Windy reporting that Ant has questions about the future roster he wants answered

[Lipoli390]

I have no doubt that Ant wants to win. I also have no doubt he believes, as nearly all of us do, that this roster is not quite at a championship level. The vague comments attributed to Ant about him questioning the roster, if true, seem pretty trivial to me and certainly not a signal for the organization to panic. It certainly doesn’t and shouldn’t change the mission or strategy of the organization. The mission is to improve the roster enough to go from very solid playoff team to a championship contender. The strategy for accomplishing that mission should not change at all just because Ant views the situation exactly as we do and as the facts show. The question remains now as it was before: what moves should the organization make this summer to nudge this team up to championship contender status while Ant, as our centerpiece, is still under contract for the next three seasons?

The answer to that question has nothing to do with what players Ant wants the organization to acquire. Seriously, would you trust Ant as your team’s GM or PBO?? He’s not dumb, but he’s not a student of the game to say the least in the same vein as LeBron or other stars before him. The question is this: What deals, free agent acquisitions and/or draft picks can TC realistically make before next season that will materially improve the team to the point of contending with OKC and the Spurs either next season or the next two season after that while Ant is under contract? The answer to that question in my view has absolutely nothing to do with what Ant wants even though surrounding Ant with players that play effectively with him and bring out the best in him is critical. I just don’t trust Ant to make that judgment and TC shouldn’t trust him in that way either.

As I see it, it all starts with moving Randle this summer since we know he’s not a good fit with Ant and can’t be counted on for rebounding or defense. Whether we move other players and who we move depends of course on what/who we can get in return for them as well as what we end up getting in return for Randle. I don’t have the answer but TC is paid the big bucks and has a big highly-paid staff to come up with those answers. But while I don’t have the answer, I’m convinced the answer is not a 34-year old Kyrie Irving coming off ACL surgery and that’s before considering what we’d have to give up to get him. I don’t see Giannis or Kawhi as the answer either after considering what we’d have to give up to get either one. Giannis is tempting, but I can’t see a realistic Giannis deal for the Wolves that would result in significant net improvement because we don’t have the draft assets to avoid giving up key players. The same is true to a lesser degree for the 34-year old Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi is a great player but I don’t think Kawhi can be trusted to get on the court and go all-in for this team. He’s 34, doesn’t play unless 100% and remains a mercurial figure I’d be wary of. So as I’ve said before, the answer doesn’t lie in big-game hunting for aging, injury-prone former stars and as much as it would be great to get Giannis while still on the back side of his prime, we don’t have the assets to turn acquiring Giannis into a significant NET improvement.

The answer lies somewhere in the following as I see it:

1. The addition by subtraction benefit of moving on from Randle
2. Improvement from players young enough to still improve - Ant, Jaden, Ayo, TSJ and Beringer.
3. Acquiring a really good net-beneficial player or two in exchange for Randle & possibly pick 28 - maybe Jrue Holiday or other PG
4. Using the taxpayer MLE to sign an impact rotation player - adding rebound, defense, 3-point shooting and/or toughness.

I don’t think the Wolves should or have to take a step back next season to take two steps forward the following season by going young. I just don’t think we should go old or old and expensive. But I’ll also add that if TC sees a really good opportunity to take a step back next season with huge upside the final two years of Ant’s contract thereafter, then by all means he should consider it.

Back to Ant for a minute. If he is really agitating behind the scenes or begins to send signals of going “Jimmy Butler” on us, then we can and should pivot to Cool’s strategy of dealing Edwards while at his peak and rebuilding with a ton of high-level assets we’d get in return for him. That’s not the path I’d choose right now, but it’s an option for next summer or the summer after that while he’s still under contract and in his prime.

[60WinTim]

LIIIIPPPP!!! I can't believe you didn't include ROCCO in your list of young players!! Come on, man!

[TAFKASP]

Back to Ant for a minute. If he is really agitating behind the scenes or begins to send signals of going “Jimmy Butler” on us, then we can and should pivot to Cool’s strategy of dealing Edwards while at his peak and rebuilding with a ton of high-level assets we’d get in return for him. That’s not the path I’d choose right now, but it’s an option for next summer or the summer after that while he’s still under contract and in his prime.

We could get back to being Wolves fans, excited for the draft and hopefully for the future. Of course that'd include being disappointed with the results, but how is that different than this past season?

[Coolbreeze44]

Excellent post Lip, and I support you on most of it. One thing I would argue is that Ant IS dumb, but your totally right that TC shouldn't listen to him about how to shape the roster for the next 3 years. As far as the players that are being talked about I largely agree with your take. We don't have the assets to get Giannis unless we gut the entire team and our intermediate future. Kyrie at his age and coming off a major injury would be a terrible idea unless we can get him for Randle and not much more. Kawhi is my favorite player in the league outside of our team, but realistically what Leonard would we be getting? He's finally found himself in his favorite market, how enthused would he be about moving to Minnesota? And then you consider he will only play when he feels completely healthy, It just seems like a bad idea to me. The guy I would focus on is Jalen Suggs. Orlando has a lot of guards and also need to make some moves to become legit contenders. Suggs is a local and plays good defense and is just entering his prime. It's not the only move we should make, but it would give us the point guard we've sorely missed and allow Ayo to come off the bench which I think is his best role. We should also look to move Rudy and he should bring back something decent in return too. I like your comment about how it's up to TC to assemble the championship contending roster. He knows a lot more than I do and I trust him to give us a shot next year. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does.

[Coolbreeze44]

One more thing on Lip's post. I'm not advocating for an Ant trade, I just don't think he should be considered untradeable. Better players than him have been traded before.

[AussieWolf3]

One more thing on Lip's post. I'm not advocating for an Ant trade, I just don't think he should be considered untradeable. Better players than him have been traded before.

Lol this forum subplot just won't die
Say with your chest Cool! You hate Ant and you wish he would never set foot in the state of Minneapolis ever again!

[Coolbreeze44]

One more thing on Lip's post. I'm not advocating for an Ant trade, I just don't think he should be considered untradeable. Better players than him have been traded before.

Lol this forum subplot just won't die
Say with your chest Cool! You hate Ant and you wish he would never set foot in the state of Minneapolis ever again!

State? LOL

[Lipoli390]

Excellent post Lip, and I support you on most of it. One thing I would argue is that Ant IS dumb, but your totally right that TC shouldn't listen to him about how to shape the roster for the next 3 years. As far as the players that are being talked about I largely agree with your take. We don't have the assets to get Giannis unless we gut the entire team and our intermediate future. Kyrie at his age and coming off a major injury would be a terrible idea unless we can get him for Randle and not much more. Kawhi is my favorite player in the league outside of our team, but realistically what Leonard would we be getting? He's finally found himself in his favorite market, how enthused would he be about moving to Minnesota? And then you consider he will only play when he feels completely healthy, It just seems like a bad idea to me. The guy I would focus on is Jalen Suggs. Orlando has a lot of guards and also need to make some moves to become legit contenders. Suggs is a local and plays good defense and is just entering his prime. It's not the only move we should make, but it would give us the point guard we've sorely missed and allow Ayo to come off the bench which I think is his best role. We should also look to move Rudy and he should bring back something decent in return too. I like your comment about how it's up to TC to assemble the championship contending roster. He knows a lot more than I do and I trust him to give us a shot next year. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does.

I love the Jalen Suggs idea. I like his skills and his toughness. I’ve had my eye on him for a couple years as a potential trade target for the Wolves. I’m not sure what it would take to get him. Who do we have who Orlando might want? The only guy who comes to mind is Rudy. They clearly don’t need Randle with Palo as their starting PF and star. I wouldn’t trade Jaden or Naz to get him.

[AussieWolf3]

One more thing on Lip's post. I'm not advocating for an Ant trade, I just don't think he should be considered untradeable. Better players than him have been traded before.

Lol this forum subplot just won't die
Say with your chest Cool! You hate Ant and you wish he would never set foot in the state of Minneapolis ever again!

State? LOL

[Wolvesfan21]

The disrespect for Kyrie here is over the top to me. He completely cooked us two years ago and 34 yo is not 34 of 1980, guys take care of themselves much more with improved diets and technology. He's had plenty of time off to rest and rehab. I expect he's going to be a top 5 PG again this season. Some of these lower end guys, they just won't add much, especially when facing the elite defenses. You need special talent to beat the OKC's and SA's or incredible team chemistry.

The bottom line to me is I don't think Ju was the "big problem" and just replacing him with a middling starter solves much. Sure team chemistry matters a ton. But talent matters more. Kyrie is arguably the most talented PG to ever play and if we can get him I take the swing that he's going to stay healthy and motivated here. Winning matters a lot to these guys. So it could work really really well.

The other thing to consider is that both SA and even OKC are going to improve at a faster rate then us, they're both younger and deeper. The only real shot I see is hoping to hit a homerun. I hope we take the swing and it'd be fun to watch as well (having another elite talent next to Ant).