If you were Wolves PBO, which big man would you seek to acquire right now?

[Jester1534]

Any simpsons fans?

I think they should grab Muk Muu the Alaskan sensation.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I wouldn't trade any draft picks to acquire Willie Cauley-Stein. I think Naz Reid and Jarred Vanderbilt are both better players than him -- more deserving of minutes. I also think there's just as good of a chance of Nathan Knight making an impact than Cauley-Stein based on what he's shown in recent years. Either Minnesota should shoot for a better player than him, or sit tight and play the guys they have now. That's just my opinion.

[Lipoli390]

I'm with Cam in not giving up any future picks for WCS. Layman or Juancho straight up for WCS is something I'd do. While I agree with Cam that WCS may not be better than Vanderbilt or Reid, I think the Wolves would benefit by adding WCS's size to the roster and giving us more front-court depth. WSC's 1-year, $4M left on his deal is also attractive. However, I'd prefer to sign Hartenstein - although maybe he's already been signed. I haven't checked lately.

Honestly, my first choice now is to stand pat and see how the season pans out with the current roster.

[FNG]

I'm a big Cauley-Stein fan and would love to put him next to KAT. Why do I like him? He consistently ranks very well in defensive metrics (DRPM, Drtg, defensive +/-). Last season for instance, Dallas gave up 6.1 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the court...best on the team. With KAT's ability to guard the perimeter, I think they would be an awesome defensive tandem. And while he's unpolished at best offensively, WCS knows how to play within himself on offense...exactly what we need with our high-scoring trio of Ant, DLO and KAT. While he has only averaged about 15 points per 36 with Dallas, his near 65% eFG% shows he will score in an efficient manner when the defense puts too much attention on the high scorers. I know most don't love basketball references rtg metrics, but his ORtg/DRtg the past two seasons has been nothing short of sensational...135/105 two seasons ago and 128/110 last season.

That said, I don't see us getting him. He's averaged close to 20 MPG the past two years there, and seems to be an important rotation piece...not to mention a favorable contract. Monster suggests a hypothetical deal above, but I don't think Dallas is interested in a guy most of us don't see in the rotation (Layman) and a second round pick in exchange for a true rim-protecting center.

[Monster]

I wouldn't trade any draft picks to acquire Willie Cauley-Stein. I think Naz Reid and Jarred Vanderbilt are both better players than him -- more deserving of minutes. I also think there's just as good of a chance of Nathan Knight making an impact than Cauley-Stein based on what he's shown in recent years. Either Minnesota should shoot for a better player than him, or sit tight and play the guys they have now. That's just my opinion.

I agree with you and Lip actually and I think we all agree that the Denver/Philly 2022 2nd isn't enough for Dallas to downgrade to Layman. I would be willing to give up that pick because I think the Wolves have a group of guys that could be useful as a C/PF committee the don't have a true big/lengthy C type guy and it would be nice to add someone like that. If either Towns or Naz Reid go hurt the Wolves would have nothing proven as a C type guy in terms of depth. Regardless I wouldn't make this theoretical trade until the Vanderbilt situation was resolved because if Vanderbilt wasn't brought back I would be considering signing a bigger guy with that roster spot and keep the 2nd round pick.

[Monster]

One thing to consider for Hartenstein is that he actually turned down a player option of basically a vet min. My guess is he figured he could get either a better contract or a better opportunity or both. I think he knew he was pretty likely to find a team that would pay him the vet min again so unless he had some bad injury it was hard to go wrong. My guess is he is a guy hoping for the best offer he can get and he has some he is just waiting. I'll only be ready to burn down Target Center and decry the Rosas process if/when Hartenstein signs somewhere else for the vet min. :)

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

It's far from a perfect fit for either team, but it's peculiar why the Kings and Wolves haven't been able to come to an agreement on a trade headlined by Marvin Bagley and Jarrett Culver. Two guys who so obviously need a change of scenery -- a fresh start to their careers, if you will.

Both teams have added capable players at their respective player's positions.

The Kings not only re-signed Richaun Holmes, but they traded for Tristan Thompson and signed Alex Len to add to the pool of bigs. Moe Harkless was re-signed. They also didn't trade Harrison Barnes. Where does Bagley fit in Sacramento? Well, he doesn't, and both sides are aware of it, thus the request to be traded and the Kings blatantly shopping him.

The Wolves traded for Malik Beasley and re-signed him a year ago. They drafted Anthony Edwards with the top overall pick. They gave Jaylen Nowell meaningful minutes in Culver's absence last year and are expected to expand his role this season in some capacity. Again, where does Culver fit? He doesn't, and every team in the league is aware of it as well as his salary. Culver was most definitely shopped this off-season to anyone willing to take him... and he's still on Minnesota's payroll.

Bagley has shown more productivity than Culver to this point, but the former has been much more vocal about wanting out. By all accounts, Culver is a great kid and at-worst a neutral attitude in the locker room. What he lacks in basketball ability compared to Bagley, he makes up for in egoless behavior and a slightly smaller cap hit.

What makes sense to me is Bagley and Damian Jones (no money guaranteed for 2021-2022) for Culver and Juan Hernangomez. The money for next year is a wash and the Kings could simply decline to pick up the options for the 2022-2023 season on both Culver and Hernangomez if they chose to in order to keep their flexibility.

[AbeVigodaLive]

There's a conceivable chance Bagley hits as a top pick who's underwhelmed. As Cam noted, he's been vocal about wanting out so he has a bit of a malcontent tag that hurts his value. But he's still proven to be a much better NBA player than Culver.

I don't know how much "but he's a nicer guy" plays into it if it's for several million dollars and the guy is highly unlikely to help you win a single game.

[Monster]

It's far from a perfect fit for either team, but it's peculiar why the Kings and Wolves haven't been able to come to an agreement on a trade headlined by Marvin Bagley and Jarrett Culver. Two guys who so obviously need a change of scenery -- a fresh start to their careers, if you will.

Both teams have added capable players at their respective player's positions.

The Kings not only re-signed Richaun Holmes, but they traded for Tristan Thompson and signed Alex Len to add to the pool of bigs. Moe Harkless was re-signed. They also didn't trade Harrison Barnes. Where does Bagley fit in Sacramento? Well, he doesn't, and both sides are aware of it, thus the request to be traded and the Kings blatantly shopping him.

The Wolves traded for Malik Beasley and re-signed him a year ago. They drafted Anthony Edwards with the top overall pick. They gave Jaylen Nowell meaningful minutes in Culver's absence last year and are expected to expand his role this season in some capacity. Again, where does Culver fit? He doesn't, and every team in the league is aware of it as well as his salary. Culver was most definitely shopped this off-season to anyone willing to take him... and he's still on Minnesota's payroll.

Bagley has shown more productivity than Culver to this point, but the former has been much more vocal about wanting out. By all accounts, Culver is a great kid and at-worst a neutral attitude in the locker room. What he lacks in basketball ability compared to Bagley, he makes up for in egoless behavior and a slightly smaller cap hit.

What makes sense to me is Bagley and Damian Jones (no money guaranteed for 2021-2022) for Culver and Juan Hernangomez. The money for next year is a wash and the Kings could simply decline to pick up the options for the 2022-2023 season on both Culver and Hernangomez if they chose to in order to keep their flexibility.

I think the answer to your query is Bagley was actually pretty productive last year and Culver was simply pretty bad. Bagley's production makes him look like a guy that can at least be a valuable rotation player. Culver? His production makes him look like he could be out of the league. Plus I think Bagley still wants out he sorta backed off that and said he can say what we he wants etc. The reality is the Kings don't have a long term solution to the PF position on their roster. Bagley could still be that guy. If all they are gonna get is a flyer on a bad young player or a random 2nd round pick hen they may just keep Bagley and see what happens. That's exactly what I would do. My guess is that if he is productive to start this season and he still wants out some team may give up something decent for him. We know how the league has valued PF that might be starting level guys. FWIW I'd rather take a shot at Bagley than Markkanen as I think the upside is higher. Meanwhile is Culver really a SF? If the Kings don't think so they basically have no use for him as they have plenty of young guards already.

[Lipoli390]

I agree that Bagley has been a better player than Culver and that, therefore, he has a high market value than Culver. However, Bagley's salarying is $2.4M higher than Culvers. More importantly, There doesn't appear to be any significant interest around the League in acquiring Bagley even though the Kings have been sipping him.

So I think Cam is on to something, although I think the Wolves would have to add some sweetener to the deal. A straight up Culver for Bagley deal would save the Kings $2.4M in salary space. That's something the Kings might value. Nevertheless, I don't see the Kings going for a straight up deal. However, I could see the Kings having some interest in a Culver-Bagley swap if the Wolves threw in Layman and a 2nd-round pick - maybe 2 second round picks.