Minnesota Sports Forum

JasonIsDaMan wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:They might be desperate to unload Monroe.

Of course they are. He's productive. I'm sure right now their fans are trying to figure out how to pry Payne loose from the Wolves for him

Monroe has 2 years left on his deal and a player option the season after that. I don't think they would have to pay to get rid of a guy that can actually play and will be making a few million under 20 million. Is he available? Probably but I don't think they are desperate to move him.

bleedspeed177 wrote:Lets all just hope Bjelica becomes the answer at PF for us. I think we saw some flashes last year he can be that guy. Dieng would be a great backup for him and Towns. Then with we grab Hield with 5th we would have our shooter off the bench.

I think Bjelica could be a piece of the puzzle not the answer himself but a key piece to the solution. He is a guy that can play that versatile small ball PF but the nice thing is he isn't small he is actually pretty tall. He isn't all that strong and he isn't going to jump out of the gym either and he isn't a scorer but he can do a little bit of everything (if he does turn out to be what we hope he can be) and he would be a nice compliment to Dieng/Towns. They would still need a tough gritty even if undersized guy to fill things out. Those guys tend to be pretty easy to find because the lack of upside.

Some thoughts on signing a FA that would displace a young starter:

Basically we are taking about Dieng and Lavine. Oddly either guy losing his spot as a starter Briggs up slot of the same feelings.

Both guys seem like they have done enough to deserve it.

Both guys have sorta had a weird road to get to that spot.

Both guys have different sorts of brilliance and mind boggling ineptitude.

Both seem to be hard workers and have a good attitude. They are pretty easy to cheer for.

To me as much as I like Dieng I do see him being more of a guy that could be that 3rd big playing plenty of minutes I that role backing up PF/C. On the other hand he really played well as the season went on and made slot of strides in some weaknesses in his game and shockingly was able to do a lot of good things as a PF. If Sam (and the staff and maybe KG also) can feel good about 1 thing it's probably Dieng's improvement last year. I want to see the guy get a shot that it seems like he has done enough good things in to career to deserve. That may not be what's best for the team but there is a human element to fandom right? Lol

Like Insaid on another thread I am very high on Lavine. I think he is the SG for the Wolves or if he does become a 6th man it's because we either have a really good player to sorta push him there or he has possible really arrived and become's not just a scorer for himself but can be a guy that creates some for others as a SG which helps the 2nd unit out. I hesitate to use Manu as an example because he was so good (such a diverse skill set) and played in such a unique situation but Indont see Lavine as just a Jamal Crawford type either. I think he is gonna be a lot better player than Crawford on both sides of the ball. So I'd like to see the guy play SG with good NBA players to help grow his game. Maybe they will add a couple of vet bench players that would work well with him (and maybe Bazz also) but I want to see the guy start at SG. If he gets better he could team up with Tyus also that could be pretty fun to watch if Tyus is able to hit shots.

I've never felt so good about the Wolves. Sadly I'm such a Wolves fan I'm worried about how it's all going to go wrong. :p

Laine has shown enough for me to want to see a Lil more. If he gets traded I fear we may have David Ortiz regrets down the road .

monsterpile wrote:Some thoughts on signing a FA that would displace a young starter:

Basically we are taking about Dieng and Lavine. Oddly either guy losing his spot as a starter Briggs up slot of the same feelings.

Both guys seem like they have done enough to deserve it.

Both guys have sorta had a weird road to get to that spot.

Both guys have different sorts of brilliance and mind boggling ineptitude.

Both seem to be hard workers and have a good attitude. They are pretty easy to cheer for.

To me as much as I like Dieng I do see him being more of a guy that could be that 3rd big playing plenty of minutes I that role backing up PF/C. On the other hand he really played well as the season went on and made slot of strides in some weaknesses in his game and shockingly was able to do a lot of good things as a PF. If Sam (and the staff and maybe KG also) can feel good about 1 thing it's probably Dieng's improvement last year. I want to see the guy get a shot that it seems like he has done enough good things in to career to deserve. That may not be what's best for the team but there is a human element to fandom right? Lol

Like Insaid on another thread I am very high on Lavine. I think he is the SG for the Wolves or if he does become a 6th man it's because we either have a really good player to sorta push him there or he has possible really arrived and become's not just a scorer for himself but can be a guy that creates some for others as a SG which helps the 2nd unit out. I hesitate to use Manu as an example because he was so good (such a diverse skill set) and played in such a unique situation but Indont see Lavine as just a Jamal Crawford type either. I think he is gonna be a lot better player than Crawford on both sides of the ball. So I'd like to see the guy play SG with good NBA players to help grow his game. Maybe they will add a couple of vet bench players that would work well with him (and maybe Bazz also) but I want to see the guy start at SG. If he gets better he could team up with Tyus also that could be pretty fun to watch if Tyus is able to hit shots.

I've never felt so good about the Wolves. Sadly I'm such a Wolves fan I'm worried about how it's all going to go wrong. :p

The problem with Dieng starting is the rebounding and the interior defense. Towns can't be expected to do it all and Dieng surprisingly has not been near the rim protector he was in college and his rebounding is no longer good enough to be a starting caliber big. I don't know if it has anything to do with his clear focus on offensive development, but if he wants a spot in the starting lineup he needs to greatly improve as a team defender and rebounder because frankly he's the 4th scoring option and really 5th overall offensive option on the starting unit. We don't need another 20pt scorer in the starting lineup. We need someone who will gets us 10 boards a game (mostly defensive) and if not a couple blocks per game alter more shots at the rim. Dieng hasn't done either of those in his time here and he's been particularly bad in the latter protecting the rim beyond just blocking shots.

I like the idea of Faried because the guy plays differently on good and bad teams. On team USA and good Denver teams he dominates the boards and protects the rim decently. On bad teams he looks that much worse because he is a role player trying to be more and it doesn't work. I actually think he would help us significantly, but I think a top 5 pick might be a little steep even getting another first round pick back. If we're giving them Hield or Murray to play next to Mudiay, I want their 7th pick and I'd give them Bazz so that we get a role playing starter and a top 7 pick and they get a top 5 pick and a role player.

I'd prefer to play hardball with them and keep Bazz as i still see him developing into a weapon off the bench. If they covet Murray or Hield that much then they can pay for it. #5 for #7 and Faried or Faried and both #15 and #19. If they think that is too steep, then i'm sitting at #5 and taking my BPA.

With the positions/talent available at #5 i'm beginning to like the idea of going after Horford the most and drafting BPA at #5.

Hicks123 wrote:

Mikkeman wrote:I think that Biyombo would have got are least 12 million per year based on his regular season performance but his recent playoff success might increase his value to closer to 20 million than 12.

So then we can also assume that Barnes has played his way from a max (or near max) deal to about $3 Million per season....as that has been his output quality for the playoffs. Or doesn't this go both directions? Too early to tell I think.

I'm starting to believe it is really possible that Barnes won't receive max offer because of his playoff performance. He had real opportunity to showcase that he is more versatile wing than just 3&d guy while Curry was out but he has been pretty bad this years playoffs. I think it is possible that Iggy will start remaining games on behalf of him.

The Nerlens Noel for Jeff Teague rumors are gaining some steam. I gotta think Noel for Dunn would be a preferable choice as he is on a rookie deal. Teague could be a one year rental although they would probably just overwhelm him with a monster payday next year.

Also speculation that this could trigger a Horford departure. Man, he would be perfect here.

Phenom's_Revenge wrote:The Nerlens Noel for Jeff Teague rumors are gaining some steam. I gotta think Noel for Dunn would be a preferable choice as he is on a rookie deal. Teague could be a one year rental although they would probably just overwhelm him with a monster payday next year.

Also speculation that this could trigger a Horford departure. Man, he would be perfect here.

That deal is interesting for both sides. Noel for Teague seems like a heck of a value assuming they keep Noel long term. Both teams would be dealing for guys that could be gone after this season but obviously Noel would be a RFA.

I wouldn't see acquiring Noel would for sure mean Horford would be gone. Millsap could play some SF with Horford and Noel. And it would give them a terrific front court if Horford comes back and both Horford and Millsap can hit 3's so that fits with Noel.

I do think you are right the 6ers are going to keep their options open dealing Noel or Okafor for a Guard and getting a young one in the draft would make a lot of sense. On the other hand getting an established player like Teague is probably tempting in that they are probably ready to not suck going forward. I think that COULD be a mistake I would keep building and use some of that cap space to add a vet fringe starter or keep the guy they brought in last year instead of giving up an asset to get a vet. They are goin to have a ton of bigs though they aren't going to be able to keep them all. It's not a bad position the Sixers are in right now. I wonder what kind of value Saric has around the league right now.

I can't read through all of these pages so I'm not sure what free agents or potential trades have been mentioned, so I'll just post my general thoughts here.

The areas of need for the Wolves are quite obvious: outside shooting, a PF next to KAT, and general defense. These needs can be addressed in a lot of ways. I've mentioned before that I would take Buddy Hield at #5. However, I believe the pick will be traded for a solid vet. The vet I'd like to trade the pick for is Kenneth Faried. His work ethic and hustle has never been questioned. On a team like the Wolves, he would not be asked to do a lot of the scoring. He could focus strictly on rebounding on both ends and finishing lobs from Rubio. In order to pry Faried from Denver, the #5 pick will have to be involved. I would offer #5 and Shabazz for Faried and #15. The attitude Faried would bring to the starting line-up and the overall team in general would be awesome. He's also still young enough (26) to grow with our young roster.

At pick #15, I'd take Timothe Luwawu. Somewhat of a project, but I think he has immense upside as a 3 & D specialist in the NBA.

As far as Free Agents are concerned, I'd look to sign a vet back-up point guard to compete with Tyus. I'd look long and hard at a Thibodeau favorite Aaron Brooks. Only 31 years old and can provide a nice offensive boost off the bench and has a history of spot starting. He also could come fairly cheap.

To address shooting/defense even further, I'd throw a large offer sheet at Allen Crabbe. He'd be the perfect 6th man and compliment to Wiggins and Lavine.

PG: Rubio/Tyus/Brooks
SG: Lavine/Crabbe
SF: Wiggins/Crabbe/Luwawu
PF: Faried/Bjelica/Payne
C: Towns/Dieng/KG/Pek

Greg Monroe has been mentioned as a trade target. I'm not interested at all. He wants to be the guy and he just isn't.

Free agent PFs like Marvin Williams and Luol Deng are nice players and would improve the team. However, I just don't think they are the best fit next to KAT. Towns needs a relentless rebounder and/or a hard nosed defender. These two don't fit that mold.

Obviously, this is my dream offseason. Emphasis on dream as the chances of all of this happening are probably low.