Which deal(s) do you like best

[Q-is-here]

I voted Zion too. Something about Zion and Ant together seems so wild. It would be a crazy ride either way. Id rather watch that show then us watching a vet break down.

There's also "neither" with the other two options! Surprised you didn't pick those since you have been advocating for a more patient approach and getting back some younger players/draft assets in trades.

I will always wrestle in Wolves ball between entertainment and doing the right thing. I really dont know if we will ever win a title so the entertaining route is always there. Im mostly of the position if a high risk move is to made, Id rather it be for a young, devalued player than an aging vet. But yes, my logical mind says neither.

Understood!

[FNG]

The diversity of opinions here shows what a challenging summer TC has ahead of him. I think the type of deal each of us wants has a lot to do with how we perceive Ant's ceiling. I am always hopeful he can lead a team to a championship because he is so talented, but I've posted several times why I have my concerns. That's why I'm all about TC making a swing for the fences. All reports say Giannis would cost us Jaden, and I'm not on board with that. That's why I went with the Kyrie and Zion options. Risky? Yeah. for sure. But I think both would be terrific sidekicks for Ant.

I hear the age argument for Kyrie, but I would be happy with two good years from him followed by cap space when his deal was up. I think he would really unlock Ant's offensive potential while providing a very good second scoring option himself.

And I hear the spacing argument for Zion, and I understand it if Rudy is around. But I actually think Rudy's screening might be an asset for Zion. Jace Frederick talked about how he seems to be the one guy who has no problem with Wemby's rim protection, and an effective screen by Rudy at the top of the key could be all he needs to get downhill. Ant and Zion could be two legitimate 25+ point scorers.

It'll be fun to see which direction TC goes in.

[Coolbreeze44]

I don't really love any of those scenarios. I selected cap space and Zion as they are the lesser of the evils I see. i'm also not sure if Joan is fools gold or not.

[Lipoli390]

Zion would be an exciting acquisition. But I think Joan is going to be very good and Zion can’t stay healthy. That’s why I passed on that option. But I’d take that deal over the Kyrie deal.

[Monster]

Zion takes over 90% of his shots from inside 10 feet. That's definitely something to consider in a variety of ways.

I have very little faith Zion will ever be able to stay healthy which is too bad. I do wonder if there could be some value in trading with that front office. They moved to picks to go up and get Queen who I liked but idk get how he fit with Zion but maybe I'm wrong I wasn't exactly taking in Pelicans games. Lol

I picked the trade Randle for role players. My 2nd pick would have been for cap space but I didn't read the rules. I kinda doubt he would be traded for cap space this off-season but if he could then... Sure you could sign Ayo and also use the mid-level too right? That could get you a pretty good player or maybe even 2. I personally think my concept of trading Randle is kinda the same thing they did with Russell and Towns. Get multiple players/assets for one guy with some value. One of those players might be someone that has lower value but also has lower salary and maybe you get a young player that hasn't done much but ends up being worthwhile and maybe even get something like some 2nd rounders for taking on a guy that is less wanted.

I'm not opposed to trading for some of the other higher end players (I think Connelly will pursue options as he should) I just think the value doesn't work for me for the ones listed even if a couple may be fair.

[Wolvesfan21]

The top 3 have injury history and risk, Zion being the highest it seems as he gets hurt and doesn't play hurt. Would a different situation change that where he's now more motivated and maybe takes care of his body more / plays through pain?

Anyways I'd go Kyrie 1, Giannis 2, Zion 3. Any of the three give some realistic and optimistic upside potential to working out. Trading for role players or cap space, that too me seems like mailing it in and just accepting defeat. Sure their is also a chance said player plays even better here and breaks out, but I think I'd gamble on the injury risk vet pile, over role player/s becoming a star or stars.

[AbeVigodaLive]

The top 3 have injury history and risk, Zion being the highest it seems as he gets hurt and doesn't play hurt. Would a different situation change that where he's now more motivated and maybe takes care of his body more / plays through pain?

The Timberwolves are often lauded for their medical staff, much like Phoenix was about 15 years ago. Is that just luck or is there something actually there that's discussed with players around the league? If it's the latter, would that interest a guy like Zion?

Williamson has played a reasonable number of games in 2 of the past 3 seasons.

[Q-is-here]

The top 3 have injury history and risk, Zion being the highest it seems as he gets hurt and doesn't play hurt. Would a different situation change that where he's now more motivated and maybe takes care of his body more / plays through pain?

The Timberwolves are often lauded for their medical staff, much like Phoenix was about 15 years ago. Is that just luck or is there something actually there that's discussed with players around the league? If it's the latter, would that interest a guy like Zion?

Williamson has played a reasonable number of games in 2 of the past 3 seasons.

Zion is an interesting case as he is sort of Giannis-Lite at a much lower cost. But it still presents the same issue of spacing with Rudy in the middle and unlike Giannis, Zion is not good defensively. In fact, is Zion actually just Randle all over again in a slightly different package and age???

[AbeVigodaLive]

The top 3 have injury history and risk, Zion being the highest it seems as he gets hurt and doesn't play hurt. Would a different situation change that where he's now more motivated and maybe takes care of his body more / plays through pain?

The Timberwolves are often lauded for their medical staff, much like Phoenix was about 15 years ago. Is that just luck or is there something actually there that's discussed with players around the league? If it's the latter, would that interest a guy like Zion?

Williamson has played a reasonable number of games in 2 of the past 3 seasons.

Zion is an interesting case as he is sort of Giannis-Lite at a much lower cost. But it still presents the same issue of spacing with Rudy in the middle and unlike Giannis, Zion is not good defensively. In fact, is Zion actually just Randle all over again in a slightly different package and age???

Yeah. That hits on my first comment. What about the fit with Gobert offensively? And now that you mention it... the fit defensively without Gobert might be even worse.

As for the Randle comparison, I think one could talk themselves into Zion having the best basketball in front of him. I think we saw the best Randle we were going to see in the first 50 or so games last season. It's easy to remember how the season finished. But he was very solid (offensively) up until the ASG. Armchair psychiatrist Abe seems to think he was lost in his feelings a bit after that and the trade deadline.

[FNG]

The top 3 have injury history and risk, Zion being the highest it seems as he gets hurt and doesn't play hurt. Would a different situation change that where he's now more motivated and maybe takes care of his body more / plays through pain?

The Timberwolves are often lauded for their medical staff, much like Phoenix was about 15 years ago. Is that just luck or is there something actually there that's discussed with players around the league? If it's the latter, would that interest a guy like Zion?

Williamson has played a reasonable number of games in 2 of the past 3 seasons.

Zion is an interesting case as he is sort of Giannis-Lite at a much lower cost. But it still presents the same issue of spacing with Rudy in the middle and unlike Giannis, Zion is not good defensively. In fact, is Zion actually just Randle all over again in a slightly different package and age???

Zion has had the "inconsistent" label on defense, but he is far from "not good". On the positive side, he's immovable and athletic. Nobody is going to move a 6-6 285 pound guy off his spot. And despite that size, he has quick feet and one of the best verticals in the league. His negatives sound a lot like Ju and Ant...occasional attention lapses and not great at fighting through screens. But his defensive impact is far better than Ju and Ant...while they have had negative defensive on/off numbers in 13 of their combined 16 seasons (should be enough sample size to mean something!), Zion has had good on/off defensive numbers in 5 of his 6 seasons. Like Ju and Ant, his effort on defense is sometimes questioned (even if he is effective)...but can some of that be explained by playing on a very bad team most of his career? It's hard to get fired up on defense when you're in the lottery again.

His injury history is the other concern, but at least the trend lines there are positive. 2024-5 was a bad injury year for him, but in the years previous and after he played 70 and 62 games...for a bad team, that's almost iron man status in today's NBA!

And while Julius and Zion's offensive bully ball style is similar, Zion is practically unstoppable when he gets downhill (and Rudy's high screens would get him going downhill more frequently), and he is much less prone to having the ball poked away. Zion is an elite offensive player, as you can tell by comparing him to our own Anthony Edwards...Zion averages 37.1 points per 100 possessions compared to Ant's 34. And he is so efficient on his drives to the basket, his TS% is almost 6 percentage points higher than Ant's despite almost no 3-pointers.

Ju and Joan plus a pick would be a steep price to pay, but having two of the most prolific scorers in the league next to Rudy, Jaden and Ayo (or Naz) would make us arguably the most potent offensive team in the league. I don't know if TC can get it done, but it would be fun watching defenses trying to stop us.