Wolves Offseason Forward Options

[Lipoli390]

I like the Trey Lyles signing. He has excellent size up front at 6’10, 235 with a 9’0 standing reach. He can hit threes and is better rebounder on a per minute basis than Rui, PJ Washington or Kuminga. Some reviews pan his defense, but his defensive metrics are OK. He’s still in his prime at age 30. I can see him as a positive piece in the Wolves rotation.

I just don’t see us landing Rui, PJ or Kuminga. We just don’t have the financial flexibility to sign Rui or Kuminga as a free agent and even if we can can come up with a sufficiently attractive outgoing trade package, we’d be taking back or committing to contracts that are really untenable long term for this franchise. Remember, we don’t have draft capital we can trade away to get teams to take big contract and shed salary. So it seems to me it’s either LeBron or we start the season with the roster we have plus one more vet minimum signing. Josh Green’s expiring contract will be more valuable at the February trade deadline than it is now and that might be the time to get good value for him that can help the team down the stretch and in the playoffs.

[Lipoli390]

Regarding LeBron, I’m getting increasingly weary of this whole LeBron selection drama. I still remember “The Decision” and hated it. I don’t like the way LeBron uses everyone around him to create self-serving dramas. I’m certain that LeBron intended to go to Miami well before his famous on-camera “decision.” And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already make his decision this time - or at least narrowed it down to far fewer than the 10 teams bandied about by his agent.

I’ll give LeBron the benefit of the doubt right now. Therefore, I’ll assume winning a championship is his top priority and that he’s taking this time to see what the teams he has in mind end up with via free agency or trades and that he’s thoroughly examining each team’s chances of success. If that’s the case, the Wolves should be in the running but right now I think the Sixers are out in front with Miami a close second and Cleveland in the mix. The Sixers have really a really impressive roster now after the Brown trade and the other moves they’ve made. Embiid’s health is a wild card but that is true of LaMelo and Giannis who are also wild cards when it comes to their respective durability records. Miami has to be a contender with Giannis and Bam.

I really like the Wolves roster and think we’d be right there in the championship hunt with the addition of LeBron. But unfortunately, there’s no getting around the fact that the path to the NBA finals is much easier in the East. And let’s face it, LeBron has always taken the easier path. He went to Miami only after he arranged to ensure that Bosh and Wade would be there with him. He went back to Cleveland, but only after he forced the Cavs to trade their #1 pick (Wiggins) for Kevin Love and forced other moves as well to make his path to winning as easy as possible. Then he went to the Lakers but only knowing he’d have Anthony Davis there. Now with the Lakers having no chance of contending, he’s leaving.

The problem we face in trying to land LeBron, in addition to our cold climate and lack of cache as a city, is that we have to get past both OKC and the Spurs to even get to the finals. I don’t think LeBron will be up for that challenge. So I continue to see him landing with Cleveland, Miami, or now after the Brown trade possibly the Sixers. And I wouldn’t be surprised if, as we sit here tonight, LeBron already knows it will be one of those three. And maybe he already knows exactly where he’s going.

[FNG]

I like the Trey Lyles signing. He has excellent size up front at 6’10, 235 with a 9’0 standing reach. He can hit threes and is better rebounder on a per minute basis than Rui, PJ Washington or Kuminga. Some reviews pan his defense, but his defensive metrics are OK. He’s still in his prime at age 30. I can see him as a positive piece in the Wolves rotation.

I just don’t see us landing Rui, PJ or Kuminga. We just don’t have the financial flexibility to sign Rui or Kuminga as a free agent and even if we can can come up with a sufficiently attractive outgoing trade package, we’d be taking back or committing to contracts that are really untenable long term for this franchise. Remember, we don’t have draft capital we can trade away to get teams to take big contract and shed salary. So it seems to me it’s either LeBron or we start the season with the roster we have plus one more vet minimum signing. Josh Green’s expiring contract will be more valuable at the February trade deadline than it is now and that might be the time to get good value for him that can help the team down the stretch and in the playoffs.

Yeah, I like this signing too. Lyles has been tough on our Wolves a few times. I was at the game where Sabonis fouled out late in the 4th quarter and I assumed we would win easily in OT...nope, Lyles had other ideas and hit some big buckets to beat us. He was a bigtime recruit at Kentucky but didn't really get noticed much on a team that had KAT, Booker, WCS and the Harrison twins! Good pickup for us.

As for LeBron, we're still in the running, and I heard on a pod another favorable factor for us. Apparently he always brought a portable wine cooler whenever they played at Target Center...he and David Fhima are friends, and LeBron would always head home with a big supply of high-priced wines suggested by Fhima. So I'm saying there's a chance...we might see LBJ and Lyles splitting the minutes at the 4.

[Q-is-here]

I like the Trey Lyles signing. He has excellent size up front at 6’10, 235 with a 9’0 standing reach. He can hit threes and is better rebounder on a per minute basis than Rui, PJ Washington or Kuminga. Some reviews pan his defense, but his defensive metrics are OK. He’s still in his prime at age 30. I can see him as a positive piece in the Wolves rotation.

Yeah, he has the size of a traditional power forward in both length and weight versus a lot of the existing PFs that would have played Small Forward 5-10 years ago (DFS, Barnes, Kenrich Williams, Batum, etc.).

As far as his play on the floor, he seems about as neutral as you can get, meaning if he is limited to being a role player that plays ~ 15-18 MPG he won't help or hurt too much. Not sure how much help he can be in the playoffs though other than for situational matchups against a bigger opponent. But like Kyle Anderson, he can eat some innings off the bench for us during the regular season.

[Lipoli390]

I like the Trey Lyles signing. He has excellent size up front at 6’10, 235 with a 9’0 standing reach. He can hit threes and is better rebounder on a per minute basis than Rui, PJ Washington or Kuminga. Some reviews pan his defense, but his defensive metrics are OK. He’s still in his prime at age 30. I can see him as a positive piece in the Wolves rotation.

Yeah, he has the size of a traditional power forward in both length and weight versus a lot of the existing PFs that would have played Small Forward 5-10 years ago (DFS, Barnes, Kenrich Williams, Batum, etc.).

As far as his play on the floor, he seems about as neutral as you can get, meaning if he is limited to being a role player that plays ~ 15-18 MPG he won't help or hurt too much. Not sure how much help he can be in the playoffs though other than for situational matchups against a bigger opponent. But like Kyle Anderson, he can eat some innings off the bench for us during the regular season.

Unlike Kyle Anderson he can shoot and that’s a big positive for the way this team is designed. But I’d really like to see Freeman emerge.

[TheGrey08]

Regarding LeBron, I’m getting increasingly weary of this whole LeBron selection drama. I still remember “The Decision” and hated it. I don’t like the way LeBron uses everyone around him to create self-serving dramas. I’m certain that LeBron intended to go to Miami well before his famous on-camera “decision.” And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already make his decision this time - or at least narrowed it down to far fewer than the 10 teams bandied about by his agent.

I’ll give LeBron the benefit of the doubt right now. Therefore, I’ll assume winning a championship is his top priority and that he’s taking this time to see what the teams he has in mind end up with via free agency or trades and that he’s thoroughly examining each team’s chances of success. If that’s the case, the Wolves should be in the running but right now I think the Sixers are out in front with Miami a close second and Cleveland in the mix. The Sixers have really a really impressive roster now after the Brown trade and the other moves they’ve made. Embiid’s health is a wild card but that is true of LaMelo and Giannis who are also wild cards when it comes to their respective durability records. Miami has to be a contender with Giannis and Bam.

I really like the Wolves roster and think we’d be right there in the championship hunt with the addition of LeBron. But unfortunately, there’s no getting around the fact that the path to the NBA finals is much easier in the East. And let’s face it, LeBron has always taken the easier path. He went to Miami only after he arranged to ensure that Bosh and Wade would be there with him. He went back to Cleveland, but only after he forced the Cavs to trade their #1 pick (Wiggins) for Kevin Love and forced other moves as well to make his path to winning as easy as possible. Then he went to the Lakers but only knowing he’d have Anthony Davis there. Now with the Lakers having no chance of contending, he’s leaving.

The problem we face in trying to land LeBron, in addition to our cold climate and lack of cache as a city, is that we have to get past both OKC and the Spurs to even get to the finals. I don’t think LeBron will be up for that challenge. So I continue to see him landing with Cleveland, Miami, or now after the Brown trade possibly the Sixers. And I wouldn’t be surprised if, as we sit here tonight, LeBron already knows it will be one of those three. And maybe he already knows exactly where he’s going.

I hated the decision so I definitely get being weary about all this. I watched the full episode with Max & Paul today and it was like peek behind the curtain, which was cool. I see the Wolves being in the top 5 spots to them currently based on the white board and everything they talked about. Two different times later in the episode, they went back to talk about the Wolves. I think it's a legit possibility.


MIA - been there, done that, but they have Giannis, roster downsides like lack of shooting, great weather

GS - fun playing with friends, great weather, but that roster probably doesn't have what it takes

CLE - going back home (storyline), but with clear roster downsides (Garland not being there), already won

PHI - high end starting 5 with a major question mark in Embiid, NBA championship drought (storyline), cold

MIN - talented young rotation featuring everything he could want with good playoff experience besides LaMelo, youth connection legacy, mens championship drought (storyline), from Lakers to Minneapolis to NBA Finals ? ? (storyline), cold but indoor golf galore

[Lipoli390]

Regarding LeBron, I’m getting increasingly weary of this whole LeBron selection drama. I still remember “The Decision” and hated it. I don’t like the way LeBron uses everyone around him to create self-serving dramas. I’m certain that LeBron intended to go to Miami well before his famous on-camera “decision.” And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already make his decision this time - or at least narrowed it down to far fewer than the 10 teams bandied about by his agent.

I’ll give LeBron the benefit of the doubt right now. Therefore, I’ll assume winning a championship is his top priority and that he’s taking this time to see what the teams he has in mind end up with via free agency or trades and that he’s thoroughly examining each team’s chances of success. If that’s the case, the Wolves should be in the running but right now I think the Sixers are out in front with Miami a close second and Cleveland in the mix. The Sixers have really a really impressive roster now after the Brown trade and the other moves they’ve made. Embiid’s health is a wild card but that is true of LaMelo and Giannis who are also wild cards when it comes to their respective durability records. Miami has to be a contender with Giannis and Bam.

I really like the Wolves roster and think we’d be right there in the championship hunt with the addition of LeBron. But unfortunately, there’s no getting around the fact that the path to the NBA finals is much easier in the East. And let’s face it, LeBron has always taken the easier path. He went to Miami only after he arranged to ensure that Bosh and Wade would be there with him. He went back to Cleveland, but only after he forced the Cavs to trade their #1 pick (Wiggins) for Kevin Love and forced other moves as well to make his path to winning as easy as possible. Then he went to the Lakers but only knowing he’d have Anthony Davis there. Now with the Lakers having no chance of contending, he’s leaving.

The problem we face in trying to land LeBron, in addition to our cold climate and lack of cache as a city, is that we have to get past both OKC and the Spurs to even get to the finals. I don’t think LeBron will be up for that challenge. So I continue to see him landing with Cleveland, Miami, or now after the Brown trade possibly the Sixers. And I wouldn’t be surprised if, as we sit here tonight, LeBron already knows it will be one of those three. And maybe he already knows exactly where he’s going.

I hated the decision so I definitely get being weary about all this. I watched the full episode with Max & Paul today and it was like peek behind the curtain, which was cool. I see the Wolves being in the top 5 spots to them currently based on the white board and everything they talked about. Two different times later in the episode, they went back to talk about the Wolves. I think it's a legit possibility.


MIA - been there, done that, but they have Giannis, roster downsides like lack of shooting, great weather

GS - fun playing with friends, great weather, but that roster probably doesn't have what it takes

CLE - going back home (storyline), but with clear roster downsides (Garland not being there), already won

PHI - high end starting 5 with a major question mark in Embiid, NBA championship drought (storyline), cold

MIN - talented young rotation featuring everything he could want with good playoff experience besides LaMelo, youth connection legacy, mens championship drought (storyline), from Lakers to Minneapolis to NBA Finals ? ? (storyline), cold but indoor golf galore

That’s encouraging, Grey. I’m trying to temper my expectations. It would certainly be a coup to get him here - a significant plus from a basketball standpoint and super exciting. It would also shame the national pundits who are reflexively dismissive of the Timberwolves.

[TheGrey08]

That’s encouraging, Grey. I’m trying to temper my expectations. It would certainly be a coup to get him here - a significant plus from a basketball standpoint and super exciting. It would also shame the national pundits who are reflexively dismissive of the Timberwolves.

Same, even as I read this new piece from Jon K about the Wolves making a push for him right now. (Dropped it into the Lebron thread)

Edit: One other detail I forgot to mention was that Paul also directly mentioned TC, Finch and the ownership group when talking Wolves.

[Monster]

That’s encouraging, Grey. I’m trying to temper my expectations. It would certainly be a coup to get him here - a significant plus from a basketball standpoint and super exciting. It would also shame the national pundits who are reflexively dismissive of the Timberwolves.

Same, even as I read this new piece from Jon K about the Wolves making a push for him right now. (Dropped it into the Lebron thread)

Edit: One other detail I forgot to mention was that Paul also directly mentioned TC, Finch and the ownership group when talking Wolves.

Lip I agree with all the things you said about Lebron. I also would argue that a lot of what he has done in his career has been smart business decisions. I'll also say that the Lakers were a .mixed bag surrounding him at times and then basically got an opportunity to build with a new star player in Luka and went for it. I think LeBron leaving could have even been sort of a mutual decision.

Lebron in some ways is an oddly polarizing figure. In an odd way there are some si.klarities to Kirk Cousins. These are really good dudes that do so much of the right things and then get ripped for this and that. I didn't like the decision thing but then again Lebron donated money from it. Do I think it was also a thing he wanted for himself? Yes. I think he does want to control things on his team. That makes sense because he is one of the best all time players and does have a super high BBIq and game. He is also very much a PG type player wanting everyone to score and there are so many stories of him caring about his teammates etc.

Athletes are gonna have a list of their priorities and some of them may never even occur to us. Lebron is going to orchestrate his life. It might be annoying but it's also within his reach to do so. If I had that kind of power and sway at my job you would bet I would try to use it at least some of that influence. Lebron has some terrific options and if he really does take a vet min salary to go where he wants to be should be getting some legit props for that. He has the money to do that but still a lot of guys don't do that and he is Lebron freaking James and is still a very good player.

[TheGrey08]

Lip I agree with all the things you said about Lebron. I also would argue that a lot of what he has done in his career has been smart business decisions. I'll also say that the Lakers were a .mixed bag surrounding him at times and then basically got an opportunity to build with a new star player in Luka and went for it. I think LeBron leaving could have even been sort of a mutual decision.

Lebron in some ways is an oddly polarizing figure. In an odd way there are some si.klarities to Kirk Cousins. These are really good dudes that do so much of the right things and then get ripped for this and that. I didn't like the decision thing but then again Lebron donated money from it. Do I think it was also a thing he wanted for himself? Yes. I think he does want to control things on his team. That makes sense because he is one of the best all time players and does have a super high BBIq and game. He is also very much a PG type player wanting everyone to score and there are so many stories of him caring about his teammates etc.

Athletes are gonna have a list of their priorities and some of them may never even occur to us. Lebron is going to orchestrate his life. It might be annoying but it's also within his reach to do so. If I had that kind of power and sway at my job you would bet I would try to use it at least some of that influence. Lebron has some terrific options and if he really does take a vet min salary to go where he wants to be should be getting some legit props for that. He has the money to do that but still a lot of guys don't do that and he is Lebron freaking James and is still a very good player.

A lot of good points and observations here. People are complex with positives and negatives. He generally seems like a good dude.