Minnesota Sports Forum

60WinTim wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 12:01 pm Assuming we have a player friction problem, who are the primary culprit(s)?

Could it simply be Rudy? Are we going to see a break up like Utah had when Rudy and Donovan Mitchell rubbed each other the wrong way? Rudy has been around quite awhile, so is it a Rudy-ANT problem? Or a Rudy-Randle problem?

Or is it Randle? He has worn out his welcome in the past with other teams. And are we talking a Randle-ANT problem? Or a Randle-Rudy problem?

Regardless, the one assumption we can make: ANT is the fixture. He's only 24, has the skills and tools to be our super-star, and is signed for 3 more years after this year.

Cool has argued that Randle is holding back Jaden's development, and he certainly has a point. The counter was "are we more interested in winning or developing Jaden?" But this recent string of bad losses makes you question whether we are really winning more with Randle than we would if we focused on developing Jaden.

I keep winding up with the same conclusion: Randle needs to go. But he's signed for 2 more years, including a player option. Finding a team that would want to add Randle seems like a challenge. Any thoughts on who that might be?

What I see is Jaden standing in the corner while deferring to Ant and Julius to carry the offense. It's exactly what I didn't want to see this season. Early in the season Jaden was aggressive, looking for his offense and he was very successful. Now it looks like the previous years and that is a shame. He's also not putting in his usual effort on the defensive end. I think he's looking around and wondering why he and Rudy are the only players invested on that end. I see him showing frustration, as much as Jaden can toward his teammates. He clearly cares and you can't say that about everybody.

60WinTim wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 12:01 pm Assuming we have a player friction problem, who are the primary culprit(s)?

Could it simply be Rudy? Are we going to see a break up like Utah had when Rudy and Donovan Mitchell rubbed each other the wrong way? Rudy has been around quite awhile, so is it a Rudy-ANT problem? Or a Rudy-Randle problem?

Or is it Randle? He has worn out his welcome in the past with other teams. And are we talking a Randle-ANT problem? Or a Randle-Rudy problem?

Regardless, the one assumption we can make: ANT is the fixture. He's only 24, has the skills and tools to be our super-star, and is signed for 3 more years after this year.

Cool has argued that Randle is holding back Jaden's development, and he certainly has a point. The counter was "are we more interested in winning or developing Jaden?" But this recent string of bad losses makes you question whether we are really winning more with Randle than we would if we focused on developing Jaden.

I keep winding up with the same conclusion: Randle needs to go. But he's signed for 2 more years, including a player option. Finding a team that would want to add Randle seems like a challenge. Any thoughts on who that might be?

Some outside the box Randle trades:

I think if Atlanta truly wanted to get rid of Trae they would take Randle but its so complicated with Trae's salary it seems impossible without making it a 3 or 4 or maybe 5 team trade.

Sacramento seems plausible since they like having duplication in their skill sets and Randle is pretty similar to Sabonis. Randle for many combinations of Malik Monk, Dennis Shroder, Devin Carter, Keon Ellis, Drew Eubanks and Dario Saric would work.

Would Utah deal Jusuf Nurkic and Kyle Anderson for Randle? I lean no but its a talent upgrade so maybe.

Would Phoenix do Royce ONeal, Grayson Allen and Nick Richards for Randle and one of Rob, TJ or Lenny? I think they would. That would bring in some useful depth.

I'm not seeing the locker room unhappiness or friction that some of you are. I see a camaraderie level that rivals any team in the league. You can see it in the way they interact on the bench, and how they go out of their way to praise their teammates in post game interviews. Ant was pissed yesterday, but he seems generally joyful to me most of the time. Rudy seems to enjoy his teammates. And reporters close to the team say Ju is as happy as he's ever been.

But that might be the problem...we're too content. Two conference finals in a row, everyone on a contract they like, a player-friendly coaching staff, and a 51-win pace this season may have led to contentment...and contentment can lead to performances like we saw yesterday. That's why I think they need some sort of shake up even more than someone to back up Rudy or a pass-first PG. Maybe replacing Finchy with a no-nonsense fiery coach could be the answer. But I would prefer bringing in a fiery in-your-face vet. Ju is Ju, and I agree that he is not likely to change his style of play because someone gets in his grill. But Ant seems to have both a thick skin and a lot of respect for guys who have been there and are willing to tell it like it is...I thought he played a lot harder on defense when Pat Bev was here than he does now for example. And the two guys not afraid to call out a teammate that Rap suggested as being easier to obtain might also provide a little on-court assistance too...SloMo for 10-12 non-Rudy minutes or Chris Paul if he could provide anything close to what he brought starting every game for the Spurs last season. A pass-first PG with a terrific assist to TO ratio like he had last season and who also doesn't need to take many shots away from his teammates seems like just what this team needs...and pairing Donte up with Naz off the bench would do wonders for our bench production. A quick google search of "CP to the Wolves" provides several articles in early December saying the Wolves were interested and that it would make sense. One article even said the talks were "in the advanced stages" (although the credibility of the author might be questionable, as she said CP's pick and roll ability would be terrific for Karl Anthony Towns!). TJ Shannon for CP works I think.

Anyway, 21-13 is fine I guess, but I still think this talented roster is capable of much more. I don't see ALore or TC as being long on patience, and I'm not going to be surprised if they either change coaches or bring in a kick-ass vet.

On the Chris Paul front, an interesting trade is Bones for Paul straight up. Not only do the Clippers get out from under Paul's salary, but Bones' salary only becomes guaranteed after January 10th. That's well before the trade deadline, so any trade involving Bones with a team intending to save salary cap must happen in the next 10 days.

Another interesting trade that someone mentioned awhile back is Randle and Mike for Ja and Jock Landale. We get another Aussie in house and send Mike to his former team for a retirement tour.

[Edit: We would need to add one more bit player to make the deal work... ]

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 12:37 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 12:01 pm Assuming we have a player friction problem, who are the primary culprit(s)?

Could it simply be Rudy? Are we going to see a break up like Utah had when Rudy and Donovan Mitchell rubbed each other the wrong way? Rudy has been around quite awhile, so is it a Rudy-ANT problem? Or a Rudy-Randle problem?

Or is it Randle? He has worn out his welcome in the past with other teams. And are we talking a Randle-ANT problem? Or a Randle-Rudy problem?

Regardless, the one assumption we can make: ANT is the fixture. He's only 24, has the skills and tools to be our super-star, and is signed for 3 more years after this year.

Cool has argued that Randle is holding back Jaden's development, and he certainly has a point. The counter was "are we more interested in winning or developing Jaden?" But this recent string of bad losses makes you question whether we are really winning more with Randle than we would if we focused on developing Jaden.

I keep winding up with the same conclusion: Randle needs to go. But he's signed for 2 more years, including a player option. Finding a team that would want to add Randle seems like a challenge. Any thoughts on who that might be?

What I see is Jaden standing in the corner while deferring to Ant and Julius to carry the offense. It's exactly what I didn't want to see this season. Early in the season Jaden was aggressive, looking for his offense and he was very successful. Now it looks like the previous years and that is a shame. He's also not putting in his usual effort on the defensive end. I think he's looking around and wondering why he and Rudy are the only players invested on that end. I see him showing frustration, as much as Jaden can toward his teammates. He clearly cares and you can't say that about everybody.

Cool, one thing we disagree on is whether Julius is bad or good for Jaden's development. I'm solidly on the "good" side. Jaden's offensive development was stagnant the three years before Ju arrived...his FGA per game were actually lower his 4th year than they were his second. That's not development. But his PPG have increased from 12.9 the year before Ju came to 16.7 now, and his TS% has improved from 57 to 60%. He's scoring more, and scoring more efficiently. Ju leads the Wolves in assists by a large margin, and although I don't have the stats on this, it seems to me that Jaden is one of his favorite targets. I think the main reason Jaden hangs in the corner is he knows he's likely to be open if Ju or Ant draws a double and gets the ball to him. And as I've mentioned before, Ju has a talent for delivering the ball in exactly the right place and at the right time. I think his passing has a lot to do with Jaden hitting 47% of his corner threes this season. As their chemistry continues to develop and if Jaden continues his upward trend in PPG, he is a 20 PPG scorer in the making.

Jaden is one of my favorite players, but as I commented in the GDT, something was wrong with him yesterday...I wouldn't be surprised if he had a virus, or maybe he's not an afternoon player. I saw no effort on offense...Rudy doesn't get many chances to shoot, but he is constantly moving and setting screens. Jaden was stagnant on offense yesterday...never moving without the ball. And I don't think I saw him set a pick all game. And surprisingly, I thought his effort on defense was commensurate with Ju's and Ant's...only Donte and Rudy were working their tails off on defense (well, Mike and Jaylen also, but they gave us nothing at the other end).

Jaden is another guy who might benefit from a fiery coach or veteran

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 12:33 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 12:01 pm Assuming we have a player friction problem, who are the primary culprit(s)?

Could it simply be Rudy? Are we going to see a break up like Utah had when Rudy and Donovan Mitchell rubbed each other the wrong way? Rudy has been around quite awhile, so is it a Rudy-ANT problem? Or a Rudy-Randle problem?

Or is it Randle? He has worn out his welcome in the past with other teams. And are we talking a Randle-ANT problem? Or a Randle-Rudy problem?

Regardless, the one assumption we can make: ANT is the fixture. He's only 24, has the skills and tools to be our super-star, and is signed for 3 more years after this year.

Cool has argued that Randle is holding back Jaden's development, and he certainly has a point. The counter was "are we more interested in winning or developing Jaden?" But this recent string of bad losses makes you question whether we are really winning more with Randle than we would if we focused on developing Jaden.

I keep winding up with the same conclusion: Randle needs to go. But he's signed for 2 more years, including a player option. Finding a team that would want to add Randle seems like a challenge. Any thoughts on who that might be?

I don't know who to blame either. Impossible to know without inside knowledge. And it may not be a "who", but just an overall team dynamic with no clear person to blame. That usually means a change in coach, since that's the easiest lever to pull.

As for Randle, I always go back to Miami. They already have such a stable culture and ethos that they can probably assimilate Julius's brand of moodiness without it infecting the rest of the team (if indeed he's the problem with the Wolves).
They could really use another scorer on that team that can create offense for himelf and others. He would work well with Herro and Powell, their two main perimeter threats. And Bam just isn't ideally suited as a 2nd/3rd option type. He could focus more of his energy on defense with Julius eating some innings as a scorer. The trick is who would we want in return that makes sense in terms of roster balance and salary matching?

Miami is actually an ideal trade partner for offloading Julius. He would excel in that environment in a weak Eastern Conference.

Call me crazy but I wouldn’t be opposed to a Randle for Wiggins swap.

Wiggins has actually found his role in the NBA the last few season and is putting up solid numbers in Miami. Averaging over 1 steal and block per game while shooting 49/41/72 splits.

Wiggins and Jaden as perimeter defenders would give us great length and switch ability.

60WinTim wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 1:11 pm On the Chris Paul front, an interesting trade is Bones for Paul straight up. Not only do the Clippers get out from under Paul's salary, but Bones' salary only becomes guaranteed after January 10th. That's well before the trade deadline, so any trade involving Bones with a team intending to save salary cap must happen in the next 10 days.

Another interesting trade that someone mentioned awhile back is Randle and Mike for Ja and Jock Landale. We get another Aussie in house and send Mike to his former team for a retirement tour.

[Edit: We would need to add one more bit player to make the deal work... ]

I would certainly do the Hyland for Paul trade, but I think the Clips might prefer someone with more upside like Shannon than a guy that has been let go now by several teams (even though I kinda like Hyland).

But Tim, would you really want to bring in the disaster that is Ja Morant? In addition to the character issues, he's another Trae Young in that his team performs much better when he is in street clothes. They have a winning record when he sits, and they're 6-11 when he plays! He can be fun to watch (like when he put up huge numbers in another loss last game), but I'll take a hard pass on the Ja-ster!

KiwiMatt wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 1:36 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 12:33 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 12:01 pm Assuming we have a player friction problem, who are the primary culprit(s)?

Could it simply be Rudy? Are we going to see a break up like Utah had when Rudy and Donovan Mitchell rubbed each other the wrong way? Rudy has been around quite awhile, so is it a Rudy-ANT problem? Or a Rudy-Randle problem?

Or is it Randle? He has worn out his welcome in the past with other teams. And are we talking a Randle-ANT problem? Or a Randle-Rudy problem?

Regardless, the one assumption we can make: ANT is the fixture. He's only 24, has the skills and tools to be our super-star, and is signed for 3 more years after this year.

Cool has argued that Randle is holding back Jaden's development, and he certainly has a point. The counter was "are we more interested in winning or developing Jaden?" But this recent string of bad losses makes you question whether we are really winning more with Randle than we would if we focused on developing Jaden.

I keep winding up with the same conclusion: Randle needs to go. But he's signed for 2 more years, including a player option. Finding a team that would want to add Randle seems like a challenge. Any thoughts on who that might be?

I don't know who to blame either. Impossible to know without inside knowledge. And it may not be a "who", but just an overall team dynamic with no clear person to blame. That usually means a change in coach, since that's the easiest lever to pull.

As for Randle, I always go back to Miami. They already have such a stable culture and ethos that they can probably assimilate Julius's brand of moodiness without it infecting the rest of the team (if indeed he's the problem with the Wolves).
They could really use another scorer on that team that can create offense for himelf and others. He would work well with Herro and Powell, their two main perimeter threats. And Bam just isn't ideally suited as a 2nd/3rd option type. He could focus more of his energy on defense with Julius eating some innings as a scorer. The trick is who would we want in return that makes sense in terms of roster balance and salary matching?

Miami is actually an ideal trade partner for offloading Julius. He would excel in that environment in a weak Eastern Conference.

Call me crazy but I wouldn’t be opposed to a Randle for Wiggins swap.

Wiggins has actually found his role in the NBA the last few season and is putting up solid numbers in Miami. Averaging over 1 steal and block per game while shooting 49/41/72 splits.

Wiggins and Jaden as perimeter defenders would give us great length and switch ability.

Interesting, kiwi, and I agree our perimeter defense would be better. But what happens to our distributing and rebounding? Ju ranks 1st and 2nd on the Wolves in those important categories, while Wig ranks 5th in both. I think Miami would do that deal because they don't really have a PF, but I wouldn't.

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 9:35 am Chris Paul and Kyle Anderson are the easiest to obtain. We know Paul got kicked out of the Clippers, because he was criticizing effort levels and coaching. Anderson wasn't afraid to tell Ant and Kat when they weren't playing well, and got into a fight with Rudy over his effort in a big game.

The reason why Chris Paul failed in LA this time around is because nobody really respects a vet leader who doesn't play.

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 1:43 pm

KiwiMatt wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 1:36 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Thu Jan 01, 2026 12:33 pm

I don't know who to blame either. Impossible to know without inside knowledge. And it may not be a "who", but just an overall team dynamic with no clear person to blame. That usually means a change in coach, since that's the easiest lever to pull.

As for Randle, I always go back to Miami. They already have such a stable culture and ethos that they can probably assimilate Julius's brand of moodiness without it infecting the rest of the team (if indeed he's the problem with the Wolves).
They could really use another scorer on that team that can create offense for himelf and others. He would work well with Herro and Powell, their two main perimeter threats. And Bam just isn't ideally suited as a 2nd/3rd option type. He could focus more of his energy on defense with Julius eating some innings as a scorer. The trick is who would we want in return that makes sense in terms of roster balance and salary matching?

Miami is actually an ideal trade partner for offloading Julius. He would excel in that environment in a weak Eastern Conference.

Call me crazy but I wouldn’t be opposed to a Randle for Wiggins swap.

Wiggins has actually found his role in the NBA the last few season and is putting up solid numbers in Miami. Averaging over 1 steal and block per game while shooting 49/41/72 splits.

Wiggins and Jaden as perimeter defenders would give us great length and switch ability.

Interesting, kiwi, and I agree our perimeter defense would be better. But what happens to our distributing and rebounding? Ju ranks 1st and 2nd on the Wolves in those important categories, while Wig ranks 5th in both. I think Miami would do that deal because they don't really have a PF, but I wouldn't.

Ware and Adebayo are a real good frontcourt.