Minnesota Sports Forum

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 8:14 pm Green wasn't doing diddlysquat for the Wolves this year. He was one of 3 guys fighting to be the number one amongst the bench fodder! And Donte's return will only make it worse. The top 10 players are already set. Green was farting around with Bones and Evans to be the first guy used in garbage time.

And it's a bit premature to assume JK is only here for one year. It could be less! Or it could be more -- the Wolves will likely have the full MLE at their disposal which might satisfy JK for another year or two, depending on how this season goes.

I simply don't understand how you arrive at that conclusion.
The only way Green wouldn't have seen the court would have been because Clark found a 3 ball. Otherwise Green has proven to be the better NBA player, and to be honest he probably could have earned time over Shannon if TJ doesn't improve.
Moot point but I don't agree with your assessment

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 8:39 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 8:14 pm Green wasn't doing diddlysquat for the Wolves this year. He was one of 3 guys fighting to be the number one amongst the bench fodder! And Donte's return will only make it worse. The top 10 players are already set. Green was farting around with Bones and Evans to be the first guy used in garbage time.

And it's a bit premature to assume JK is only here for one year. It could be less! Or it could be more -- the Wolves will likely have the full MLE at their disposal which might satisfy JK for another year or two, depending on how this season goes.

I simply don't understand how you arrive at that conclusion.
The only way Green wouldn't have seen the court would have been because Clark found a 3 ball. Otherwise Green has proven to be the better NBA player, and to be honest he probably could have earned time over Shannon if TJ doesn't improve.
Moot point but I don't agree with your assessment

Crap takes deserve more crap takes….

And did you see the Paris video?!? Green can’t even row a boat!

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 9:32 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 8:39 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 8:14 pm Green wasn't doing diddlysquat for the Wolves this year. He was one of 3 guys fighting to be the number one amongst the bench fodder! And Donte's return will only make it worse. The top 10 players are already set. Green was farting around with Bones and Evans to be the first guy used in garbage time.

And it's a bit premature to assume JK is only here for one year. It could be less! Or it could be more -- the Wolves will likely have the full MLE at their disposal which might satisfy JK for another year or two, depending on how this season goes.

I simply don't understand how you arrive at that conclusion.
The only way Green wouldn't have seen the court would have been because Clark found a 3 ball. Otherwise Green has proven to be the better NBA player, and to be honest he probably could have earned time over Shannon if TJ doesn't improve.
Moot point but I don't agree with your assessment

Crap takes deserve more crap takes….

And did you see the Paris video?!? Green can’t even row a boat!

If you're referring to me, then you can quote me.

I fail to understand how Kuminga proves to be more valuable moving forward.

To other teams in the league: TSJ, no name. Clark, no name. Beringer, no name. Lyles, no name. Bones, no name. Evans, no name. Rocco, no name. 59TH pick, no name. Williams, no name. Pullin, no name. Donte, a name with no positive aspect for this team because of the situation. Kuminga, no name to every team, but a last ditch hopeful to extract value that is very hard to pull off. He turns it on, we flip him to a hopeful team for something beneficial to us, who may question his desire to be there? Or we say thanks, glad you focused on yourself and got paid? 2 mil, definitely no name.

Green was the only NAME to play with that the team is getting even value for.

Enlighten me why I am wrong to think it is a dumb move to take on a guy who we acquiesced to, who we can't even afford if he lights it up? How am I wrong in saying that nobody wanted Kuminga, so come here and light it up on the actual minimum. Then go walk. That guy doesn't put us in contention, but hammers us moving forward. I'll be the happiest to be proven wrong, but I see way too many scenarios where this is dumb.

TheFuture wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 7:36 pm

BeenLurkin wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 5:25 pm Lots of what ifs….what IS is a season potentially saved by finding a 5th starter that by all accounts is motivated to be here and was highly sought after by the players and ownership. Let’s continue to trust TC until he actually fucks us. He seems to have pulled a lot of rabbits out of a lot of hats so far. As far as JKs player option, you just tell him he isn’t gonna start or play guaranteed minutes and he won’t come back, he only came here to play as many minutes as possible to rehab his image for his next contract.

Your last point is why I think it's absolutely stupid. Move a player who you potentially CAN keep moving forward at a lower salary, that has shown no issues assuming his role, and you retain his salary for an actual needle moving trade later. All to acquire a player that everybody knows is out to prove himself, on a team that is completely remodeling, and if it goes well, he is gone for nothing. There are no salary rights up to expectation.

I like a world where you let Green play his role. Mid-season you can roll with him and donte, or start playing with their salaries and minors in aggregated trades. Maybe, sign both him and donte to contracts moving forward, which is much easier with their combined 27mil. Say Josh at 6-10 mil going forward, Donte at 12-16. With room to negotiate.

Now, you're staring dead at not being able to maneuver at all. With 2 mil more of excess salary for 3 years.

Couldn't fill a PF slot this year? It looks less promising with the same no picks, and lower matching salary counts.

You could sell Green. I don't think you can sell Williams or Kuminga. 29 teams already spoke on one.

Kuminga had multiple offers that were more money and he signed here.

Josh Green was a nice depth player maybe even a low minute starter. The thing is that he probably wants returning so at some point you may as well trade him. It seems pretty clear that the Wolves have zero interest in trading Donte.

This move also allows the Wolves to sign another player this season and or absorb a player in a trade. Before this trade they basically has enough room to sign a vet min guy now and wait around till they had a little room left later in the season.

I'm skeptical of Kuminga and I get you basically have zero faith in him but I'm not sure all the dreams of moves that could happen are something to get that upset about. The reality is even at a lower price there were multiple teams that wanted Kuminga on their roster and Connelly found a way to get him here. Will it work out (whatever that looks like) ? Idk but I don't think it's quite the disaster you are seeing. I'd feel a lot worse about it if the Wolves had to simply waive and stretch Green and have no tradeable salary and those almost 5 million cap charges the next 2 years. That would have been a much bigger gamble on Kuminga and whatever they were gonna do to keep building the roster with that dead money.

And this isn't taking into account if Cody Williams can be any good or have some sort of value still. If Wendal Moore Jr sorta stuck around the league till this year I'd guess Williams might have some fans in a front office still...including apparently the Wolves. Heck maybe he gets moved in a few weeks for a different player.

TheFuture wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 9:56 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 9:32 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 29, 2026 8:39 pm
I simply don't understand how you arrive at that conclusion.
The only way Green wouldn't have seen the court would have been because Clark found a 3 ball. Otherwise Green has proven to be the better NBA player, and to be honest he probably could have earned time over Shannon if TJ doesn't improve.
Moot point but I don't agree with your assessment

Crap takes deserve more crap takes….

And did you see the Paris video?!? Green can’t even row a boat!

If you're referring to me, then you can quote me.

I fail to understand how Kuminga proves to be more valuable moving forward.

To other teams in the league: TSJ, no name. Clark, no name. Beringer, no name. Lyles, no name. Bones, no name. Evans, no name. Rocco, no name. 59TH pick, no name. Williams, no name. Pullin, no name. Donte, a name with no positive aspect for this team because of the situation. Kuminga, no name to every team, but a last ditch hopeful to extract value that is very hard to pull off. He turns it on, we flip him to a hopeful team for something beneficial to us, who may question his desire to be there? Or we say thanks, glad you focused on yourself and got paid? 2 mil, definitely no name.

Green was the only NAME to play with that the team is getting even value for.

Enlighten me why I am wrong to think it is a dumb move to take on a guy who we acquiesced to, who we can't even afford if he lights it up? How am I wrong in saying that nobody wanted Kuminga, so come here and light it up on the actual minimum. Then go walk. That guy doesn't put us in contention, but hammers us moving forward. I'll be the happiest to be proven wrong, but I see way too many scenarios where this is dumb.

If you think a guy like TSJ or Beringer have no value around the league I'm not sure what to tell you.

Looks like after waiving and stretching Konchar we are $25,038,996 below the projected 2nd apron for the 27-28 season not counting Kuminga and Cody. So 9 players Ant, Ball, Rudy, Jaden, Ayo, Shannon, Joan, Clark, Evans. Maybe Rudy opts out and gives us a little more space by taking a longer contract again. If Donte gets north of 15 million, it's going to be though again next summer filling out the roster. If Kuminga does opt in next year it would be less than 19 million with 10 guys signed and really hard to re-sign Donte unless Rudy really helps the team out on his contract.

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 30, 2026 10:25 am Looks like after waiving and stretching Konchar we are $25,038,996 below the projected 2nd apron for the 27-28 season not counting Kuminga and Cody. So 9 players Ant, Ball, Rudy, Jaden, Ayo, Shannon, Joan, Clark, Evans. Maybe Rudy opts out and gives us a little more space by taking a longer contract again. If Donte gets north of 15 million, it's going to be though again next summer filling out the roster. If Kuminga does opt in next year it would be less than 19 million with 10 guys signed and really hard to re-sign Donte unless Rudy really helps the team out on his contract.

If JK is working out for the Wolves, which I have pretty high expectations that he will, then the Wolves will only have the full MLE (~ 16 mil) to offer. If JK is happy with the situation, he could sign a 2-year MLE deal with a plan to seek a larger deal once the Wolves have his full Bird Rights.

I think there is a high probability of Rudy re-upping next year at a lower salary and adding another year or two. But I really don't know what Donte's future is. I just don't see room for everyone. Another factor is the luxury tax repeater penalty. The Wolves could potentially bring back JK on the MLE and fill out the roster with vet minimums, thus staying below the luxury tax. It'll be tight, but it leaves no room for a Donte extension.

But that's getting way ahead of ourselves, isn't it?!?

I totally understand where Future is coming from. Most of his points carry some validity and I get his side of the debate. But my thinking is at some point you have to try to win. Push your chips into the middle of the table and go for it. I think this year is the true beginning of that time for us. The roster as assembled can win an NBA championship. I'm not saying they will this year, but they certainly can if things come together. I'm going to worry about next year and the year after when they get here, and trust TC to keep us in contention for the next several years. I have no reason to doubt him at this point. I'm ready to have some fun to make up for all those years when 40 wins would have been a revelation. We're finally going for it and I'm going to enjoy it.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 30, 2026 2:19 pm I totally understand where Future is coming from. Most of his points carry some validity and I get his side of the debate. But my thinking is at some point you have to try to win. Push your chips into the middle of the table and go for it. I think this year is the true beginning of that time for us. The roster as assembled can win an NBA championship. I'm not saying they will this year, but they certainly can if things come together. I'm going to worry about next year and the year after when they get here, and trust TC to keep us in contention for the next several years. I have no reason to doubt him at this point. I'm ready to have some fun to make up for all those years when 40 wins would have been a revelation. We're finally going for it and I'm going to enjoy it.

I’ve considered typing something similar. In my opinion we have a 3 year window until Ant is super max eligible, Ball and Jaden up for their next big contract. Then more than likely the championship window is closed and it’s time to pivot again with hopefully a core of beringer + one of the players I mentioned above.

I’m all for taking the highest ceiling swing. Do I think kuminga hits that ceiling, more than likely not but it’s better than the ceiling of green + a very min (also the wolves still have a vet min option). Same thing with Cody Williams, I think he stinks but he has the upside of being a high end role player.

Were the wolves are you take high upside and go for it

A big point of mine was offering Kuminga that vet slot, seeing if he takes it, if not then pivot to maneuvering when teams are forced to trade/cut/waive guys.

I feel having Green's salary when it can be aggregated was a better bird to have in the hand moving forward if you really want to make a push on a big player for the last "void". Now it is Williams, Kuminga, and 2 mil in space gone that equal that initial space. And Green was an easier sell by himself in my opinion.