Minnesota Sports Forum

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Can't agree with that Cam. The Knicks haven't won anything since trading for Melo. Jackson is doing a good job but they are still a mess.

True, but when comparing the two teams and their results post-trade, both of them had immediate success (Knicks as a 2-seed and Nuggets as a 3-seed pretty recently), but look where the two teams are at moving forward. New York locked up Melo long term while Denver has plenty of pieces up in the air (Faried, Gallo, Chandler, Afflalo).

Also, none of the prospects Denver received in the Melo trade have been a homerun, or even a double for that matter. Gallo showed promise with 16 PPG one season (going off memory; correct me if wrong), but his injury set him back an entire season. New York has cap space next season to add someone of significance and the main reason someone would sign there is because they have Melo. Stars are attracted to stars. They can get at least one of them, if not more.

Neither team really came out fantastic from this deal for multiple reasons, but I still think NY won. I used to flip flop on this one, but my current stance is what I've posted above.

Q -- I can understand Pelton's grade for the Wolves from an analytics perspective focusing on Wiggins, although I disagree with his grade in light of the circumstances the Wolves faced. But there us no reasonable justification for Pelton's B+ for the Sixers, especially relative to the B- he fave the Wolves.

I honestly think this is one of those trade that works out well for everybody.

The Cavs go their 1B to go with their 1A and 1C.

The Wolves got that "idenity" that they were looking for----2 way players. And a shot a the top prospect in years...

And the Sixers go rid of ALL of their guarentee money and jump starting a complete rebuild with some promising players and all kinds of money. Has anyone seen this often?

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/philadelphia.htm

I think everyone got what THEY wanted, not some national media's prospective.

From our best friend Chad Ford:

Chad Ford @chadfordinsider 3d
Oh Flip, trading a 2015 1st rd pick in the 17-22 range for 1yr of Thad Young is nuts. Wolves will be awful either way

What a d-bag. All these BSPN guys are. Yes Chad youre right. We should have waited a year because it was certain he would come to the Wolves next year.

I think Flip said it best. We didn't have a PF that had started a game on the team. For the price of a mid 1st we land an experienced PF for next year and see if he is someone we want to keep long term past this year.

I would think everyone would be all over the Cavs doing this not knowing what Love is doing after this year. Sure he is likely to stay with the Cavs', but they should have required him to exercise that option to lock him up for 2 years.

Never been a Chad Ford fan anyway. I disagree with his thoughts on draft prospects all the time. Go figure, I also disagree with him on keeping a late 1st over a proven, good PF who's only 26 years old.

I would typically favor a mid first round pick over a decent but unspectacular veteran for a rebuilding team like the Wolves. However, in this instance I disagree completely with Chad Ford's take for the following reasons:

1. The Wolves already have a lot of recent first round picks with nice upside in Wiggins, Bennett, LaVine, Dieng and Shabazz. Add to that our second round pick, GRIII, who was widely regarded as a first round talent. That's six talented rookie or second year players on an active 12-man roster -- 4 of them drafted significantly higher than the 17-22 range projected for the Miami pick. At some point, adding additional picks or young prospects adds little if any incremental value and can, in fact, impede the overall development of the young talent on the roster. The Wolves have clearly reached that point with half our current active roster spots (assuming GRIII is signed) filled with rookies or second year players. There is only so much playing time to go around and PT is the single most important factor in a young player's development. For this reason alone, giving up the Miami pick for a very solid young vet like Thad Young is a no-brainer in my view.

2. NBA draft history tells us that a pick in the 17-22 range does not generally amount to much and is unlikely to be nearly as good as Thad Young already is. Again, this reason alone makes the Thad Young deal a good move.

3. If Chad is right that the Wolves won't win much next season, then the Wolves will retain their own first round pick likely in the 1-10 range. So, even without the Miami pick, the Wolves will already face the challenge of adding another talented young player to our already crowded group of youngsters -- adding further credence to Flip's decision to deal the pick for Young.

4. Thad Young is more than a decent rotation vet. He's a very good player who is just entering the prime of his career at age 26. His speed and athleticism fit well with the team's emerging identity and he is a super high character guy who will undoubtedly help establish the right culture for our group of talented youth both on the court and in the locker room. Getting him for a pick in the 17-22 range would be a good move under almost any circumstances, but it's particularly good given what the team needs and what Thad brings to the table.

5. As for the 1-year rental aspect, I think it's likely that Young will enjoy the prominent role he'll have here and I suspect he'll will be reluctant to turn down the $10 million guarantee he'd get by opting in. Otherwise, I think there's a very good chance he signs a multi-year extension at significantly less per year to remain part of a young team on the rise. Finally, worst case, if Young declines to opt-in, the Wolves will end up with significantly more cap space for free agent signings and trade flexibility.

Chad's view reflects an amazingly shallow understanding of the facts.

Correct on all accounts, Lip. I agree with you 100%.

Cavs- A+

They get a superstar player. Best PF in the game, top 5 player, for a player that was a huge overreach for a number one pick and was afwul, the number 1 pick that they had no right to get, and a pick that was considered a throw in to soften the blow of losing lebron.

It is the equivalent of a guy who blows all his money at the casino by constantly splitting 10's at the blackjack table, and on the way home finds a lottery ticket that happens to win the jackpot. They can lock up their prime for the next 5 years and will still have a prime Kyrie and 31 year old Love by the end of it. Either Gilbert must of saved a bus of puppies or sold his soul to get this level of karma.

Wolves A+

It's a weird grade because it's the biggest risk/reward trade for a superstar in history. This all pretty much depends on Wiggins and what he becomes. If he becomes George, then it's great, if he becomes Corey Brewer, then it could be the final nail in the coffin for this francise. All things considered, it was by far the best deal out, and kudos to Flip for holding onto it.

A good 98% of people were going with the idea of Love's value would never be higher then before the draft. People wanted the Celtics deal soo bad I can remember. I am so glad right now that we don't have a lineup of Rubio-Smart-Brewer-Olynk-Pek. That sounds just disgusting. That team has no chance of developing into anything worthwhile.

The other big to remember is the luck that went into this deal. It seemed like it was a done deal with GS for Love. But stupidly, people in GS pulled Klay off the table. Good lord will that bite them when they lose in the 1st round again, have to pay Klay the max, and be pretty much tapped out of potential.

The other big piece of luck was of course Lebron. I was 100% sure that there was no way he would leave Miami. Not only that, but based on his letter, saw this deal happen before anybody. Lebrons genius is something. I figured staying in Miami pretty much means they get to the finals for at least the next two years, then they would go from there. Instead, Lebron sees the idea of teaming with Kyrie and Love, and getting the same thing, only with a 5-7 window instead of a two year one.

Philly F

Yea I'm not a big fan. Here's the logic with the 76er move in my eyes. Philly is going to lose Thad anyway, because he doesn't want to be on a tanking team, so they trade him so they can continue to tank even more. Maybe if you didn't try to lose, your FA won't want to leave. I'm sure MCW is going to want to take a discount to stay around that environment

Alex, giving both the Wolves and Cavs A+ on the deal is an extraordinary win/win...doesn't happen very often with trades, but it looks like it might have this time.

You make a good point about the Boston deal not looking too good right now. Again, kudos to Flip for steering clear of that one. I think I was almost on board at one point in time with a Boston deal.