Wolves Next Move After Trey Lyles

[Lipoli390]

We already have a thread devoted to who the Wolves will or should sign at the forward position, focusing mainly on power forwards, and there’s a lot of good discussion there. After signing Trey Lyles a couple days ago I think that thread is at its end as we wait for a final decision from LeBron. Even if LeBron goes elsewhere, I’m not sure the Wolves final off-season moves will necessarily involve acquiring a new forward. So I thought I’d start a more open-ended thread to discuss what those next moves might be.

I think it’s clear that the Wolves are done with offseason moves if LeBron signs here. But I’ve already resolved in my mind that he won’t. If I’m wrong, then I’ll be pleasantly surprised. In the meantime, I’m wondering what the Wolves will do in the likely event LeBron signs with one of the other five teams on his list.

As I noted in another thread, there are still a lot of quality free agents available, many of them gettable at the vet minimum in my view, but most of them are now power forwards. And now that we have Trey Lyles, I don’t think targeting a PF is as critical as it was previously. Trey isn’t a starter, but he’s more than an end-of-bench guy. He can be a quality rotation player on a really good team.

Apart from free agency, I can still see the Wolves making a trade involving Josh Green (and possibly TSJ and/or Donte) for a starting caliber PF. I’m interested in thoughts on who those PFs are, who the Wolves might be targeting and some realistic trade scenarios. We’ve discussed PJ Washington, but getting him would likely require giving up TSJ and it would saddle the Wolves with a large 4-year contract that would be highly problematic for the Wolves long term. Would a sign-and-trade for Rui make sense for the Wolves and/or for the Lakers? Josh Green for Rui straight up? Would that be a good deal for the Wolves?

Some of this is a carryover from the other thread, but let’s start fresh. Let the discussion begin.

[Monster]

If Lebron is the Sweepstakes then Rui is the gas station scratch off. Rui is a nice enough player but I wouldn't exactly be wildly disappointed if we don't get him.

I feel like there is some option to add a player that we haven't considered, but who knows. There are also likely going to be some more moves to potentially shake loose players that could be worth adding. I'd prefer to not overcorrect and add a player because we HAVE to. The Wolves have some nice depth with all their wings and guards. We also will soon have more data points to assess what we have with some players with Summer league coming. Maybe TKR looks great...or terrible. Maybe Evans looks really good and makes himself more valuable to the Wolves or another team. Maybe some other guy on the roster pushes for a roster spot of some kind or from another team. Maybe Pullin builds on his success of his time in Iowa last year.

[Lipoli390]

If Lebron is the Sweepstakes then Rui is the gas station scratch off. Rui is a nice enough player but I wouldn't exactly be wildly disappointed if we don't get him.

I feel like there is some option to add a player that we haven't considered, but who knows. There are also likely going to be some more moves to potentially shake loose players that could be worth adding. I'd prefer to not overcorrect and add a player because we HAVE to. The Wolves have some nice depth with all their wings and guards. We also will soon have more data points to assess what we have with some players with Summer league coming. Maybe TKR looks great...or terrible. Maybe Evans looks really good and makes himself more valuable to the Wolves or another team. Maybe some other guy on the roster pushes for a roster spot of some kind or from another team. Maybe Pullin builds on his success of his time in Iowa last year.

I think that’s a good approach, Monster. If we don’t get LeBron and Rui is willing to sign for the vet minimum it would be hard to turn that down. But if not Rui, I agree we don’t have to panic.

[Lipoli390]

11:01 a.m. Central tomorrow is when the mega deals involving Randle, Naz, LaMelo etc. can be finalized. Presumably that will happen right away, which means 11:01 a.m. Central tomorrow is the deadline for expanding that mega deal to bring in another PF. The clock is ticking.

[Lipoli390]

Question: Did the Wolves end up with Josh Green instead of Grant Williams because the Wolves preferred Green or because Charlotte refused to include Grant? I would think it’s the latter, and I hope so, but I’m not sure. If they preferred Green, is it because they like Green that much or did they have one or two Josh-centric deals in mind they were certain they could pull off two get a better PF than Grant? It’s something that’s been bugging me for a while.

[BloopOracle]

Tomorrow is also when Josh Green becomes ineligible to be traded with another Wolves player fwiw

[rapsuperstar31]

Question: Did the Wolves end up with Josh Green instead of Grant Williams because the Wolves preferred Green or because Charlotte refused to include Grant? I would think it’s the latter, and I hope so, but I’m not sure. If they preferred Green, is it because they like Green that much or did they have one or two Josh-centric deals in mind they were certain they could pull off two get a better PF than Grant? It’s something that’s been bugging me for a while.

In addition to trading for Naz, they have since traded for Royce O"Neil and Dorian Finn Smith. You would think Grant would be available.

[rapsuperstar31]

Tomorrow is also when Josh Green becomes ineligible to be traded with another Wolves player fwiw

For 60 days correct?

[BloopOracle]

Yep you're right, so it's pretty much a nothing burger

[Lipoli390]

Tomorrow is also when Josh Green becomes ineligible to be traded with another Wolves player fwiw

For 60 days correct?

Yes, for 60 days. But we can trade Green anytime so long as we don’t package him with any other players. So I guess that means waiting 60 days if the Wolves want PJ Washington unless they pull the trigger on an expanded deal to get PJ before 11:01 a.m. tomorrow.