy, DDV, Naz, and to a lesser degree Jaden rely on the gravity and collapsing defenses that Ant and Julius create, but sometimes we come up against a team like OKC that can really stymie at least one of them. It really would help to have another "pressure relief valve" shot maker/creator on this team. Finch believes it's important too, as he and Connelly have been searching for a bench guard that can create off the dribble. Nowell, Milton, and now Bones. All seem to fall just short of what's needed, although Bones is the closest.

As for Coby (or Sexton for that matter), I think either would be thrilled to compete for a title this season and then let the chips fall where they may in terms of his next contract. What we need to give up for him is a different question and could be a valid concern if it impacts any of our top 6.

[60WinTim]

I'm pretty skeptical on the Wolves making any trades. There are just too many "buyers" and not enough "sellers" on the market. The Hornets are on an absolute roll -- why would the trade Sexton?!? And the handful of guys that might be available will have lots of suiters. One of the few things that fall in TC's favor is if some GM has a hankering for Dilly...

I think the Wolves are more likely to look towards the buyout market.

[FNG]

I'm pretty skeptical on the Wolves making any trades. There are just too many "buyers" and not enough "sellers" on the market. The Hornets are on an absolute roll -- why would the trade Sexton?!? And the handful of guys that might be available will have lots of suiters. One of the few things that fall in TC's favor is if some GM has a hankering for Dilly...

I think the Wolves are more likely to look towards the buyout market.

Yeah, I agree. And the Hornets helped us out today by beating the Spurs...they and the Clippers are the two hottest teams in the Association! Sexton's game today was exactly why a lot of teams would covet him but why I wouldn't want him. He scored 21 points on only 8 shots (!), but still was a -4 in a 5 point win. I don't think he does enough to help his team win. But yeah, they are hot and gunning for a playoff spot, so I don't see them trading Sexton.

[AussieWolf3]

I'm pretty skeptical on the Wolves making any trades. There are just too many "buyers" and not enough "sellers" on the market. The Hornets are on an absolute roll -- why would the trade Sexton?!? And the handful of guys that might be available will have lots of suiters. One of the few things that fall in TC's favor is if some GM has a hankering for Dilly...

I think the Wolves are more likely to look towards the buyout market.

Yeah, I agree. And the Hornets helped us out today by beating the Spurs...they and the Clippers are the two hottest teams in the Association! Sexton's game today was exactly why a lot of teams would covet him but why I wouldn't want him. He scored 21 points on only 8 shots (!), but still was a -4 in a 5 point win. I don't think he does enough to help his team win. But yeah, they are hot and gunning for a playoff spot, so I don't see them trading Sexton.

That's too much of an assumption from single plus/minus.

There could be a lot of reason that the team scored 4 less point with him on the floor that was not a product of poor play on his part