Re: KAT trade revisited
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 8:55 pm
Let's start with a couple things.
1. This trade was never going to be just about this season. It was about being able to keep players like Naz and Maybe NAW around long term while having a little more flexibility. In addition there was some sort of possibility Randle stays around longer than a year or 2. Sometimes a trade comes down to whether or not the 2nd contract a player gets is beneficial to the team that acquired them.
2. When the deal was made there was a legit question about how valuable the Pistons pick was and when the Wolves would get it. The value is a decent first round pick this year. I though there was a real chance they would get it this your or at the latest next year because I thought the Pistons had a chance to not suck but I didn't see this kind of success. I know next to nothing about this year's draft other than the few tournament games I watched the past few weeks but having the Detroit pick along with the first pick or 2nd pick in the 2nd round from the Jazz has plenty of value.
At this point Towns is having what I would call a typical Towns season. Some numbers re up a little but other than rebounding they aren't anything significant. It's no surprise the rebounding numbers are higher he playing center and the next best rebounder is an undersized wing guy in Josh Hart. Towns still maddening LT takes less than 5 3's a game that's slightly more than Randle. Maybe that's fine idk I don't watch Knicks games but that seems like an underutilized part of his game. He takes 1 more FT a game than he did last year. When you consider per 36 that shicks to just over half a FT a game and still we'll below what he did a few years whole in MN so we don't need to be upset with him getting fouls. Maybe he isn't getting those offensive fouls his turnovers are lower.
Randle's numbers are not gonna blow you away and scoring is down but his efficiency is a little higher than when he was a Knick. He is taking over 5 less shots a game than last year and I think many here thought he should take a step back from scoring in general and he has done that. Was acquiring him a home run? No. Has he had value to the Wolves this year? Yeah.
Donte hasn't been as valuable as I had hoped but some of that is obviously due to his health which I qualified when the deal was made. After a rough start he has shot the ball well from 3. His value is likely to go beyond this season either on the roster or as a possible trade asset. His value could go up once they get to the playoffs.
Speaking of playoffs hopefully Towns and Randle are both healthy and play well but that's the big difference for both and both guys have something to prove. Towns less so but still.
Would I have done the deal? Probably not but I'm not big into making trades. Woukd I trade for Towns back? No I don't see how that makes sense for the Wolves. What if Connelly works some magic and with the Detroit pick gets another top 10 pick or simply picks a pretty valuable player with that pick? Again this deal isn't just about this season. I'm enjoying where the Wolves are at and don't worry too much about Towns and the deal. It made sense to me at the time and it still does.
1. This trade was never going to be just about this season. It was about being able to keep players like Naz and Maybe NAW around long term while having a little more flexibility. In addition there was some sort of possibility Randle stays around longer than a year or 2. Sometimes a trade comes down to whether or not the 2nd contract a player gets is beneficial to the team that acquired them.
2. When the deal was made there was a legit question about how valuable the Pistons pick was and when the Wolves would get it. The value is a decent first round pick this year. I though there was a real chance they would get it this your or at the latest next year because I thought the Pistons had a chance to not suck but I didn't see this kind of success. I know next to nothing about this year's draft other than the few tournament games I watched the past few weeks but having the Detroit pick along with the first pick or 2nd pick in the 2nd round from the Jazz has plenty of value.
At this point Towns is having what I would call a typical Towns season. Some numbers re up a little but other than rebounding they aren't anything significant. It's no surprise the rebounding numbers are higher he playing center and the next best rebounder is an undersized wing guy in Josh Hart. Towns still maddening LT takes less than 5 3's a game that's slightly more than Randle. Maybe that's fine idk I don't watch Knicks games but that seems like an underutilized part of his game. He takes 1 more FT a game than he did last year. When you consider per 36 that shicks to just over half a FT a game and still we'll below what he did a few years whole in MN so we don't need to be upset with him getting fouls. Maybe he isn't getting those offensive fouls his turnovers are lower.
Randle's numbers are not gonna blow you away and scoring is down but his efficiency is a little higher than when he was a Knick. He is taking over 5 less shots a game than last year and I think many here thought he should take a step back from scoring in general and he has done that. Was acquiring him a home run? No. Has he had value to the Wolves this year? Yeah.
Donte hasn't been as valuable as I had hoped but some of that is obviously due to his health which I qualified when the deal was made. After a rough start he has shot the ball well from 3. His value is likely to go beyond this season either on the roster or as a possible trade asset. His value could go up once they get to the playoffs.
Speaking of playoffs hopefully Towns and Randle are both healthy and play well but that's the big difference for both and both guys have something to prove. Towns less so but still.
Would I have done the deal? Probably not but I'm not big into making trades. Woukd I trade for Towns back? No I don't see how that makes sense for the Wolves. What if Connelly works some magic and with the Detroit pick gets another top 10 pick or simply picks a pretty valuable player with that pick? Again this deal isn't just about this season. I'm enjoying where the Wolves are at and don't worry too much about Towns and the deal. It made sense to me at the time and it still does.