Would you trade Towns

[Porckchop]

Still think I would've liked a trade like this.
I'm aware it wasn't something on the table but I was surprise how dismissed the idea of it was.

[Lipoli390]

If the question is whether I'd trade Towns this season, my answer is no. If the question is whether I'd trade him for the hypothetical return suggested in this thread, my answer is hell no.

The tendency among some in the Wolves community to undervalue Towns continues to astound me. If and when the time comes to consider trading Towns, he should bring a huge return that far exceeds what was proposed to start this thread.

The combination of Covid and KAT's injury buys us another year before the Wolves should or need to seriously consider trading Towns. This is a strange season - almost a lost season. Unfortunately, I think this season has become another one for focusing on evaluation and development. I'll be looking for improvement and development from Okogie, Culver, Edwards, Nowell, Vanderbilt and McDaniels. When KAT returns, maybe we'll be in a position to compete for a final playoff spot. At that point, perhaps we can pick up a veteran who would help with that final push.

Right now, I'd say it's highly likely this team ends up in the lottery, but without any draft picks next summer. So it's all about the development of the young guys we have - Culver, Okogie, Edwards, Vanderbilt and McDaniels. I look forward to next season when Juancho might have some trade value as an expiring contract and when (hopefully) our young guys will have progressed to the point where they're either major plus players for the Wolves or high-value trade assets. In the meantime, we'll just have to grin a bear another tough, losing season.

If we're still a lottery team in the Spring of 2022 (end of next season), then it will be time to move on from KAT. And we'll need to trade DLO as well at that point, assuming he has positive trade value. My concern is that DLO might be a guy who we can't deal without giving away other assets. But he'll have two seasons to step it up before we have to worry about that.

So one of my New Years resolutions is to not worry about winning and get my kicks from watching Edwards and our other young guys. As part of that, I want to see much more playing time for Nowell, Vanderbilt and McDaniels. With KAT out for an extended time, there's no excuse for not giving significantly more minutes to Vanderbilt.

[TheFuture]

Within just a few posts... Future went from criticizing the Wolves for staying in the middle... to criticizing them for going all in.

Now I'm even more confused with his take.

The Butler trade alone wasn't about winning a title. Everybody knows that. The only way to a title was if Towns and Wiggins improved exponentially... and the plan was for them to gain playoff experience with Butler to help them get there.

Future is making it seem like it was losing LaVine and Dunn and the swapping the #7 that prevented it... when in reality... maybe it's just Towns and Wiggins aren't as good as they need to be.

The problem with the Butler deal was three-fold:

First, it was premature. Good organizations with young talent don't deal for the key veteran until the young guys have already proven themselves through team success. The Celtics didn't bring in Kyrie Irving until they were a 50-win team with Brown, Jason Tatum and Marcus Smart among others. The Sixers didn't pursue Butler until they were already a 50-win team and borderline championship contender with their core young guys - Embiid and Simmons, along with Saric and Covington. Moreover, both Boston and Philly had lots of valuable draft assets remaining even after dealing dealing for Kyrie and Butler.

Second, Butler was the wrong type of veteran to bring in to pair with very young players like KAT and Wiggins at the time. He already had a reputation as a player who didn't blend well with young guys and as a an overall asshole of a teammate.

Third, the age difference was too big to make sense. KAT was still 21 years old when the Wolves acquired the 27-year old Butler. Wiggins was 22.

So don't be confused. I didn't like the Butler deal at the time and in retrospect it was a failure. It was the wrong deal at the wrong time. In the end, the Wolves barely made the playoffs as an 8th seed by winning the last game of the season. They were then promptly eliminated in 5 games. The next season the Wolves sucked as they began the season with Butler in a firestorm of Butler-induced controversy.

Sure. I get that take.

I'd argue that Boston added Irving to a 50-win team to win a title. And Philly did the same to a 50-win team to win a title. As I've said repeatedly... that wasn't the goal of the 2018 Timberwolves.

It was 13 years and counting...

The goal wasn't to win a title with Butler. It was to be relevant. The Wolves were relevant for 2/3 of that season, until Butler got hurt. (It's fair to assume he'd get hurt based on his history you and others have documented in the past.)

And as for the 27-year old along with 21 year olds... meh. There aren't many teams comprising only 21 year olds that do much of anything. And to expect the fanbase to wait several more years is not always the best take either.

Personally/obviously, I liked bringing in Butler to take the Wolves to the next level (even if limited) to show the Wolves young stars (and true franchise foundation) what it takes. Then, when Butler moved on in a couple of years (ideally)... the mid-20s versions of Towns and Wiggins would be more seasoned for more legit playoff runs.

It didn't pan out. Thibs was an ass. Butler was even worse... Together they blew everything up almost before it could take shape.

I hated Thibs yelling. I hated his demeanor. I hated how he marginalized the true hope for our future in favor of his personal favorite (Butler). I hated ICE! ICE! I hated how Butler destroyed an entire season out of pettiness. I hated how Thibs enabled it. I hated how it all ended. I hate where the Wolves are today, in part because of the disastrous end to the Butler era.

But I don't hate the premise of that trade. I think it made sense. And I think the fanbase deserved more at the time. It simply didn't pan out.

Abe - We'll just have to agree to disagree on the trade. I think the trade was fundamentally flawed from the outset. I forgot to mention Butler's injury propensity among the reasons why I questioned the deal at the time. As you acknowledged, Butler predictably got hurt for an extended period as he typically had in most of his previous seasons and that was a key factor in the Wolves barely getting the 8th seed rather than a better slot in the playoffs. My main point is that you don't trade young talent & draft assets for the missing veteran piece to pair with 21-year olds in an effort to move from a low lottery spot to the playoffs. You build and develop your young core to take you into the playoffs and then, as the Celtics and Sixers did, you go get the key vet or two who you believe will make you a title contender. It's just a bad decision by an organization with a long track record of consistently bad player-personnel decisions - e.g., giving up on Billups would would have paired perfectly with KG based on talent and age; deciding instead to go with the older often-injured Terrell Brandon. So Thibs is just in a long line of bad front office heads this organization has had. And the Butler trade was one of Thibodeau's signature mistakes as I see it.

I said this day one and you all ripped me to shreds. That hire and trade set us back another 5 -10 years. It was a shortsighted move by both Glen to hire Thibs, and Thibs trying to re-establish himself.

As for trading KAT, no. Not until the last year if we are still dogshit.

[Monster]

"Have we traded Towns and started building around Naz Reid yet?"

I guess I'll just make this a regular New Year's post from now on.

[Lipoli390]

"Have we traded Towns and started building around Naz Reid yet?"

I guess I'll just make this a regular New Year's post from now on.

Lol. Good one, Monster. :)

[BloopOracle]

I just hope we pull the trigger quickly if he does ask out midway next season or later, he has an insane amount of trade value and we need to capitalize on that.

[Coolbreeze44]

I just hope we pull the trigger quickly if he does ask out midway next season or later, he has an insane amount of trade value and we need to capitalize on that.

We can't trust Rosas to make any more major moves. Bring a proven winner in like Jeff Van Gundy and let him hire the coach. We can't take any more chances on guys who don't have a track record.

[Lipoli390]

I just hope we pull the trigger quickly if he does ask out midway next season or later, he has an insane amount of trade value and we need to capitalize on that.

We can't trust Rosas to make any more major moves. Bring a proven winner in like Jeff Van Gundy and let him hire the coach. We can't take any more chances on guys who don't have a track record.

Great point, Cool. I agree completely.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Most of us like Van Gundy. He seems pretty smart. And he's a fun character.

But a lot has changed in the NBA since he last coached in 2007... and he has no GM experience.

Pass.

[Monster]

I just hope we pull the trigger quickly if he does ask out midway next season or later, he has an insane amount of trade value and we need to capitalize on that.

We can't trust Rosas to make any more major moves. Bring a proven winner in like Jeff Van Gundy and let him hire the coach. We can't take any more chances on guys who don't have a track record.

Great point, Cool. I agree completely.

What has JVG proved as an executive?