Minnesota Sports Forum

Camden wrote:My issue with Rudy Gobert in Minnesota so far, especially as it pertains to the massive trade to acquire him, is that while he's still an impactful player on the defensive end, as kek notes, he is no longer the consistently dominant and generational force that he was in Utah -- not even close. Some of that is definitely on how he's used in this system, and some of it is on teammates still adjusting to him, but a lot of it is that Gobert's ability is simply declining. I don't think he's provided the same level of resistance defensively that he did with the Jazz, evident by most of his advanced metrics trending downward this year. I'm also left in shock when I see his nonexistent coordination around the rim offensively. I don't believe I've ever seen a player his size look so uncomfortable with the ball in the restricted area. He also doesn't win enough contested rebounds given the length advantage he often has, which makes him more of a good rebounder than a great rebounder, but that's piling on a bit.

To be clear, Gobert's decline means he's gone from being an annual Defensive Player of the Year front-runner to merely being a really good team defender. It's just a different impact entirely and not what the Timberwolves traded for. My hope is that even a reduced version of Gobert is enough to help propel this team towards contention, and his presence has helped keep the team afloat with Karl-Anthony Towns' sidelined to injury, but expectations for him individually may need to be tempered a bit.

Carlos Danger wrote:I think Monster hit on it for me....and others have mentioned this too. Why would Naz want to sign here and be the 3rd string center? Yes, he wants money. But he also wants opportunity to make more money. And that comes with a bigger role/playing time. Had they not gone out and got Rudy - I could have seen him here as KAT's back up. But not now. We can't just assume all these guys are unsigned because we are unwilling to meet market salaries. Look at Naz's game logs/minutes at the start of the year when the Twin Towers were healthy/playing.

WolvesFan21 wrote:Lip will still be angry if the Wolves win a Championship with Gobert. lol

lipoli390 wrote:From the latest article by Jon K:

The Wolves have had contract extension negotiations with Reid throughout the season, per league sources. I believe there is an openness on the team's part to extend him and a desire from Reid to stay if the numbers are right. Couple that with there being no way to know exactly how Towns will come back from his extended absence and it would appear that Reid is here to stay through the deadline unless another team makes an offer they absolutely cannot refuse. Given that he is so close to free agency, it is hard to see an offer like that coming along.

Jon K is a highly reliable reporters whose information and opinion are well grounded. I thought the most interesting portion was the bolded part, which indicates that Naz is interested in re-signing if the contract is right. That tells me he's not necessarily anxious about his place in the Wolves' depth chart.

Camden wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:From the latest article by Jon K:

The Wolves have had contract extension negotiations with Reid throughout the season, per league sources. I believe there is an openness on the team's part to extend him and a desire from Reid to stay if the numbers are right. Couple that with there being no way to know exactly how Towns will come back from his extended absence and it would appear that Reid is here to stay through the deadline unless another team makes an offer they absolutely cannot refuse. Given that he is so close to free agency, it is hard to see an offer like that coming along.

Jon K is a highly reliable reporters whose information and opinion are well grounded. I thought the most interesting portion was the bolded part, which indicates that Naz is interested in re-signing if the contract is right. That tells me he's not necessarily anxious about his place in the Wolves' depth chart.

Yeah, and Jake Fischer reported days ago that Naz Reid was looking for $10M annually on his next contract, which is plenty reasonable in my view.

Dane Moore has apparently heard that around the league Reid is viewed as being worth $7-8M annually. We obviously don't know how the Timberwolves' front office evaluates Reid, but my opinion is that it would be a misstep to not get an extension done around those figures for three or four years before the end of the regular season. I've suggested four-years, $35M as well as four-years, $40M with a team option on that fourth year. I think that may end up being a bargain regardless of what other moves are made along the way.