Minnesota Sports Forum

KG so we should probably just cut McLaughlin too? Maybe I don't understand what you mean by upside. I'm honestly trying to figure out what you are trying to do.

monsterpile wrote:KG so we should probably just cut McLaughlin too? Maybe I don't understand what you mean by upside. I'm honestly trying to figure out what you are trying to do.

Well, we are going to have a roster spot for whoever we take at 19, we should also have a roster spot for our next selection. I assume we'll either trade or stash at least one of our picks. So we probably have 2-3 draft picks we want to roster.

If we sign Hartenstein, Jalen Smith and Gary Harris* as our free agents, I think Naz Reid is expendable. We might not need Bolmaro if we bring in another young point guard with higher upside. However, if the Wolves only keep two picks other than stash picks, we keep Bolmaro too. See Below.

*I honestly haven't assessed how much it would cost to bring in Gary Harris, and if he's too expensive, there are other options including resigning Prince. I listed some options in another post.

15 man Roster:
C: Hartenstein, Vando, (Draft Pick)
PF: KAT, Jalen Smith, Vando
SF: McDaniels, Beasley, Gary Harris, (Draft Pick)
SG: Ant, Beasley, Beverley Nowell,
PG: (DLO), Beverley JMac, (Draft Pick or Bolmaro)

KG - I get the excitement over draft prospects. I'm one of those most prone to get excited. But I don't see a single likely 2nd-round picks who can be reliably projected to be better than Nowell, JMac, Naz Reid, or anyone under contract for next season on the Wolves roster. And I don't see any 2nd-round prospects who can be expected to be as good as Taurean Prince, much less better. Yes, there might be some 2nd-round picks who end up better, but history tells us it's unlikely and, in any event, whoever we draft will be significantly behind all our current players developmentally so they probably won't help next season.

I like young talent, but the notion of adding four rookies next season, including 3 from the second round, seems highly problematic to me. The Wolves have 10 players under contract for next season. They should bring back Prince if the salary is reasonable. And they need to add a big through free agency. I'm all for adding a couple rookies next season. They should use two of their three 2nd-round picks to improve their draft position either by moving up from 19 or adding another low second round pick.

lipoli390 wrote:KG - I get the excitement over draft prospects. I'm one of those most prone to get excited. But I don't see a single likely 2nd-round picks who can be reliably projected to be better than Nowell, JMac, Naz Reid, or anyone under contract for next season on the Wolves roster. And I don't see any 2nd-round prospects who can be expected to be as good as Taurean Prince, much less better. Yes, there might be some 2nd-round picks who end up better, but history tells us it's unlikely and, in any event, whoever we draft will be significantly behind all our current players developmentally so they probably won't help next season.

I like young talent, but the notion of adding four rookies next season, including 3 from the second round, seems highly problematic to me. The Wolves have 10 players under contract for next season. They should bring back Prince if the salary is reasonable. And they need to add a big through free agency. I'm all for adding a couple rookies next season. They should use two of their three 2nd-round picks to improve their draft position either by moving up from 19 or adding another low second round pick.

Who said anything about rostering four draft picks? I said 2 or 3 as we can stash or trade at least one of them. Wait, I think we should keep Nowell and JMac, but Naz Reid can be upgraded in free agency. I am feeling kind of meh with Prince and I don't want to overpay for him and we should at least consider other options in free agency. I would rather take a swing for a high upside guy in the draft than roster someone who isn't contributing to winning and has little upside. Connolly drafted the Joker and Monte Morris in the second round and I see some value in round two, so lets take some swings!

KG4Ever wrote:

monsterpile wrote:KG so we should probably just cut McLaughlin too? Maybe I don't understand what you mean by upside. I'm honestly trying to figure out what you are trying to do.

Well, we are going to have a roster spot for whoever we take at 19, we should also have a roster spot for our next selection. I assume we'll either trade or stash at least one of our picks. So we probably have 2-3 draft picks we want to roster.

If we sign Hartenstein, Jalen Smith and Gary Harris* as our free agents, I think Naz Reid is expendable. We might not need Bolmaro if we bring in another young point guard with higher upside. However, if the Wolves only keep two picks other than stash picks, we keep Bolmaro too. See Below.

*I honestly haven't assessed how much it would cost to bring in Gary Harris, and if he's too expensive, there are other options including resigning Prince. I listed some options in another post.

15 man Roster:
C: Hartenstein, Vando, (Draft Pick)
PF: KAT, Jalen Smith, Vando
SF: McDaniels, Beasley, Gary Harris, (Draft Pick)
SG: Ant, Beasley, Beverley Nowell,
PG: (DLO), Beverley JMac, (Draft Pick or Bolmaro)

I'm a big fan of potential and I LOVE draft picks and young players. The thing is when it's all about potential sometimes you miss it staring you right in the face. Look at the roster you have constructed as an example. Hartenstein if we signed him it would be the 5th team he was on. If he is the player you believe he is a bunch of team gave up on a good player. Beverly could have been had by any team and he is an impact player in this league and has been for years. Most people on this board last offseason didn't think McLaughlin was worth resigning even at a cheap price. Now it looks like he is a solid backup PG. not every guy teams hang onto turns into worthwhile players as Wolves fans we know that very deeply. However it seems like we have some people that actually know what they are doing eying talent and we might even be worthwhile at developing it. Not every player needs to have some sort of big upside. Getting solid NBA players at some roster spots is just fine and it's been a pretty big weakness of this franchise to do that with the last few roster spots. The last few years have been a vast improvement.

It's also worth noting that another roster spot could be filled with a 2-way spot possibly even for a 2nd round pick who would agree to sign a 2-way deal as part of being drafted. I'd be a little surprised if they let Wright go but I could see them moving on from Nathan Knight to add someone else. I would be totally cool with that but I also think Knight could end up being a worthwhile player.

I'll say this about Naz Reid (it was reported that he turned down a 2-way deal to be drafted in the 2nd round by a number of teams) I think there is absolutely upside for him. I do also agree with many on this board that this roster probably isn't the right fit for him or the Wolves. This is why I think they should be considering moving him for value if at all possible. He is going to be a FA after this but his contract is so cheap it makes him easy to move in a deal.

KG I will say I have no problem drafting a 2nd round guy even if the wolves have no likely roster spot open. If the guy doesn't impress and doesn't make the team ok fine. If it's between that and selling it for cash I'll take the chance that player forces the issue and makes us sign him. One problem with that is that getting an undrafted FA that might be intriguing to sign could be more difficult because there is no path to a spot. What we both absolutely agree on is every damn roster spot matters and we should be trying to get guys that could have some sort of impact in the future. Just think about how valuable finding a Torrey Craig type guy is. Having a guy like that would also be a trade asset.

monsterpile wrote:

KG4Ever wrote:

monsterpile wrote:KG so we should probably just cut McLaughlin too? Maybe I don't understand what you mean by upside. I'm honestly trying to figure out what you are trying to do.

Well, we are going to have a roster spot for whoever we take at 19, we should also have a roster spot for our next selection. I assume we'll either trade or stash at least one of our picks. So we probably have 2-3 draft picks we want to roster.

If we sign Hartenstein, Jalen Smith and Gary Harris* as our free agents, I think Naz Reid is expendable. We might not need Bolmaro if we bring in another young point guard with higher upside. However, if the Wolves only keep two picks other than stash picks, we keep Bolmaro too. See Below.

*I honestly haven't assessed how much it would cost to bring in Gary Harris, and if he's too expensive, there are other options including resigning Prince. I listed some options in another post.

15 man Roster:
C: Hartenstein, Vando, (Draft Pick)
PF: KAT, Jalen Smith, Vando
SF: McDaniels, Beasley, Gary Harris, (Draft Pick)
SG: Ant, Beasley, Beverley Nowell,
PG: (DLO), Beverley JMac, (Draft Pick or Bolmaro)

I'm a big fan of potential and I LOVE draft picks and young players. The thing is when it's all about potential sometimes you miss it staring you right in the face. Look at the roster you have constructed as an example. Hartenstein if we signed him it would be the 5th team he was on. If he is the player you believe he is a bunch of team gave up on a good player. Beverly could have been had by any team and he is an impact player in this league and has been for years. Most people on this board last offseason didn't think McLaughlin was worth resigning even at a cheap price. Now it looks like he is a solid backup PG. not every guy teams hang onto turns into worthwhile players as Wolves fans we know that very deeply. However it seems like we have some people that actually know what they are doing eying talent and we might even be worthwhile at developing it. Not every player needs to have some sort of big upside. Getting solid NBA players at some roster spots is just fine and it's been a pretty big weakness of this franchise to do that with the last few roster spots. The last few years have been a vast improvement.

It's also worth noting that another roster spot could be filled with a 2-way spot possibly even for a 2nd round pick who would agree to sign a 2-way deal as part of being drafted. I'd be a little surprised if they let Wright go but I could see them moving on from Nathan Knight to add someone else. I would be totally cool with that but I also think Knight could end up being a worthwhile player.

I'll say this about Naz Reid (it was reported that he turned down a 2-way deal to be drafted in the 2nd round by a number of teams) I think there is absolutely upside for him. I do also agree with many on this board that this roster probably isn't the right fit for him or the Wolves. This is why I think they should be considering moving him for value if at all possible. He is going to be a FA after this but his contract is so cheap it makes him easy to move in a deal.

I wouldn't overthink Hartenstein's meanderings as there is a reasonable explanation for them and he absolutely broke out this year and the Clippers fans and Tyrone Lue loved him. The Clippers want to keep him but he is a free agent and so the Wolves could offer something the Clipper can't, a fair opportunity to be a starter.

Detroit has traded Jerami Grant to Portland for 2025 first-round pick via Milwaukee, sources tell ESPN.

Not much for Grant in my opinion

kekgeek1 wrote:Detroit has traded Jerami Grant to Portland for 2025 first-round pick via Milwaukee, sources tell ESPN.

Not much for Grant in my opinion

Huh. It's surprising to see very good players moved for relatively little in return. Christian Wood and now Jerami Grant. I wonder who else is available.

Camden wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Detroit has traded Jerami Grant to Portland for 2025 first-round pick via Milwaukee, sources tell ESPN.

Not much for Grant in my opinion

Huh. It's surprising to see very good players moved for relatively little in return. Christian Wood and now Jerami Grant. I wonder who else is available.

I think Grant is a little overrated and think the wolves are still better but the west keeps getting harder