Bulls vs. Cavs

[worldK]

As much as I would like to swing for the fences and land that superstar (ie. Wiggins)----this past championship, won by the Spurs, shows you that the team is the biggest factor. Great coaching helps, but ultimately if everyone plays within their capabilities that the team would win out. The Spurs won against the mighty 3 headed monster....would anyone of us thought it was possible?

What we really need to remember is that Rubio is going to be in the same position in the near future. We swing for the fences and miss----we'll in trouble. We take the Chicago deal, and with have a team that could grow and complete in the latter years.

I have to disagree with your comparison to the spurs. First of all, no wolves player after the trade with the bulls is better than Parker, Leonard and Duncan. That's not a convincing argument. We will be competing for the 8-10th seed if we make the bulls trade. I understand that wiggins is not a sure thing but he gives us the best hope of moving this franchise into contending status. As cool mentioned, it's time for a new identity for the wolves. Rubio-wiggins-Lavine core will make us an uptempo team. That's an identity I look forward for us.

[KiwiMatt]

I doubt CHI are offering Mirotic in the rumoured deal, especially after him specifying that he would only sign and play in the NBA this season if he wasn't traded.

McDermott seems like Wally Szczerbiak 2.0 with a higher ceiling.

Taj and Jimmy are solid, but won't really move the needle.

If Mirotic was involved Id prefer the deal with CHI, but I just can't see it. So I'm still preferring the CLE deal.

Plus Rubio running the show with LeVine and Wiggins on the wings is enough to make anyone salivate.

[Papalrep]

WorldK - First of all, no wolves player after the trade with the bulls is better than Parker, Leonard and Duncan.

Good point. When I think about it the only shot at a player like Leonard is....Wiggins

[Kevin Glasshands [enjin:6642795]]

If we traded for Mirotic, Taj, and McDermott doesn't anyone think we would have an issue getting minutes for these guys? The lastest rumors have not had Jimmy Butler in them. I know McDermott can be considered a 3, but we are pretty much trading 1 PF for 3 PF. And I thought Dieng would be seeing time at PF as well this year.

[bleedspeed]

McDermott is a 3. I would want Snell or Butler in the deal. I like Gibson, but he is 29 and not part of the future here.

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

If we traded for Mirotic, Taj, and McDermott doesn't anyone think we would have an issue getting minutes for these guys? The lastest rumors have not had Jimmy Butler in them. I know McDermott can be considered a 3, but we are pretty much trading 1 PF for 3 PF. And I thought Dieng would be seeing time at PF as well this year.

Agree. Deal with Chicago needs to be Taj, Butler and McBuckets to make sense for the Wolves. I think that McBuckets can certainly play offensively as a SF in the NBA.....and regardless of position, his defense will be fairly poor. BUT, if you have Rubio, Butler and Taj also in the starting rotation, you can get by with weaker defenders in Pek and McBuckets.

Also, I get the hope with someone like Wiggins, but many sound like going young is the only way to build. Drew brought up several great points in an earlier post that I think were well laid out. For years, many on this board have supported a "championship or bust" attitude, which is a completely unrealistic view, and frankly, a very sad way to look at your home town sports teams. Would we all love it, sure. But you can still have a GREAT season without winning it all. My most recent example is the Wild. I am not a huge hockey fan, but I can tell you that last years playoffs have made me a fan. That team was so fun to watch, and with their mix of great veteran leadership and some young players stepping up, they are certainly on their way up for the foreseeable future. And look at how they did it....draft well, but then add key veteran players to their lineup to change the culture of losing. And what did making the playoffs get them...another solid offseason addition of Vanek. As Drew pointed out, very rarely does a team build solely through the draft anymore...that went away with Free Agency. Is the draft important...it certainly can be. But for most of the league (exclude Spurs and Thunder), teams in today's NBA are built on free agency. And the problem you have in today's NBA is that your premeier players aren't signing with perennial losers like the Wolves (again, outside LBJ for other obvious reasons). My stance has always been that you need to start winning to begin building anything of value. The Bulls deal is a start. In that deal you get very good players on what are currently very good contracts. Many act like these are the guys we have to live and die with for the next 10 years. I would argue that they are the guys that can help launch a winning culture, hopefully then convincing in the process another free agent or two to join them in the fight. I am not againt swinging for the fences, as many state, and going for Cleveland deal, but I think I prefer the Bulls deal a bit more.

[bleedspeed]

If we trade Love to the Bulls we need McDermott and Mirotic back. I would love to get Butler and Gibson back as part of it, but guessing we won't get both. I think we would be looking at Butler or Gibson/Snell.

As far as Mirotic not wanting to be traded. I think he would love the chance to come to the Wolves and play with Pekovic his fellow countrymen and Rubio another euro player. To me the combo of Butler/McDermott/Mirotic trumps Wiggins/Waiters/Bennett. The Cavs trade has a higher ceiling. The Bulls trade has a higher floor. I like the idea of limiting risk on the downside and bringing in a young Butler that comes from a winning organization.

Good article on Mirotic. So much for him being a bad defender. He would certainly be at least average or better.

http://hoopshype.com/columns/david-nurse/who-is-nikola-mirotic#sthash.hOUbnirW.dpuf

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

If we trade Love to the Bulls we need McDermott and Mirotic back. I would love to get Butler and Gibson back as part of it, but guessing we won't get both. I think we would be looking at Butler or Gibson/Snell.

As far as Mirotic not wanting to be traded. I think he would love the chance to come to the Wolves and play with Pekovic his fellow countrymen and Rubio another euro player. To me the combo of Butler/McDermott/Mirotic trumps Wiggins/Waiters/Bennett. The Cavs trade has a higher ceiling. The Bulls trade has a higher floor. I like the idea of limiting risk on the downside and bringing in a young Butler that comes from a winning organization.

Good article on Mirotic. So much for him being a bad defender. He would certainly be at least average or better.

http://hoopshype.com/columns/david-nurse/who-is-nikola-mirotic#sthash.hOUbnirW.dpuf

Limit the risk, limit the upside. Wolves could use some upside, some championship caliber upside. We get that with Wiggins. We don't get that with McDermott and Mirotic. We top out as a top-six seed at best.

[bleedspeed]

We have a top 10 player now and it got us no where. We had one of the best player in the league and got out of the 1st round once. Why should we expect different results? I see it as we need to hit on all Cavs to have a chance at the playoffs. I really think that is very long odds.

[Porckchop]

We have a top 10 player now and it got us no where. We had one of the best player in the league and got out of the 1st round once. Why should we expect different results? I see it as we need to hit on all Cavs to have a chance at the playoffs. I really think that is very long odds.

McDermott, Mirotic and Pek on the floor at the same time would be uninspiring athletically and wouldnt exactly maximize Rubios abilities.