Minnesota Sports Forum

Wile E Coyote wrote:I put the rumor guys into different categories in terms of their reliability.

Woj: Lock. Doesn't report unless he has a great source and the move is imminent.

Stein/Jon Krawczynski: Near lock. They have very good sources and don't report unless something is close. Since they report earlier than Woj it might not happen since stuff often falls apart in the 11th hour.

Bucher 10 years ago/Doogie Wolfson/Steve Kyler: Maybe? They have sources but report really early. Maybe also get used by execs/agents to leak something to gauge reaction/cause side-effects.

Bucher now/Charlie Walters: Nah. Might possibly have something, but likely just putting some hot air out there in an attempt to stay relevant.

Windhorst is in that third tier. I'd put Broussard in his own tier: "The guy that 'reports' things after Woj already has the scoop."

Wile E Coyote wrote:I put the rumor guys into different categories in terms of their reliability.

Woj: Lock. Doesn't report unless he has a great source and the move is imminent.

Stein/Jon Krawczynski: Near lock. They have very good sources and don't report unless something is close. Since they report earlier than Woj it might not happen since stuff often falls apart in the 11th hour.

Bucher 10 years ago/Doogie Wolfson/Steve Kyler: Maybe? They have sources but report really early. Maybe also get used by execs/agents to leak something to gauge reaction/cause side-effects.

Bucher now/Charlie Walters: Nah. Might possibly have something, but likely just putting some hot air out there in an attempt to stay relevant.

I remember following the draft this past year via Yahoo! and Woj was basically calling the draft picks at least one or two slots ahead of the commissioner coming out to announce the picks. It was hilarious because Woj was basically nailing every single one and by the time Silver came out, there was no sense of anticipation (unless you were actually watching it live and not following Woj).

Yeah, Woj seems to have an unhealthy relationship with agents where they feed him rock solid info early in return for hit pieces against teams/execs/coaches at a later date.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

Q12543 wrote:Interesting. Very interesting.

Talked to a Utah fan about this.

Hayward + Favors for Butler.
- Hayward is a FA and isn't an absolute lock to stay. Even if he does, Butler is on a cheaper deal and is better defensively.
- Utah is winning without much of anything from Favors. His deal expires after next season.
- This could open up money for the Jazz to resign George Hill?
- Getting two legit players for Butler seems like a nice haul for Chicago.
- Hayward and McDermott would wreak havoc on single white Christian ladies in the Chicago suburbs.

What would you give up for Butler... if you were Thibs?

Boy. You are talking about one the premier two-way wings in the NBA right now in his prime years. LeBron, Kawhi......then Butler? Durant is certainly in that discussion as well, but mostly due to the sheer ease with which he can score. Butler's scoring is a bit more labored if you know what I mean. You can tell he's worked his ass off over the past 5+ years to get to this point.

I'd give up Wiggins + our lottery pick (as I've mentioned before), BUT, I guess we can't do that until the picks are made, so perhaps we'd miss the boat if Chicago is truly wanting to get something done now. Otherwise Wiggins+Rubio or Dunn is what I'd be willing to give up now, although I don't know why Chicago would want either of those guys since they already have two PGs with similar weaknesses in Rondo and MCW.

I would absolutely NOT be willing to give up any two-man combination of the Wiggins/LaVine/KAT trio.

If I recall correctly, Chicago asked for LaVine + Dunn in exchange for Butler. I was against that deal then, as was Thibodeau and Layden, and I'm even more against that deal now.

Wiggins for Butler straight up is perhaps a thinker, but I would still like to keep the young trio together and add other veterans to the roster before breaking it up.

Camden wrote:If I recall correctly, Chicago asked for LaVine + Dunn in exchange for Butler. I was against that deal then, as was Thibodeau and Layden, and I'm even more against that deal now.

Wiggins for Butler straight up is perhaps a thinker, but I would still like to keep the young trio together and add other veterans to the roster before breaking it up.

Cam, I'd like to keep the young trio together too if possible, but we're talking about Jimmy Butler here, a guy with still quite a few years of peak play left in the tank. Don't you think he would give us that perfect blend of toughness, veteran leadership - and most importantly - elite production on BOTH sides of the ball?

Bucher is a hot take cannon for bleacher report trying to stay relevant. There's no point following him anymore.

Q12543 wrote:

Camden wrote:If I recall correctly, Chicago asked for LaVine + Dunn in exchange for Butler. I was against that deal then, as was Thibodeau and Layden, and I'm even more against that deal now.

Wiggins for Butler straight up is perhaps a thinker, but I would still like to keep the young trio together and add other veterans to the roster before breaking it up.

Cam, I'd like to keep the young trio together too if possible, but we're talking about Jimmy Butler here, a guy with still quite a few years of peak play left in the tank. Don't you think he would give us that perfect blend of toughness, veteran leadership - and most importantly - elite production on BOTH sides of the ball?

Yeah, I'm all in on a Butler - Wiggins deal. We're HOPING Wiggins reaches Butler someday.

And I'm on record many times already about the rarity of 3 young guys battling for alpha status all at the same time ending on a positive note. We also know that inexperience is killing this team right now, game after game after game.

The rub is the draft pick. Wiggins + a high draft pick in a loaded draft is too much for me. But Dunn + Wiggins... especially knowing that the Wolves have a pick in a loaded draft...?


[Note: What is the protection on the pick owed Atlanta? When is it?]

Q12543 wrote:

Camden wrote:If I recall correctly, Chicago asked for LaVine + Dunn in exchange for Butler. I was against that deal then, as was Thibodeau and Layden, and I'm even more against that deal now.

Wiggins for Butler straight up is perhaps a thinker, but I would still like to keep the young trio together and add other veterans to the roster before breaking it up.

Cam, I'd like to keep the young trio together too if possible, but we're talking about Jimmy Butler here, a guy with still quite a few years of peak play left in the tank. Don't you think he would give us that perfect blend of toughness, veteran leadership - and most importantly - elite production on BOTH sides of the ball?

Your points are all valid and adding Butler does make a lot of sense. It's pretty easy to sell me on Butler; the guy's a top-10 player in the league right now and he's still just 27 years old. I'll even acknowledge that I'm being a hypocrite with this stance because in the past I've said that if you can get a top-10 player in the league, you do it.

For me, I think the trio's personalities, potential ceilings, understanding of each other's games, and acceptance of each other in general is something that could result in a dynasty. That's even without Wiggins becoming a superstar player and instead just a decent player.

Where we could instead get that veteran toughness and leadership is from a marquee free agent addition or via trade for a Rubio or Dieng.

But the Butler idea is a fascinating topic to discuss. I wouldn't hate it unless I felt like we gave up too much.

Can't see them moving Butler for just Wiggins. He's way too good and on a steal of a contract. Butler will make less than Wiggins in two years, for two years.

Wiggins, rubio, and our pick for Butler, Lopez or Portis, and Sacramento's or Chicago's pick this year is what I would offer.

They then can move Rondo to Cleveland or whoever for whatever they can get.