From ESPN Insider

[Coolbreeze44]

Minnesota Timberwolves




Goosebumps are expensive these days, I guess. Yes, bringing Garnett back to Minnesota will be a heartwarming story filled with hugs and fuzzies, but why not just sign Garnett for the veteran minimum this summer instead of trading away Thaddeus Young and adding money to the payroll now?




The worst part is that they gave up a first-rounder to Philly in order to acquire Young -- a versatile big man who is just 26 years old -- this past summer. And Garnett's salary comes about $3 million more expensive than Young's contract. During a trying season, it seems as if head coach and president Flip Saunders let his emotions get the best of him. If reports out of Minnesota are true that they plan to give him a two-year extension, this seems like an excessively pricey Hallmark card.

[TheGrey08]

What idiot wrote that?

1) The salary this year is irrelevant.

2) KG can't get an extension b/c when the team can negotiate with him come July 1, he'll have no existing contract. (maybe semantics, but w/e)

3) The point in having him now is to benefit the young guys for the rest of the way this season to help gauge what we have.

4) I think people overestimated the market for Thad & Martin a little.

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

What do you mean the salary this year is irrelevant? Thad makes $9M this year and KG makes $12M. We now have to pay Garnet more FOR THE REMAINDER of the year than we would have paid Thad. Yes, to you and I, this makes no difference, but to the owners pocketbooks it definitely makes a difference. That's why the comment was made. Silly.

[Monster]

Personally this is dumb. Why?

If this trade doesn't go down can we just get back the 1st rounder from Philly? No. That's a sunk cost and the market for Thad had to be limited with what he made and his contract status.

1 million extra in salary for KG this year at this point of the season? Oh no I'm sure Glenn is very worried about that.

I think the fact that the Wolves traded for KG makes him stay here (KG thinks sort of old school) and I'm not certain he signs here in the offseason and he isn't going to sign anywhere to play for the vet min give me a break.

[Coolbreeze44]

What idiot wrote that?

1) The salary this year is irrelevant.

2) KG can't get an extension b/c when the team can negotiate with him come July 1, he'll have no existing contract. (maybe semantics, but w/e)

3) The point in having him now is to benefit the young guys for the rest of the way this season to help gauge what we have.

4) I think people overestimated the market for Thad & Martin a little.

So you agree with none of what he is saying?

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

monster, I disagree with virtually everything you say.

While Glenn is obviously very wealthy, the point here....is that there is no point in paying Garnet $1M more than Young for the season. Nothing logical about it.

And I really am not comprehending your point in second section. Please explain the "KG thinks Old School" comment. That is not even a real thing. Are you saying he won't play for Vet Min? I would agree here....but that is all he is worth as a basket ball player. The next problem we face is that I bet you the Wolves give him$10-12M for 2 seasons, which will be a HUGE mistake from a basketball productivity standpoint. He is worth vet min at this point, but Flip won't "insult" him by asking he take it.

[AbeVigodaLive]

monster, I disagree with virtually everything you say.

While Glenn is obviously very wealthy, the point here....is that there is no point in paying Garnet $1M more than Young for the season. Nothing logical about it.

And I really am not comprehending your point in second section. Please explain the "KG thinks Old School" comment. That is not even a real thing. Are you saying he won't play for Vet Min? I would agree here....but that is all he is worth as a basket ball player. The next problem we face is that I bet you the Wolves give him$10-12M for 2 seasons, which will be a HUGE mistake from a basketball productivity standpoint. He is worth vet min at this point, but Flip won't "insult" him by asking he take it.

Taylor has proven repeatedly that he's not above adding cash to a deal for his pockets.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

The problem with this ESPN writer is the same as I have seen with several other reviews of this deal. Their logic is faulty because they are beginning with a false assumption...that losing Thad Young is a bad thing in Flip's eyes. They are missing the point here...Flip wasn't worried about Thad opting out, he was worried about Thad opting in for $10 million. Garnett was not needed in Brooklyn, and taking on his larger (but expiring) contract was the vehicle Flip used to get out from under Thad's contract. I get why so many people are misinterpreting this. Their logic is this: Flip gave up a first rounder for Thad, so he must value him. That was true when Flip made the deal, but after watching the Wolves lose 80% of their games with a PF who is sub-par on defense and the boards, he knew he had to go in a different direction. Now he has 29 games to see how this team plays with a more conventional set of PFs.

Flip is far from blameless in this. As many of us pointed out last summer, the holes in Thad's game made it foolish to give up a first rounder to get him. But Flip did it, and although we all hoped for the best, it didn't work out. At least now I give him credit for tacitly admitting his error and attempting to fix it by turning over the PF duties to 3 guys who will be a downgrade on offense, but a huge upgrade on defense and rebounding.

This trade was not about nostalgia and bringing back KG for anywhere from 27 games to 2 full years...Flip has made mistakes, but he isn't that stupid and short-term in his thinking. This is about upgrading the PF position, and ensuring that they didn't have to pay Thad $10 million for another year.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

What idiot wrote that?

1) The salary this year is irrelevant.

2) KG can't get an extension b/c when the team can negotiate with him come July 1, he'll have no existing contract. (maybe semantics, but w/e)

3) The point in having him now is to benefit the young guys for the rest of the way this season to help gauge what we have.

4) I think people overestimated the market for Thad & Martin a little.

So you agree with none of what he is saying?

I can't speak for Grey, but I agree with only one thing that the writer said...that the worst part of this whole thing is that Flip gave up a first rounder for Thad less than a year ago. He is correct in that indictment of Flip. The rest of the article is flawed.

[alexftbl8181 [enjin:6648741]]

Long, whats the difference if they were able to get Thad's contract off the books this year as opposed to the season after? They aren't in any position to sign anybody this offseason that would make a difference, so why the rush to get Thad's money off the books?