Hard to know whether the Wolves would have made the playoffs if they would have come back with the same guys + Slo Mo. You’re probably right. Last season’s team with KAT finished 10 games over .500. Since KAT was the single most important player for the Wolves that season, it’s reasonable to believe KAT’s absence most of this season would have put the team in the lottery. However, Edwards and Jaden were significantly better this season than last and the addition of Slo Mo was a big positive. Given how well Kessler played as a rookie, I think it’s certainly possible the Wolves would have made the playoffs this season. Let’s keep in mind that while Vando and Beasley aren’t playing well in the playoffs, both of them (especially Vando) played well during the season.WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 5:06 pmI've been steadfast in believing last year's Wolves running it back woulda missed the playoffs. What I do think TC's obsession with getting a center was a reaction to Brandon Clarke owning Vando. If it wasn't Gobert it woulda been Capela or someone else.kekgeek wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 11:07 am I think these playoffs sort of show why the wolves didn’t just want to run it back last year. Dlo has been the worst rotation piece of these final 4 teams by far, Beasley out of the rotation, Vando a 10th man on a good team, Pat Bev regressed a lot this year offensively, bolmaro was nothing. Now it seems like the wolves picked the wrong guy to acquire but it’s being shown that the players they traded are not impactful players in the most meaningful games
The bigger point is that, had the Wolves missed the playoffs, they would have a lottery pick this year as well as all their future 1st-round picks along with lots of financial flexibility. All of that would have given the Wolves front office tremendous opportunity to maneuver. I agree with Kek that it seems the Wolves picked the wrong guy to acquire for all those assets. I’ll just add that in my view there was no right guy for all those assets unless we’re talking about Tyrese Haliburton, Jason Tatum, Luka Doncic or someone comparable. I’m more troubled by cashing out all those assets and the associated opportunity cost than I am by precisely who we traded away or even who we acquired. TC’s Gobert deal is not how you build a NBA contender if your franchise isn’t in Southern California or Miami. And even if it is in one of those locations, cashing out so many assets for one player typically doesn’t work.
Maybe a deal like TC’s trade for Rudy makes sense if your franchise is desperate. But your franchise isn’t close to desperate coming off a season in which the team finished 10 games over .500 with a 20 year old budding star and 21 year old budding #2. I was never opposed to trading any of the guys we dealt away other than Beverley and Kessler. I actually favored trading Beasley last summer. There were more strategic deals the Wolves could have made to improve the team without giving up nearly as much. There were also free agent possibilities.
Hopefully, TC is over his obsession. And I would hope TC has learned his lesson. We expect players to play to their strength. TC’s strength has always been identifying and picking quality young talent in the draft or as undrafted free agents. Unfortunately, he has a lot less to work with than he would if not for his blunder last summer. But he still has Ant and Jaden. Gobert still has trade value although nothing close to what the Wolves gave up to get him. And KAT has tremendous trade value although I’d be reluctant to move him.
