Windy reporting that Ant has questions about the future roster he wants answered

[WildWolf2813]

TC should have never traded KAT. TC should be canned for the package we received back. I love Joan, but yeah. Rudy has been great for us so I can’t rip on all of his moves, but how do you trade Kat for Randle? The rest of the league knew what Randle was. Ant could be playing the Brunson role and Kessler could have done what Robinson does. Jaden is our OG. We would have been better off if TC never came on board here.

The players can be treated like the stock market at times. A year before we traded Towns the talking heads /media were saying you had to attach picks to get off of Towns after his injury seasons and shrinking in the playoffs a few times. Towns had a great year in our WCF run but shrank against Dallas and Tim rolled the dice that he wouldn't do that again and sold at what he considered high. A true championship window for a superstar which Ant is, is between 26-32. By the time Ant turns 26 Kat would have been 32 and at the end of that. The Knicks main core is all 28-31 so right in their superstars window. Now Tim better be right on what Joan can be. And hopefully Donte can heal up and return close to what he was.

The best thing you can do is assume Donte isn't coming back.

[Lipoli390]

On the Game Theory podcast, I just heard that Kyrie was 1% shy of averaging a 50-40-90 for the past 5 seasons (not last year of course). That is insane.

Is Julius, Donte and some form of the 2033 pick enough for Dallas? Would it need to be unprotected? Dallas has a good chance to get a point guard to put with Coop at 9.

Kyrie has always been a highly efficient scorer, so that 5-year stat sample wouldn’t surprise me.

To evaluate Kyrie as a potential target for the Wolves, I feel more comfortable looking at his career stats, which are 23.7points, 5.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds with shooting percentages of 47.4% FG, 39.4% 3pt., 88.8% FTs on 4.3 attempts. Those are impressive, but he’s obviously not a facilitator or classic PG. He’s a scorer and a really efficient one.

To put his career stats in a more current perspective, I’d look at his most recent two seasons before he went down with the ACL tear:

2022-23: 58 games, 25.6 points, 5.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 49.7% FG, 41.1%, 3pt., 90.5% FT
2023-24: 50 games, 24.7 points, 4.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 47.3% FG, 40.1% 3pt., 91.6% FT

Those are impressive offensive stats around his career averages. But I’d note that he’s 2 years older than he was in that 2023-24 season and no one can deny that players typically decline when they get into their mid 30s.

Then I’d look at his durability, throughout the last half of his career, which is terrible. He’s averaged 40.75 games per season in the eight seasons before last season when he was out the entire season with his ACL tear. In that 8-year span, he played in more than 60 games only twice. In his entire 15-year career he’s played 70+ games only twice. And of course the vast majority of those he was in his 20s. He’s now 34 years old, hasn’t played basketball in over a year and is coming off surgery to repair a torn ACL.

So yes, Kyrie has been a terrific offensive PG over his career. But he’s also shown incredibly poor durability on a consistent basis throughout his career and we know a player’s durability doesn’t get better with age - especially a player entering his mid-30s and even less so coming off major knee surgery. That doesn’t mean Kyrie couldn’t end up being a great offensive PG for the Wolves. But it does mean he should have a huge sign on his packaging that says: APPROACH WITH EXTREME CAUTION, HIGH RISK OF MISSED GAMES AND DECLINE.

When you put Kyrie’s specific situation in the broader context of mid-30s former star vet acquisitions failing, it just strikes me as obvious the Wolves shouldn’t be considering Kyrie in the mix for possible post-season acquisitions.

[rapsuperstar31]

TC should have never traded KAT. TC should be canned for the package we received back. I love Joan, but yeah. Rudy has been great for us so I can’t rip on all of his moves, but how do you trade Kat for Randle? The rest of the league knew what Randle was. Ant could be playing the Brunson role and Kessler could have done what Robinson does. Jaden is our OG. We would have been better off if TC never came on board here.

The players can be treated like the stock market at times. A year before we traded Towns the talking heads /media were saying you had to attach picks to get off of Towns after his injury seasons and shrinking in the playoffs a few times. Towns had a great year in our WCF run but shrank against Dallas and Tim rolled the dice that he wouldn't do that again and sold at what he considered high. A true championship window for a superstar which Ant is, is between 26-32. By the time Ant turns 26 Kat would have been 32 and at the end of that. The Knicks main core is all 28-31 so right in their superstars window. Now Tim better be right on what Joan can be. And hopefully Donte can heal up and return close to what he was.

The best thing you can do is assume Donte isn't coming back.

With Donte, I think you either extend him now to a deal extension but not insulting now, or you use him in a matching salary trade. Keeping him next year, and just letting him leave shouldn't be an option. He's 29, so I'm not too concerned long term about the injury.

[TheGrey08]

The Ant stuff from Windy is nonsense. Anyone who is being realistic about the Wolves right now would have questions about the future of the roster and that would include Ant, Finch, TC, all of us, etc so it's not like it's some alarming thing.

[AussieWolf3]

The Ant stuff from Windy is nonsense. Anyone who is being realistic about the Wolves right now would have questions about the future of the roster and that would include Ant, Finch, TC, all of us, etc so it's not like it's some alarming thing.

Yup!

[TheGrey08]

...When you put Kyrie’s specific situation in the broader context of mid-30s former star vet acquisitions failing, it just strikes me as obvious the Wolves shouldn’t be considering Kyrie in the mix for possible post-season acquisitions.

Nice Kyrie breakdown with valid concerns.

For me it comes down to a few things.

1) His health/how he feels right now. The Wolves would be privy to that info if they got into trade talks. If they made this move I would be confident they did their homework.

2) His game is not heavily dependent on athleticism, specifically his elite handle and shooting. Both massive Wolves needs and would probably be the best ball-handler in team history.

3) Trade compensation. I wouldn't entertain giving up any significant assets besides Randle, this years 1st and necessary filler. That scenario may require a 3rd team to take Randle as a floor raiser to avoid the bottom 3.

Basically if it's a value add, he wants to play with Ant and the team is confident in his health, sign me up. In general I just really hope they don't overpay for any big names. As fun as it is to think of Ant and Giannis, it just doesn't make sense roster/asset wise.

[Coolbreeze44]

Big10, long time. Good to hear from you.

[TheGrey08]

Big10, long time. Good to hear from you.

Yeah, you too. I pop in and peep from time to time lol

[AbeVigodaLive]

Anthony Edwards is a phenomenal basketball player who keeps getting better.

I don't know how good he is as a GM, however. When it comes to Irving, I heard Dane Moore talking about him on his most recent podcast. A healthy Irving certainly seems like an upgrade for 2026.

Paying for Irving long-term on the tail end of his 30s seems like a terrible idea though. Any trade for him would be to "win now" and probably "F the future." I can see why a player like Edwards would want that. But it gives me pause.

I also really dig asparagus when done right. It's a fast riser on Abe's Top 10 list of overlooked vegetables.

[BloopOracle]

His health has and always will be a concern, but I think Kyrie's game will age exceptionally well. He's on the Mount Rushmore of greatest handle and greatest layup package to ever walk this Earth. He has endless counters to deploy once he begins to lose a step.