Minnesota Sports Forum

Camden wrote:The Mavericks will release center Moses Brown to create the roster spot necessary to complete their trade. Unfortunately, the Wolves likely don't have enough room under the luxury tax threshold to scoop him up. Not like they would anyways.

Actually they might have enough space (based on my spreadsheet) to sign him for a deal for the rest of the season IF:

1. The 10 day contracts they signed in season don't count against the cap due to Covid. I think that's very possible

2. If Prince doesn't achieve either of his incentives in his contract.

I would also assume Brown will go through waivers so some team may claim him before the Wolves would be able to sign him for a prorated deal for the rest of the season.

Camden wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:

Jester1534 wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Wolves are standing pat. A lot of discussions but never could land on the right fit. Good team chemistry, now they will finish this season out and see how far they can go.

Per Jon K

I'm going to assume Gupta didn't have the power to make moves. Probably the best trade of the day for wolves was the mavs trade. That sure felt we need to retool this team and were not a top 6 team type trade.

I do have one question though. Didn't we have get rid of some salary to be under the tax line? As I'm trying to learn I don't know how that stuff works.

The Wolves are like 600k under the lux tax line. That is why it was hard to make a trade for a big Center. Layman for either Lopez or Len would of put us over the tax line. Then for Harrell, either Prince, Bev or Beasley would of needed to be in the trade to keep us under that number. I don't know if I would of liked trading any of those guys for Harrell.

Like I know people will be disappointed Gupta didn't do anything but it was really hard for him to make a move if he wasn't allowed to go over the tax line (There are punishments for going over this line)

Reid, Okogie, and Layman for Harrell worked and kept Minnesota below the luxury tax. I'm not championing for that trade, but it wouldn't have required Beverley, Beasley, or Prince.

Similarly, Minnesota could have offloaded Layman and a second-round pick to Oklahoma City and then swapped Okogie and a second to Orlando for Lopez, hypothetically.

There were avenues to take if they wanted to get a deal done. I'm not interested in excuses for Gupta, though, especially considering he's auditioning for the job moving forward.

Sure you could do the Reid, Okogie and Layman trade and then still be up against the tax line and have 3 open roster spots where they don't have the money to sign FA because they are still up against the line.

On the Lopez you really want to give up 2 players and a pick for a guy in Lopez who at most will only play in emergency time in the playoffs. Not really sure how that moves the needle at all for the Wolves. I would of like the Wolves to add a backup big also but I think it was a lot harder than you are making it out to be to add a player like Len, Lopez or Harrell when it comes to the financials of this team.

Camden wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:

Jester1534 wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Wolves are standing pat. A lot of discussions but never could land on the right fit. Good team chemistry, now they will finish this season out and see how far they can go.

Per Jon K

I'm going to assume Gupta didn't have the power to make moves. Probably the best trade of the day for wolves was the mavs trade. That sure felt we need to retool this team and were not a top 6 team type trade.

I do have one question though. Didn't we have get rid of some salary to be under the tax line? As I'm trying to learn I don't know how that stuff works.

The Wolves are like 600k under the lux tax line. That is why it was hard to make a trade for a big Center. Layman for either Lopez or Len would of put us over the tax line. Then for Harrell, either Prince, Bev or Beasley would of needed to be in the trade to keep us under that number. I don't know if I would of liked trading any of those guys for Harrell.

Like I know people will be disappointed Gupta didn't do anything but it was really hard for him to make a move if he wasn't allowed to go over the tax line (There are punishments for going over this line)

Reid, Okogie, and Layman for Harrell worked and kept Minnesota below the luxury tax. I'm not championing for that trade, but it wouldn't have required Beverley, Beasley, or Prince.

Similarly, Minnesota could have offloaded Layman and a second-round pick to Oklahoma City and then swapped Okogie and a second to Orlando for Lopez, hypothetically.

There were avenues to take if they wanted to get a deal done. I'm not interested in excuses for Gupta, though, especially considering he's auditioning for the job moving forward.

But... Gupta is playing with house money right now.

The team was in complete disarray and he was given the job under some nefarious circumstances. Fast forward a few months and the Wolves are above .500 for the 2nd time in nearly two decades and nearly set for a play-in berth (the preseason goal) without him needing to do much of anything.

The status quo probably gets him the gig. A bad deal at the trade deadline to derail the good vibes might be the one of the few ways he can lose it. It might be a savvy move for his own career (and pocketbook) to do very little right now.



[Note: And obviously, many moves GMs make are for their own best interests as much as the teams who pay them.]

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

Camden wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:

Jester1534 wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Wolves are standing pat. A lot of discussions but never could land on the right fit. Good team chemistry, now they will finish this season out and see how far they can go.

Per Jon K

I'm going to assume Gupta didn't have the power to make moves. Probably the best trade of the day for wolves was the mavs trade. That sure felt we need to retool this team and were not a top 6 team type trade.

I do have one question though. Didn't we have get rid of some salary to be under the tax line? As I'm trying to learn I don't know how that stuff works.

The Wolves are like 600k under the lux tax line. That is why it was hard to make a trade for a big Center. Layman for either Lopez or Len would of put us over the tax line. Then for Harrell, either Prince, Bev or Beasley would of needed to be in the trade to keep us under that number. I don't know if I would of liked trading any of those guys for Harrell.

Like I know people will be disappointed Gupta didn't do anything but it was really hard for him to make a move if he wasn't allowed to go over the tax line (There are punishments for going over this line)

Reid, Okogie, and Layman for Harrell worked and kept Minnesota below the luxury tax. I'm not championing for that trade, but it wouldn't have required Beverley, Beasley, or Prince.

Similarly, Minnesota could have offloaded Layman and a second-round pick to Oklahoma City and then swapped Okogie and a second to Orlando for Lopez, hypothetically.

There were avenues to take if they wanted to get a deal done. I'm not interested in excuses for Gupta, though, especially considering he's auditioning for the job moving forward.

But... Gupta is playing with house money right now.

The team was in complete disarray and he was given the job under some nefarious circumstances. Fast forward a few months and the Wolves are above .500 for the 2nd time in nearly two decades and nearly set for a play-in berth (the preseason goal) without him needing to do much of anything.

The status quo probably gets him the gig. A bad deal at the trade deadline to derail the good vibes might be the one of the few ways he can lose it. It might be a savvy move for his own career (and pocketbook) to do very little right now.



[Note: And obviously, many moves GMs make are for their own best interests as much as the teams who pay them.]

This is also a big thing here.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

Camden wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:

Jester1534 wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Wolves are standing pat. A lot of discussions but never could land on the right fit. Good team chemistry, now they will finish this season out and see how far they can go.

Per Jon K

I'm going to assume Gupta didn't have the power to make moves. Probably the best trade of the day for wolves was the mavs trade. That sure felt we need to retool this team and were not a top 6 team type trade.

I do have one question though. Didn't we have get rid of some salary to be under the tax line? As I'm trying to learn I don't know how that stuff works.

The Wolves are like 600k under the lux tax line. That is why it was hard to make a trade for a big Center. Layman for either Lopez or Len would of put us over the tax line. Then for Harrell, either Prince, Bev or Beasley would of needed to be in the trade to keep us under that number. I don't know if I would of liked trading any of those guys for Harrell.

Like I know people will be disappointed Gupta didn't do anything but it was really hard for him to make a move if he wasn't allowed to go over the tax line (There are punishments for going over this line)

Reid, Okogie, and Layman for Harrell worked and kept Minnesota below the luxury tax. I'm not championing for that trade, but it wouldn't have required Beverley, Beasley, or Prince.

Similarly, Minnesota could have offloaded Layman and a second-round pick to Oklahoma City and then swapped Okogie and a second to Orlando for Lopez, hypothetically.

There were avenues to take if they wanted to get a deal done. I'm not interested in excuses for Gupta, though, especially considering he's auditioning for the job moving forward.

But... Gupta is playing with house money right now.

The team was in complete disarray and he was given the job under some nefarious circumstances. Fast forward a few months and the Wolves are above .500 for the 2nd time in nearly two decades and nearly set for a play-in berth (the preseason goal) without him needing to do much of anything.

The status quo probably gets him the gig. A bad deal at the trade deadline to derail the good vibes might be the one of the few ways he can lose it. It might be a savvy move for his own career (and pocketbook) to do very little right now.



[Note: And obviously, many moves GMs make are for their own best interests as much as the teams who pay them.]

This is also a thing. We are also talking about a guys who will probably play at most in a playoff series 5 minutes a game in Lopez or Len. Derrick White is a different animal but in my opinion Beasley, Bolmoro our 1st this year and a pick swap in 2028 is to rich for my blood

I'm not too disappointed we didn't make any moves before deadline. The chemistry is really starting to develop. Plus we still have our 1st round pick and 3 x 2nds for this years draft.

To be fair, if San Antonio thinks as little of Bolmaro as I do... it would have required even more assets than that to get White.



[Note: And Geek, I'd argue Lopez >> Reid in a playoff series depending on the matchup.]

AbeVigodaLive wrote:To be fair, if San Antonio thinks as little of Bolmaro as I do... it would have required even more assets than that to get White.

Bolmaro's not any worse than Langford. It's mainly Richardson, a first, and a pick swap for White. That's an awesome trade for Boston.

KiwiMatt wrote:I'm not too disappointed we didn't make any moves before deadline. The chemistry is really starting to develop. Plus we still have our 1st round pick and 3 x 2nds for this years draft.

Plus some financial flexibility they haven't had for a couple years.

Camden wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:To be fair, if San Antonio thinks as little of Bolmaro as I do... it would have required even more assets than that to get White.

Bolmaro's not any worse than Langford. It's mainly Richardson, a first, and a pick swap for White. That's an awesome trade for Boston.

I'm not high on Langford. At all. In fact, I was shocked when I looked him up to see he hasn't been totally crappy. His VORP is shockingly +0.1. At worst, I think he fits in with the Celtics resurgence and he's somehow up to 35% on threes. I'm sure that will plummet soon though.

I just don't see Bolmaro as an NBA player, so I can't imagine seeing any team in the middle of a playoff race putting Bolmaro on the court like Boston has with Langford. I don't even know if there's enough there to take a flyer on him for another couple of years. He looked that bad on offense when in the L. Langford while still being sucky... is closer to being serviceable and can be dropped sooner.




[Note: Although Boston has gotten better as Langford has slipped down the rotation more. LOL.]

I love what Brooklyn, Boston, Charlotte, Los Angeles (Clippers), and San Antonio did before the deadline.

I also like the moves that Sacramento made today. I still think trading Tyrese Haliburton was a mistake, but they got better in the present. Philadelphia got the best deal possible for Ben Simmons so kudos to them. I think there may have been some insider information there, though.

In any event, that was a fun week for the NBA. There's nothing else like it in professional sports.