Wolves offseason thread

[KiwiMatt]

Notable free agent wings left who could be sign for the vet min:

Michael Beasley - Could be a pretty handy scoring punch off the bench, something we don't have now with Crawford gone. Can play 3 or 4.

Luke Babbitt - 3 point specialist averaging 40% over his career. Hasn't played many minutes or games over his career.

James Ennis - Solid back up 2 way wing. Not the greatest 3pt shooter at 35% but adequate.

Dante Cunningham - Versatile player with an improved 3pt shot. KBD could bring a lot of what he would add.

Aaron Afflalo - career lows in minutes and points per game last year. On the decline at age 32 but capable of holding his own and hitting 3pt shots.

Pat Connaughton - Still young at age 25, but had a down year last season with an increase in minutes. Might be worth a punt on him.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

ennis signed with Houston for 2 years with second year PO for the vet minimum.

I still think Brewer is in the mix.

And KAt and the wolves have started their extension talks.

[60WinTim]

Don't sleep on Nick Young! (although I confess I have no interest myself)

[Lipoli390]

Don't sleep on Nick Young! (although I confess I have no interest myself)

I recall that Thibodeau pursued Nick Young last summer before he signed with the Warriors. So I woudn't be surprised if he signed him this summer. I think it would be a mistake. This team will have enough chemistry problems without adding a dude like Nick Young. Flip Saunders told me about his experiences with Young when he coached the Wizards. Nick Young is a complete horses ass. LeBron was able to keep him in check, but the Wolves don't have anything close to a LeBron. Signing Young would be a huge mistake in my view.

I wanted to sign Babbit last February, but I'm not crazy about signing him now. He has gotten very little playing time in spite of his excellent career 3-point percentage. That's really odd in a League that revolves so much around three-point shooting. No doubt there's a reason for that and I don't want to waste a Wolves roster spot to find out why.

Dante Cunningham makes no sense. I know some on this Board think he can play some SF, but I just don't see it. He's a PF. He has a decent shot, but he's not a Tolliver-caliber three-point shooter. And he's not a rebounder or rim protector either. He'd be redundant at this point on a roster with KAT, Tolliver, Taj and Gorgui.

I love the effort and attitude of Corey Brewer, but he provides no three-point shooting. And even though he can be a disruptive force defensively, I recall Flip pointing out to me that Corey really isn't a particularly good defender. If we already had an ample supply of three-point shooters on our roster, then I'd consider signing Corey for his energy, hustle and attitude. But he seems like a poor fit for what we need right now.

I remember wanting to sign Afflalo last summer. But he showed last season why he was one of the last free agents signed a year ago and why he'll be one of the last this summer as well. He has no game left and he's always had attitude issues.

So for me it comes down to Beasley, Ennis or Connaughton, but apparently Ennis signed with Houston. Of these three, I'd opt for Beasley. Two reasons. First, you know what you're getting in Beasley -- instant offense off the bench as well as pretty good rebounding. Second, with Crawford gone and knowing how offensively challenged Okgogie seems to be, we are desperate for reliable major scoring punch off our bench. Beasley is the only one of these three who can be counted on to fill that role. I wish he was a better 3-point shooter, but none of these three free agents is a good 3-point shooter. I've seen enough from Okogie and KBD to know we can't count on either one this season as a significant part of our wing rotation. I still like Connaughton as a prospect. But he hasn't shown that we could count on him as a rotation wing. So signing him would be a gamble on his potential. We'd be signing upside and hoping he's ready to break through this season.

I believe we have the money to sign up to 3 vet minimum players, so we could theoretically sign Beasley for immediate impact, Connaughton for upside and maybe Babbit for 3-point shooting.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Don't sleep on Nick Young! (although I confess I have no interest myself)

I recall that Thibodeau pursued Nick Young last summer before he signed with the Warriors. So I woudn't be surprised if he signed him this summer. I think it would be a mistake. This team will have enough chemistry problems without adding a dude like Nick Young. Flip Saunders told me about his experiences with Young when he coached the Wizards. Nick Young is a complete horses ass. LeBron was able to keep him in check, but the Wolves don't have anything close to a LeBron. Signing Young would be a huge mistake in my view.

I wanted to sign Babbit last February, but I'm not crazy about signing him now. He has gotten very little playing time in spite of his excellent career 3-point percentage. That's really odd in a League that revolves so much around three-point shooting. No doubt there's a reason for that and I don't want to waste a Wolves roster spot to find out why.

Dante Cunningham makes no sense. I know some on this Board think he can play some SF, but I just don't see it. He's a PF. He has a decent shot, but he's not a Tolliver-caliber three-point shooter. And he's not a rebounder or rim protector either. He'd be redundant at this point on a roster with KAT, Tolliver, Taj and Gorgui.

I love the effort and attitude of Corey Brewer, but he provides no three-point shooting. And even though he can be a disruptive force defensively, I recall Flip pointing out to me that Corey really isn't a particularly good defender. If we already had an ample supply of three-point shooters on our roster, then I'd consider signing Corey for his energy, hustle and attitude. But he seems like a poor fit for what we need right now.

I remember wanting to sign Afflalo last summer. But he showed last season why he was one of the last free agents signed a year ago and why he'll be one of the last this summer as well. He has no game left and he's always had attitude issues.

So for me it comes down to Beasley, Ennis or Connaughton, but apparently Ennis signed with Houston. Of these three, I'd opt for Beasley. Two reasons. First, you know what you're getting in Beasley -- instant offense off the bench as well as pretty good rebounding. Second, with Crawford gone and knowing how offensively challenged Okgogie seems to be, we are desperate for reliable major scoring punch off our bench. Beasley is the only one of these three who can be counted on to fill that role. I wish he was a better 3-point shooter, but none of these three free agents is a good 3-point shooter. I've seen enough from Okogie and KBD to know we can't count on either one this season as a significant part of our wing rotation. I still like Connaughton as a prospect. But he hasn't shown that we could count on him as a rotation wing. So signing him would be a gamble on his potential. We'd be signing upside and hoping he's ready to break through this season.

I believe we have the money to sign up to 3 vet minimum players, so we could theoretically sign Beasley for immediate impact, Connaughton for upside and maybe Babbit for 3-point shooting.

I know Brewer isnt the type of shooter we need, but i think he brings enough to the table.
He plays fast and has a nonstop motor. I think we can negate some of the lack of 3 pt shooting by playing faster and creating more transition opportunities. And I think Brewer does that regardless of how thibs wants them to play.

Thibs did try to stagger Butler and wiggs more toward the end of the year, but I think having crawford play with them cancels everything out on both sides of the ball. However, now with guys like tolliver, Okogie/Diop, Rose, and Tyus (maybe brewer) we have a better depth to not see as big a drop off. Rose, is a guy that will look for his, but I think he is more apt to look for others and is a much better defender than crawford. And with crawford out, the offense might not be as explosive, but it should be more consistent. And the defense should be much better.

I think the wolves starters were top 5 in offense and top 10 in defense, but our second unit really dragged us down.If thibs does a better job of staggering wiggs and butler, then the offense shouldnt be as big a problem without crawford hoarding the ball. Ideally, I'd have teague play with the second unit and tyus starting, but that aint happening.

[Monster]

Apparently I missed the time where Nick Young played with Lebron. ;)

At this point Nick Young probably seems more nuts to me than Brad which...feels a bit weird. They are scorers but complete opposites is some ways. Brad is pretty efficient. Young is a jacks up a bunch of shots and can hit threes. He is a true wing (Wolfson reports Young actually thinks the Wolves present a good opportunity) and to be honest Beas is probably more PF now than a wing. You know who made more 3's than Beas last year? Dante Cunningham. According to 82games Beas hardly played any 3 last year for the Knicks.

This is why we end up back at Brewer. He is a true wing that at least plays his butt off and you know what you are gonna get with him. Personally I would try and find the next James Ennis type who isn't exactly proven but is easily worth a vet min deal I would bet he would have gotten a little more from another team but that's a heck of an opportunity with Houston. He might start. That's why i like Treveon Graham or Pat Connaughton. The Blazers have done a pretty nice job at times with the end of their roster so they probably should be given the benefit of the doubt. Still Connaughton was a legit rotation player on a playoff team and is 25 and shoots 3's and can make them even at the clip he did last year wouldn't be that bad. Sounds good to me.

Or maybe we sign a guy that has been playing internationally like James Nunnally. I think this team needs to take a chance on a guy that profiles as a shooter even just a 3 and D shooter.

[Lipoli390]

Apparently I missed the time where Nick Young played with Lebron. ;)

At this point Nick Young probably seems more nuts to me than Brad which...feels a bit weird. They are scorers but complete opposites is some ways. Brad is pretty efficient. Young is a jacks up a bunch of shots and can hit threes. He is a true wing (Wolfson reports Young actually thinks the Wolves present a good opportunity) and to be honest Beas is probably more PF now than a wing. You know who made more 3's than Beas last year? Dante Cunningham. According to 82games Beas hardly played any 3 last year for the Knicks.

This is why we end up back at Brewer. He is a true wing that at least plays his butt off and you know what you are gonna get with him. Personally I would try and find the next James Ennis type who isn't exactly proven but is easily worth a vet min deal I would bet he would have gotten a little more from another team but that's a heck of an opportunity with Houston. He might start. That's why i like Treveon Graham or Pat Connaughton. The Blazers have done a pretty nice job at times with the end of their roster so they probably should be given the benefit of the doubt. Still Connaughton was a legit rotation player on a playoff team and is 25 and shoots 3's and can make them even at the clip he did last year wouldn't be that bad. Sounds good to me.

Or maybe we sign a guy that has been playing internationally like James Nunnally. I think this team needs to take a chance on a guy that profiles as a shooter even just a 3 and D shooter.

I don't know why I said LeBron. :). Obviously, the it was Curry, Thompson and Green (the whole Warriors culture) that helped get the most out of Young, but not that they had no interest in retraining him. Enough said. I fear that Thibodeau will sign him. I just hope he doesn't.

I get that Cunningham has developed a decent 3-point shot, but he's far less of a wing than Beasley and he'd be redundant now that we have Tolliver. I think Beasley is still as much of a SF as PF. He'd be the guy I'd grab. Again, we're going to need some scoring off the bench because, other than Tolliver, we don't have anyone we can count on to put the ball in the bucket. Maybe Tyus will get there and perhaps Rose can stay healthy and provide scoring punch, but I'd hate to go into the season counting on those two for my offensive punch off the bench.

I do, however, see the case for signing Corey Brewer. I love the nonstop motor. He can be a great disruptive force defensively and his high energy is often contagious. Kevin McHale once told a group of us at a season ticket holder lunch that every winning team has a Corey Brewer type in their rotation.

So far, we haven't mentioned Wayne Ellington. I'm guessing he can't be had for the vet minimum, but perhaps the Wolves could get him for $3 million (most of the biennial exception) and then use the vet minimum to sign a 14th a final player. I have to believe the Wolves are pursuing Ellington as their #1 priority at this point. I'm just not sure they can get him and still have luxury tax room to fill the 14th roster spot.

I'm really disappointed we didn't end up with Julius Randle this summer. I think a sign-and-trade (Taj for Randle) was possible. I have a great feeling about him. He brings great energy and looked unstoppable at times last season. As an alternative to Randle, I'm disappointed we haven't added a real rim protector. Kyle O'Quinn was my choice for that role followed by Noel. And of course, I'm disappointed we haven't added a true 3-point marksman to the roster. Right now, there's only one unrestricted FA who fits that profile - Wayne Ellington. Finally, I'm disappointed we haven't added a true reliable two-way wing who can be a difference-maker off the bench and fill in for Wiggins or Butler if either one goes down. Corey Brewer is probably the only unrestricted FA who fits that profile, but his 3-point shooting is so bad that adding him as our only additional FA wing is problematic in my view.

Our bench was bad last season and Thibs has repeatedly said it needs to be improved. Yet, I don't think our bench has improved at all to date. We lost a big-time shot maker off the bench when Crawford decided to leave and I think effectively swapping Belly or Tolliver is a wash or maybe even a slight step back. Maybe Rose will make a positive difference, but I'll believe it when I see it on the court over several months. I like our two draft picks, but I saw nothing in summer league to suggest that either one will be a significant reliable bench contributor to the team - at least for the first half of the season.

So it will be interesting to see what the Wolves front office does from this point on with approximately $4.5 million to spend under the luxury tax.

[Monster]

Lip the team culture that got the most out of Nick Young wasn't he Warriors it was Luke Walton. Nick Young was basically awful for the Warriors it was a bad signing. He was bad in the playoffs and his offensive numbers on the finals were Bobby Wilson with the bat. Still the theory of Nick Young for a team that really needs shooting...may have to be considered. Also worth noting onto Casspi seems to have contracted Mike Miller disease or something. His 3 point rate (1.1 takes per 36mins !!!!) was a career low with the Warriors. That's insane. I'm not knocking the Warriors culture just that even on the Warriors some guys...idk.

Let's agree that Dante or Beas aren't really guys you want to see playing a lot of minutes on the wing but can probably play some there. I mean Belly was solid there last year. I think everyone wants a more pure wing with a vet roster spot.

Let's give up on any hope of Ellington coming here. He was and is out of our price range.

Tolliver is a legit 3 point marksman. He had nearly double the 3 point attempts as Belly. Now maybe Belly goes to the Sixers and starts jacking them up like he should have hear but...remember My comment about Casspi earlier? I like Belly but I want to see it happen I don't assume it will. The Dunc'd on guys actually thought the Sixers needed his playmaking abilities which i thought was interesting.

At the Summer League talking about the offseason Thibs said that for Rose it's all about health. I think it's clear Thibs understands Rose is a concern there. He also made a point that Rose went into the season healthy with no injury to rehab which was the first time in years. So he is able to concentrate on basketball from the start and that could really help him. As fans of another oft injured PG Rubio I think we can get the idea that a guy starting the offseason with no ailments (different situations but I think you get my point) is certainly a positive. I'm optimistic about what Rose can bring but as Cam brought up in a post recently you really have to pencil Rose in for about 60 games he will miss some games. Personally I think he can be useful and effective relatively speaking for most of those games. We will have to wait and see. Also if there is some of those tension on the team Tolliver is a big asset as a leader vet guy that will also play his role.

As for Crawford being gone...and as a guy that thought he helped the team last year it simply could be addition by subtraction. He helped and also took away from guys espcially Tyus. Tyus is sorta Rubio-Raquel in that he is a guy that too easily defers. I don't think he has shown enough to be a starting level guy but I also think he has more offensive ability than he has shown. I think he has some of that sorta Andre Miller ability to just sorta somehow use craftiness to get where he needs to go. Guess what coach might be good in encouraging a guy that's not aggressive enough to actually shoot the ball? Sound familiar? :) I think most people agree that Tyus can be a big part of this team going forward. If he becomes the starting PG and becomes a really legit complimentary starter (on both sides of the ball this team starts looking better (and probably more watchable for a few reasons). It's worth noting that Thibs has really obviously been putting Tyus's name out there as part of the young guys when Towns and Wiggins are mentioned. Teague has lobbied hard for Tyus to play more. We have to wait and see. We have to see Thibs play him more and we have to see Tyus take another step. I absolutely see a pasty to him doing it. I look at Fred VanVliet and Corey Joseph as guy that don't wow you physically but can play and Tyus is a better passer true PG than either guy at the same age.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Might it be possible that Jimmy Butler did criticize both Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns last year to their faces as well as the media when asked about their play? The latter is true, and I wouldn't doubt the former based on what I believe to be Jimmy's personality. He's very direct, very to the point, if you will. I also don't think he'd be intimidated by that situation [of going to players directly] considering he has clout on his side (All-NBA/All-Defense reputation, close relationship with management aka Tom Thibodea) and he's a grown ass man. Most, if not all, of us know how much easier it is to talk critically to those that are junior to us rather than senior to us. As in, it's a lot easier for Jimmy to talk to two 22-year olds about their deficiencies rather than Jimmy talk to a 33-year old All-Star.

Andrew needs to wake up and Karl-Anthony needs to become a consistent defensive anchor. Until their play is on par with Jimmy's, I find it incredibly difficult to side with them over Jimmy on this. It just seems like we have one professional basketball player doing what it takes to win and playing at a high level and we have two kiddos living a luxurious lifestyle while being naturally gifted.

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

Might it be possible that Jimmy Butler did criticize both Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns last year to their faces as well as the media when asked about their play? The latter is true, and I wouldn't doubt the former based on what I believe to be Jimmy's personality. He's very direct, very to the point, if you will. I also don't think he'd be intimidated by that situation [of going to players directly] considering he has clout on his side (All-NBA/All-Defense reputation, close relationship with management aka Tom Thibodea) and he's a grown ass man. Most, if not all, of us know how much easier it is to talk critically to those that are junior to us rather than senior to us. As in, it's a lot easier for Jimmy to talk to two 22-year olds about their deficiencies rather than Jimmy talk to a 33-year old All-Star.

Andrew needs to wake up and Karl-Anthony needs to become a consistent defensive anchor. Until their play is on par with Jimmy's, I find it incredibly difficult to side with them over Jimmy on this. It just seems like we have one professional basketball player doing what it takes to win and playing at a high level and we have two kiddos living a luxurious lifestyle while being naturally gifted.

Amen! Keep preachin! Sick of all the whiny-baby attitudes these days. Don't dare scold someone or hold them accountable for fear they might throw a hissy-fit and leave.

I like the way you state this....one professional that has overcome EVERYTHING to become one of the top overall players in the entire world vs 2 guys with every physical gift to become what they want.....but just aren't at Jimmy's level despite their gifts. They have work to do, and someone needs to hold them accountable. Looks like that is now Jimmy's job, and I for one am OK with this tough love stuff.