Anthony Edwards - The Best Thing to Ever Happen to this Franchise

[thedoper]

With the Thibs debacle ending and Towns going from sad to sadder it was hard to see a clear way out. Thankfully we had a season of injuries when we finally shipped Wiggins off for Dlo and it miraculously landed us the #1 pick. There were a lot of options out there, many (including myself at times) advocated that we trade down because the top end talent just wasnt there. Once I saw the Klutch workout with Edwards and Maxey my mind was made up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcvSwl_qozM&ab_channel=NIBC

Maxey was no slouch and Edwards already looked like twice the athlete. Now here we are, Edwards has a ways to go but in two seasons has become our best player and an all star at 21 years old. Not only that the kid is a joy to hear any time he gets interviewed.

https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/videos/anthony-edwards-2023-all-star-media-day-availability-02-18-23

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/2/3/23584817/anthony-edwards-on-all-star-snub-playoffs-favorite-players-to-go-against-minnesota-timberwolves

We have never had a ball dominant player that can get a bucket at will (no offense Isaiah Rider), we have always had to fit other players into those options (KG, Love, KAT). I am not sure what the future brings for this kid, we may not even make the playoffs though we sold the farm to put stability around him. I do like that management seems to understand correctly that everything is about Ant moving forward. Would love it if KAT bought into that too, we will see. Either way, every game Ant plays I will continue to be fully engaged and happy to be a Wolves fan.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I'm not as ready to proclaim that management knows everything is about Anthony Edwards moving forward. None of their moves to this point speak to that idea, in my opinion. The Rudy Gobert trade was more about Karl-Anthony Towns and acquiring Mike Conley Jr. was about Gobert.

The only good thing they've done for Edwards is re-signing Towns and largely keeping Jaden McDaniels out of trade talks.

[thedoper]

I'm not as ready to proclaim that management knows everything is about Anthony Edwards moving forward. None of their moves to this point speak to that idea.

It's what Connelly said about acquiring Conley. I guess we can decide not to take his words at face value. Personally, I always saw the Gobert move about ensuring that teams with Edwards on them would be consistently in the mix.

[mjs34]

I'm not as ready to proclaim that management knows everything is about Anthony Edwards moving forward. None of their moves to this point speak to that idea.

It's what Connelly said about acquiring Conley. I guess we can decide not to take his words at face value. Personally, I always saw the Gobert move about ensuring that teams with Edwards on them would be consistently in the mix.

I don't think there should be any question that the conley move was about Rudy. Ant has been meshing with teammates extremely well to this point. Having DLO to take some of the offensive responsibility off of Ant seemed to be a necessity.

[Porckchop]

Would this organization still be in Minnesota without the contributions of a young KG? He willed far inferior squads to the playoffs. We never had to question his effort, willingness to be a team player or sitting games with minor injuries. How many TWolves fans exist because of him?

[FNG]

I'm not as ready to proclaim that management knows everything is about Anthony Edwards moving forward. None of their moves to this point speak to that idea.

It's what Connelly said about acquiring Conley. I guess we can decide not to take his words at face value. Personally, I always saw the Gobert move about ensuring that teams with Edwards on them would be consistently in the mix.

Yeah, TC was quite clear about his intentions in bringing in Conley, and I see no reason to doubt his words. He's a smart guy, and I'm sure he's noticed how several young players have flourished and outperformed expectations in Utah playing next to Conley. He said that ensuring Ant reaches his ceiling has to be a top priority, and believes that Conley will help with that goal. The fact that Conley has such chemistry with Gobert is icing on the cake, but this deal was more about maximizing Ant's performance.

[Lipoli390]

I'm not as ready to proclaim that management knows everything is about Anthony Edwards moving forward. None of their moves to this point speak to that idea.

It's what Connelly said about acquiring Conley. I guess we can decide not to take his words at face value. Personally, I always saw the Gobert move about ensuring that teams with Edwards on them would be consistently in the mix.

Yeah, TC was quite clear about his intentions in bringing in Conley, and I see no reason to doubt his words. He's a smart guy, and I'm sure he's noticed how several young players have flourished and outperformed expectations in Utah playing next to Conley. He said that ensuring Ant reaches his ceiling has to be a top priority, and believes that Conley will help with that goal. The fact that Conley has such chemistry with Gobert is icing on the cake, but this deal was more about maximizing Ant's performance.

I'm not sure we should take TC at his word on anything. Two weeks before the Gobert deal he said his goal was to stay out of the way and not mess things up. You can't reconcile the Gobert deal with that comment. I tend to put far more stock in peoples' actions than their words. That's especially true right now when it comes to TC. Trading the farm for Rudy and then trading DLO for Conley seem far more geared to KAT and Rudy than to Edwards.

I'm not suggesting that TC isn't totally bought into building around Ant. In fact, keeping McDaniels out of trade talks supports the view that TC is, in fact, committed to building around Ant. But I'm not totally convinced right now. Maybe we'll find out when TC finally comes to terms with reality and moves on from Rudy. :)

[Monster]

I'm not as ready to proclaim that management knows everything is about Anthony Edwards moving forward. None of their moves to this point speak to that idea.

It's what Connelly said about acquiring Conley. I guess we can decide not to take his words at face value. Personally, I always saw the Gobert move about ensuring that teams with Edwards on them would be consistently in the mix.

Yeah, TC was quite clear about his intentions in bringing in Conley, and I see no reason to doubt his words. He's a smart guy, and I'm sure he's noticed how several young players have flourished and outperformed expectations in Utah playing next to Conley. He said that ensuring Ant reaches his ceiling has to be a top priority, and believes that Conley will help with that goal. The fact that Conley has such chemistry with Gobert is icing on the cake, but this deal was more about maximizing Ant's performance.

I'm not sure we should take TC at his word on anything. Two weeks before the Gobert deal he said his goal was to stay out of the way and not mess things up. You can't reconcile the Gobert deal with that comment. I tend to put far more stock in peoples' actions than their words. That's especially true right now when it comes to TC. Trading the farm for Rudy and then trading DLO for Conley seem far more geared to KAT and Rudy than to Edwards.

I'm not suggesting that TC isn't totally bought into building around Ant. In fact, keeping McDaniels out of trade talks supports the view that TC is, in fact, committed to building around Ant. But I'm not totally convinced right now. Maybe we'll find out when TC finally comes to terms with reality and moves on from Rudy. :)

I think it's pretty clear what the Russell for Conley deal was about and it really wasn't Russell or Conley or building around Gobert. It was about getting something for Russell and having a salary in Conley to make a possible move later. Did they value Conley in the deal? Absolutely. They clearly didn't want to just dump Russell and not get some sort of legit PG in return and the fact that he played with Gobert was certainly a factor in the deal. Is it also great that Conley is a well respected vet and good dude for Edwards to be around? Sure. Does this mean Russell was a bad guy or garbage? No it doesn't but whether you agree with moving Russell or not they made the decision to move on from him. I don't think it's hard for most people to see that it could be a prudent move to make getting something for Russell regardless of his fit or not fit with Gobert.

Meanwhile the deal means the Wolves now have MORE ability to build around Edwards than they did before. 2nd round picks have value. Conley as a moveable contract has value. NAW is a guy that has some chance (debatable on how small) of being a guy to help build around Edwards as well. What are the chances Conley is on the roster next season? Like 50/50? That's not building around Gobert or Towns.

Russell was discussed on this forum more than any other player the last few months because the Wolves and Russell had to make a decision about his future with the team during or after the end of this season. To be fair to Russell he did a lot to fit in with the current group and was having somewhat of a career year in doing it. Still regardless of his fit with Gobert (and to be honest Towns) there was questions about whether he was the guy this team needed long term. I felt that way and I am a Russell fan and value him as an NBA player. I actually think Connelly valued Russell too but I think there was various concerns about whether it would work long term or whether Russell would resign etc etc. Russell just walking for nothing would suck (although to some extent I could have been ok with that) I think I'd rather have three 2nd round picks and Mike Conley plus a flyer in NAW.

Meanwhile when it comes to guards Edwards has played with lots of different guys and all of them have been vets in some way which I think has likely been a good thing for him. I don't know if one type of guard next to him at this point makes a significant difference. A year or 2 from now even though he is an even better player? Maybe partly because they hopefully are contending or even closer to that. It would be nice if the Wolves could have another solid defender at the guard spot next to Edwards. That would really be something with McDaniels defending on the perimeter and Edwards able to really defend on that end most of the time when it matters and it seems to me he is a positive on that end most of the time now which at his age and experience plus the offensively load he has taken on is kinda impressive.

Also KG is still the best thing to happen to the Wolves because of what he did for many years. Edwards is making a case for that spot. That pretty terrific to even be reasonably considering that at this stage of his career. With Edwards it's the whole package. 2-way player, good dude, super marketable, athletic, fun to watch, seems like a great teammate, nice mix of super confident but still coachable and somewhat aware he has flaws, funny etc etc.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Monster, some of what you say above is obviously true, but Minnesota's front office specifically targeted Mike Conley Jr. in large part because of his perceived fit and chemistry with their recent [and failed] blockbuster acquisition of Rudy Gobert. The latter's play this season has been on a steep decline from where it once was and the PR move that followed the trade wrongfully pointed the finger at D'Angelo Russell as the reason why. We've also seen the narrative that Conley will "unlock" Gobert on this team, that Conley knows how to throw lobs and bounce passes where Gobert can catch them without fumbling them away -- all nonsensical talking points to me. Whether you agree or disagree with any of that, that is how we got here.

Additionally, Conley was not the only player they could have acquired that had sizable salary that extended past this season so while the financial aspect of the trade is fair to mention it's also not the main reason for the trade. We can all speculate on who was available, and whether the incoming assets made sense for Minnesota, but the overall idea that Conley was brought in specifically for Gobert is an accurate one.

[Monster]

Monster, some of what you say above is obviously true, but Minnesota's front office specifically targeted Mike Conley Jr. in large part because of his perceived fit and chemistry with their recent [and failed] blockbuster acquisition of Rudy Gobert. The latter's play this season has been on a steep decline from where it once was and the PR move that followed the trade wrongfully pointed the finger at D'Angelo Russell as the reason why. We've also seen the narrative that Conley will "unlock" Gobert on this team, that Conley knows how to throw lobs and bounce passes where Gobert can catch them without fumbling them away -- all nonsensical talking points to me. Whether you agree or disagree with any of that, that is how we got here.

Additionally, Conley was not the only player they could have acquired that had sizable salary that extended past this season so while the financial aspect of the trade is fair to mention it's also not the main reason for the trade. We can all speculate on who was available, and whether the incoming assets made sense for Minnesota, but the overall idea that Conley was brought in specifically for Gobert is an accurate one.

Sure he was brought in for Gobert I would not argue that but my point was he wasn't THE reason for the trade. They made the deal because it allowed them to have more assets to make a move later. They didn't set out to trade for Mike Conley.

Meanwhile why shouldn't the play up the connection between Gobert and Conley? What are they supposed to say? "Hey we brought in a 35 year old PG that's not too bad because we are really hoping to trade him for an upgrade in 5-6 months?" They said all kinds of nice things about Russell for the past few months and he is gone for a decent but far from spectacular return. Yay Conley knows how to play with Gobert!!! I don't think they thought bringing in Conley was gonna fix everything. He was just part of the best option they could get. I don't think we have seen reporting of what other options were but we did hear there were other teams interested.