Camden wrote:I wasn't sure where to post this and didn't find it important enough to start a new thread, but Tim Connelly mentioned that the Timberwolves might not be done this off-season as far as moves made. He said they still have "a couple of" roster spots still to play with and that they were working on a couple of their guys, which I took to mean that they were looking to extend several of their current players. I would expect those to be D'Angelo Russell, Jaylen Nowell, and possibly even Naz Reid, though he would undoubtedly be lesser priorities than the first two.
Cam - I saw those comments as well yesterday. I thought his reference to a couple roster spots to "play with" suggested that he might have be alluding to possibly trading Naz and filling the open spot. I was reading his remarks pretty literally (probably too literally). I took "couple" to mean two spots. I viewed "play with" as manipulate (open up or fill) rather solidify with a contract extension.
Here's my version of Doogie-like speculation. I think they're going to extend Nowell and trade Naz. I think it's 50-50 now on whether they'll extend DLO or let him play out the season. I think there's zero chance they trade DLO.
I had watched that a couple times and I didn't even think of them doing extensions which does make sense. I had wondered if maybe there was a guy that hadn't been signed yet like Forbes but looking at ESPN Wolves transaction list it has Minott signing on July 22.
I would not be shocked to see them trade Naz if they were able to get value for him (even just a future 2nd rounder which the Wolves don't have many of) and then fill his spot with another worthwhile player.
Camden wrote:I wasn't sure where to post this and didn't find it important enough to start a new thread, but Tim Connelly mentioned that the Timberwolves might not be done this off-season as far as moves made. He said they still have "a couple of" roster spots still to play with and that they were working on a couple of their guys, which I took to mean that they were looking to extend several of their current players. I would expect those to be D'Angelo Russell, Jaylen Nowell, and possibly even Naz Reid, though he would undoubtedly be lesser priorities than the first two.
Cam - I saw those comments as well yesterday. I thought his reference to a couple roster spots to "play with" suggested that he might have be alluding to possibly trading Naz and filling the open spot. I was reading his remarks pretty literally (probably too literally). I took "couple" to mean two spots. I viewed "play with" as manipulate (open up or fill) rather solidify with a contract extension.
Here's my version of Doogie-like speculation. I think they're going to extend Nowell and trade Naz. I think it's 50-50 now on whether they'll extend DLO or let him play out the season. I think there's zero chance they trade DLO.
The couple of roster spots could simply be the 15th spot that they have remaining and the second two-way spot, but I see where you're coming from with your take.
I think they really want to extend Jaylen Nowell, but he may end up betting on himself and testing unrestricted free agency next summer. My feeling is that this organization is almost as high on him as they are Jaden McDaniels given his proficiency to score the basketball in a multitude of ways as well as play-make a little bit.
Your 50-50 odds on whether a D'Angelo Russell extension gets done are probably fair. I agree that there's zero chance he gets traded before the season. Russell has been pretty vocal about wanting to stay here and get a deal done. It certainly sounds like Minnesota would have interest in keeping him, but at what price? That's still the big unknown there. Maybe they want to see what all of these pieces look like together before making that commitment. I can respect that. I just continue to think they might end up having to pay more next summer to retain him, or lose him entirely, if they make that gamble.
Camden wrote:I wasn't sure where to post this and didn't find it important enough to start a new thread, but Tim Connelly mentioned that the Timberwolves might not be done this off-season as far as moves made. He said they still have "a couple of" roster spots still to play with and that they were working on a couple of their guys, which I took to mean that they were looking to extend several of their current players. I would expect those to be D'Angelo Russell, Jaylen Nowell, and possibly even Naz Reid, though he would undoubtedly be lesser priorities than the first two.
Cam - I saw those comments as well yesterday. I thought his reference to a couple roster spots to "play with" suggested that he might have be alluding to possibly trading Naz and filling the open spot. I was reading his remarks pretty literally (probably too literally). I took "couple" to mean two spots. I viewed "play with" as manipulate (open up or fill) rather solidify with a contract extension.
Here's my version of Doogie-like speculation. I think they're going to extend Nowell and trade Naz. I think it's 50-50 now on whether they'll extend DLO or let him play out the season. I think there's zero chance they trade DLO.
The couple of roster spots could simply be the 15th spot that they have remaining and the second two-way spot, but I see where you're coming from with your take.
I think they really want to extend Jaylen Nowell, but he may end up betting on himself and testing unrestricted free agency next summer. My feeling is that this organization is almost as high on him as they are Jaden McDaniels given his proficiency to score the basketball in a multitude of ways as well as play-make a little bit.
Your 50-50 odds on whether a D'Angelo Russell extension gets done are probably fair. I agree that there's zero chance he gets traded before the season. Russell has been pretty vocal about wanting to stay here and get a deal done. It certainly sounds like Minnesota would have interest in keeping him, but at what price? That's still the big unknown there. Maybe they want to see what all of these pieces look like together before making that commitment. I can respect that. I just continue to think they might end up having to pay more next summer to retain him, or lose him entirely, if they make that gamble.
Cam - Your comment about how much value the organization probably values Nowell is interesting. I was actually thinking the same thing and I was wondering if his name came up in the Gobert trade discussions with the Jazz. If so, I suspect that Connelly resisted including him - although probably not to the same extent as McDaniels. It's obvious that Finch is really high on Nowell and I happen to share Finch's positive view since, as you know, I've been a huge Nowell booster since Rosas drafted him. I worry about Nowell's defense, but I think his offensive skill set is excellent.
Regarding a possible Nowell extension, I can see where Nowell might be inclined to bet on himself. But I still think he'll agree to an extension with the Wolves. He knows the coaching staff like him a lot and want him to have a major role on this team. He knows this team is built to win and would appear to any player worth his salt.
We haven't heard anything about the possibility of Naz getting traded. So I'm just going with my gut on that. This team was the worst defensive rebounding team in the League last season (or second from worst). Gobert is a big help, but the team is losing a lot of rebounding with the loss of Vando's 8.4 rebounds per game in only 25.4 minutes. We're also losing Beverley's 4.1 boards per game. Naz doesn't help this team much on the boards or defensively. I don't have any trade ideas in mind, but I can see Naz Reid getting moved for a veteran big who help more defensively and on the boards.
1. There is enough reporting out there that Jalen Brunson was willing to sign an extension with Dallas for much less than he ended up signing with he Knicks for. Dallas was the side that kept turning it down.
2. Players like Nowell or Brunson haven't really made much money yet. Some guys that have signed a first decent sized contract maybe even as a 1st round pick might be more willing to take a chance but Nowell currently is a young player that hasn't established himself yet. An injury could keep him from getting a big contract or derail his career altogether. There are various examples of guys that turned down nice offers and regretted it. Bazz is one of them Schroeder is another. Nerlens Noel is another one. For Nowell right now there is real risk of not ever getting paid that big/bigger money.
3. What are the Wolves willing to offer? What number for Nowell makes it not worth the risk and just sign now? Brunson's reported amount was 4 years 55 million which is like half what he signed for this offseason. Nowell likely isn't gonna be able to get something that good as he hasn't proven himself as much as Brunson had. Would a 4 year $40 million deal make him want to sign? Maybe a 3 year deal instead? If the Wolves value him anywhere near what Cam and Lip have suggested my guess is they would offer that much maybe without any hesitation. I don't know what I would be willing to offer but if I was Nowell I would be listening to anything around 10 million a year all while eyeing the 2023 offseason and what I might be able to earn on the open market.
4. Role. As Lip mentioned he may want to stay here because he likes it here the coaching staff and a clear role. Well that role was one of the issues with him staying before the Wolves cleared the way for him basically like they promised. That probably helps Nowell feel good about how they value him. He may still want to wait and see if he gets the role he thinks he will get and maybe thinks he deserves when the season begins. Will Rivers or Forbes or someone else it into his minutes? Again this MIGHT be another decision to be made after the season is a few games in and everyone feels good about where things are going.
5. Nowell just turned 23 and so if Nowell signed a 3 year deal he would have just turned 26 going into an offseason off that contract. If he turns into a really good player then he can cash in then. Even off a 4 year deal just turning 27 he would probably be plenty in demand. How much did Even Fournier get last year and he was older? Nowell could also get an extension from the Wolves like Norman Powell did.
It would be great to see the Wolves and Nowell to get a contract worked out. I don't know if something gets done before the season or not. I'm a big fan of Nowell but I also recognize there is risk in signing him to a decent sized deal. It could go wrong he might end up not being that good. I'm not saying I wouldn't sign him but it's certainly something I would be carefully considering what number I would go up to right now to get him locked up. To meet in the middle each side is going to be risking something and be driven by risk. The Wolves risking that Nowell isn't as good as they hope while also having the risk of losing him next offseason. Nowell is risking the possibility of getting an even bigger payday but also has the risk of injury or not getting a contract even close to what the Wolves are offering.
I'd offer Jaylen Nowell a four-year, $36-million extension. I think that appropriately values him given his solid-yet-limited production to this point, the potential he still has, and the similar deals across the league -- such as Cody Martin's four-year, $32-million deal, for instance. Perhaps Nowell's value goes up over the course of the season in which the terms of that offer would as well, but there's enough security there for both sides that I think they could reach an agreement in that range.
The Timberwolves signed Nathan Knight to two-year deal that includes a team option. I did not see that coming. They definitely like Knight more than I do, but he has some of the same abilities as Jarred Vanderbilt. That's all 15 roster spots filled now.
Camden wrote:The Timberwolves signed Nathan Knight to two-year deal that includes a team option. I did not see that coming. They definitely like Knight more than I do, but he has some of the same abilities as Jarred Vanderbilt. That's all 15 roster spots filled now.
Interesting. Not what I would have done, but that's nothing new with the Connelly regime. :). It was clear they like him based on comments Finch has made. It was also telling that Knight was one of a small group of Wolves players from last season who attended the Wolves Summer League. So that means we have an open two-way slot. I'd give that slot to Kevon Harris, which pretty much guarantees Connelly won't sign Harris to the slot.
Camden wrote:The Timberwolves signed Nathan Knight to two-year deal that includes a team option. I did not see that coming. They definitely like Knight more than I do, but he has some of the same abilities as Jarred Vanderbilt. That's all 15 roster spots filled now.
Interesting. Not what I would have done, but that's nothing new with the Connelly regime. :). It was clear they like him based on comments Finch has made. It was also telling that Knight was one of a small group of Wolves players from last season who attended the Wolves Summer League. So that means we have an open two-way slot. I'd give that slot to Kevon Harris, which pretty much guarantees Connelly won't sign Harris to the slot.
What are you doing posting here Lip get on the phone with Connelly about Kevon!!!
It's certainly a little surprising that the Wolves signed Knight to an NBA deal but my guess is that some teams were showing interest in signing him to a deal and the Wolves liked him enough they wanted to keep him around and on their own terms. Maybe Knight isn't an NBA player but to some extent I think he has done enough to deserve this. It's not a no brainer for me and I like Knight more than most people but we have learned as Lip noted in the last couple weeks the Wolves clearly value Knight and so this type of deal isn't that shocking.
So now the Wolves have an open 2-way spot. Whether it's Kevon Harris or someone else it's a bit exciting to have another shot at a younger player on the roster. It's kinda wild that the Wolves are kinda going all in and the roster hasn't really gotten significantly older. Once things are finalized it will be interesting to do the math on that.
"Austin Rivers' veteran minimum contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves is partially guaranteed for $650,000, becoming fully guaranteed on the league-wide guarantee date in January, a league source tells
@spotrac"
OK I went ahead and did a breakdown of the roster from last year to this year in terms of age. I believe I have ages of when the players started or will start the season.
Players still on the roster with an NBA deal from last season.
Towns
Russell
Edwards
McDaniels
McLaughlin
Prince
Nowell
Reid
Players not with the team age when starting last season
Beverly 33
Okogie 23
Layman 27
Bolmaro 21
Vanderbilt 22
Monroe 31
Beasley 24
Combined age of these players 181
combined age starting this season 188
New players on NBA deal
Anderson 29
Forbes 29
Gobert 30
Rivers 30
Knight 25
Moore Jr 21
Minott 20
Combined age of these players starting this season 184
2-way last season
Knight 23
Wright 21
2-way this season
Lawson 22
???
We will see what shakes out with the 2 way deal Kevon Harris would really make this team old! lol
So looking at the new players to the roster on regular NBA deals they are older than last year's players but if you consider that if we had kept all the same players they would have aged a year then this year's group is actually a little younger than what we would have had if we made no moves. Having Monroe on the roster does kinda skew things a bit older for last year but I think its ok to include him as Austin Rivers is on a partially guaranteed deal. Basically the Wolves subtracted Layman, Beverly and Monroe as veterans and added 4 veterans in Gobert, Forbes, Anderson and Rivers. No matter how you slice it the Wolves are still a pretty young team.
