Possible Timberwolves Draft Day Trades

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I would take Russell in a heartbeat if we could do it. He has the skill set we desperately need and don't have at all. Offense off the dribble. If we could land him without losing Covington that would exponentially improve our production on the wing next year. I have no idea how they plan to get it done, but the key is to get it done early so Brooklyn doesn't have time to wait on a big name before they need to make a decision. If they get any interest from a bigger name that's the time to strike.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

KAT and Russell?

Defense for days!

Exactly. These two could make quite an offensive pairing (and Russell is still pretty inefficient by the way, he isn't THAT good yet on offense), but this does nothing to address the team's greatest weakness.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

KAT and Russell?

Defense for days!

Exactly. These two could make quite an offensive pairing (and Russell is still pretty inefficient by the way, he isn't THAT good yet on offense), but this does nothing to address the team's greatest weakness.

Yep I'll pass on Russell too. I know it's cute that he and KAT are besties but he's all hat and no cattle.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

KAT and Russell?

Defense for days!

Exactly. These two could make quite an offensive pairing (and Russell is still pretty inefficient by the way, he isn't THAT good yet on offense), but this does nothing to address the team's greatest weakness.

Yep I'll pass on Russell too. I know it's cute that he and KAT are besties but he's all hat and no cattle.

So who is the all around guy we can get that fills all roles? If everyone around KAT needs to play plus defense who's available that can do that and create offense off the dribble and shoot 3's. You guys are basically asking for Kawhi Leonard to make it work. Or and hear me out. We get a wing who can create offense and shoot 3's and allow KAT to focus more energy on the defensive side of the ball where his impact is greater than any wing defender we can get. Rather than needing 30/15 KAT he can go 20/12 with good defense.

[Lipoli390]

KAT and Russell?

Defense for days!

Exactly. These two could make quite an offensive pairing (and Russell is still pretty inefficient by the way, he isn't THAT good yet on offense), but this does nothing to address the team's greatest weakness.

Yep I'll pass on Russell too. I know it's cute that he and KAT are besties but he's all hat and no cattle.

So who is the all around guy we can get that fills all roles? If everyone around KAT needs to play plus defense who's available that can do that and create offense off the dribble and shoot 3's. You guys are basically asking for Kawhi Leonard to make it work. Or and hear me out. We get a wing who can create offense and shoot 3's and allow KAT to focus more energy on the defensive side of the ball where his impact is greater than any wing defender we can get. Rather than needing 30/15 KAT he can go 20/12 with good defense.

Good points, Kahn's. I like your idea of getting someone to pick up some of KAT's offensive load and allowing KAT to focus more on defense. I still wonder how good KAT can be defensively. I've never though of his defensive limitations stemming from lack of effort or energy. It's always seemed more a lack of defensive instincts. But I'm not sure.

I think we have the makings of a really good 2-way player in Okogie. He brings extraordinary physical tools to the table - freakish length and stellar athleticism. There is little doubt that he will likely be an excellent defender. Defense has been his calling card and he loves to play on that side of the ball. The only question is his offense. But he showed plenty of offensive potential in college with per game averages his Sophomore session that included 18.2 points, 82% free throw shooting on a stellar 6.8 attempts, and 38% 3-point shooting on 4.2 attempts. He did all that against high level ACC competition.

We shouldn't give Okogie's poor shooting last season much weight. It was his rookie season having just turned 20 with only 2 years of college under his belt. Moreover, it was a tumultuous season with the Butler situation and two different head coaches. Note also that his shooting improved markedly after the all star break with his FG percentage jumping from 38.6% to 43% and his 3-point percentage jumping from 28% to 32%. Note further than some NBA star guards had similarly low percentages as rookies. While D. Russell shot 35% from behind the arc his rookie season, he only shot 41% overall. Kemba Walker hit only 36.6% of his FG attempts and only 30.5% of his 3-point attempts his rookie season. Kyle Lowry hit only 36.8% of his FG attempts his rookie season. And although he hit 37.5% of his three-pointers that season, his 3-point percentage dipped to 25.7% the following season. It takes time for players to reach their potential, more time for some than others.

The bottom line is this. We have someone on this roster, Josh Okogie, with tremendous potential. He's very young and locked in for several more years on a very team-friendly rookie-scale contract. He's known for his defense, which this team desperately needs. And there is solid data, his college stats and his physical profile, to suggest he has high offensive upside as well. My view is that the Wolves front office needs to be careful about trying to make a big splash with a trade for a max-contract player. The front office needs to consider carefully whether that max-deal player can play well on both sides of the ball. The front office also needs to be as certain as possible that the player is mental/emotionally solid and dependable over the long haul.

I think it's about time that this organization started developing its own high-end talent. I'm under no illusions when it comes to Wiggins. But when it comes to Okogie and even KBD, both high end talents with excellent motors, I expect this organization to develop them. Develop those guys and make smart picks in this year's draft. Then see how things shake out this season. Depending on how things are going, there will be trade opportunities at the February trade deadline and again next summer when even Gorgui's contract might be moveable for a fair deal. With Teague's salary coming off the books next summer the Wolves will also have more cap flexibility as well.

[AbeVigodaLive]

So we're all reasonably to unreasonably optimistic about Josh Okogie. But at the same time... would Okogie, even with what he's shown, really go THAT much higher than he actually went?

In some order...

Doncic
Bagley
Young
Ayton
Jackson
Carter
Bridges
Gilgous-Alexander
Bridges
Huerter
M. Robinson
Shamet
Sexton
Bamba

Still not even a lottery pick...

[Wolvesfan21]

I love Okogie but I really would have to put on my homer glasses to be fairly convinced he can become an all star type player. I think it's almost certain (barring injury) he will be a very good role player. But that is my opinion. :D

[kekgeek]

I think a big difference when we look at okogie 3 pt shooting compared to other bad shooting rookie preformances is okogie shot about 40% of his shots from 3 but of those 40% 32% was when nobody defended him at all (6+ft closes defender) and he only shot 30%. And when he was open (4-6 ft) he shot a dreadful 18% from 3. So he shot terribly and nobody defended him

[Wolvesfan21]

I think a big difference when we look at okogie 3 pt shooting compared to other bad shooting rookie preformances is okogie shot about 40% of his shots from 3 but of those 40% 32% was when nobody defended him at all (6+ft closes defender) and he only shot 30%. And when he was open (4-6 ft) he shot a dreadful 18% from 3. So he shot terribly and nobody defended him

Yep, nice points. Beyond the normal stat line. Nobody was defending Okogie on the three point line which hurt the entire offense. It's what worries me a bit about Clarke and his NBA potential. You almost have to have to be at least adequate on offense or a superstar defender to make up for it. I do think Clarke could become a superstar defender though.

Guys like Roberson are still very good NBA players even though they suck on offense.

Now Okogie could become a decent shooter, It's possible.

[KiwiMatt]

Really not much between the 11th and 22nd pick in this years draft in my opinion. A lot of potential, but also a lot of flaws.

I wouldn't be unhappy for us to trade down. For example:

Our 11th pick to Brooklyn for their 17th and 27th. I would even be ok with us including our 43rd pick to get it done as I think the tail end of the 1st round could nab a decent propspect. They also own the 31st pick.

Boston could also be a 'trade down' option with their 14th, 20th, 22nd and 51st picks.
Our 14th and 43rd picks for their 20th and 22nd. Draft Tyler Herro and Brandon Clarke (if available). That would be a solid draft.