Wolves Draft and Free Agency Grades

[60WinTim]

I'd be very happy with Cam Payne

That was my favorite as well, until Monster (or somebody) posted his run in with the law a few weeks ago…

He got into a verbal spat with his lady, cops were called. When the cops showed up, the couple said it was fine, they just had an argument. Yes, he stupidly refused to give his name, then gave a false name, then gave his real name and recanted saying that was a nickname, then willingly went with the police and was released home shortly after. Nothing else has come up about it, so it's a non-story to me.

True, it could be a complete nothing burger. But he has been on 6 teams in his 9 year career. I'll support him if TC decides he is a good fit both on the court and in the locker room, but I am not holding my breath.

Me, I am tickled pink with the offseason thus far. I am with Wolvesfan: A+.

TC has a team returning its TOP 7 players of a 9-man rotation. The 8th player, SloMo, in his own words, had a "shitty year". He seemed unplayable at times in the playoffs. He could organize the offense, but his inability to make shots, especially from 3, was a real problem. The most cited problem for the Wolves in the playoffs was the poor offense generated by the bench. Enter Joe Ingles. Talk about addressing a team weakness? TC does not fool around.

And the 9th player in the rotation, averaging 15 minutes, will slated to be replaced by Dilly. In addition to outstanding scoring from all three levels, his ability to create shots both for himself and others is elite. Replacing Monte's game-manager skillset is another move TC made to improve the bench scoring. And TSJ has the makings of a really good two-way player. Again, TC didn't leave any bullets in the barrel (screw the #37 pick)!

I know we have to see how it all plays out, and whether some of these young guys are able to earn their minutes. But on paper, TC brought back the top 7 players of an elite defensive team and added offensive fire power to a deficient scoring bench. On paper, that's an A+.

[Monster]

I'll add something that occured to me last night is that if you love what Connelly did getting the Dillingham moving up to get that pick then you need to account for that move in your grade for FA. That move absolutely had an impact on Morris and his role here or even McLaughlin. If the Wolves don't move up for a PG prospect in the top 10 then if one of those guys had resigned they would have been looking at backup PG duties. That essentially went away with that pick. Opportunity matters in the NBA as it should.

[Monster]

That was my favorite as well, until Monster (or somebody) posted his run in with the law a few weeks ago…

He got into a verbal spat with his lady, cops were called. When the cops showed up, the couple said it was fine, they just had an argument. Yes, he stupidly refused to give his name, then gave a false name, then gave his real name and recanted saying that was a nickname, then willingly went with the police and was released home shortly after. Nothing else has come up about it, so it's a non-story to me.

True, it could be a complete nothing burger. But he has been on 6 teams in his 9 year career. I'll support him if TC decides he is a good fit both on the court and in the locker room, but I am not holding my breath.

Me, I am tickled pink with the offseason thus far. I am with Wolvesfan: A+.

TC has a team returning its TOP 7 players of a 9-man rotation. The 8th player, SloMo, in his own words, had a "shitty year". He seemed unplayable at times in the playoffs. He could organize the offense, but his inability to make shots, especially from 3, was a real problem. The most cited problem for the Wolves in the playoffs was the poor offense generated by the bench. Enter Joe Ingles. Talk about addressing a team weakness? TC does not fool around.

And the 9th player in the rotation, averaging 15 minutes, will slated to be replaced by Dilly. In addition to outstanding scoring from all three levels, his ability to create shots both for himself and others is elite. Replacing Monte's game-manager skillset is another move TC made to improve the bench scoring. And TSJ has the makings of a really good two-way player. Again, TC didn't leave any bullets in the barrel (screw the #37 pick)!

I know we have to see how it all plays out, and whether some of these young guys are able to earn their minutes. But on paper, TC brought back the top 7 players of an elite defensive team and added offensive fire power to a deficient scoring bench. On paper, that's an A+.

I'm certainly not marking Payne off my free agent list or saying he is a bad dude but its not nothing. I do also get that he didn't want his name out there about this incident. Overall it's not a huge issue based on the information that is out there.

Meanwhile the bigger issue about him signing here is I would assume he is going to be looking for a bigger role than 3rd PG behind a rookie. Eventually weeks from now closer to training camp someone might be like yeah sure I'll sign a vet min deal with the Wolves because there are no other better options and in doing so yeah they might get a few starts or legit chunks of playing time when Connelly is hurt or being rested etc. Of course there is also a chance of them just starting or playing NAW minutes there instead.

[Q-is-here]

I'll add something that occured to me last night is that if you love what Connelly did getting the Dillingham moving up to get that pick then you need to account for that move in your grade for FA. That move absolutely had an impact on Morris and his role here or even McLaughlin. If the Wolves don't move up for a PG prospect in the top 10 then if one of those guys had resigned they would have been looking at backup PG duties. That essentially went away with that pick. Opportunity matters in the NBA as it should.

Absolutely Monster. The acquisition of Dillingham had a chilling effect on the FA market for vet PGs coming (or staying) in Minnesota. It's a big gamble by Connelly, but it was an issue the franchise had been kicking the can on since trading DLO, knowing that Mike Conley had a limited shelf life.

[FNG]

This offseason has far exceeded my expectations, so I will give it overall an A. Nobody anticipated the move up to #8, and I love the choice...Rob is going to be a fun player to watch. And getting a 2-way mature player at 27 is exactly what a win-now team needed. I'm not a fan of Dozier, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over a 14th or 15th man. And Ingles has always been a favorite of mine, so getting him for the league minimum was a coup. I'll miss SloMo, but we couldn't afford him. And while I loved JMac's game, Finchie never did, so TC had to move on. Great offseason!

[60WinTim]

So here is an interesting twist that plays into this year's free agency: the Wolves could potentially be under the luxury tax in the 25-26' season! It happens if they only add vet minimum guys this offseason (and next offseason). It assumes NAW is too expensive and leaves, with the hope that Jaylen Clark and/or TSJ can fill his role. It assumes NAZ opts out and leaves, with the hope that some combination of Garza, Jesse Edwards, Miller and Minott are able to fill his role. And it assumes Gobert signs an extension starting in the 30 to 35 mil range.

Under the luxury tax with our starting 5 intact. Who woulda thunk it?!?

[Sundog]

FNG, my thoughts about this offseason entirely align with yours — Connelly gets an A in my book, draft and FAs

[Coolbreeze44]

I can't remember who said it, but it might have been Kevin O'Connell. He had a chance to watch TC operate during the draft and said it was amazing how fast his mind worked while analyzing all the options and opportunities that came up during the process. I still don't understand how he plucked #8 from San Antonio.

This guy is just different and we need to prioritize keeping him long term.

[Lipoli390]

I'll add something that occured to me last night is that if you love what Connelly did getting the Dillingham moving up to get that pick then you need to account for that move in your grade for FA. That move absolutely had an impact on Morris and his role here or even McLaughlin. If the Wolves don't move up for a PG prospect in the top 10 then if one of those guys had resigned they would have been looking at backup PG duties. That essentially went away with that pick. Opportunity matters in the NBA as it should.

Absolutely Monster. The acquisition of Dillingham had a chilling effect on the FA market for vet PGs coming (or staying) in Minnesota. It's a big gamble by Connelly, but it was an issue the franchise had been kicking the can on since trading DLO, knowing that Mike Conley had a limited shelf life.

I agree completely. It’s a great example of the challenge of trying to navigate TC’s dual window strategy - i.e., winning now while simultaneously building a 2.0 version of the Wolves with Ant, Jaden and Naz to win in the future. Those two objectives can sometimes conflict and the Dillingham pick was one such example. I still love the Dilly pick and the bold move to get him. But the trade off is a C- free agency grade from me. .

[Lipoli390]

I can't remember who said it, but it might have been Kevin O'Connell. He had a chance to watch TC operate during the draft and said it was amazing how fast his mind worked while analyzing all the options and opportunities that came up during the process. I still don't understand how he plucked #8 from San Antonio.

This guy is just different and we need to prioritize keeping him long term.

It was Matt Lloyd who made that comment about Tim. I agree with you completely that we need to prioritize keeping him. The Gobert deal made me a skeptic initially, but the moves he’s made since are impressive and learning more it’s clear that there’s more to him than his player personnel moves. He’s a culture builder. One small example was when asked how they’re going to protect Dilly’s defensive deficiencies. I loved his answer: “We’re not going to protect him; we’re going to challenge him.” He said it emphatically but without ego or bravado. He’s a genuinely nice guy, but he’s not a pushover and he sets firm expectations. At the same time, he’s patient and rewards success as in the extension he gave to Finch. While I would not have made the Rudy deal, his thinking behind the deal was solid and I admire his boldness. Actually, just the fact that there was thinking behind the Rudy deal was a refreshing change from past regimes. . Seriously, TC is a keeper. That’s another reason why I hope the Lore/A-Rod tandem prevail in the ownership dispute. I don’t think TC will hang around if Glen remains in change. Just a hunch.