Quiet Before the Storm

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Lip, this post got quoted on RealGM. How do you feel? Lol

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Also on RealGM, a poster copy/pasted someone else's post that seems to know somebody close to the situation. And just using my own common sense, it seams pretty reasonable. Here it is:

"In a charity event yesterday, I had a chance to get some updates from some friends in the basketball world. Nothing too earth shattering - but here goes.

Privately, the Twolves are resigned to trading KLove. But they are not going to do it at any cost. They are absolutely firm in a very young, super star potential player AND a "for sure" top lottery pick in 2015 is the minimum price for a KLove trade prior to the start of the season. The Twolves are absolutely convinced that a KLove trade at the deadline will yield at least one or the other - and Flip is willing to keep a disgruntled player on the team (more on that below) until the trade deadline to prove it. So the flotsam offers have all been politely turned down.

Twolves are more than willing to add pieces, trade other players, take back some salary, etc. in a larger deal. But the top young player and lottery pick are the must haves in any preseason deal.

Flip has not had to work the phones to come up with trade prospects - KLove's agent is doing that for us!! KLove really does not want to play for us on an expiring contract - for many reasons (probably the largest being lost market potential should he have a major injury). So trade partners are being solicited by his agent. That is why KLove on a couple of occasions has casually mentioned his willingness to sign extensions with certain clubs. He has a huge incentive to get this done.

The Cleveland deal with Wiggins is by far the preferred trade. As discussed here - to make the deal work best - Wiggins needs to sign his contract. But, Wiggins and his agent are so far not all that interested in signing the contract. Wiggins doesn't want to be a Twolve. And it has very little to do with the team - and everything to do about building his "brand". (Don't take this as Wiggins not wanting to play here - take it as Wiggin's agents feeling Wiggins best business interest rest in Cleveland) Wiggins playing next to LeBron means lots of National TV exposure, lots of extra media following the team, etc - all of which Wiggins agent feels will strongly help build his "brand".

(One of the guys went off on rant about this. Young players far more worried about building a reputation and outside interests than they are about being a star NBA player has complicated many a deal. Really ****es the old timers off who hate the focus being so much on off the court items)

They know Wiggins is in play in a trade here. So the longer they delay, the more hope they have that it falls apart. And since Wiggins is not earning any money until the season starts (except the signing bonus portion), they don't have any incentive to move this along. In fact, if he wants to stay in Cleveland, he has a pretty large incentive to not sign any time soon - like say just before training camp in September.

This is creating some angst in Cleveland - they don't real have anyway to make Wiggins sign and/or offer more incentives to sign. Making the deal without having Wiggins signed is possible, but much less desirable. So the deal sits in limbo.

The Twolves are mixed on Klay Thompson. They see him as a strong player and a good fit to the current roster - but not as a super star in the making. So not everyone agrees Klay meets the preseason trade minimum. That being said, Golden State has been far more proactive on flotsam proposals. So there is not so much here to talk about.

Flip plans to rebalance the roster with some minor deals once the KLove situation is resolved. But if KLove stays until the trade deadline, you might not see much happening.

A couple of other throw away comments.

Ricky has been working extensively with a shooting coach on the west coast.

Expects that Ricky will be signed to a max length, but not max dollars contract. (Ricky likes it here - which helps)

No plans to move Pek. Feeling there will be plenty of minutes for Pek and Deing. (Not sure if that's due to Pek's injury issues or if he means they can play some time together)"

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I read on insider that one of the three non-guaranteed deals Cleveland got can't be traded for two months anyway because the trade to get all 3 put them over the cap. Wiggins' agent is just a moron if he thinks a Wiggins holdout is going to keep him in Cleveland. They're still going to deal him to us at the deadline or sooner when they see him try to adjust to the NBA game and realize they aren't a contender without Love. Just another guy who doesn't get marketing. Love is a national star out of MN. Ricky is an international star out of MN. Brands can be built here, but you actually have to earn them by being good. Extra TV exposure as a third or fourth wheel isn't going to build his brand any faster than being the number 1 option in MN. His brand will be built when he earns it, not because he gets to be background noise to Lebron. That seems to be a pretty short sighted take on building a brand.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

khans, I believe that player is Malcom Thomas, whose salary is about $950K. They can't trade him for two months. Could be replaced in a Love/Wiggins trade for salary purposes by Dellavedova who makes about $815K, though.

I agree with the rest of your post, though. Your play as a player will determine how big your brand will be. LeBron built a monster brand while he was in Cleveland for crying out loud. I also think if LaVine and Wiggins were able to play well and develop with Rubio in Minnesota, they'd get plenty of exposure, including ESPN and NBAN time.

Regardless of Wiggins' camp, this trade will get done. They can holdout as long as they want to, but once he's dealt to Minnesota, he's going to sign and begin his career.

[bleedspeed]

Rubio and Love get plenty of exposure here. If he is for real he will get more exposure here then being the 3rd or 4th wheel in Cleveland.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I don't blame the players one bit for wanting this "brand". This is how the league is run, doesn't matter if you're a rookie or veteran. It's super-star marketing and nothing to do with teams.

I don't think anybody here is arguing against that, just too bad the Spurs are the champions and nobody in the media cares.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

@highkin 1m
Cavs just announced the signing of Andrew Wiggins. So the 30-day clock begins now.

Maybe a deal finally got agreed upon.

[Lipoli390]

Cam --

That post from RealGM rings true for the most part. I doubt, however, that Flip's bare minimum for a deal requires a "for sure top lottery pick" in addition to a player with star potential. The player with star (or at least all-star) potential is likely a minimum condition. But there is no way the Wolves can get that sort of player AND a "for sure" top lottery pick. It would be difficult enough to ensure a top lottery pick since you'd have to know in advance that a team is going to finish near the bottom of the standings and then limit your negotiations to those teams you project as bottom finishers. Therefore, to assume you have any chance of getting the young player with star potential AND the "for sure" top future lottery pick is silly. I think (and hope) Flip is a lot smarter than that. So I think this guy's friends in the basketball world have some good information, but not precise information.

I can confirm from my own sources that Flip is comfortable waiting until the trade deadline and that he's also comfortable keeping Love and just letting him go next summer if he can't get the trade pieces he wants. And it makes sense intuitively that Love's agent is doing most of the leg work getting potential suitors to offer deals for his client. I disagree with Flip's assumption that he'll be in a good position to get what he wants near the Feb trade deadline and I think it would be a mistake to just let Love walk; however, that is definitely Flip's view. He is absolutely, postitively NOT posturing.

I'm not sure what to make of the suggestion that Wiggins is holding up the deal by refusing to sign with Cleveland based on his agent's view that staying with the Cavs would be better for his client's brand than playing for the Wolves. That suggestion is certainly plausible, but I have some doubt and have to believe Wiggins' agent is smarter than that. Here are a few thoughts on that:

1. First, I would think Wiggins' agent is sophisticated enough to realize, as others have pointed out, that in today's international media world, you can effectively build your NBA brand anywhere. There are numerous examples: LeBron in Cleveland, Durant in Oklahoma City, KG and Love in Minnesota. You can go back to Dominique Wilkins in Atlanta and that's before the sort of international borderless media world we have today. Moreover, Wiggins' brand probably gets a bigger boost from being the centerpiece of this summer's blockbuster trade for a current star than from being LeBron's little understudy who LeBron didn't even mentino in his open letter. Wiggins would then have further brand-building potential as one of a couple young guys on an up-and-coming Timberwolves team playing with the charismatic, flashy PG from Spain and the other young high-flyer, Zach LaVine.

2. Second, as others have pointed out, Wiggins agent should know that the development and success of Wiggins' brand will ultimately turn entirely on how well he plays, not where he plays.

3. Finally, Wiggins cannot ultimately stop the Cavs from swapping him for Love this summer. Why? Because there are acceptable trade scenarios that won't require Wiggins to sign for salary match purposes. Assuming that Flip wants a young player with star potential as a minimum, he can get that in the reported offer of Wiggins, Bennett and two future first round picks without waiting for Wiggins to sign. The Wolves and Cavs can broaden their options by including a third well under the cap like the Sixers, who can take the contracts Flips wants out and give the Cavs some additional depth in players like the Sixers' Tony Wroten and J. Vernardo.

So we'll see. Wiggins may holding things up and Flip may want a sure future top lottery pick, but I have my doubts. And if Wiggins is the hold up, his agent will learn shortly just how silly this maneuver is.

[Monster]

Lip have you had any indication you can share about how much Flip likes either Wiggins or Bennet?

[Lipoli390]

Monster -- I don't know how Flip feels about Bennett.