It's time to move on from DLO....

[WildWolf2813]

the only bonus to keeping him is that it's his walk year and he needs to produce to try to get a big contract from someone.

I'm all in on drafting his successor. Lots of bigs will be taken early, so if we can't get a Eason or Williams or whoever, pivot to the future. One eye on today the other eye on tomorrow. I'm bullish on Jean Montero. I'd be ok with Kennedy Chandler. At 19 there will be options for that guy. With D'Lo playing for his career as a starter (I don't see a really good team utilizing him as one), it buys time for a team to be able to slot a new guard in for year 2. That way we're not totally handing the team over to someone green.

This team needs contact magnets. Remember why Kevin Martin was so appealing to this team? Because at his peak, he'd get to the line 8-10 times a night and he wasn't even a huge star. D'Lo is SCARED of contact. Ant is SCARED of contact (which is a huge problem if you want him to have the ball more). The only contact Towns likes is the contact he dishes in the form of fouling. This team is missing someone who has no problem making a living at the FT line. This team ranked 8th in FTA, but dead last in opponent FTA, so we need someone to bridge that gap as long as Towns and McDaniels are on the team because they will never change their approach.

[Coolbreeze44]

I'm cool with D. Russell being off this team.

We can all pick-and-choose which metrics make him look better/worse than he probably is. We can all pick-and-choose what makes him a good/bad fit. Or what about him expands/limits the team's ceiling with him as a key cog.

But from the beginning, I was clear that I'm not a fan of his style of play. Sometimes, it's as simple as that.

Simply this.

[Coolbreeze44]

I believe one key to improving overall as a team and raising our ceiling is to find a way to move on from DLO and get a fair return for him at the same time. It's short sighted to say there isn't a way to accomplish that. That being said, as fans it's not our job to come up with specific scenarios. It may be fun to speculate, but we really don't know who is available and what options we have. Cam, I can't give you a specific plan. You win that argument. But I'd also be hard pressed to come up with a way we get to the next level with DLO in his current role.

It's up to Connelly to find a way. I don't really care how he goes about it, just that it happens. If it happens without DLO, and I'm betting it will, great. If it happens with DLO that's great too.

[Monster]

Cam/Monster, I think the Wolves could go in a number of different directions. Who is the Celtics' point guard by the way? Marcus Smart might have the label, but he is hardly an orchestrator that passes guys open. Is Brunson a point guard? Again, he has the label, but plays more like a scoring guard than someone setting guys up. Who was the Laker PG when Kobe was winning titles? Derek Fisher? Was Mario Chalmers a great PG?

I think Tyus Jones, VanFleet, or Monte Morris could be solid starting PGs that would fit better next to KAT and an improving Edwards. Do I think each are gettable? May be, may be not, but I don't think any of them are impossible to obtain either.

What about making a run at Oladipo this offseason? He's an unrestricted free agent. You want our defense to take a big step forward? How about having Ant, Dipo, and McDaniels as our starting perimeter trio. Dipo and Ant can share ball handling responsibilities.

While I agree that jettisoning DLO as a perceived addition-by-subtraction move is a bad idea, I do think there are other viable alternatives that may be better a better fit in the long run. Then we can put more $ to use at other positions.

Fair points.

Marcus Smart won DPOY that's a pretty big deal. It's pretty rare to have a "PG" that can guard 1-3 or more.

Brunson isn't a PG because Luka is. I believe Edwards will be able to be a playmaker at a nice level but to compare him with Luka is quite frankly silly. At 20 Luka was already dishing out almost 9 assists a game. Edwards has a long way to go to be anywhere near that type of player.

Mario Chalmers was essentially a SG who guarded guards and he played with Lebron who is a PG plus Dwayne wade who was a playmaking guard himself.

Derek Fisher I'll give you although the Phil Jackson teams played in a way they didn't use a PG. Finch isn't a guy with a big playbook so there is SOME level of parallel there.

The thought did run across my mind during the game last night why not go after Oladipo. The problem is that I have little faith he will stay healthy and he just turned 30. What kind of money are we going to throw at a guy when right now we can't even get Nowell on the floor?

If your idea is getting Morris or FVV the Wolves should just keep Russell and let him go and then have buckets of cash and a wide open position to offer those guys. Morris might be more attainable since he has ties to Connelly. Of course then we have to consider that Morris may not be a guy that can help the Wolves enough as a playmaker because Denver's actual PG is Jokic. The Celtics struggled at times this postseason because they don't have a true PG and they have 2 wing creators in Tatum and Brown. Fortunately White finally remembered how to score again later in the Miami series and they were playing a team that was good defeenifey but struggled at times to score. Towns simply isn't going to be able to create for himself or others if it's just him Edwards and some shooters. The Wolves need another guy that can get his and again that may be the case whether Russell is here or somewhere else. Also is Morris a good defender or is he going to get targeted in the playoffs?

How exactly is paying one of those other PGs market value or possibly more than that going to help put money towards other positions? Let's be honest Russell simply isn't going to get some big payday just because he made a max deal years ago. If this board universally doesn't think he is worth a big contract even the biggest supporters of his including Cam and myself then what makes anyone thing he is actually gonna get paid all that money? I'm not sure how much more he is gonna get than Morris and he is almost certainly going to get less than FVV who is a heck of a player.

I actually tend to think it might be best for the Wolves to move on from Russell but I think we don't actually know yet because I don't have enough information. Can Russell continue to become more of the player the Wolves need him to be? What is his actual cost going to be going forward especially compared to other options? Will the Wolves have someone else emerge that makes keeping Russell not make sense at all? I do agree with your initial post that the Wolves likely shouldn't sign him past this year. One of the biggest reasons for that is the same hesitation I had in trading for him is injuries. If he was playing 70+ games a year doing his thing then yeah sure resign him at some sort of value contract but him being available is another concern for me. You never know what might happen though. Jeff Teague was basically an iron man and then he just fell off and that happened before the dreaded 30 year old market for small PGs. Teams have moved on from solid NBA players before and it was the right move. The Bucks upgraded Bledsoe to Holiday and Bledsoe wasn't and still isn't a bad player just wasn't enough. Replacing Russell with Monte Morris probably won't be enough. The Wolves need someone else even if Edwards turns into a top 10 player.

[Sundog]

It's only time to move on from DLo when there's a plan to get better from moving on from him. That sounds like a tautology, but I think guys on both sides of this topic make good points. I lean toward Cam's side of this because it's not going to be easy to replace DLo's value to this team. But I'm open to moving on from him because he's not the kind of point guard that Finch wants to run his offense and I don't see how the Wolves extend him.

But I haven't seen the deal yet that makes the Wolves better without him.

[KG4Ever]

It's only time to move on from DLo when there's a plan to get better from moving on from him. That sounds like a tautology, but I think guys on post sides of this topic make good points. I lean toward Cam's side of this because it's not going to be easy to replace DLo's value to this team. But I'm open to moving on from him because he's not the kind of point guard that Finch wants to run his offense and I don't see how the Wolves extend him.

But I haven't seen the deal yet that makes the Wolves better without him.

Connelly has a plan but I don't think he's sharing this with anyone outside the organization. Heck, I got a plan too and if the Wolves hire me, I will implement it. The money freed up can be better spent and I prefer a lower usage point guard who is more efficient and can defend better. Whether the Wolves move on from DLO this season or next, is really the only question that I see.

[FNG]

It's only time to move on from DLo when there's a plan to get better from moving on from him. That sounds like a tautology, but I think guys on post sides of this topic make good points. I lean toward Cam's side of this because it's not going to be easy to replace DLo's value to this team. But I'm open to moving on from him because he's not the kind of point guard that Finch wants to run his offense and I don't see how the Wolves extend him.

But I haven't seen the deal yet that makes the Wolves better without him.

Connelly has a plan but I don't think he's sharing this with anyone outside the organization. Heck, I got a plan too and if the Wolves hire me, I will implement it. The money freed up can be better spent and I prefer a lower usage point guard who is more efficient and can defend better. Whether the Wolves move on from DLO this season or next, is really the only question that I see.

Yep, this message board is not going to come up with the solution for Russell (although personally I do like rolling the dice with Lip's Simmons for Russell swap)...that's Connelly's job. And if he's worth his salary, I think he'll find a deal that makes better use of the $31.4 million we would be paying DLo next season. Q is correct when he points out that we don't need or want a high-usage PG next to Ant and KAT, and especially one with a history of being a substandard defender...that's the definition of a bad fit going forward. And WildWolf points out that this is a contract year for Russell. While that is often a good thing, I would be concerned that DLo would increase his usage rate next season in an effort to make his contract year stats look better. That's the last thing we need with two offensive stars on the court like Ant and KAT. I'm reasonably confident two smart guys like Finch and Connelly have come to the same conclusion Q reached in starting this thread, and are already examining several directions they can go in to improve this team. I'm excited about seeing what they can pull off.

[WildWolf2813]

It's only time to move on from DLo when there's a plan to get better from moving on from him. That sounds like a tautology, but I think guys on post sides of this topic make good points. I lean toward Cam's side of this because it's not going to be easy to replace DLo's value to this team. But I'm open to moving on from him because he's not the kind of point guard that Finch wants to run his offense and I don't see how the Wolves extend him.

But I haven't seen the deal yet that makes the Wolves better without him.

Connelly has a plan but I don't think he's sharing this with anyone outside the organization. Heck, I got a plan too and if the Wolves hire me, I will implement it. The money freed up can be better spent and I prefer a lower usage point guard who is more efficient and can defend better. Whether the Wolves move on from DLO this season or next, is really the only question that I see.

Yep, this message board is not going to come up with the solution for Russell (although personally I do like rolling the dice with Lip's Simmons for Russell swap)...that's Connelly's job. And if he's worth his salary, I think he'll find a deal that makes better use of the $31.4 million we would be paying DLo next season. Q is correct when he points out that we don't need or want a high-usage PG next to Ant and KAT, and especially one with a history of being a substandard defender...that's the definition of a bad fit going forward. And WildWolf points out that this is a contract year for Russell. While that is often a good thing, I would be concerned that DLo would increase his usage rate next season in an effort to make his contract year stats look better. That's the last thing we need with two offensive stars on the court like Ant and KAT. I'm reasonably confident two smart guys like Finch and Connelly have come to the same conclusion Q reached in starting this thread, and are already examining several directions they can go in to improve this team. I'm excited about seeing what they can pull off.

To be fair, D'Lo considered in his mind that last year was a contract year too.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Respectfully, some of you are intentionally avoiding the questions I've asked you to answer. I'm well aware that Tim Connelly is the Timberwolves' new President of Basketball Operations. Simply offering that it'll be his decision on what happens with D'Angelo Russell is not a valid answer. I'm genuinely curious what your plan would be since it is your opinion that Minnesota needs to move on from Russell. How would you replace him? Give me some sort of idea to run with. If he's not part of the solution, then who is and are they obtainable?

I'm asking this partially out of curiosity since actual suggestions aren't often given on this particular subject, but also to make a point that there is no obvious choice. There's not an option that we can all point at and go, "Yep, that's the move we need to make in order to get better." Some of that is because there's a limited number of quality players that are available from year to year, but a significant part of that is because Russell plays an important role on this team as a shot creator and secondary scorer, and perhaps his production isn't as easily replaced as one initially thought.

Perhaps that supposed upgrade doesn't exist yet. Maybe he's not available or hasn't developed into that player yet. All of that boils down to another question. Why is there a passionate desire to move on from a player when there's few, if any, discernible upgrades available?

[Coolbreeze44]

Respectfully, some of you are intentionally avoiding the questions I've asked you to answer. I'm well aware that Tim Connelly is the Timberwolves' new President of Basketball Operations. Simply offering that it'll be his decision on what happens with D'Angelo Russell is not a valid answer. I'm genuinely curious what your plan would be since it is your opinion that Minnesota needs to move on from Russell. How would you replace him? Give me some sort of idea to run with. If he's not part of the solution, then who is and are they obtainable?

I'm asking this partially out of curiosity since actual suggestions aren't often given on this particular subject, but also to make a point that there is no obvious choice. There's not an option that we can all point at and go, "Yep, that's the move we need to make in order to get better." Some of that is because there's a limited number of quality players that are available from year to year, but a significant part of that is because Russell plays an important role on this team as a shot creator and secondary scorer, and perhaps his production isn't as easily replaced as one initially thought.

Perhaps that supposed upgrade doesn't exist yet. Maybe he's not available or hasn't developed into that player yet. All of that boils down to another question. Why is there a passionate desire to move on from a player when there's few, if any, discernible upgrades available?

Respectfully, I think I've answered your question. 1) I'm sure there are options we can explore that would upgrade the roster involving moving DLO. 2) I don't know what they are because I have no idea who is attainable. But to suggest we can't move DLO because there are no viable options is ridiculous. If we could get Simmons (though I think it would take more than DLO), I pull the trigger without hesitation. But again, I don't know if Simmons is available. Is Jamal Murray attainable? How about Mikal Bridges? Or Donovan Mitchell? I have to know what the options are to definitively answer your question.