Minnesota Sports Forum

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Sat Mar 23, 2024 8:50 am Updated records for this season with and without Towns:

41-19 (.683) With Towns
7-3 (.700) without Towns.

And I recall at least of a couple of those losses were without Rudy and/or Naz.

I'm not sayin'....just sayin'....if we are able to advance in the playoffs without him...should we consider moving him for salary dump plus a shit ton of draft capital before next year? I'm not making that call yet (I want to see how they do in the playoffs). But I am wondering out loud.

So yes, if they made a run without Kat I think they should trade him. I don’t think they can win the title without him though this year. Also wolves are 2-1 this year and 11-5 lifetime without Ant and I would hate to trade Ant. But to your point if the wolves made a big run without Kat you would have to at least consider

I think the financial implications of keeping KAT may force them to consider moving him this offseason…

kekgeek wrote: ↑Sat Mar 23, 2024 9:01 am

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Sat Mar 23, 2024 8:50 am Updated records for this season with and without Towns:

41-19 (.683) With Towns
7-3 (.700) without Towns.

And I recall at least of a couple of those losses were without Rudy and/or Naz.

I'm not sayin'....just sayin'....if we are able to advance in the playoffs without him...should we consider moving him for salary dump plus a shit ton of draft capital before next year? I'm not making that call yet (I want to see how they do in the playoffs). But I am wondering out loud.

So yes, if they made a run without Kat I think they should trade him. I don’t think they can win the title without him though this year. Also wolves are 2-1 this year and 11-5 lifetime without Ant and I would hate to trade Ant. But to your point if the wolves made a big run without Kat you would have to at least consider

Your data is correct regarding Edwards. However, I'd caution against pulling in his lifetime data. It looks like 10 of his career missed games came is sophomore year and he's certainly a significantly better/more valuable player today than he was at that time. So...I think using games missed this season is best comparison - even at a smaller sample size. Therefore:

46-21 (.687) with him.
2-1 (.667) without Edwards and

And of course a big asterisks because of the only 3 game sample without. I think most of us believe that gap would widen significantly over time (going forward - not backward).

I still don't see a scenario where KAT sits out longer then he absolutely has to. He has to play in the playoffs if he can. He has never been on a 1st round winning team even. If they do that without him, what does that say? Not to mention all the shit he has taken over the summer from his peers, much of it his own doing of course. Also at that point (Wolves making a run without KAT) the "KAT is overrated" narrative would be going on in the media too.

I am 100% opposite. He will be back for the first round. I also want him back. But he will take a risk if needed to be on the court. He has shit to prove to the naysayers.

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 23, 2024 10:09 am I still don't see a scenario where KAT sits out longer then he absolutely has to. He has to play in the playoffs if he can. He has never been on a 1st round winning team even. If they do that without him, what does that say? Not to mention all the shit he has taken over the summer from his peers, much of it his own doing of course. Also at that point (Wolves making a run without KAT) the "KAT is overrated" narrative would be going on in the media too.

I am 100% opposite. He will be back for the first round. I also want him back. But he will take a risk if needed to be on the court. He has shit to prove to the naysayers.

To be clear, it's not my opinion that he's going to sit out if he's determined to be healthy. It's just my opinion that he's going to be cautious to avoid further injury and/or set backs. And that's understandable to me. His body is a multi-million dollar investment. And to your point about changing his narrative of being over rated... if he comes back before he's 100%, he won't be as effective, so he would put himself at more scrutiny IMO.

We'll see. How many weeks until the playoffs? 3? 4? He's already been out for coming up on a month. Some of the guys on this site claimed they were back to normal activities by then. If he's coming back for the playoffs, when would you expect to see him practicing? I would assume he'd need a couple weeks at least of basketball activities before games, so that's why I'm not seeing him being ready in time (as of the info I have now).

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Sat Mar 23, 2024 10:36 am

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 23, 2024 10:09 am I still don't see a scenario where KAT sits out longer then he absolutely has to. He has to play in the playoffs if he can. He has never been on a 1st round winning team even. If they do that without him, what does that say? Not to mention all the shit he has taken over the summer from his peers, much of it his own doing of course. Also at that point (Wolves making a run without KAT) the "KAT is overrated" narrative would be going on in the media too.

I am 100% opposite. He will be back for the first round. I also want him back. But he will take a risk if needed to be on the court. He has shit to prove to the naysayers.

To be clear, it's not my opinion that he's going to sit out if he's determined to be healthy. It's just my opinion that he's going to be cautious to avoid further injury and/or set backs. And that's understandable to me. His body is a multi-million dollar investment. And to your point about changing his narrative of being over rated... if he comes back before he's 100%, he won't be as effective, so he would put himself at more scrutiny IMO.

We'll see. How many weeks until the playoffs? 3? 4? He's already been out for coming up on a month. Some of the guys on this site claimed they were back to normal activities by then. If he's coming back for the playoffs, when would you expect to see him practicing? I would assume he'd need a couple weeks at least of basketball activities before games, so that's why I'm not seeing him being ready in time (as of the info I have now).

There are certainly degrees of injury and surgery as well not to mention healing time, based on the person. His size is prohibitive sure. But he does have the some of best trainers and rehab specialists in the world, not to mention time. This is his job so he can devote 100% to getting back.

The other thing to consider is you don't know when if ever you'll have this good a chance to cement a legacy, to change his. The team could be broken up in the offseason. You got a fucking chance right here and now. KAT could be playing for a rebuilding team next year (if traded) and have little chance to ever succeed on the big stage again. I think that is also additional motivation to come back ASAP and play well.

If you remember the Last Dance show. Jordan got injured, ignored the trainers and doctors advice and pushed himself to come back early. They said there is a 10% chance or so he could do more harm then good and long term damage. He said well there is a 90% chance I succeed then. I think Ant is more like Jordan. I don't know if KAT is. We'll see.

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Sat Mar 23, 2024 8:50 am Updated records for this season with and without Towns:

41-19 (.683) With Towns
7-3 (.700) without Towns.

And I recall at least of a couple of those losses were without Rudy and/or Naz.

I'm not sayin'....just sayin'....if we are able to advance in the playoffs without him...should we consider moving him for salary dump plus a shit ton of draft capital before next year? I'm not making that call yet (I want to see how they do in the playoffs). But I am wondering out loud.

Edit: I remember batting it around with a couple of you whether or not we'd actually miss Towns' defense. For the year, the team has given up 106.5 points/game. In the ten games played without Towns (including 1 OT), they averaged 107.0. In other words, based on points per game, they'd be #1 team defense with or without Towns.

I appreciate you saying the quiet part out loud. I've been asking myself, do we really miss him? We miss his 3 point shooting and were a better rebounding team with him, but is that worth the combination of $60 million in salary and what we could get for him in a trade? We should have traded him 2-3 years ago when his value was at its zenith, and before his durability became a concern. But it still might be worth considering. Imagine getting Dejounte Murray and some draft capital in a package for him.

We really do have a ridiculous amount of $ tied up in three bigs. Naz may be the one traded by the way, not that I'm advocating for that, but does anyone doubt we could get some decent draft assets for him + a solid rotation player?

KAT is a lot more complicated because of the size of his contract.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2024 9:20 am We really do have a ridiculous amount of $ tied up in three bigs. Naz may be the one traded by the way, not that I'm advocating for that, but does anyone doubt we could get some decent draft assets for him + a solid rotation player?

KAT is a lot more complicated because of the size of his contract.

Q, I was just going make the same comment in the GDT. Naz's star is very high around the association right now, and I think true fans would be very happy about what we could get back for him in a trade. It would open up a role for Garza, and although he is still raw, I was encouraged by his defense against Jokic last week...we know what Naz is on defense, but Garza may have some upside.

All that said, the NBA is a business and Naz is arguably our most popular player...not to mention a unique talent on offense. Trading him would be very controversial with the fan base.

FNG wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2024 9:38 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2024 9:20 am We really do have a ridiculous amount of $ tied up in three bigs. Naz may be the one traded by the way, not that I'm advocating for that, but does anyone doubt we could get some decent draft assets for him + a solid rotation player?

KAT is a lot more complicated because of the size of his contract.

Q, I was just going make the same comment in the GDT. Naz's star is very high around the association right now, and I think true fans would be very happy about what we could get back for him in a trade. It would open up a role for Garza, and although he is still raw, I was encouraged by his defense against Jokic last week...we know what Naz is on defense, but Garza may have some upside.

All that said, the NBA is a business and Naz is arguably our most popular player...not to mention a unique talent on offense. Trading him would be very controversial with the fan base.

Naz is a poor mans KAT amd Garza could be a poor mans Naz (they are all quite similar skill wise). I think I posted a couple years ago how Garza could be just as effective as Naz at some point ( I think we were debating on resiging or losing Naz). I still think that. Though his driving game will never be. Naz is just quicker and more skilled on the drive then both KAT and Garza ever will be. Better handle too. That is where Naz is just so special. His athleticsm for his size is tremendous.

You're right too. Garza does have defensive upside as well. However he is starting from atrocious. So it's hard to predict good things for me at this point. He does have the work ethic though going for him. I am a Garza fan and really like his upside.