Lower-Tier Free Agent Targets

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Apparently mudiay might get renounced to open up cap space.

Id give him a call first if the price is too high for dlo.

Neither Mudiay or Luke Korver received qualifying offers so they are unrestricted FAs. It feels a little weird to be interested in Knicks young cheap players but they really have done a solid job in finding guys and or getting something out of some of the guys they have brought in from other teams.

They might think that they still could get Durant and other players. So every bit of cap space helps

They also have 2 young pgs on the roster that are cheaper or under contract longer.

Mudiays cap hit was 12 million. That explains it.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Hmm, I'd have interest in RHJ, but only if it came at a very cheap cost. He has his limitations offensively, but he can be a very useful defender. Capable of playing at either forward position.

His defense regressed last season. I think nets were a better defensive team with him off the floor last season.

I think kbd is going to be an equal type if player with more range and deng can still play. Both would be cheaper than rondae.

You're probably right on all accounts here, however, RHJ is one of those guys that with the right situation could end up being a pretty good rotation player on a value contract. Look no further than his 2017-18 season to see what kind of production he's capable of. And at a young 24-years old, he's still got time on his side to continue rounding out his game.

In his third season in the league, RHJ started 59 games for the Nets and averaged 13.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.7 BPG and -- despite his perimeter shooting struggles -- posted a decent TS% of .548. With all that said, it's his switch-ability on defense that would prove to be most valuable as he can adequately defend 2-4.

That kind of a Swiss Army knife off the bench would have serious value. Again, at what price does it make sense? If you could get him on a 2+1 deal for something like $7-9M total, that'd be a steal, in my opinion.

And while I like KBD, you can never have enough good players, especially at the forward positions.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

If they can't shoot 3's and they aren't a Center we just shouldn't consider them at this point. This team needs shooting. We have non-shooting wings. We don't need more guys who can't shoot even if they may have a defensive role here. If the season started today who's scoring on this team? KAT and ? Wiggins right now is the second most proven scorer and he's an inefficient one at that. Teague? He's never been a consistent scorer in the league. He runs very hot and cold. The Raptors won because they had 7 guys who could drop 15-20 on any given night while the Warriors were really down to 1 consistent option with Steph at the end. If we roll out KAT, Wiggins and a bunch of role players next year we're in big trouble.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Trey Lyles

I think he disappointed a little last year, but he has a few connections to the wolves. He does play a position of need and is a floor spacer.

KATs friend and roomate from kentucky.
Wiggs friend and teammate from Team Canada juniors. Apparently both are working out together with Chris Johnson (jimmy butlers guy) this offseason.

[Lipoli390]

If they can't shoot 3's and they aren't a Center we just shouldn't consider them at this point. This team needs shooting. We have non-shooting wings. We don't need more guys who can't shoot even if they may have a defensive role here. If the season started today who's scoring on this team? KAT and ? Wiggins right now is the second most proven scorer and he's an inefficient one at that. Teague? He's never been a consistent scorer in the league. He runs very hot and cold. The Raptors won because they had 7 guys who could drop 15-20 on any given night while the Warriors were really down to 1 consistent option with Steph at the end. If we roll out KAT, Wiggins and a bunch of role players next year we're in big trouble.

We have a lot of needs. Interestingly, better 3-point shooters is a need, but doesn't isn't a the top of that list statistically. We were 13th in points scored last season, but 23rd in points allowed. We were 25th in rebounding and 27th in defensive rebounding. By every metric, we were better offensively than defensively. And clearly rebounding, especially defensive rebounding, was our biggest weakness last season. As to 3-point shooting, we were 17th in 3-point percentage at 35.1%. Increasing that by just 1% and the Wolves would have been on par with teams like Portland and other successful playoff teams. The problem with the Wolves 3-point shooting last season is that we were near the bottom in 3-point attempts. That's what Rosas is talking about when he says three-point shooting is a mind-set. We have an elite 3-point shooter in KAT. Adding a good rebounding big inside and/or better rebounders at other positions would allow the Wolves get more 3-point shots out of KAT.

To improve the team's rebounding, the Wolves should consider signing Cheick Diallo as a lower-cost free agent PF. He's still young at 23 with a lot of upside. He's improved in each of his 3 seasons after only one season in college in which he played very little. Lots of room for growth. Yet, he's already a terrific rebounder, pulling down 5.2 boards in only 14 minutes per game last season. He also proved to be an efficient scorer down low with his 62% FG shooting. He shouldn't cost a lot.

We still need a guard who with high level ball-handling skills who can penetrate and score off the dribble. And yes, we could certainly use better 3-point shooters. But we have lots of needs. We were a 37-win team. This is not a team looking for a player or two as finishing touches. We're still building our core. That means acquiring the highest level talent available no matter what they're good at. Right now, statistically it looks like the greatest emphasis should be placed on upgrading the team's rebounding, especially on the defensive end.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Opponent eFG% is the one metric that for years I've been harping on as the bellwether for this team. Basically how good are we at preventing made field goals, both inside and outside of the arc? Here is our league-wide ranking in this metric over the past 13 seasons:

2018-19 - 25th
2017-18 - 27th
2016-17 - 29th
2015-16 - 29th
2014-15 - 30th
2013-14 - 27th
2012-13 - 24th
2011-12 - 18th
2010-11 - 27th
2009-10 - 27th
2008-09 - 26th
2007-08 - 26th
2006-07 - 14th - KG's last year with us

That is why we have lost so many damn games.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

If they can't shoot 3's and they aren't a Center we just shouldn't consider them at this point. This team needs shooting. We have non-shooting wings. We don't need more guys who can't shoot even if they may have a defensive role here. If the season started today who's scoring on this team? KAT and ? Wiggins right now is the second most proven scorer and he's an inefficient one at that. Teague? He's never been a consistent scorer in the league. He runs very hot and cold. The Raptors won because they had 7 guys who could drop 15-20 on any given night while the Warriors were really down to 1 consistent option with Steph at the end. If we roll out KAT, Wiggins and a bunch of role players next year we're in big trouble.

We have a lot of needs. Interestingly, better 3-point shooters is a need, but doesn't isn't a the top of that list statistically. We were 13th in points scored last season, but 23rd in points allowed. We were 25th in rebounding and 27th in defensive rebounding. By every metric, we were better offensively than defensively. And clearly rebounding, especially defensive rebounding, was our biggest weakness last season. As to 3-point shooting, we were 17th in 3-point percentage at 35.1%. Increasing that by just 1% and the Wolves would have been on par with teams like Portland and other successful playoff teams. The problem with the Wolves 3-point shooting last season is that we were near the bottom in 3-point attempts. That's what Rosas is talking about when he says three-point shooting is a mind-set. We have an elite 3-point shooter in KAT. Adding a good rebounding big inside and/or better rebounders at other positions would allow the Wolves get more 3-point shots out of KAT.

To improve the team's rebounding, the Wolves should consider signing Cheick Diallo as a lower-cost free agent PF. He's still young at 23 with a lot of upside. He's improved in each of his 3 seasons after only one season in college in which he played very little. Lots of room for growth. Yet, he's already a terrific rebounding, pulling down 5.2 boards in only 14 minutes per game last season. He also proved to be an efficient scorer down low with his 62% FG shooting. He shouldn't cost a lot.

We still need a guard who with high level ball-handling skills who can penetrate and score off the dribble. And yes, we could certainly use better 3-point shooters. But we have lots of needs. We were a 37-win team. This is not a team looking for a player or two as finishing touches. We're still building our core. That means acquiring the highest level talent available no matter what they're good at. Right now, statistically it looks like the greatest emphasis should be placed on upgrading the team's rebounding, especially on the defensive end.

I'll just respectfully disagree with this. When you have a bad defense your offensive numbers get inflated because you are getting more possessions on that end of the floor. When you go the other way and bring in more defenders and minimize possessions in the game who is grinding out efficient buckets on this team other than KAT? Our offense matched our pace both at 13th in the league while our shooting efficiencies were much lower (25th eFG and 22nd TS%). If we bring in defenders who can't shoot the defense will go up, but the offense will drop considerably more because games will have less possessions due to longer defensive possessions and our shooting percentage will start to matter more with those fewer possessions. The Bucks and the Thunder were the only 2 teams last year who had top 10 pace and top 10 defensive rating. It's not the norm to fit that club. The top defensive teams all played slower than us outside of those 2. That's the typical trade off. You play better defense you typically play slower and need even more efficient offense than high pace games where most everything is just made up in volume. You need Paul George and Giannis level players to be able to do both and we don't have that guy.

[apollotsg [enjin:6592798]]

Cheick Diallo numbers are trending in the right direction, he could be interesting. Why would NO not give him a qualifying offer? That is odd to say the least

I understand not doing it for Stanley Johnson

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

If they can't shoot 3's and they aren't a Center we just shouldn't consider them at this point. This team needs shooting. We have non-shooting wings. We don't need more guys who can't shoot even if they may have a defensive role here. If the season started today who's scoring on this team? KAT and ? Wiggins right now is the second most proven scorer and he's an inefficient one at that. Teague? He's never been a consistent scorer in the league. He runs very hot and cold. The Raptors won because they had 7 guys who could drop 15-20 on any given night while the Warriors were really down to 1 consistent option with Steph at the end. If we roll out KAT, Wiggins and a bunch of role players next year we're in big trouble.

We have a lot of needs. Interestingly, better 3-point shooters is a need, but doesn't isn't a the top of that list statistically. We were 13th in points scored last season, but 23rd in points allowed. We were 25th in rebounding and 27th in defensive rebounding. By every metric, we were better offensively than defensively. And clearly rebounding, especially defensive rebounding, was our biggest weakness last season. As to 3-point shooting, we were 17th in 3-point percentage at 35.1%. Increasing that by just 1% and the Wolves would have been on par with teams like Portland and other successful playoff teams. The problem with the Wolves 3-point shooting last season is that we were near the bottom in 3-point attempts. That's what Rosas is talking about when he says three-point shooting is a mind-set. We have an elite 3-point shooter in KAT. Adding a good rebounding big inside and/or better rebounders at other positions would allow the Wolves get more 3-point shots out of KAT.

To improve the team's rebounding, the Wolves should consider signing Cheick Diallo as a lower-cost free agent PF. He's still young at 23 with a lot of upside. He's improved in each of his 3 seasons after only one season in college in which he played very little. Lots of room for growth. Yet, he's already a terrific rebounding, pulling down 5.2 boards in only 14 minutes per game last season. He also proved to be an efficient scorer down low with his 62% FG shooting. He shouldn't cost a lot.

We still need a guard who with high level ball-handling skills who can penetrate and score off the dribble. And yes, we could certainly use better 3-point shooters. But we have lots of needs. We were a 37-win team. This is not a team looking for a player or two as finishing touches. We're still building our core. That means acquiring the highest level talent available no matter what they're good at. Right now, statistically it looks like the greatest emphasis should be placed on upgrading the team's rebounding, especially on the defensive end.

I'll just respectfully disagree with this. When you have a bad defense your offensive numbers get inflated because you are getting more possessions on that end of the floor. When you go the other way and bring in more defenders and minimize possessions in the game who is grinding out efficient buckets on this team other than KAT? Our offense matched our pace both at 13th in the league while our shooting efficiencies were much lower (25th eFG and 22nd TS%). If we bring in defenders who can't shoot the defense will go up, but the offense will drop considerably more because games will have less possessions due to longer defensive possessions and our shooting percentage will start to matter more with those fewer possessions. The Bucks and the Thunder were the only 2 teams last year who had top 10 pace and top 10 defensive rating. It's not the norm to fit that club. The top defensive teams all played slower than us outside of those 2. That's the typical trade off. You play better defense you typically play slower and need even more efficient offense than high pace games where most everything is just made up in volume. You need Paul George and Giannis level players to be able to do both and we don't have that guy.

I'm trying to make sense of this Khansy. You are saying that bad defense leads to inflated offensive numbers? That makes absolutely no sense to me. If anything, bad defense can lead to worse offense because you are in bounding the ball underneath your own hoop so often and the opposing defense has a chance to get set. You also realize that we can't really make up for it in pace of play because it means the other team is getting the ball back quicker as well against our porous defense? So playing with pace impacts the other side of the court too.

The bottom line is that if we struggle to defend buckets on defense and make buckets on offense, it really doesn't matter what our pace of play is. We'll suck either way, but we'd probably suck less with a slower pace. Why? Because it in effect "shortens the game", so to speak, with fewer overall possessions for both teams and it therefore allows for better odds of an underdog to win the game.

[Monster]

Cheick Diallo numbers are trending in the right direction, he could be interesting. Why would NO not give him a qualifying offer? That is odd to say the least

I understand not doing it for Stanley Johnson

It does seems like a weird move for a guy that did some good things and would cost less that 2 million bucks. Here are the bigs they have under co tract for next season

Zion
Okofor
Hayes
Christian Wood (non guaranteed)

Diallo is somewhat of an undersized center. They already have 2 guys in Okafor and Hayes that aren't going to stretch the floor maybe they wanted to go another route while adding up to more cap space so they could chase after a more established player take on players for more draft picks. Maybe they just don't think he is that good or want a different young guy that can stretch the floor. I'm interested he moves really well and was productive and from what I read plays hard and is a very good cheerleader. His smile is just ok though.