Minnesota Sports Forum

I'm a Nesmith guy in a trade down. For once can we draft a guy where we say "well at least he can shoot?" Love had that and he could rebound but he would get hurt a lot and his pairing with Al Jefferson defensively hurt as well.


I think the big question that we don't wanna ask is, is there a guy we can feel confident about building with if we're forced to get rid of Russell and KAT? We have to ask ourselves who best fits the "man this sucks but at least we have ______" scenario.

Now if I'm Rosas I try to get a contract extension because in 2 years, he may have to make a monumental decision regarding this roster without any security for his own job. That's a tough spot to be in.

I'm ready for the day the NBA realizes they are investing millions into relative unknowns and get smart with the combine requiring everyone participate. When guys should be fighting to be the top pick we instead get maybe a private workout that is relatively meaningless and nothing else. How hard is it to go to a gym, get measured, interview some people and put up some shots for millions of dollars?

WildWolf2813 wrote:I'm a Nesmith guy in a trade down. For once can we draft a guy where we say "well at least he can shoot?" Love had that and he could rebound but he would get hurt a lot and his pairing with Al Jefferson defensively hurt as well.


I think the big question that we don't wanna ask is, is there a guy we can feel confident about building with if we're forced to get rid of Russell and KAT? We have to ask ourselves who best fits the "man this sucks but at least we have ______" scenario.

Now if I'm Rosas I try to get a contract extension because in 2 years, he may have to make a monumental decision regarding this roster without any security for his own job. That's a tough spot to be in.

Im with you on Nesmith. I really like him apart from the injury risk. I would be very happy if we got him and another development project even if that project was Edwards at 1.

thedoper wrote:

Camden0916 wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:Here's an interesting report:

"On Friday, The San Francisco Chronicle's Connor Letourneau reported, citing league sources, that the Warriors are "higher on" Israel forward Deni Avdija than they are on Ball and 'possibly' Wiseman."

I can see LaMello Ball falling pretty far in the draft. If this report is true, I hope the Wolves' organization takes a long hard look at Deni. The Warriors are one of those really good NBA organizations when it comes to identifying and drafting talent - witness their decisions to draft Curry, Thompson and Green. Apparently, the Warriors staff have flown to Israel several times to watch Deni play. If they're that interested in Deni, then the Wolves should be too.

I smell smokescreen. Maybe I'm a cynic, but the "James Wiseman to Golden State" pick just seems perfect in all ways. I think the Warriors are just trying to get the scent off their trail.

They probably think McHale is still the GM here.

McHale would be taking Wiseman right?

On the GS interested in ______ prospect there have been a couple articles I read from people that generally know what they are talking about including Sam V. Of the athletic that say the Warriors are basically saying they like everyone it's someone new every week. Maybe they can't decide but most people think it's more of a game they are playing. At 2...who is GS gonna take? This draft is weird some team might trade up for a guy GS has 5th on their board. The unknown could be worthwhile. When the Celtics traded #1 it wasn't for sure they wanted Tatem and nobody thought they would just take him #1. So they got a nice asset and a better player (although Fultz injuries are a factor mostly unforeseen). I wouldn't be shocked if GS still has little idea of who they would take. They have a bunch of different ways they could go. I agree with Cam that Wiseman does make a lot of sense. Imagine Edwards with 2 of the greatest shooters ever around him that would be interesting too. Quite frankly I'm up for GS making things interesting because any kind of frenzy can benefit the Wolves in a possible trade of #1 which honestly I'm still hoping happens meaning we get some sort of deal that's too good to pass up.

monsterpile wrote:On the GS interested in ______ prospect there have been a couple articles I read from people that generally know what they are talking about including Sam V. Of the athletic that say the Warriors are basically saying they like everyone it's someone new every week. Maybe they can't decide but most people think it's more of a game they are playing. At 2...who is GS gonna take? This draft is weird some team might trade up for a guy GS has 5th on their board. The unknown could be worthwhile. When the Celtics traded #1 it wasn't for sure they wanted Tatem and nobody thought they would just take him #1. So they got a nice asset and a better player (although Fultz injuries are a factor mostly unforeseen). I wouldn't be shocked if GS still has little idea of who they would take. They have a bunch of different ways they could go. I agree with Cam that Wiseman does make a lot of sense. Imagine Edwards with 2 of the greatest shooters ever around him that would be interesting too. Quite frankly I'm up for GS making things interesting because any kind of frenzy can benefit the Wolves in a possible trade of #1 which honestly I'm still hoping happens meaning we get some sort of deal that's too good to pass up.

I have no doubt the Warriors would like to swap their pick for and established high-level player. They don't need a star since they already have Curry, Thompson and Green - the same trio that carried them to the best record in NBA history several years ago. But wanting to swap and getting the return they want are two different things. The Warriors have a smart front office. They'll have a return in mind and a limit on how much their willing to give up. If they don't get the deal that measures up to their expectations, then they'll keep the pick or simply trade down for another asset and take Vassell. He could play a role similar to the role Iggy played.

I don't think the GS situation helps the Wolves at all. The Warriors are competition for the Wolves in any effort to trade the #1 pick. The teams most likely interested in trading up or trading an established player for a top 2 pick are those in or entering a rebuilding phase. In addition to offering their #2 pick, the Warriors have extra picks next year courtesy of the Timberwolves. A rebuilding team would probably put a pretty high value on the Wolves 2021 first round pick since it's only top 3 protected and since the Wolves had the third worst record in the League this season. The Warriors also have the Wolves second round pick next year. All of that is in addition to the Warriors own picks next year and beyond. In addition to the top pick this year, the Wolves have some other attractive assets to offer a rebuilding team, including this year's ##17 and 33 picks as well as last year's #6 pick Culver. I also think Okogie, Naz Reid, Nowell and Jake Layman will have some trade value.

So I'm not suggesting the Wolves don't have some pretty good assets to combine with the top pick in a deal for an established player. I'm just saying that GS's interest in trading their #2 pick provides competition and will take away some of the Wolves bargaining leverage.

lipoli390 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:On the GS interested in ______ prospect there have been a couple articles I read from people that generally know what they are talking about including Sam V. Of the athletic that say the Warriors are basically saying they like everyone it's someone new every week. Maybe they can't decide but most people think it's more of a game they are playing. At 2...who is GS gonna take? This draft is weird some team might trade up for a guy GS has 5th on their board. The unknown could be worthwhile. When the Celtics traded #1 it wasn't for sure they wanted Tatem and nobody thought they would just take him #1. So they got a nice asset and a better player (although Fultz injuries are a factor mostly unforeseen). I wouldn't be shocked if GS still has little idea of who they would take. They have a bunch of different ways they could go. I agree with Cam that Wiseman does make a lot of sense. Imagine Edwards with 2 of the greatest shooters ever around him that would be interesting too. Quite frankly I'm up for GS making things interesting because any kind of frenzy can benefit the Wolves in a possible trade of #1 which honestly I'm still hoping happens meaning we get some sort of deal that's too good to pass up.

I have no doubt the Warriors would like to swap their pick for and established high-level player. They don't need a star since they already have Curry, Thompson and Green - the same trio that carried them to the best record in NBA history several years ago. But wanting to swap and getting the return they want are two different things. The Warriors have a smart front office. They'll have a return in mind and a limit on how much their willing to give up. If they don't get the deal that measures up to their expectations, then they'll keep the pick or simply trade down for another asset and take Vassell. He's could play a role similar to the role Iggy played.

I don't think the GS situation helps the Wolves at all. The Warriors are competition for the Wolves in any effort to the #1 pick. The teams most likely interested in trading up or trading an established player for a top 2 pick are those in or entering a rebuilding phase. In addition to offering their #2 pick, the Warriors have extra picks next year courtesy of the Timberwolves. A rebuilding team would probably put a pretty high value on the Wolves 2021 first round pick since it's only top 3 protected and since the Wolves had the third worst record in the League this season. The Warriors also have the Wolves second round pick next year. All of that is in addition to the Warriors own picks next year and beyond. In addition to the top pick this year, the Wolves have some other attractive assets to offer a rebuilding team, including this year's ##17 and 33 picks as well as last year's #6 pick Culver. I also think Okogie, Naz Reid, Nowell and Jake Layman will have some trade value.

So I'm not suggesting the Wolves don't have some pretty good assets to combine with the top pick in a deal for an established player. I'm just saying that GS interest in trading their #2 pick provides competition and will take away some of the Wolves bargaining leverage.

Trading for an established player yeah sure but that's aside from the actual value of the pick If a team is open to dealing it. Let's say there are 3 teams that want to trade up and they basically know there are a few teams interested. They don't know who GS wants. If GS is open for a trade and it created teams wanting to move up and teams don't know who wants who...it could create a bidding war and the Wolves have the top pick. At this point I haven't seen any real sense of what the Wolves plan to do. Their strategy might be to say absolutely nothing leaving people in the dark. It's almost October so we are about what a month and a half out of this thing going down...that's still a while but it's coming up. It will be interesting to see if teams can keep their intentions under wraps if they want that to be the case.

monsterpile wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:On the GS interested in ______ prospect there have been a couple articles I read from people that generally know what they are talking about including Sam V. Of the athletic that say the Warriors are basically saying they like everyone it's someone new every week. Maybe they can't decide but most people think it's more of a game they are playing. At 2...who is GS gonna take? This draft is weird some team might trade up for a guy GS has 5th on their board. The unknown could be worthwhile. When the Celtics traded #1 it wasn't for sure they wanted Tatem and nobody thought they would just take him #1. So they got a nice asset and a better player (although Fultz injuries are a factor mostly unforeseen). I wouldn't be shocked if GS still has little idea of who they would take. They have a bunch of different ways they could go. I agree with Cam that Wiseman does make a lot of sense. Imagine Edwards with 2 of the greatest shooters ever around him that would be interesting too. Quite frankly I'm up for GS making things interesting because any kind of frenzy can benefit the Wolves in a possible trade of #1 which honestly I'm still hoping happens meaning we get some sort of deal that's too good to pass up.

I have no doubt the Warriors would like to swap their pick for and established high-level player. They don't need a star since they already have Curry, Thompson and Green - the same trio that carried them to the best record in NBA history several years ago. But wanting to swap and getting the return they want are two different things. The Warriors have a smart front office. They'll have a return in mind and a limit on how much their willing to give up. If they don't get the deal that measures up to their expectations, then they'll keep the pick or simply trade down for another asset and take Vassell. He's could play a role similar to the role Iggy played.

I don't think the GS situation helps the Wolves at all. The Warriors are competition for the Wolves in any effort to the #1 pick. The teams most likely interested in trading up or trading an established player for a top 2 pick are those in or entering a rebuilding phase. In addition to offering their #2 pick, the Warriors have extra picks next year courtesy of the Timberwolves. A rebuilding team would probably put a pretty high value on the Wolves 2021 first round pick since it's only top 3 protected and since the Wolves had the third worst record in the League this season. The Warriors also have the Wolves second round pick next year. All of that is in addition to the Warriors own picks next year and beyond. In addition to the top pick this year, the Wolves have some other attractive assets to offer a rebuilding team, including this year's ##17 and 33 picks as well as last year's #6 pick Culver. I also think Okogie, Naz Reid, Nowell and Jake Layman will have some trade value.

So I'm not suggesting the Wolves don't have some pretty good assets to combine with the top pick in a deal for an established player. I'm just saying that GS interest in trading their #2 pick provides competition and will take away some of the Wolves bargaining leverage.

Trading for an established player yeah sure but that's aside from the actual value of the pick If a team is open to dealing it. Let's say there are 3 teams that want to trade up and they basically know there are a few teams interested. They don't know who GS wants. If GS is open for a trade and it created teams wanting to move up and teams don't know who wants who...it could create a bidding war and the Wolves have the top pick. At this point I haven't seen any real sense of what the Wolves plan to do. Their strategy might be to say absolutely nothing leaving people in the dark. It's almost October so we are about what a month and a half out of this thing going down...that's still a while but it's coming up. It will be interesting to see if teams can keep their intentions under wraps if they want that to be the case.

Yes, it will be interesting to see what kind of information comes out over the next month and a half. Of course, then it's a matter of sorting out fact from fiction.

At the end of the day, though, I don't think a deal with the Wolves or Warriors for the #1 or #2 pick is that mysterious or complicated. Any team wanting to trade up will have a player they want to get with that first or second pick. That's typically the way it happens. So there really isn't any need to guess who the Wolves or Warriors are inclined to pick. Minnesota is in the drivers seat because we can draft any player the other team wants us to draft for them. If that team can't reach a deal with the Wolves, then they'll hope the Wolves decline to pick that player, in which case the team will try to negotiate a deal with the Warriors.

I'd really like to see a trade up from 17. It is possible a quality prospect will still be available there, but there does seem to be a 2nd tier drop off by pick 10 or so. I think we can get a combination of two really exciting players if we found a way to move up a few spots with the 2nd pick. Moving down with the 1 makes less sense to me unless we are picking up a proven player in that transaction or if we're getting an insanely good deal (another unprotected first from a bad team like Cleveland or New York) .

thedoper wrote:I'd really like to see a trade up from 17. It is possible a quality prospect will still be available there, but there does seem to be a 2nd tier drop off by pick 10 or so. I think we can get a combination of two really exciting players if we found a way to move up a few spots with the 2nd pick. Moving down with the 1 makes less sense to me unless we are picking up a proven player in that transaction or if we're getting an insanely good deal (another unprotected first from a bad team like Cleveland or New York) .

Agreed, agreed, agreed. I'm almost more intrigued with what we do with 17 than what we do with first overall despite the top pick being considerably more valuable. My fingers are crossed hoping that Devin Vassell and/or Saddiq Bey get overlooked in favor of the perceived "high potential" guys and get pushed down to that 10-12 range because I think we can trade up without having to give up much in this draft.

Coming away with James Wiseman and Devin Vassell or Saddiq Bey would be a tremendous haul, in my opinion. I see all three of those names as building blocks for whatever teams they go to.