Wolves Offseason Point Guard Options

[Phenom]

Phenom, Wallace is an elite POA defender. He'd be great in terms of guarding other PGs, but he just doesn't offer enough as a ball handler and floor general to justify starting him next to Ant in my opinion based on what the front office and Finch said was needed.

Is there reason to think in a different role he could be what the Wolves need?

Wouldn't we want to actually see him in that role though before committing to his agent the starting PG role? I mean, may be he could do more ball-handling/PG duties, but that seems like quite a leap of faith to suddenly be thrust into a starting PG role after years of playing off SGA.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love the guy, but I'm not even convinced he should start over Ayo, who also has some question marks when it comes to the starting PG role.

That makes sense, but at that point, he is likely not gettable. I guess it would come down to the Wolves front office evaluation of Wallace and what they project him to be. Its the sort of upside swing that may be a now-or-never proposition.

[AussieWolf3]

I'm not convinced Wallace is all that gettable, but if I'm being honest I wouldn't consider moving for him with the mind that he would start to any riskier than most of the moves being weighed by the wolves faithful.

He's under contract next year on a team option for 8 million, and having a legit POA defender in the starting lineup would do wonders for Jaden, and if he sticks around he'll help in easing off the Rudy crutch, just by having more defensive pieces.

I guess it really depends on how much believe one wants to have in Jaden as a secondary scorer.

I think Q is right that he wouldn't solve THE problem but depending on the cost to acquire him, I have a hard time seeing it as a bad move.

For what it's worth, I would have zero doubt that he should start over Ayo

[BeenLurkin]

Could Ayo’s real value be a sign and trade? If he isn’t going to be the starting PG and we have to decide on Donte and have TJ on the come up and draft a wing…Ayo is very nice but do we overpay him and end up with redundant players or do we have any option to move him after signing him and rebalance the roster that way? Outside the box for sure…

[AussieWolf3]

Could Ayo’s real value be a sign and trade? If he isn’t going to be the starting PG and we have to decide on Donte and have TJ on the come up and draft a wing…Ayo is very nice but do we overpay him and end up with redundant players or do we have any option to move him after signing him and rebalance the roster that way? Outside the box for sure…

Should definitely be on the table in my opinion, but I'm not sure how they're going to balance things like gaining draft assets, win now moves, and freeing up cap space.

[WildWolf2813]

Could Ayo’s real value be a sign and trade? If he isn’t going to be the starting PG and we have to decide on Donte and have TJ on the come up and draft a wing…Ayo is very nice but do we overpay him and end up with redundant players or do we have any option to move him after signing him and rebalance the roster that way? Outside the box for sure…

it hard caps us at the first apron if we go that route though.

What would be the goal in a return for him? A trade exemption that will never get used? A 2027 2nd rounder? what would the player even be if we assume Edwards/McDaniels/Reid/eventually Beringer are locked into their spots?

[AussieWolf3]

Could Ayo’s real value be a sign and trade? If he isn’t going to be the starting PG and we have to decide on Donte and have TJ on the come up and draft a wing…Ayo is very nice but do we overpay him and end up with redundant players or do we have any option to move him after signing him and rebalance the roster that way? Outside the box for sure…

it hard caps us at the first apron if we go that route though.

What would be the goal in a return for him? A trade exemption that will never get used? A 2027 2nd rounder? what would the player even be if we assume Edwards/McDaniels/Reid/eventually Beringer are locked into their spots?

Ayo's trade value has to be higher than that

[Monster]

Could Ayo’s real value be a sign and trade? If he isn’t going to be the starting PG and we have to decide on Donte and have TJ on the come up and draft a wing…Ayo is very nice but do we overpay him and end up with redundant players or do we have any option to move him after signing him and rebalance the roster that way? Outside the box for sure…

it hard caps us at the first apron if we go that route though.

What would be the goal in a return for him? A trade exemption that will never get used? A 2027 2nd rounder? what would the player even be if we assume Edwards/McDaniels/Reid/eventually Beringer are locked into their spots?

Ayo's trade value has to be higher than that

I think Ayo is probably more valuable to the Wolves than what they would get back. Since there are only a few teams that can offer him more than the mid-level and then only a few teams that even have the full mid-level AI think the Wolves have a very good chance to get him back for a contract that has a similar yearly value as NAW but they might sign him for a longer term deal. On the other hand maybe they could sign a guy to a value deal in FA but I think I'd rather get Ayo back and then look to add a Tyus Jones or whoever for cheap.

I think Ayo singed to that type of deal will eventually be a pretty good value. I think trading for him and being able to resigning him to that type of deal this off-season will be a pretty good move. There does seem like he has some legit runway to getting to be an even better player. Assuming he stays healthy and doesn't get worse he could end up being a pretty good trade chip if the Wolves decide to make a different move. Donte was that kind of trade chip after we got him in that trade.

What's FA gonna look like in 2027 off-season? I heard for quite a while 2026 was gonna be when teams were gonna have lots of space and because of various trades and probably some extensions that simply isn't the case. I think as a Wolves fan for the most part it's probably good to have it play out that way again next year. It keeps prices down and teams having to look at trades to make bigger moves than signing players with some exception.

[Phenom]

I wonder what the Wolves brass feels about Nikola Topic. He is probably a more realistically attainable Thunder guard, if the Thunder are set on keeping their core rotation intact. Maybe he can be the next NAW project for TC and Finch.

[Q-is-here]

I wonder what the Wolves brass feels about Nikola Topic. He is probably a more realistically attainable Thunder guard, if the Thunder are set on keeping their core rotation intact. Maybe he can be the next NAW project for TC and Finch.

Now you're talkin' Phenom! I didn't have him on my initial PG Option list because he's sort of been forgotten due to the injury last year and testicular cancer earlier this season (both of which he's fully recovered from). But he is still really young and b-ball IQ, probably his biggest strength, isn't something that you lose through injury or illness.

He played a few games in the G-League for the Thunder affiliate and was clearly a cut above the competition down there, so I don't see him gaining any value by playing more in the G-League, so he's basically left to just fester on the Thunder's bench next season if they pick up his team option and don't trade him. He's behind SGA, Jared McCain, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, and Ajay Mitchell in the Thunder rotation. I'm not even including Lu Dort whose option OKC may not pick up.

Bottom line....he could very well be had for something relatively cheap.

But then the question is what's his fit on the Wolves? I think it would only be worth it if we thought we could get him real NBA playing time. May be doesn't have to be a 7th or 8th man, but could be be our 9th/10th man that will inevitably play some decent minutes due to injuries, etc.?

He definitely checks the "point guard/pick and roll/orchestrator" box. His defense is my biggest question mark on him.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Could Ayo’s real value be a sign and trade? If he isn’t going to be the starting PG and we have to decide on Donte and have TJ on the come up and draft a wing…Ayo is very nice but do we overpay him and end up with redundant players or do we have any option to move him after signing him and rebalance the roster that way? Outside the box for sure…

it hard caps us at the first apron if we go that route though.

What would be the goal in a return for him? A trade exemption that will never get used? A 2027 2nd rounder? what would the player even be if we assume Edwards/McDaniels/Reid/eventually Beringer are locked into their spots?

Ayo's trade value has to be higher than that

I think Ayo is going to be offered more than we think from some team around the league... which would put him in the sign-and-trade camp as suggested.