Minnesota Sports Forum

Good to hear Woj report that Butler is in the locker room with his teammates pre-practice today, although that doesn't mean he plans to practice with them. I don't imagine it was the most comfortable of reunions, but maybe there was an attempt at least to clear the air.

I continue to be completely underwhelmed with all of the rumored deals...I fully admit I had never heard of Josh Robertson prior to him being offered as the "centerpiece" of a Butler trade. The Wolves' porous defense in their first three preseason games only proves what many of us suspected...that the 17 win improvement last year was almost entirely due to the presence of Butler, and that we are not a very good basketball team without him. I continue to think some savvy GM will notice that and realize Butler deserves a lot more in return than the various poo poo platters that are being offered. I'm hoping Glen and Thibs recognize they have a top 10-15 asset and hold firm, and expect Jimmy will be on the court in the opener if no better deals emerge. Not the best situation, I admit, but better than trading a talent like Butler for a potpourri of average assets.

Personally, I like Josh Richardson... he's sorta/kinda like a poor man's Butler. And remember, it took a bit for Butler to get his NBA star legs under him.

Here's a very positive blurb from one of the NBA's best writers/pundits, Zach Lowe...

"Josh Richardson has made a leap, and some within the Heat are optimistic he can be a two-way star -- something that would change their entire long-term picture. (My hottest Heat take: Richardson is already their best all-around player.) Richardson defends the most dangerous opposing scorer, and he's emerging as a long-armed shot-blocking menace. On offense, he's starting to manipulate defenses on the pick-and-roll with a new change-of-pace sophistication.

Richardson has even shown flashes of the single most elusive star trait: the ability to create, and make, tough off-the-bounce shots -- including hand-in-the-face midrangers -- one-on-one in crunch time. "

longstrangetrip wrote:Good to hear Woj report that Butler is in the locker room with his teammates pre-practice today, although that doesn't mean he plans to practice with them. I don't imagine it was the most comfortable of reunions, but maybe there was an attempt at least to clear the air.

I continue to be completely underwhelmed with all of the rumored deals...I fully admit I had never heard of Josh Robertson prior to him being offered as the "centerpiece" of a Butler trade. The Wolves' porous defense in their first three preseason games only proves what many of us suspected...that the 17 win improvement last year was almost entirely due to the presence of Butler, and that we are not a very good basketball team without him. I continue to think some savvy GM will notice that and realize Butler deserves a lot more in return than the various poo poo platters that are being offered. I'm hoping Glen and Thibs recognize they have a top 10-15 asset and hold firm, and expect Jimmy will be on the court in the opener if no better deals emerge. Not the best situation, I admit, but better than trading a talent like Butler for a potpourri of average assets.

Agreed. No poo poo platters please.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Personally, I like Josh Richardson... he's sorta/kinda like a poor man's Butler. And remember, it took a bit for Butler to get his NBA star legs under him.

Here's a very positive blurb from one of the NBA's best writers/pundits, Zach Lowe...

"Josh Richardson has made a leap, and some within the Heat are optimistic he can be a two-way star -- something that would change their entire long-term picture. (My hottest Heat take: Richardson is already their best all-around player.) Richardson defends the most dangerous opposing scorer, and he's emerging as a long-armed shot-blocking menace. On offense, he's starting to manipulate defenses on the pick-and-roll with a new change-of-pace sophistication.

Richardson has even shown flashes of the single most elusive star trait: the ability to create, and make, tough off-the-bounce shots -- including hand-in-the-face midrangers -- one-on-one in crunch time. "

Well, that's rather positive, although I will say that several women have described me as kinda/sorta like a poor man's Ryan Gosling :).

While it's good to hear positive reports about Richardson, his stats don't seem to reflect much value with only a below average PER of 13.6. He's 2 years older than Wig, but his rebounding is actually even worse than the much-maligned Wig. Can we really afford to have 2 starting wings that are such poor rebounders?


I guess I have to watch Richardson live and see what all the buzz is about. Until then, I'm in the camp of starting the season with a disgruntled Jimmy and waiting until a fairer offer comes in.

longstrangetrip wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Personally, I like Josh Richardson... he's sorta/kinda like a poor man's Butler. And remember, it took a bit for Butler to get his NBA star legs under him.

Here's a very positive blurb from one of the NBA's best writers/pundits, Zach Lowe...

"Josh Richardson has made a leap, and some within the Heat are optimistic he can be a two-way star -- something that would change their entire long-term picture. (My hottest Heat take: Richardson is already their best all-around player.) Richardson defends the most dangerous opposing scorer, and he's emerging as a long-armed shot-blocking menace. On offense, he's starting to manipulate defenses on the pick-and-roll with a new change-of-pace sophistication.

Richardson has even shown flashes of the single most elusive star trait: the ability to create, and make, tough off-the-bounce shots -- including hand-in-the-face midrangers -- one-on-one in crunch time. "

Well, that's rather positive, although I will say that several women have described me as kinda/sorta like a poor man's Ryan Gosling :).

While it's good to hear positive reports about Richardson, his stats don't seem to reflect much value with only a below average PER of 13.6. He's 2 years older than Wig, but his rebounding is actually even worse than the much-maligned Wig. Can we really afford to have 2 starting wings that are such poor rebounders?


I guess I have to watch Richardson live and see what all the buzz is about. Until then, I'm in the camp of starting the season with a disgruntled Jimmy and waiting until a fairer offer comes in.

I'm more worried about his lack of free throw shooting.

Lip I'm replying to our thread hear because...dang those things get long. I'm afraid of injuring an appendage scrolling through all that on my phone. Lol

I'm sure Riley wants to unload a bad contract too but part of this is simply having to include a bad deal because...um that's basically all the Heat have other than Richardson. Lol ok that's not completely true I think for example Olynyk is probably on a decent contract and he is decently young and fits the modern game. Even so I don't know if the Wolves would even want him back without moving Dieng. So I'm sure Pat is trying to get Butler one way or another and if it leads to saving himself from some bad deals then yeah he looks even smarter. It's absolutely some thing some media haven't brought up enough and some fans don't seem to really grasp.

You are right about the 2020 plan. I saw one of the people that follow the Heat mention that. That's kind of a long time away. How patient will they be? If healthy that roster probably keeps them in the playoff mix (plus elite coaching of Spoelstra) in the east so that helps to some extent.

Let's be real about the Sixers and IF the offers out there are really as uninspiring as we are being led to believe...I'm a little skeptical. If they offered Covington and expiring contracts for Butler and no additional assets...I'd push for a first but even at least one of those 2nd round picks from teams that likely will not be super good that would be nice to get and they have so many. Honestly a cost controlled Covington for 4 YEARS!!!! for Butler doesn't suck. It solves the complimentary wing spot for a pretty long time and if the Wolves end up with Okogie and Wiggins being awesome he would be an awesome asset etc etc. The problem with Butler with the Sixers and I have said this for months is that he is just an ok 3 point shooter and works a lot with the ball. That just doesn't fit that well with Embiid and Simmons. What he might give them that they don't have is a guy that can get his shot in the tough situations. Yeah we saw some flaws there last year but previously he was pretty damn good. JJ Redick as a floor spacer is a big deal though to help him. Another question is whether Fultz is good and whether or not he can shoot. If he is good and isn't a very good shooter that makes Butler an even worse idea. In addition the Sixers Roster with Butler even for a 4 year deal for max money could get expensive when they have to pay Simmons.

To me the Clippers are a curious deal. So they aren't willing to trade Harris...that must mean they plan on signing him to some sort of deal. How does that impact their ability to get 2 max guys? Let's say they signed Harris to a deal starting at 20 million a year which seems like some sort of starting point I would think. I think without crunching the numbers too much they would have to move at least one of Lou or Harrell maybe both (probably wouldn't be too difficult) to get back into having the money for 2 max guys. Other than their rookies they basically don't have anyone else signed for longer than 2019. It would be interesting to know what their offer is which would probably be something with basically win now players but with relatively short term deals.

There's a problem with these suggested trades for Richardson and Covington. Neither of them are shot creators at a high level. Wiggins isn't one either. So in a league where creating offense off the dribble is the most coveted skill set we would not have a wing on our team who could effectively do it. I would rather take a shot on Fultz if that is on the table because I think he can be that guy. 3&D is a good role to play around creators. Without Jimmy we have none so that 3&D guy is gonna look bad because he's no longer just catch and shoot or score off of cutting. He now has ball handling responsibilities that he doesn't possess at a high level. We need ball handlers and creators to go next to Towns and Wiggins. If we don't get that we aren't going to be very good offensively and we already know we're a bad defensive team.

Lol another Woj bomb:

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1050099591226552320?s=21

Jimmy doubling down on being an asshole.

khans2k5 wrote:Lol another Woj bomb:

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1050099591226552320?s=21

Jimmy doubling down on being an asshole.

He's on a path to becoming one of the more unlikable Wolves players...

If nothing else, maybe he'll get fans/players to rally around a 35 - 47 team this season.

The hits keep coming.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1050102251262480386?s=21