General Pre-Draft News and Musings

[rapsuperstar31]

There is absolutely zero chance we can get the 4th pick for Covington!! Cmon guys.

Never say never, we did get the 5th pick years back for less in Foye and Mike Miller

[thedoper]

There is absolutely zero chance we can get the 4th pick for Covington!! Cmon guys.

Never say never, we did get the 5th pick years back for less in Foye and Mike Miller

David Kahn's greatest moment. Could have been the greatest trade in history if Kahn wasn't also the one drafting.

[Duke13]

Good point, but I highly doubt NO would think about that deal. Yes that was Kahn's one good move. Unfortunately for the wolves it was Flip who made the deal.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

With how desperate the Pelicans will soon be for perimeter defenders and floor spacers to put around Zion Williamson, I could definitely see some sort of trade involving Robert Covington. He's an ideal fit for most teams and next to most players, but especially a player like Zion who is going to be able to collapse defenses.

Not to mention two of the pieces they got back in the Anthony Davis trade are lackluster 3P shooters. It just makes sense.

As it's been said, from Minnesota's standpoint, if you believe in Garland's potential to become a star in this league, you likely make the trade. Also a good point was the financial angle in trying to get some wiggle room to be able to go after D'Angelo Russell. And yes, I think you could, in theory, acquire both players this off-season.

[apollotsg [enjin:6592798]]

If we are going to toss out crazy ideas, how about these - blow it all up:

Blow it all up option 1:
Trade anything except Covington and Okogie for Harden

Why - Hou has issues and they wont be able to move CP3 so why risk having a Butler situation.
Min - we get a 2 year window to play a horrible version of basketball...but it may actually win a title (maybe, if we surround him with defenders and 3 point shooting)


Blow it up option 2:
Move everyone and every draft pick we have to so we can clear cap space except Towns, Covington, and Okogie
Sign DLO and whatever midlevel guy that will play 3rd fiddle


Blow it up option 3 (the one I like):
Call NO and offer anything and everything for the 1st pick - try and keep Okogie and the 11th pick but move all the rest and build around Zion. He is going to be special, I think he is going to look a lot like a bigger, scarier version of LBJ...yup He has the hype that people will actually want to come here and play with him.

[Monster]

A couple things to add.

1. The #4 pick makes what like 3 million more than #11 this year? That factors into the deal.

2. Someone else either Solomon Hill or Moore will be coming back in the deal. This deal likely won't open up much cap space this year (unless we deal Moore) but it would give the team some space after this year. That's a worthwhile consideration having around 10 million less in salary in 2020.

3. I'm convinced if Covington was put on the open market you could get multiple lottery protected picks for him. That's still not enough to equal #4 by itself but the guy has a ton of value.

4. Saric makes a lot of sense for NO. They are gonna ask for Covington and what a haul they would have if they turn AD into Covington and #11 plus all the other stuff they got. Honestly just getting Covington would be a pretty sweet move but obviously they should get more. They probably would like a defensive guy but the spacing and cutting and just all the stuff Saric would do would be nice with Zion and Okafor or whoever else they have playing.

5. If we draft Garland we aren't going after DLO. It's probably either or.

6. I'm personally not convinced about Garland. If we deal Covington and #11 and don't get any value back...the thing that will keep me from being too down is Covington's age injury history and some salary savings.

7. The Wolves do have some intriguing wings even including Cam Reynolds. Maybe none of those guys turn out but right now there isn't enough room for maybe even KBD to play any regular minutes. Sure maybe he isn't good enough for that but this team does have some options. What if Cam Reynolds is the next Covington/Danny Green type? At some point this team unless it really surprises (wouldn't shock me) probably should cash in on Covington at some point. Is this the right time? Idk anywho the other question is whether the Wolves would also have another opportunity to add a young wing in FA because they have more of an opportunity with a top end starter gone.

[AbeVigodaLive]

A couple things to add.



6. I'm personally not convinced about Garland. If we deal Covington and #11 and don't get any value back...the thing that will keep me from being too down is Covington's age injury history and some salary savings.

What's the real risk here? Losing Covington would hurt. He's good. Legitimately fun to watch, too.

But let's say the Wolves get only so-so production from the #11 pick this season. And he's just a meh player. Decent. Not great. About what you'd expect from a late lottery pick.

How good are the Wolves? How good are they next year?

Personally, I think Covington offers more to a contender where he can fit into his natural role more than being a building block on a bad or mediocre team. So even if Garland flames out... would the Wolves have missed out on some grandiose opportunity?

Meh. Covington has a ceiling. A high one... but it's there lurking.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

A couple things to add.



6. I'm personally not convinced about Garland. If we deal Covington and #11 and don't get any value back...the thing that will keep me from being too down is Covington's age injury history and some salary savings.

What's the real risk here? Losing Covington would hurt. He's good. Legitimately fun to watch, too.

But let's say the Wolves get only so-so production from the #11 pick this season. And he's just a meh player. Decent. Not great. About what you'd expect from a late lottery pick.

How good are the Wolves? How good are they next year?

Personally, I think Covington offers more to a contender where he can fit into his natural role more than being a building block on a bad or mediocre team. So even if Garland flames out... would the Wolves have missed out on some grandiose opportunity?

Meh. Covington has a ceiling. A high one... but it's there lurking.

I agree we should prioritize stars over role players, but we shouldn't give up Covington for a long-shot with a lot of question marks, and that's what Garland looks like to me. Covington is so valuable for the following reasons:

[list]
[*] His impact on our defense was huge last year
[*] We really fell off the cliff after he got injured
[*] He's one of our few threats to stretch the floor
[*] Every team wants a player like him
[*] He's on a very reasonable contract
[/list]

If Garland were more of a known quantity, if he had shown any real ability to distribute and protect the ball, I'd be more open to consider it, but I'm not really sold on Garland. The flashes are there. I see how important a role it can be to have a quick ballhandler able to pull up from deep. But arguably, guys like Covington are almost as rare, and when you consider his contract, he's really valuable. Plus if we give up the #11 pick, ugh, I just don't think Garland is worth it and I don't think anybody knows enough to reliably guess that he might be. It's a really dangerous gamble.

[Monster]

A couple things to add.



6. I'm personally not convinced about Garland. If we deal Covington and #11 and don't get any value back...the thing that will keep me from being too down is Covington's age injury history and some salary savings.

What's the real risk here? Losing Covington would hurt. He's good. Legitimately fun to watch, too.

But let's say the Wolves get only so-so production from the #11 pick this season. And he's just a meh player. Decent. Not great. About what you'd expect from a late lottery pick.

How good are the Wolves? How good are they next year?

Personally, I think Covington offers more to a contender where he can fit into his natural role more than being a building block on a bad or mediocre team. So even if Garland flames out... would the Wolves have missed out on some grandiose opportunity?

Meh. Covington has a ceiling. A high one... but it's there lurking.

You also just captured the risk of dealing him though also. The reality is like you said unless the Wolves take some sort of unexpected leap forward than they will need to make a move getting value back for Covington. Is this the right one though? If it happens there will likely he thousands of posts bantering about.

Another way to look at this assuming this draft does seem as meh as it does. Last year if we could have moved Butler (especially if we had an inkling he wanted out) straight up for a top 7 pick there were smart posters here that would have been all over that. This draft may not be as good but if last year we weren't high enough to get Young or Doncic then is Garland a better or worse prospect than the PG types picked in that draft? Idk he may be a much better shooter than the other guys which seems worthwhile.

Griffin must be having an absolute ball. The guy has assets galore a supposed franchise maybe league altering #1 overall pick plus a guy in Holiday that's a terrific 2 way guard. Maybe it doesn't work out but he is sorta living the rebuilding team GM's dream at this point and they might actually be worth watching next year.

[KiwiMatt]

Suns trade TJ Warren and 32nd pick to Pacers for cash considerations.

What are the Suns upto? Giving away a good player on a good contract in Warren and a pick for cap relief? Doesn't make sense to me.