Minnesota Sports Forum

Crazysauce wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 10:18 pm Any chance Boston deals Jaylen Brown after another disappointment in the playoffs? Who would say no to a Kat for Brown swap?

Conley
Ant
Brown
McDaniels
Gobert

I’ve thought about that possibility. It’s intriguing. But I don’t think Brown is a good fit next to Edwards. He seems too much of a solo artist/iso ball player. Edwards is our iso guy in the mold of MJ and Kobe. Brown is too much like Edwards but with a lower ceiling. Then again, I do like Brown.

Crazysauce wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 10:18 pm Any chance Boston deals Jaylen Brown after another disappointment in the playoffs? Who would say no to a Kat for Brown swap?

Conley
Ant
Brown
McDaniels
Gobert

Both teams say no. Boston sooner than we would. Trading for KAT is them saying they'd rather super max KAT than Brown, which is foolish

Brown would be nice, but he's a flight risk and he kinda makes McDaniels expendable.

I like brown more than Kat but just like Ant/Kat/gobert does not work financially. Neither does Ant/Brown/Gobert

Kat for Lebron

You know, if KAT had half a brain he could play a role a lot like Jokic. But he so reluctant to move the ball like Jokic does, it is so damn frustrating...

60WinTim wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 5:38 pm You know, if KAT had half a brain he could play a role a lot like Jokic. But he so reluctant to move the ball like Jokic does, it is so damn frustrating...

Let’s be honest Towns doesn’t have anywhere near Jokic’s passing skillset.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 10:53 pm

Crazysauce wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 10:18 pm Any chance Boston deals Jaylen Brown after another disappointment in the playoffs? Who would say no to a Kat for Brown swap?

Conley
Ant
Brown
McDaniels
Gobert

I’ve thought about that possibility. It’s intriguing. But I don’t think Brown is a good fit next to Edwards. He seems too much of a solo artist/iso ball player. Edwards is our iso guy in the mold of MJ and Kobe. Brown is too much like Edwards but with a lower ceiling. Then again, I do like Brown.

I agree with everything you said here but I think it would be a hard deal to turn down if you were considering moving Towns. Brown despite his flaws which Q has pointed out well is a pretty good player and would be a pretty good return for Towns. If you do that deal I think an extension for Brown would need to be part of it.

I will point out that it’s interesting to Imagine a premier combination of Edwards, Brown and McDaniels. Size, length and versatility would be pretty fantastic.

If you look at teams that could be pretty expensive in a couple years Boston could be there. If they keep Brown on a max deal and resign Grant Williams (that won’t be huge but not cheap) they will have 2 max guys and a bunch of dudes making healthy amounts of money for at least that one year.

Monster wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 6:01 pm

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 10:53 pm

Crazysauce wrote: ↑Mon May 22, 2023 10:18 pm Any chance Boston deals Jaylen Brown after another disappointment in the playoffs? Who would say no to a Kat for Brown swap?

Conley
Ant
Brown
McDaniels
Gobert

I’ve thought about that possibility. It’s intriguing. But I don’t think Brown is a good fit next to Edwards. He seems too much of a solo artist/iso ball player. Edwards is our iso guy in the mold of MJ and Kobe. Brown is too much like Edwards but with a lower ceiling. Then again, I do like Brown.

I agree with everything you said here but I think it would be a hard deal to turn down if you were considering moving Towns. Brown despite his flaws which Q has pointed out well is a pretty good player and would be a pretty good return for Towns. If you do that deal I think an extension for Brown would need to be part of it.

I will point out that it’s interesting to Imagine a premier combination of Edwards, Brown and McDaniels. Size, length and versatility would be pretty fantastic.

If you look at teams that could be pretty expensive in a couple years Boston could be there. If they keep Brown on a max deal and resign Grant Williams (that won’t be huge but not cheap) they will have 2 max guys and a bunch of dudes making healthy amounts of money for at least that one year.

I agree it would be tough to turn that down. But I’d still probably turn it down if I were in TC’s shoes. I just come back to McHale’s refrain - it’s not the five best players, it’s the five players who play best together. Fit matters and I don’t like Brown’s fit with Ant. Edwards is a MJ, Kobe Bryant type. He needs to be surrounded with Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc and Steve Kerr types or Darrick Fisher types. He fits well with Mike Conley. Ideally we’d have Conley in his prime or younger. Brown is just too ball-dominant, without high level playmaking or rebounding talent, to fit well with Ant.

Earlier, I threw out the follow possible trade with Portland:

Wolves get the following
- Simons
- Nurkic
- #3 and 23 picks this year
- 2024 2nd round pick (best of MN and Charlotte)
- 2024 2nd round pick (Atlanta’s)

I consider that deal underwhelming and we don’t even know if Scoot will fall to #3, in which case we’d be left with a walking red flag named Miller. We’ve already discussed the big question marks surrounding Scoot. If the Wolves did this deal and Scoot failed to develop into an all-star this deal would be catastrophically bad for the Wolves. Think about about what the Wolves gave up for a 30-year old largely one-way player last summer - (1) three rotation players, two of them starters, on a 46-win team, (2) the 20th pick in last year’s draft, (3) four future first-round picks, three of them totally unprotected and the last one in 2029 only marginally protected; and (4) 2026 pick swap. Dealing KAT solely for Simons, Nurkic, two firsts this year and two future 2nd rounders seems proportionately paltry in comparison.

Here’s another idea involving Charlotte:

Hornets Get: KAT & Knight
Wolves Get:
- Hayward
- Richard’s
- Charlotte’s 2023 #2 pick
- Charlotte’s 2023 #27 pick via Denver
- Charlotte’s 2023 #39 pick via Utah
- Charlotte’s 2026 1st round pick unprotected
- Charlotte’s 2028 1st round pick top 4 protected

This deal seems more in line with recent deals like the Wolves Gobert deal and the Suns Durant deal. In this scenario, the Wolves would get salary fodder in Hayward and a decent young center in Richards. The only meaningful asset compensation for the Wolves would be the draft picks - which would consist of four 1st round pics and one 2nd-round pick. Compare that to the Jazz getting five first round picks, a pick swap and three rotation player (two of them starters) on a winning team. Compare it to the Nets getting four unprotected 1st round picks, an all-star caliber player in Bridges and a talented rotation player in Cam Johnson.

I think this would be a fair deal in line with the current market. The Hornets would get a player in KAT who could pair with Ball, Terry Rozier and PJ Washington to form a dynamic offensive team. Knight is a prospect with upside. They’d have Mark Williams to provide interior defensive support for KAT if needed. And they have a mobile PF in PJ Washington alongside KAT. And they’d still have picks 34 and 41 in this year’s draft along with their own first round picks in 2025, 27 and 29. Another version would have the Wolves get Charlotte’s #34 pick instead of #27. If the idea is to cash out now on KAT and get Scoot in return, this strikes me as the way to go because of the total compensation package and the fact that it would ensure getting Scoot.

In response to my last post, I’ll counter with a Gobert variation of the KAT-Charlotte deal:

Hornets Get: Gobert, Knight, Wolves 2023 pick #53
Wolves Get:
- Hayward
- Charlotte’s 2023 #27 pick via Denver
- Charlotte’s 2023 #34 pick
- Charlotte’s 2026 1st round pick (lottery protected for two years before converting to two 2nds)

We might have to settle for this year’s #27 and 34. The Wolves would get the cap breathing room they need for 2024 and will avoid the awkward struggle to adapt to Gobert when players like KAT and Ant aren’t naturally suited to play with Rudy. More importantly, the Wolves would get two picks they could use to target young draft talent that I believe could be as good or better than Scoot. The players I have in mind are Maxwell Lewis, Brandon Podziemski, Amari Bailey, Julian Strawther, Keynotes Johnson and Trey Alexander. My top pick would be Podziemsk. He averaged 20 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and nearly 2 steals per game as a sophomore. He hit 48.3% of his FG attempts and nearly 44% of his threes. Importantly, he got to the line 4.5 times per game. If you watch video of him, you’ll see that those numbers are justified. He’s highly skilled, athletic and has a fantastic motor. He’s climbing up most draft boards. Right now he’s typically listed in the 35-40 range, but I think he’ll end up drafted in the 1st round. I’d target him with the #27 pick.