Minnesota Sports Forum

Wolves could even miss playoffs after this disastrous trade if Ant or Gobert gets injured and would serve them right. OKC and Dallas were already better than Wolves and OKC can add Curry or whoever is for sale at deadline. Phoenix now has a point guard, a great coach and are rested and poised to make noise. Denver is going to be rested. Houston is going to shock people as they could be next year's breakout team in the West. Pels have a great young nucleus and added Dejounte Murray to it. Kings added DeRozan to Sabonis, Fox and Murray. Wolves might have to beat Warriors, Lakers or Grizzlies in the play-in round just to make playoffs. Spurs fans must love the KAT trade as it gives Spurs a good shot at getting two high picks courtesy of the Wolves.

*yawns while waking up from post-Summer League hibernation
*spits out coffee when he sees the news

Holy schnikes!!!

Damn, I wasn't necessarily expecting that.

In terms of KAT's trade value, I'd say he's obviously not at his peak, which would have been when GMs were calling him the most promising cornerstone in the league going into his second contract. But this also wasn't his floor either. I think he's redeemed himself (and his trade value) quite a bit in the last couple of years. With a contract as big as his, there's a steep drop-off from highly valuable to toxic asset. So I think this could definitely have been worse in terms of trade value.

In terms of our prospects on the floor, I'm torn. KAT and Rudy showed last year that they really could play well together, which always made sense to me because of KAT's shooting. But I was actually fairly impressed with his defense and even (to some degree) his discipline in the playoffs. KAT did a passable job on KD and Jokic in those defensive schemes last year and that allowed us to defend the rest of those teams well. Could we count on that long-term? Maybe? Obviously, the Mavs were tough to defend with both Towns and Rudy. That might be more of a Rudy problem, but either way, getting a more switchable big at the 4 or 5 should give us the defensive flexibility to match up with them. Offensively, I do think his outside shooting is just otherworldly for a guy that size, and I don't think Finch really exploited that enough honestly. I know Randle is really good, but I worry that the loss of floor spacing from a big will really hurt us. So on one hand, it felt like there was always a bit of a ceiling with KAT and Rudy, but I do think we'll really miss that outside shooting.

I just don't know how to respond to this. I gather it will give us financial flexibility going forward, and ultimately, that's just kind of something we'd have needed. I used to really dislike KAT. I hated his whining. Oh my god, even last year I hated his whining about calls. I hated his lack of discipline. I wanted him and DLO gone ASAP--"no defense, no toughness, no leadership" was my mantra. Even when the Jimmy thing went down I remember thinking if it were Jimmy or KAT, I'd have traded KAT (I loved Jimmy and KAT was probably at his peak value just before that).

But KAT has definitely improved in those areas in recent years, and I was particularly impressed with how he responded to the national attention Ant got.

There was always something a little bit inauthentic about KAT. It felt like he was always kind of trying to say the right thing and be somebody who other people wanted him to be, even when you could kind of tell there was some insecurity or resentment or judgment under the surface. In that sense, for much of his time here, he was very much like a Minnesotan! Friendly on the outside, but you could tell he was probably feeling something different underneath. In the last couple of years, it seems like he got tired of that sometimes and was a bit more reserved, maybe to protect himself. Maybe because the friendliness he displayed started to be a liability on social media, so he started to project a kind of toughness or detachment that was almost as inauthentic as his over-friendliness early on.

Still, after almost a decade, I think it's clear the guy was ultimately a good dude at heart. He's a bit of an awkward goofball, but he's grown up and matured and it does seem like he'd come to a kind of stable place in his life. Ultimately, I think he's kind of an insecure dude, which is a shame, because he has every reason to be proud of himself and his accomplishments. And he has grown up as a person and a player, so we are losing a guy who I think has become a positive contributor to the team culture overall. He'll be missed, but given the financial circumstances and the fact that both Randle and Donte are good players, it remains to be seen whether we'd have been better off keeping him.

I wish him luck! I'd be great to beat NY in the finals next year!

Finals? What are you smoking? Wolves will be very lucky to win a single playoff series next year and if Rudy or Ant are injured more than 25 games, then Wolves miss the playoffs altogether. Wolves aren't winning shit next year or any year during Ant's tenure. The Wolves will find it difficult to improve having capped out and having traded away essentially all their draft capital. Meanwhile, OKC is already better and have a ton of picks and more capspace. The Wolves will slowly fade into obscurity and Ant's best years will be wasted just like KG's best years were wasted.

Big Winners Today:

1) Knicks: Stole KAT and unloaded a bad contract in Randle
2) Spurs: They have two picks when Wolves might be among worst teams in league
3) Utah: They control four future Wolves picks

Nice wrap up, Drew!! The only thing I'll add on the pro-trade-KAT side is I will not miss the numerous times I found myself complaining about KAT's low BBIQ. I will not miss that!

We had all become comfortable with the notion that Wolves ownership (which is Glen for the moment) was willing to pay a huge amount of money to run this thing back. I guess we got too comfortable...

The trade requires some additional tweaking to get salaries to match. Charlotte has become involved to take on some salaries from the Knicks, and the Wolves are now also taking back Keita Bates-Diop. Welcome back, KBD!

That gives the Wolves 16 guaranteed contracts. So I assume something else will be happening.

60WinTim wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2024 11:59 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2024 11:48 pm There has to be more moves coming. You don't trade KAT to still be above the 2nd apron. What else is coming? Do you package Randle with someone like NAW to get more shooting?

Yeah, my whole calculus of this roster is out of whack now. I had just assumed we could not re-sign NAZ after this season because of our salary hell. But now retaining NAZ seems almost a lock.

I don't know if Miller will be ready for the challenge, if ever. But it sure seems like a door has been opened for him to see some rotational minutes here and there. It's up to him to make the best of it.

And I forgot all about Clark! He's only on a 2-way and will see plenty of time early on down in Iowa, but he only makes our guard/wing room even more crowded!

I think the goal is about avoiding multiple 2nd apron teams, not necessarily this season. The front office likely sees this trade as a means to avoid the 2nd apron next year and thus avoid repeater penalties.

I’ve always liked Randle and love DDV. We knew a KAT or Gobert trade was inevitable, and this breaks KATs massive contract into two tradeable pieces. Clogs the lane even more for Ant, but Randle is no slouch on corner 3s. We’ll see. Interested in how this impacts Naz and NAW.

Good luck/best wishes to Karl!

We might see a lot more of ANT at the 3 and Jaden at the 4. There are all sorts of ways this might play out, not to mention another move could be on the horizon.

Sundog wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2024 8:34 am I’ve always liked Randle and love DDV. We knew a KAT or Gobert trade was inevitable, and this breaks KATs massive contract into two tradeable pieces. Clogs the lane even more for Ant, but Randle is no slouch on corner 3s. We’ll see. Interested in how this impacts Naz and NAW.

Good luck/best wishes to Karl!

FWIW Randle doesn't take many corner 3's and I kinda doubt that changes but it's a spot where he could possibly be fit from more volume.

It's obvious the difference between Randle and Towns in terms of 3 point shooting but DDV is gonna be on the floor a lot and while I don't expect him to be quite as good as last year he was 3rd in the NBA in 3 pointers made and 7th in the playoffs. I get Randle is a downgrade from Towns but DDV is a significant upgrade on the perimeter and will help this team's shooting quite a bit.

KG4Ever wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2024 3:31 am Finals? What are you smoking? Wolves will be very lucky to win a single playoff series next year and if Rudy or Ant are injured more than 25 games, then Wolves miss the playoffs altogether. Wolves aren't winning shit next year or any year during Ant's tenure. The Wolves will find it difficult to improve having capped out and having traded away essentially all their draft capital. Meanwhile, OKC is already better and have a ton of picks and more capspace. The Wolves will slowly fade into obscurity and Ant's best years will be wasted just like KG's best years were wasted.

I’m just saying this trade created significantly more team financial flexibility, more asset flexibility and greatly lower the chances of the wolves future first round pick become the last pick of the draft because of 2nd apron punishments.

I understand your issue with the basketball side of the trade but the wolves did create more long term flexibility with this trade