Minnesota Sports Forum

Camden wrote:Here's the thing, guys. If this 38-year old had a name that was anything other than Kevin Garnett, but all things were the same, all of you would be upset with this trade.

But whatever. The hometown hero returns and the fans and media will eat it up. Flip keeps losing trades and giving away assets. All I can hope for is a top-three pick now.

Wow you stole my thunder from right out from under me there

Camden wrote:Here's the thing, guys. If this 38-year old had a name that was anything other than Kevin Garnett, but all things were the same, all of you would be upset with this trade.

But whatever. The hometown hero returns and the fans and media will eat it up. Flip keeps losing trades and giving away assets. All I can hope for is a top-three pick now.

Yes, the fact that it's a former player coming back to finish his career is more appealing. Not going to act like it's not, but if it was another player of his caliber & skills I still wouldn't be upset about it. If they overpay him with a new 2 yr deal then I'll be upset.

LST, you also never thought Kevin Love could bring back Andrew Wiggins from Cleveland and you were wrong about that. Perhaps your trade value meter is broken.

Camden wrote:LST, you also never thought Kevin Love could bring back Andrew Wiggins from Cleveland and you were wrong about that. Perhaps your trade value meter is broken.

Yeah and a lot of us thought Love could bring back Wiggins. So what.

Camden wrote:Just watched the press conference. Man, I hope our two big guys in the FO (Flip and Milt) aren't as dumb as they come across. Milt talked about how Thad's camp made it known that he was going to opt out and Milt talked about how you don't want an asset to leave without getting something for it beforehand. They're talking about Thad like he's an expiring... Well, guys, KG's an expiring too. Their explanation is tomfoolery.

I wish Flip would just say, "I never stopped loving Kevin Garnett and I wanted him here no matter what. I tried to get him from Brooklyn as part of the Minnesota/Cleveland/Kevin Love trade, but they weren't having it so I had to go to my second plan to get Thad Young. I can't get enough KG! He's like the son I always wanted. Ryan, go get me some coffee."

I agree that Milt's comments make no sense at face value, cam. But I'm pretty sure I know what he was doing here ( I think Milt is quite savvy by the way). What most of us know is what the Wolves really feared after watching Thad for 3/4 of a year is that he would opt IN, and suck up $10 million of cap space next year, not opt out. But Thad is a great guy and probably well-liked by the Wolves brass, so they're not going to say that. It would be like saying "Look, Thad can't rebound or play team defense, and he doesn't even score very efficiently. We can't afford to pay $10 million for those results". That would have been hurtful to a guy they sincerely like, and also would have made Flip look stupid for giving up a first rounder a year ago. So instead they took the high road, and painted this as a scenario where they had to get something for a guy that was going to test the market.

Many will argue that Milt was saying what he meant. I really doubt it. Anybody with any business sense knows that Thad's agent was going to tell him to take the $10 million, and try to earn a new contract next year, and Milt and Flip know this.

TheGrey08 wrote:

Camden wrote:Here's the thing, guys. If this 38-year old had a name that was anything other than Kevin Garnett, but all things were the same, all of you would be upset with this trade.

But whatever. The hometown hero returns and the fans and media will eat it up. Flip keeps losing trades and giving away assets. All I can hope for is a top-three pick now.

Yes, the fact that it's a former player coming back to finish his career is more appealing. Not going to act like it's not, but if it was another player of his caliber & skills I still wouldn't be upset about it. If they overpay him with a new 2 yr deal then I'll be upset.

Welp. I don't wanna be too viscous here, but that's stupid. A 38-year old big off the bench for a starting quality player who's 26-years old is not a good trade.

Camden wrote:Here's the thing, guys. If this 38-year old had a name that was anything other than Kevin Garnett, but all things were the same, all of you would be upset with this trade.

But whatever. The hometown hero returns and the fans and media will eat it up. Flip keeps losing trades and giving away assets. All I can hope for is a top-three pick now.

And this is why Minny teams can't get out of their own way for the most part. The front offices are inept and the fan base endorses that ineptness and doesn't demand more.

Camden wrote:LST, you also never thought Kevin Love could bring back Andrew Wiggins from Cleveland and you were wrong about that. Perhaps your trade value meter is broken.

Ha, touche! I certainly did say and think that, and I was wrong. I clearly said that no GM was going to give up the first pick in the draft for a PF who can't defend and has the power to leave after a year. In my defense, I said that before LBJ got involved. When James, the de facto GM, said he wanted Love (and Love gave the high sign to the Cavs that he would probably extend at the end of the year), I said "Hallelujah, this deal is going to happen after all!". And thank god it did!

It's interesting, though, how many analysts' opinions are evolving on this deal. While the world was fairly evenly divided about the wisdom of trading Wiggins for Love when it happened, few would suggest the Wolves would take Love back in exchange for Wiggins now. I certainly wouldn't.

longstrangetrip wrote:

Camden wrote:Just watched the press conference. Man, I hope our two big guys in the FO (Flip and Milt) aren't as dumb as they come across. Milt talked about how Thad's camp made it known that he was going to opt out and Milt talked about how you don't want an asset to leave without getting something for it beforehand. They're talking about Thad like he's an expiring... Well, guys, KG's an expiring too. Their explanation is tomfoolery.

I wish Flip would just say, "I never stopped loving Kevin Garnett and I wanted him here no matter what. I tried to get him from Brooklyn as part of the Minnesota/Cleveland/Kevin Love trade, but they weren't having it so I had to go to my second plan to get Thad Young. I can't get enough KG! He's like the son I always wanted. Ryan, go get me some coffee."

I agree that Milt's comments make no sense at face value, cam. But I'm pretty sure I know what he was doing here ( I think Milt is quite savvy by the way). What most of us know is what the Wolves really feared after watching Thad for 3/4 of a year is that he would opt IN, and suck up $10 million of cap space next year, not opt out. But Thad is a great guy and probably well-liked by the Wolves brass, so they're not going to say that. It would be like saying "Look, Thad can't rebound or play team defense, and he doesn't even score very efficiently. We can't afford to pay $10 million for those results". That would have been hurtful to a guy they sincerely like, and also would have made Flip look stupid for giving up a first rounder a year ago. So instead they took the high road, and painted this as a scenario where they had to get something for a guy that was going to test the market.

Many will argue that Milt was saying what he meant. I really doubt it. Anybody with any business sense knows that Thad's agent was going to tell him to take the $10 million, and try to earn a new contract next year, and Milt and Flip know this.

And if Thad was going to opt-in, then what's the problem in keeping him for next year and trading him next year when teams wouldn't have to worry about the option in the contract?

Here were the scenarios:

Thad opts out:

- Flip tries to bring back on a multi-year deal for less money per year. We sign KG anyways because... nostalgia.

- If the above was unsuccessful, then Thad leaves as an expiring and we sign KG because... nostalgia.

Thad opts in:

- Flip now has a 27-year old scoring forward that can play either forward position, and has the versatility to start or come off the bench. Not only that, but he'll be playing for his next contract. Often times, those players play even hungrier because they know there are dollars on the line. Should he still not fit with the team's movement going forward, he gets dealt at the deadline for a 1st or young prospect. A playoff team would come calling and they wouldn't have to worry about their cap situation since he'd be an expiring.

Why are you acting like that $10M will be better spent? That's another issue I have with people that wanted Thad gone. Who are we realistically going to sign that's a better player than Thad Young? I'll wait for your ideas, if there are any.

Camden wrote:

TheGrey08 wrote:
Yes, the fact that it's a former player coming back to finish his career is more appealing. Not going to act like it's not, but if it was another player of his caliber & skills I still wouldn't be upset about it. If they overpay him with a new 2 yr deal then I'll be upset.

Welp. I don't wanna be too viscous here, but that's stupid. A 38-year old big off the bench for a starting quality player who's 26-years old is not a good trade.

Starting quality my ass. In order for a guy to be "starter quality" IMO, they should be able to start for most any roster setup. Not require specific skill sets around them like Thad clearly does. He can be a damn good bench guy, but that's all I see him as. IE: He was wailing with Mo & Lavine, but succeeded with Rubio. He shouldn't need a great passing PG in order to be able to start. He also has to be able to guard his position most of the time which he can't.

As far as 38 vs 26, yes in a vacuum you are correct. Fortunately there's way more to it than that. KG brings way more to the table over this season and next than Thad would have. It's as simple as that.

EDIT: Okay I was definitely thinking PF there. I can see the argument for him starting at SF, but I didn't see enough of him there. Definitely possible there at least.