Wolves Draft and Free Agency Grades

[kekgeek]

I'm changing my free agency grade to an F for TC. Had TC figured out a way to get Tyus on the roster for a minimum deal, I'd be singing his praises, as I love Tyus's fit here. I view this as a major missed opportunity.

I agree it sucks and Tyus would have been a great fit, however what did you want them to do, it came down to a personal pick for Tyus and he chose playing time over coming home.

[KG4Ever]

I'm changing my free agency grade to an F for TC. Had TC figured out a way to get Tyus on the roster for a minimum deal, I'd be singing his praises, as I love Tyus's fit here. I view this as a major missed opportunity.

I agree it sucks and Tyus would have been a great fit, however what did you want them to do, it came down to a personal pick for Tyus and he chose playing time over coming home.

That's not my job. TC is paid good money to figure out how to get Tyus here and evidently he didn't prioritize Tyus enough with some of his other moves he made.

[FNG]

I'm changing my free agency grade to an F for TC. Had TC figured out a way to get Tyus on the roster for a minimum deal, I'd be singing his praises, as I love Tyus's fit here. I view this as a major missed opportunity.

I agree it sucks and Tyus would have been a great fit, however what did you want them to do, it came down to a personal pick for Tyus and he chose playing time over coming home.

That's not my job. TC is paid good money to figure out how to get Tyus here and evidently he didn't prioritize Tyus enough with some of his other moves he made.

Tyus is a smart guy, and it was obvious to him Phx was a much better fit for him than the Wolves. He started 66 games last season, and he knows he is an effective NBA starter...he wasn't going to have any interest in coming to Minnesota to be at least behind Conley and eventually (if not right away) behind RD. But James Jones was able to guarantee Tyus a starting PG role on Day 1. What's he going to prefer...starting at PG next to Durant and Booker, or sitting on the bench next to Miller and Minott? TC is a miracle man, but God Almighty couldn't have convinced Tyus to pass on the Suns opportunity!

[KG4Ever]

I agree it sucks and Tyus would have been a great fit, however what did you want them to do, it came down to a personal pick for Tyus and he chose playing time over coming home.

That's not my job. TC is paid good money to figure out how to get Tyus here and evidently he didn't prioritize Tyus enough with some of his other moves he made.

Tyus is a smart guy, and it was obvious to him Phx was a much better fit for him than the Wolves. He started 66 games last season, and he knows he is an effective NBA starter...he wasn't going to have any interest in coming to Minnesota to be at least behind Conley and eventually (if not right away) behind RD. But James Jones was able to guarantee Tyus a starting PG role on Day 1. What's he going to prefer...starting at PG next to Durant and Booker, or sitting on the bench next to Miller and Minott? TC is a miracle man, but God Almighty couldn't have convinced Tyus to pass on the Suns opportunity!

I know now why he signed with Phoenix now, but had TC preferred Tyus over either Mike or RD, then we may have landed him. The question is whether both Conley and RD are both better fits here than Tyus. Conley is nearing the end of his effective playmaking career as in October he will be a 37 year old making much more than minimum and RD is a pup who will probably be a liability for a year or two. Tyus is in the sweet spot of being in his prime. I think Tyus is one of the two guys I would prefer to have. This is why I haven't jumped on the RD bandwagon like some of u, (at least yet ) as I'm concerned that he may lessen our chances to win in the coming year and year after, though, if he becomes a star down the road, maybe I'll rethink things, but in any event we gave up control over two first round picks and so there is a lot of pressure on RD to live up to the potential that TC saw in him.

[kekgeek]

That's not my job. TC is paid good money to figure out how to get Tyus here and evidently he didn't prioritize Tyus enough with some of his other moves he made.

Tyus is a smart guy, and it was obvious to him Phx was a much better fit for him than the Wolves. He started 66 games last season, and he knows he is an effective NBA starter...he wasn't going to have any interest in coming to Minnesota to be at least behind Conley and eventually (if not right away) behind RD. But James Jones was able to guarantee Tyus a starting PG role on Day 1. What's he going to prefer...starting at PG next to Durant and Booker, or sitting on the bench next to Miller and Minott? TC is a miracle man, but God Almighty couldn't have convinced Tyus to pass on the Suns opportunity!

I know now why he signed with Phoenix now, but had TC preferred Tyus over either Mike or RD, then we may have landed him. The question is whether both Conley and RD are both better fits here than Tyus. Conley is nearing the end of his effective playmaking career as a 37 year old making much more than minimum and RD is a pup who will probably be a liability for a year or two. Tyus is in the sweet spot of being in his prime. I think Tyus is one of the two guys I would prefer to have.

I get what you are saying but that would have been such a huge risk. Nobody could have predicted this is what Tyus market was going to end up on. Letting Conley walk or not drafting RD would have been super risky for the short term and the long term praying Tyus market and agent messes up. I mean who could have predicted Kris Dunn getting a bigger contract than Tyus did this offseason. Way too risky in my opinion to play the low % play.

With hindsight sure Tyus for the min is a better option than dilly. However that is still a debate. Tyus took playing time over coming home. Can’t blame TC for that when the other option would have been so reckless

[Lipoli390]

Tyus is a smart guy, and it was obvious to him Phx was a much better fit for him than the Wolves. He started 66 games last season, and he knows he is an effective NBA starter...he wasn't going to have any interest in coming to Minnesota to be at least behind Conley and eventually (if not right away) behind RD. But James Jones was able to guarantee Tyus a starting PG role on Day 1. What's he going to prefer...starting at PG next to Durant and Booker, or sitting on the bench next to Miller and Minott? TC is a miracle man, but God Almighty couldn't have convinced Tyus to pass on the Suns opportunity!

I know now why he signed with Phoenix now, but had TC preferred Tyus over either Mike or RD, then we may have landed him. The question is whether both Conley and RD are both better fits here than Tyus. Conley is nearing the end of his effective playmaking career as a 37 year old making much more than minimum and RD is a pup who will probably be a liability for a year or two. Tyus is in the sweet spot of being in his prime. I think Tyus is one of the two guys I would prefer to have.

I get what you are saying but that would have been such a huge risk. Nobody could have predicted this is what Tyus market was going to end up on. Letting Conley walk or not drafting RD would have been super risky for the short term and the long term praying Tyus market and agent messes up. I mean who could have predicted Kris Dunn getting a bigger contract than Tyus did this offseason. Way too risky in my opinion to play the low % play.

With hindsight sure Tyus for the min is a better option than dilly. However that is still a debate. Tyus took playing time over coming home. Can’t blame TC for that when the other option would have been so reckless

Let’s be clear that drafting Dilly had nothing to do with Tyus choosing the Suns over the Wolves. Mike Conley was the reason Tyus chose the Suns. Tyus would have been Mike Conley’s backup and that had to be obvious to Tyus. At the same time, it was equally obvious that Tyus would be a starter ahead of Monte Morris with the Suns. And the Suns are also a better fit than the Wolves for Monte because there’s not Dilly equivalent on the Suns who might compete with Monte for backup minutes. This wasn’t a close call for Tyus.

The Suns are another Western Conference playoff team that’s improved significantly.

[Monster]

I agree with your assessment. I don't expect them to throw him directly into Jmac's role to start last year (primary backup). But (at the risk of becoming a broken record) I just hope Finch finds a way to mix in these young guys so they can get meaningful minutes with professional NBA players. The G league didn't turn out to be the development league I had hoped - not sure what happened there. But it seemed to turn into an exhibition league (think every pick up game at the gym) vs. developmental.

McLaughlin wasn't the primary backup to start the season last year that was Shake Milton getting those minutes.

McLaughlin absolutely was the primary backup as far as I could tell. Shake did get minutes to start the year. But I think part of that was because JMac was banged up to start the season. So yes, they used Shake there a little as well as guys like SloMo and later NAW. But I never got the impression they were looking at Shake as Conley's primary back up/PG2.

https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/j ... ury-update

https://www.basketball-reference.com/pl ... melog/2024

Personally, I thought things ran better with a true PG and the fact that they drafted a pure PG makes me think they thought the same.

I’m not sure what you are looking at Carlos. McLaughlin played 19 total minutes the first 2 months and 32 minutes in December. Shake Milton played more minutes in the first 3 games 55 than McLaughlin did in the first 3 months. They absolutely signed Milton to be the first guard off the bench and play at least some sort of PG minutes. He was the starting PG for the sixers for a number of games the previous season when filling in for inured guys and played very well.

[KG4Ever]

I know now why he signed with Phoenix now, but had TC preferred Tyus over either Mike or RD, then we may have landed him. The question is whether both Conley and RD are both better fits here than Tyus. Conley is nearing the end of his effective playmaking career as a 37 year old making much more than minimum and RD is a pup who will probably be a liability for a year or two. Tyus is in the sweet spot of being in his prime. I think Tyus is one of the two guys I would prefer to have.

I get what you are saying but that would have been such a huge risk. Nobody could have predicted this is what Tyus market was going to end up on. Letting Conley walk or not drafting RD would have been super risky for the short term and the long term praying Tyus market and agent messes up. I mean who could have predicted Kris Dunn getting a bigger contract than Tyus did this offseason. Way too risky in my opinion to play the low % play.

With hindsight sure Tyus for the min is a better option than dilly. However that is still a debate. Tyus took playing time over coming home. Can’t blame TC for that when the other option would have been so reckless

Let’s be clear that drafting Dilly had nothing to do with Tyus choosing the Suns over the Wolves. Mike Conley was the reason Tyus chose the Suns. Tyus would have been Mike Conley’s backup and that had to be obvious to Tyus. At the same time, it was equally obvious that Tyus would be a starter ahead of Monte Morris with the Suns. And the Suns are also a better fit than the Wolves for Monte because there’s not Dilly equivalent on the Suns who might compete with Monte for backup minutes. This wasn’t a close call for Tyus.

The Suns are another Western Conference playoff team that’s improved significantly.

Well, RD does play point guard, so I'm sure Tyus looked at the big picture of this year and beyond, so I'm not sure I buy that he has nothing to do with Tyus's decision. I would agree that Conley's presence would be a bigger factor in his decision. I don't think its necessarily true that Conley is the automatic starter if Tyus were available. They are both very good point guards, but the difference is Conley is nearing his expiration date much more quickly and could take a reduced role to rest for the playoffs. I know its all speculation, but if I can take a contrary position to get the board talking, I'll do it.

[Monster]

I know now why he signed with Phoenix now, but had TC preferred Tyus over either Mike or RD, then we may have landed him. The question is whether both Conley and RD are both better fits here than Tyus. Conley is nearing the end of his effective playmaking career as a 37 year old making much more than minimum and RD is a pup who will probably be a liability for a year or two. Tyus is in the sweet spot of being in his prime. I think Tyus is one of the two guys I would prefer to have.

I get what you are saying but that would have been such a huge risk. Nobody could have predicted this is what Tyus market was going to end up on. Letting Conley walk or not drafting RD would have been super risky for the short term and the long term praying Tyus market and agent messes up. I mean who could have predicted Kris Dunn getting a bigger contract than Tyus did this offseason. Way too risky in my opinion to play the low % play.

With hindsight sure Tyus for the min is a better option than dilly. However that is still a debate. Tyus took playing time over coming home. Can’t blame TC for that when the other option would have been so reckless

Let’s be clear that drafting Dilly had nothing to do with Tyus choosing the Suns over the Wolves. Mike Conley was the reason Tyus chose the Suns. Tyus would have been Mike Conley’s backup and that had to be obvious to Tyus. At the same time, it was equally obvious that Tyus would be a starter ahead of Monte Morris with the Suns. And the Suns are also a better fit than the Wolves for Monte because there’s not Dilly equivalent on the Suns who might compete with Monte for backup minutes. This wasn’t a close call for Tyus.

The Suns are another Western Conference playoff team that’s improved significantly.

Drafting Dillingham absolutely was a factor why the Suns have the 2 min PGs they have. It was why Morris left and it was a factor as to why Tyus didn’t come here as well. Ultimately Tyus might be a starter in Phoenix game 1.


Mike Conley took less to stay here. I would guess nobody here a few months ago thought there was any way that Tyus would take less money than his current contract. Getting Conley back for his current contract looked fantastic. It also made that Russell trade look even better. Thanks goodness we moved on from Russell. Imagine if we kept him and he was the reason we couldn’t get Tyus here…you know like the Lakers. There are a few teams that are probably like damn we coulda had Tyus. Just hypothetically speaking if we could have signed and traded Mike Conley for Tyus and some asset would you have done it? Probably would have made a ton of sense on paper but to some extent it would have been hard to pull the trigger on that. Not sure Conley can be traded at this point anyway but yeah.

With Tyus signing for the vet min Connelly’s drafting Dillingham and also putting his faith in the guy to play from day one is a risk and it was before but now…whew. Again if Connelly had known how things would play out and he would have the opportunity to get Tyus for basically nothing maybe he wouldn’t have made the move for Dillingham and just drafted the best players he could have. The Wolves did need some scoring punch and Tyus wasn’t going to help a lot there. He would have been a nice upgrade at Guard off the bench though.

Let’s revisit Wolves FA though. We knew that it was pretty much keep our own FAs or bust and hope for vet min deals. They moved Anderson for a 2nd rounder and a 2nd round swap and then signed Ingles for the vet min. Dozier isn’t thrilling (I think it was a solid move) but it’s a partially guaranteed deal it’s very possible he doesn’t end the season with the team. Getting any sort of draft compensation for our FAs sounds great and Ingles for the vet min is still a pretty good move. What is gonna matter more this year is whether or not Connelly’s draft picks (and guys like Garza and Nix originally signed on 2 way deals) are ready to contribute when called upon.

[Phenom]

Even if Tyus has signed here for a minimum one year deal, the Wolves still wouldn't be able to sign him to the deal he wants in a year since they wouldn't have his early bird rights. They could not give him a raise. He will be changing teams again in 12 months unless his market bombs again. Tyus was not a long term solution this way. TC did the right thing.