Minnesota Sports Forum

Dane Moore @DaneMooreNBA: Wolves enter what should be one of the final weekends of NBA free agency $4.39M below the luxury tax line.

These are the resources they have to spend it:
Minimum Contract: $838k - $1.51M
Mid-level Exception: $2.05M
Bi-Annual Exception: $3.38M

Exceptions cannot be combined.

Assuming these numbers are accurate, and they very well could be when you consider Shabazz Muhammad's player option was waived and Cole Aldrich was stretched, I'd consider David Nwaba and Christian Wood as my top targets and go from there.

I'd throw the full BAE -- two-years, $6,933,100 -- at Nwaba and hope he bites. He has a ton of suitors at the moment but Minnesota could promise him a rotation spot as well. Nwaba isn't much of a shooter and I recognize that we need shooting more than anything, but he's the best wing available and a legitimate rotation player in the league.

Then I'd give Wood two-years, $1,800,000 with the MLE. He's somehow 22-years old still and despite producing everywhere he's been he's yet to be given a real opportunity. I like his physical tools, especially his length -- 7'3.25" wingspan, 9'3.5" standing reach.

Camden wrote:

Dane Moore @DaneMooreNBA: Wolves enter what should be one of the final weekends of NBA free agency $4.39M below the luxury tax line.

These are the resources they have to spend it:
Minimum Contract: $838k - $1.51M
Mid-level Exception: $2.05M
Bi-Annual Exception: $3.38M

Exceptions cannot be combined.

Assuming these numbers are accurate, and they very well could be when you consider Shabazz Muhammad's player option was waived and Cole Aldrich was stretched, I'd consider David Nwaba and Christian Wood as my top targets and go from there.

I'd throw the full BAE -- two-years, $6,933,100 -- at Nwaba and hope he bites. He has a ton of suitors at the moment but Minnesota could promise him a rotation spot as well. Nwaba isn't much of a shooter and I recognize that we need shooting more than anything, but he's the best wing available and a legitimate rotation player in the league.

Then I'd give Wood two-years, $1,800,000 with the MLE. He's somehow 22-years old still and despite producing everywhere he's been he's yet to be given a real opportunity. I like his physical tools, especially his length -- 7'3.25" wingspan, 9'3.5" standing reach.

Cam - I'd be all in on signing those two. As you know I wanted Nwaba last summer. But if the $4.39M number is right (and I think it is based on my own calculation), the Wolves can afford to use the full BAE on a 13th player and still fill the 14th slot. Note that all vet minimum contracts count $1.512 million against the cap/luxury tax under the CBA. So the $3.38M plus the vet minimum would total $4.89M, slightly above the luxury tax threshold. The most we could offer Nwaba would be about $2.88M -- in other words a partial BAE assuming the CBA allows it. That probably won't be enough to get him. We could throw the full BEA at him and go with 13 roster players, which is the League minimum. By I really like the idea of siging Wood.

crazy-canuck wrote:

Camden0916 wrote:I simply don't understand how Christian Wood is still available. Thought he should have been scooped up for years now. Very long, very athletic, and the production is there. Put together a terrific Summer League. I think Amile Jefferson is deserving of a roster spot here, but Wood has way more natural ability and upside.

As for wings, the two I'm looking at are Pat Connaughton and John Jenkins. They're both young and plenty proven as shooters as far as I'm concerned.

Jenkins is a possiblity, but i dont think pat is. Young guys want a chance and they know they won't get it with thibs' short bench.

I think we'll probably get young guys that are gleague types that are happy to get that nba pay check and uniform. Guys that played in the league like pat know better.

The other option are vets that will take the league minimum that like Minnesota; ie brewer.

The idea that there isn't opportunity here is so messed up. This team is not good enough to say everyone's roles are locked in.

As for Brewer, stay faaaaaaarrrrr away from Brewer.

Brewer, Tolliver. I mean it's as if the bench is to serve as a time machine back to when we sucked.

Lip, in digging a little further, I believe you're right. Plus, Wood's two years in the league scale his deal to be more than what I pegged him at.

In knowing that, I'd still give the full BAE to Nwaba. I think he'd be a really important get considering we have have zero wings on the bench that are sure NBA rotation players. Rose is a spark plug, but not someone we'd like to rely on for consistent minutes nightly. And I'm as high on Okogie as anyone, but I don't want to get burned if -- like most rookies -- he can't contribute positively on a team looking to contend.

Camden wrote:Lip, in digging a little further, I believe you're right. Plus, Wood's two years in the league scale his deal to be more than what I pegged him at.

In knowing that, I'd still give the full BAE to Nwaba. I think he'd be a really important get considering we have have zero wings on the bench that are sure NBA rotation players. Rose is a spark plug, but not someone we'd like to rely on for consistent minutes nightly. And I'm as high on Okogie as anyone, but I don't want to get burned if -- like most rookies -- he can't contribute positively on a team looking to contend.

I'd do the same, Cam. With Thibodeau as our head coach, we don't need to carry more than the League minimum 13. Actually, with Thibodeau a roster of 8 would probably be enough. :). Seriously, Nwaba is definitely worth the full BAE for the Wolves given where we're at. You and I were both advocating that we draft Okogie, yet we agree we can't count on him as a rookie to be a major bench contributor. A roster of 13 should be enough, especially if we sign Amile to another 2-way deal. I believe we can get 41 games out of him on the 2-way.

I should add that I'm sure the Wolves won't sign Nwaba. The fact that the Wolves didn't pursue him last season tells me he won't pursue him this season. Nwaba is currently considering the Cavs. I don't him the full BAE would get Nwaba to sign with the Wolves even if Thibodeau were really interested in him. And in any event, I think Thibodeau probably wants to save the BAE for Noah or Deng. :) And again, don't forget Bazz. Yes, amazingly, he's still available. Can't believe we haven't snatched him up yet.

The Wolves have no chance to sign Nwaba. He has other suitors.

Kj McDaniels had a good summer. He's in the nwaba mold but i think he's bigger. He was pretty good for the 6ers until he got shipped out to houston.

crazy-canuck wrote:

Camden0916 wrote:I simply don't understand how Christian Wood is still available. Thought he should have been scooped up for years now. Very long, very athletic, and the production is there. Put together a terrific Summer League. I think Amile Jefferson is deserving of a roster spot here, but Wood has way more natural ability and upside.

As for wings, the two I'm looking at are Pat Connaughton and John Jenkins. They're both young and plenty proven as shooters as far as I'm concerned.

Jenkins is a possiblity, but i dont think pat is. Young guys want a chance and they know they won't get it with thibs' short bench.

I think we'll probably get young guys that are gleague types that are happy to get that nba pay check and uniform. Guys that played in the league like pat know better.

The other option are vets that will take the league minimum that like Minnesota; ie brewer.

Can legit Question how is Jenkins a proven shooter? I was curious about him last week and I lolled up hos stats across his professional career. Pretty underwhelming.

monsterpile wrote:

crazy-canuck wrote:

Camden0916 wrote:I simply don't understand how Christian Wood is still available. Thought he should have been scooped up for years now. Very long, very athletic, and the production is there. Put together a terrific Summer League. I think Amile Jefferson is deserving of a roster spot here, but Wood has way more natural ability and upside.

As for wings, the two I'm looking at are Pat Connaughton and John Jenkins. They're both young and plenty proven as shooters as far as I'm concerned.

Jenkins is a possiblity, but i dont think pat is. Young guys want a chance and they know they won't get it with thibs' short bench.

I think we'll probably get young guys that are gleague types that are happy to get that nba pay check and uniform. Guys that played in the league like pat know better.

The other option are vets that will take the league minimum that like Minnesota; ie brewer.

Can legit Question how is Jenkins a proven shooter? I was curious about him last week and I lolled up hos stats across his professional career. Pretty underwhelming.

Mine is probably remembering him from draft reports from vandy.

Besides improving his 3-point percentages from 41% to 44% (an important development), Jenkins' stat line as a junior is practically a carbon copy of what he posted last year, and his outlook from an NBA perspective also remains largely the same from the last time we profiled him. One of the best shooters in the country with great versatility in getting his shot off, Jenkins has one clear-cut, high-level NBA skill, but still struggles to consistently stand out in other areas. Looking at Jenkins' shooting game, there is ample reason to be optimistic about how it could translate to the NBA, as he has quite a few things working in his favor. For one, unlike most high-scoring NCAA shooting guards, Jenkins spends a good deal of time operating off the ball and often has short possessions when the ball comes his way. In likely transitioning to a much lower usage rate in the NBA, he already possesses the skills and tendencies fitting for that role. Further, Jenkins is also at his best when he is operating as a spot-up shooter, coming off screens, or catching and going into a quick one or two-dribble pull-up. He's much more comfortable and efficient in these situations as opposed to operating in pure isolations, which he'll be seeing less of in the NBA. Already sporting an outstanding TS% of 65% and an equally strong ratio of just 0.12 Turnovers:Possessions, Jenkins could actually become even more efficient in the NBA, where he should benefit from less defensive attention and the chance to be more selective with his looks. - Source: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/John-Jenkins-5826/ ©DraftExpress

And from 2017

John Jenkins appears to have lost a bit of athleticism over the last five years as his maximum vertical leap (-4), no step vertical leap (-5), lane agility, shuffle and 3/4 sprint all declined since the 2012 NBA Draft Combine, as expected given his injury history. It was good to see Jenkins healthy and making shots. Although a tad undersized at 6'4 in shoes, Jenkins has excellent length at 6'9, and can still provide some floor-spacing and off-screen shooting at age 26, making him someone NBA teams will likely continue to kick the tires on. - Source: http://www.draftexpress.com/article/2017-nba-d-league-elite-mini-camp-recap-and-measurements-analysis-5925/ ©DraftExpress

Out of the loop getting back from vacation but here are some thoughts on some names here.

I'm intrigued by Christian Wood also and surprised he hasn't got a shot yet either. He fits the modern game well long etc. the problem I found with him when I read about him last season was it seems he is still either trying to get away from his past poor attitude habits or they are still there. I'm not saying the guy isn't worth it but that's the problem. He might be getting past it and we could be the smart team that give him the chance.

I'll report that KJ McDaniels the problems with his attitude sound like they are still there. I saw him play in a couple G league games last year. He didn't stand out...except a coupe times when he did bone headed things. He is 25 now and I'm not against signing him but honestly I'd probably rather bring in Anthony Brown than him and I'm not enamored with Brown.

Nwaba I like him but he isn't good enough to go into lux tax for. I think he is getting overrated a bit and I was guilty of it as well before I started digging on some more advanced stats.

Ultimately there are some various young or youngish players that are worth considering for this team some of them are mentioned here. As for opportunity...some player getting a guaranteed deal on an NBA team is pretty good for them.