Minnesota Sports Forum

Here's a case for trading NAZ:

The Wolves are in their 2nd year of paying the luxury tax. If they are a luxury tax team in either (or both) of the next two years, they would be considered a repeater luxury tax payer, which is very expensive. Maybe the Wolves are willing to pay the extra $s, but I have to think it factors into some of their long range planning.

The trade I proposed earlier goes a long way towards dropping the Wolves under the luxury tax threshold next year. ANT makes 22% of the Wolves salaries. Our BIGS (Rudy, NAZ, Randle, Jaden, Miller and Joan) make 57% of the Wolves salaries. That means our other guards/wings make up a measly 21% of the salaries. And a chunk of that is the expiring 10 mil contract of Mike.

My trade proposal was NAZ and Dilly to Sacramento and getting back Monk and SloMo (might be able to get our 2031 1st round pick back -- the one used to get Dilly!). Monk makes 3 mil less than NAZ, and Dilly's future salary comes off the books because SloMo's contract is not guaranteed next year. That would lower and balance the distribution of Wolves salaries. NAZ's biggest contribution is 3-point shooting, which is what Monk would bring to the table. SloMo beefs up our depth. And we make room for more Beringer minutes, maybe even Rocco!

Of course, the whole luxury tax thing can be dealt with in the offseason, so the most likely scenario is waiting for the buyout market...

BeenLurkin wrote: ↑Wed Jan 14, 2026 2:49 pm You know that Donte DiVincenzo is a pretty good glue guy…maybe just stop pining for a trade and realize the cake has baked. If we can get something for Dilly that helps then sure. If we need to include Lenny or TJ then I wish them well in a new place where they might get more time. Maybe we got extremely lucky with health and availability so far and Joan has been allowed to come along at a protected pace and he can be an energy defensive/rim crashing offense Rudy sub we have been hoping/needing desperately. For sure add SloMo if he’s out there after the buyouts. But please do not mess with team chemistry. Every year it takes 20-40 games for team chemistry to work itself out. Looks like it’s a fantastic vibe right now and an honest group that knows what it needs to do and what it is. I fear that trading Mike or Donte or anyone who isn’t Dilly is gonna crash the vibe at the point it looks gelled.

And this is a good problem to have for Tim Connelly. He's approaching the trade deadline from a position of strength due to the team's performance of late.

But it was almost exactly two weeks ago that we lost that blowout to Atlanta and many of us were saying "something has to be done!" in terms of a trade or two, so it's amazing how things can change.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jan 14, 2026 7:38 pm

BeenLurkin wrote: ↑Wed Jan 14, 2026 2:49 pm You know that Donte DiVincenzo is a pretty good glue guy…maybe just stop pining for a trade and realize the cake has baked. If we can get something for Dilly that helps then sure. If we need to include Lenny or TJ then I wish them well in a new place where they might get more time. Maybe we got extremely lucky with health and availability so far and Joan has been allowed to come along at a protected pace and he can be an energy defensive/rim crashing offense Rudy sub we have been hoping/needing desperately. For sure add SloMo if he’s out there after the buyouts. But please do not mess with team chemistry. Every year it takes 20-40 games for team chemistry to work itself out. Looks like it’s a fantastic vibe right now and an honest group that knows what it needs to do and what it is. I fear that trading Mike or Donte or anyone who isn’t Dilly is gonna crash the vibe at the point it looks gelled.

And this is a good problem to have for Tim Connelly. He's approaching the trade deadline from a position of strength due to the team's performance of late.

But it was almost exactly two weeks ago that we lost that blowout to Atlanta and many of us were saying "something has to be done!" in terms of a trade or two, so it's amazing how things can change.

The silly thing about the connection between that blowout in Atlanta and fan calls for a trade is that ther are no realistic (or even unrealistic) trades that fix what went wrong for the Wolves in that game. Swapping anyone on our current roster for Tre Jones, Tyus Jones or Coby White would not have turned that blowout loss into anything close to a win. That blowout and other the terrible losses like the one to the Nets were attributable to a profound lack of intensity/effort among our core players. There are no realistic trades that would address that issue. The good news is that it appears that effort/intensity problem has been remedied as Chris Finch indicated at the annual stakeholder forum. So not surprisingly, this team is on a roll.

If we get the proverbial offer you can’t refuse, then TC should pull the trigger. To me that would be Mike Conley and Miller for Tre Jones or even Tyus Jones. I think either of those two could give us what Conley no longer gives us. It would be a net gain although not a game-changer. Meanwhile, we’d keep our young talent - Rob, Shannon and Clark — which is essential for this draft-depleted organization.

Very true, Lip. Further, if the Wolves continue to have the success they have had in 2026 (6-1 so far), we will look back at the Hawks loss as the turning point of the season. There was a lot of doom and gloom in the GDT that day, but even though I'm wrong as often as anyone here, I wasn't that surprised about the loss. Atlanta had lost 7 in a row I think, but almost all of those losses had been with their albatross Trae playing. When we learned before the game started that Trae would be out, I thought "oh oh", and stated my concerns about the game early in the thread. Atlanta has a talented young core, and we should have known they were going to be firing on all cylinders with their "star" out. And the Wolves were coming off a near-perfect win against the Bulls. The stage was set for the Wolves to mail in a performance and to get blown out by a hungry team. And that's what happened...Ju and Ant were shameful on defense and didn't get their teammates involved on offense, and Ant went to the locker room before the game was over. We don't know what happened that night in the locker room, but Finchy is a fiery guy, and I suspect he let Ant and his teammates know how he felt about their lack of effort. And look what has happened since then...6-1, including a surprise win in Milwaukee where we looked like the hungry Hawks team we saw on NYE.

All this to say I like where this team is right now, and can't imagine a possible trade that would be a positive for us. Hyland isn't always going to play like he did in Milwaukee, but it does seem that he listens to Finchy and gives him what he is looking for...scoring or game management depending on the situation. And Joan's improved play in Iowa plus what he showed us in real minutes against the Bucks gives us some indication that there might be some hope for the non-Rudy minutes problem. Voila...our two biggest deficiencies solved...maybe. TC is going to stand pat at the trade deadline (except for looking at buyout options), and that will be the right thing to do.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 15, 2026 1:24 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jan 14, 2026 7:38 pm

BeenLurkin wrote: ↑Wed Jan 14, 2026 2:49 pm You know that Donte DiVincenzo is a pretty good glue guy…maybe just stop pining for a trade and realize the cake has baked. If we can get something for Dilly that helps then sure. If we need to include Lenny or TJ then I wish them well in a new place where they might get more time. Maybe we got extremely lucky with health and availability so far and Joan has been allowed to come along at a protected pace and he can be an energy defensive/rim crashing offense Rudy sub we have been hoping/needing desperately. For sure add SloMo if he’s out there after the buyouts. But please do not mess with team chemistry. Every year it takes 20-40 games for team chemistry to work itself out. Looks like it’s a fantastic vibe right now and an honest group that knows what it needs to do and what it is. I fear that trading Mike or Donte or anyone who isn’t Dilly is gonna crash the vibe at the point it looks gelled.

And this is a good problem to have for Tim Connelly. He's approaching the trade deadline from a position of strength due to the team's performance of late.

But it was almost exactly two weeks ago that we lost that blowout to Atlanta and many of us were saying "something has to be done!" in terms of a trade or two, so it's amazing how things can change.

The silly thing about the connection between that blowout in Atlanta and fan calls for a trade is that ther are no realistic (or even unrealistic) trades that fix what went wrong for the Wolves in that game. Swapping anyone on our current roster for Tre Jones, Tyus Jones or Coby White would not have turned that blowout loss into anything close to a win. That blowout and other the terrible losses like the one to the Nets were attributable to a profound lack of intensity/effort among our core players. There are no realistic trades that would address that issue. The good news is that it appears that effort/intensity problem has been remedied as Chris Finch indicated at the annual stakeholder forum. So not surprisingly, this team is on a roll.

If we get the proverbial offer you can’t refuse, then TC should pull the trigger. To me that would be Mike Conley and Miller for Tre Jones or even Tyus Jones. I think either of those two could give us what Conley no longer gives us. It would be a net gain although not a game-changer. Meanwhile, we’d keep our young talent - Rob, Shannon and Clark — which is essential for this draft-depleted organization.

Cam Thomas pretty much single handily beat us in that Brooklyn loss (+27 in 20 minutes), and it was Clark of all defenders that he was cooking the most. One big 25 point output from a guy off the bench could have saved one of those sad losses.

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 15, 2026 11:03 am

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 15, 2026 1:24 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jan 14, 2026 7:38 pm

And this is a good problem to have for Tim Connelly. He's approaching the trade deadline from a position of strength due to the team's performance of late.

But it was almost exactly two weeks ago that we lost that blowout to Atlanta and many of us were saying "something has to be done!" in terms of a trade or two, so it's amazing how things can change.

The silly thing about the connection between that blowout in Atlanta and fan calls for a trade is that ther are no realistic (or even unrealistic) trades that fix what went wrong for the Wolves in that game. Swapping anyone on our current roster for Tre Jones, Tyus Jones or Coby White would not have turned that blowout loss into anything close to a win. That blowout and other the terrible losses like the one to the Nets were attributable to a profound lack of intensity/effort among our core players. There are no realistic trades that would address that issue. The good news is that it appears that effort/intensity problem has been remedied as Chris Finch indicated at the annual stakeholder forum. So not surprisingly, this team is on a roll.

If we get the proverbial offer you can’t refuse, then TC should pull the trigger. To me that would be Mike Conley and Miller for Tre Jones or even Tyus Jones. I think either of those two could give us what Conley no longer gives us. It would be a net gain although not a game-changer. Meanwhile, we’d keep our young talent - Rob, Shannon and Clark — which is essential for this draft-depleted organization.

Cam Thomas pretty much single handily beat us in that Brooklyn loss (+27 in 20 minutes), and it was Clark of all defenders that he was cooking the most. One big 25 point output from a guy off the bench could have saved one of those sad losses.

The Jamal Crawford plan.

Sometimes, you look at a guy like Crawford's cumulative stats and you sorta cringe. But guys like that do have a place on teams. When they're hot, you ride them. When they're not, you hope they're cool with their role being minimized.

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 15, 2026 11:03 am

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 15, 2026 1:24 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jan 14, 2026 7:38 pm

And this is a good problem to have for Tim Connelly. He's approaching the trade deadline from a position of strength due to the team's performance of late.

But it was almost exactly two weeks ago that we lost that blowout to Atlanta and many of us were saying "something has to be done!" in terms of a trade or two, so it's amazing how things can change.

The silly thing about the connection between that blowout in Atlanta and fan calls for a trade is that ther are no realistic (or even unrealistic) trades that fix what went wrong for the Wolves in that game. Swapping anyone on our current roster for Tre Jones, Tyus Jones or Coby White would not have turned that blowout loss into anything close to a win. That blowout and other the terrible losses like the one to the Nets were attributable to a profound lack of intensity/effort among our core players. There are no realistic trades that would address that issue. The good news is that it appears that effort/intensity problem has been remedied as Chris Finch indicated at the annual stakeholder forum. So not surprisingly, this team is on a roll.

If we get the proverbial offer you can’t refuse, then TC should pull the trigger. To me that would be Mike Conley and Miller for Tre Jones or even Tyus Jones. I think either of those two could give us what Conley no longer gives us. It would be a net gain although not a game-changer. Meanwhile, we’d keep our young talent - Rob, Shannon and Clark — which is essential for this draft-depleted organization.

Cam Thomas pretty much single handily beat us in that Brooklyn loss (+27 in 20 minutes), and it was Clark of all defenders that he was cooking the most. One big 25 point output from a guy off the bench could have saved one of those sad losses.

Would Coby White, a notoriously poor defender, have fared better against Cam Thomas? I’ll answer that question: Of course not! How about Tre or Tyus Jones? No. Do I think we’d be better overall with Tre Jones instead of Mike Conley? Yes. Better with Tyus Jones instead of Mike Conley? Maybe. So swapping Conley for either one makes some sense but TC won’t make that deal even if the Bulls or Magic would. Getting Coby While would require us to give up draft capital we don’t have or impact players we should NOT give up for a one-way chucker like White. If up to me, I’d offer Mike Conley and Miller to the Bulls for Tre Jones. If rejected, I’d then offer MIke Conley for Tyus Jones. If rejected, then I’d just offer Mike to Utah of Kyle Anderson or just wait to grab Kyle on the waiver wire in February.

I’m against making a trade before the Feb deadline.

I’m not ready to give up on Dilly and simply include his salary to get a borderline rotational piece.

Mike Conley is a shell of his former self but don’t under estimate his locker room presence. His departure could really hurt this team. Also his 10 mil expiring helps this off season.

Wait for buy out season. We have a roster space and enough cap space under the 2nd apron to sign someone. Kyle Anderson would be a wonderful acquisition in this context, but I’m not interested in taking on his current contract.

KiwiMatt wrote: ↑Thu Jan 15, 2026 3:49 pm I’m against making a trade before the Feb deadline.

I’m not ready to give up on Dilly and simply include his salary to get a borderline rotational piece.

Mike Conley is a shell of his former self but don’t under estimate his locker room presence. His departure could really hurt this team. Also his 10 mil expiring helps this off season.

Wait for buy out season. We have a roster space and enough cap space under the 2nd apron to sign someone. Kyle Anderson would be a wonderful acquisition in this context, but I’m not interested in taking on his current contract.

Yeah, the Wolves cannot claim him off waivers because they don't have the cap space or exception to do it. But after he clears waivers, which he will, it sure seems like both sides should welcome a reunion!

The one thing that worries me even though we are playing well right now is in the playoffs Donte numbers traditionally go down, Naz is traditionally a pretty big negative, mixed results from Rudy and Randle. Ant and Jaden traditionally level up in the playoffs.

I would feel so much comfortable with one more rotation piece. I just don’t think we have a ton of room for error at the moment with injuries, etc.