Minnesota Sports Forum

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 9:15 am He may extend, maybe even drop the player option to extend, but it won't be for the type of money Naz Reid would turn down. Isaiah Hartenstein just got 3/$87. Gobert's gonna command that in free agency.

Then Rudy is gone after next season or at least before the 2026-27 season when his current contract expires.

60WinTim wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 9:19 am

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 9:15 am He may extend, maybe even drop the player option to extend, but it won't be for the type of money Naz Reid would turn down. Isaiah Hartenstein just got 3/$87. Gobert's gonna command that in free agency.

Yeah, I doubt it would by anything less than 30 mil, and probably more.

It really comes down to KAT. He is the only reason the Wolves are committed to a minimum of two straight years above the 2nd apron. He is a valuable player and important part of the Wolves being a great team. But he ain't worth that contract he has!

If the rest of the League sees KAT as you do, then he’s not tradeable as a practical matter. That means trading Rudy or letting Rudy walk unless Rudy takes a Mike Conley type discount on a 4-5 year deal. Even if Naz leaves, this team can’t afford to keep both Rudy and KAT into the 2026-27 season.

Ha, well, I dunno… we’ve all been universally terrible at predicting what Tim Connelly might do in any situation, from the Gobert trade right thru to the recent draft. We can say what we think he might do and/or what he should do… but I don’t think any of us can say with any certainty what he will do.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 4:18 pm

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 9:15 am He may extend, maybe even drop the player option to extend, but it won't be for the type of money Naz Reid would turn down. Isaiah Hartenstein just got 3/$87. Gobert's gonna command that in free agency.

Then Rudy is gone after next season or at least before the 2026-27 season when his current contract expires.

A couple things:

1. I'll be happy to be proved wrong but that's a pretty huge number for Hartenstein. There are not many centers that get that kind of money.

2. Gobert's player option is over 46.5 million. He could opt out and sign for 3 years and 90 million and that would still mean quite a bit of savings for the Wolves in year one of the deal. They would be paying him a little over 43 million the next 2 seasons more than if he opted in and simply left. Considering the mid-level will likely be well over 15 million those years well then that number may not sound so bad. I could see the numbers being a little higher or lower than that I can see people not wanting to pay Gobert anywhere near that for 2 more years. I can see the merit in it and maybe even end up being a pretty good value if Gobert continues to be a very high level player. I'd be surprised if something gets worked out before this off-season especially after that Hartenstein deal.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 4:24 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 9:19 am

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 9:15 am He may extend, maybe even drop the player option to extend, but it won't be for the type of money Naz Reid would turn down. Isaiah Hartenstein just got 3/$87. Gobert's gonna command that in free agency.

Yeah, I doubt it would by anything less than 30 mil, and probably more.

It really comes down to KAT. He is the only reason the Wolves are committed to a minimum of two straight years above the 2nd apron. He is a valuable player and important part of the Wolves being a great team. But he ain't worth that contract he has!

If the rest of the League sees KAT as you do, then he’s not tradeable as a practical matter. That means trading Rudy or letting Rudy walk unless Rudy takes a Mike Conley type discount on a 4-5 year deal. Even if Naz leaves, this team can’t afford to keep both Rudy and KAT into the 2026-27 season.

Lip, this has been my stance all along. The time for trading KAT has passed from a practical standpoint. And Rudy isn't going to finish his career on a discount. We need to let Rudy's contract run out or hopefully find a trading partner toward the end. hopefully we can extend NAZ but that might be a tough pull too. 2025-26 should be Rudy's last year with us unless something forces his exit sooner.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 5:27 pm

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 4:24 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 9:19 am

Yeah, I doubt it would by anything less than 30 mil, and probably more.

It really comes down to KAT. He is the only reason the Wolves are committed to a minimum of two straight years above the 2nd apron. He is a valuable player and important part of the Wolves being a great team. But he ain't worth that contract he has!

If the rest of the League sees KAT as you do, then he’s not tradeable as a practical matter. That means trading Rudy or letting Rudy walk unless Rudy takes a Mike Conley type discount on a 4-5 year deal. Even if Naz leaves, this team can’t afford to keep both Rudy and KAT into the 2026-27 season.

Lip, this has been my stance all along. The time for trading KAT has passed from a practical standpoint. And Rudy isn't going to finish his career on a discount. We need to let Rudy's contract run out or hopefully find a trading partner toward the end. hopefully we can extend NAZ but that might be a tough pull too. 2025-26 should be Rudy's last year with us unless something forces his exit sooner.

We still owe our 2029 first round pick, no way Connelly if he's still here or whoever the owners end up being are going to want the same thing that just happened to Paul George happen where the player leaves for nothing and you still owe picks for him.

A lot of good points being made in here, I am on the side of extending Rudy. I think his game will age well, keeps himself in incredible shape, and averages a healthy number of games played per season throughout his career. I don't ever recall him being injury prone in the playoffs either.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 5:27 pm

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 4:24 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 9:19 am

Yeah, I doubt it would by anything less than 30 mil, and probably more.

It really comes down to KAT. He is the only reason the Wolves are committed to a minimum of two straight years above the 2nd apron. He is a valuable player and important part of the Wolves being a great team. But he ain't worth that contract he has!

If the rest of the League sees KAT as you do, then he’s not tradeable as a practical matter. That means trading Rudy or letting Rudy walk unless Rudy takes a Mike Conley type discount on a 4-5 year deal. Even if Naz leaves, this team can’t afford to keep both Rudy and KAT into the 2026-27 season.

Lip, this has been my stance all along. The time for trading KAT has passed from a practical standpoint. And Rudy isn't going to finish his career on a discount. We need to let Rudy's contract run out or hopefully find a trading partner toward the end. hopefully we can extend NAZ but that might be a tough pull too. 2025-26 should be Rudy's last year with us unless something forces his exit sooner.

Yes. Just stepping back and looking at this objectively, the logic takes me to where you’ve been at for a while. The one caveat is that there could always be a team out there with some cap space that sees KAT as a big needle mover for them — someone who could substantially elevate their status from playoff team to contender.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 11:47 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 5:27 pm

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 4:24 pm

If the rest of the League sees KAT as you do, then he’s not tradeable as a practical matter. That means trading Rudy or letting Rudy walk unless Rudy takes a Mike Conley type discount on a 4-5 year deal. Even if Naz leaves, this team can’t afford to keep both Rudy and KAT into the 2026-27 season.

Lip, this has been my stance all along. The time for trading KAT has passed from a practical standpoint. And Rudy isn't going to finish his career on a discount. We need to let Rudy's contract run out or hopefully find a trading partner toward the end. hopefully we can extend NAZ but that might be a tough pull too. 2025-26 should be Rudy's last year with us unless something forces his exit sooner.

Yes. Just stepping back and looking at this objectively, the logic takes me to where you’ve been at for a while. The one caveat is that there could always be a team out there with some cap space that sees KAT as a big needle mover for them — someone who could substantially elevate their status from playoff team to contender.

Those teams are either deep into the process of a rebuild-- like the Nets or are teams that will do what they can to stay competitive, but hate KAT's guts, like Miami and Golden State.

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 02, 2024 5:18 pm

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 11:47 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2024 5:27 pm

Lip, this has been my stance all along. The time for trading KAT has passed from a practical standpoint. And Rudy isn't going to finish his career on a discount. We need to let Rudy's contract run out or hopefully find a trading partner toward the end. hopefully we can extend NAZ but that might be a tough pull too. 2025-26 should be Rudy's last year with us unless something forces his exit sooner.

Yes. Just stepping back and looking at this objectively, the logic takes me to where you’ve been at for a while. The one caveat is that there could always be a team out there with some cap space that sees KAT as a big needle mover for them — someone who could substantially elevate their status from playoff team to contender.

Those teams are either deep into the process of a rebuild-- like the Nets or are teams that will do what they can to stay competitive, but hate KAT's guts, like Miami and Golden State.

Miami and Golden State hate KAT? That doesn’t make any sense. Front office execs want players they believe can help them win. KAT was the best player on a 46-win Wolves team two years ago. He was instrumental in getting the Wolves into the play-in series when he returned from injury the next season. He was terrible in the Dallas series, but he was a key reason the Wolves won 56 games last season and made it to the Western Conference Finals. He’s an all-star caliber big and great offensive player with a 40% three-point shot. To top it all off, he’s become a good defender. And of course, he’s a model citizen with no baggage. Given all that, I doubt there are any teams that hate him and there are undoubtedly teams that really like him. At the same time, KAT is not a superstar but has a superstar contract.

I think Cool’s point, and I agree, is that KAT’s contract makes it difficult to trade him for the combination of cap relief and assets we’d want in return. To optimize his trade value, we would have had to trade him two or three years ago. My point is that there MIGHT be a competitive playoff team not in full rebuild mold who’d be willing to give us a decent return in exchange for KAT. But I think KAT is probably worth more to us as a player than a trade asset at this point.