Minnesota Timberwolves: Rumor Mill

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Here we are. The NBA Draft and free agency period has essentially come and passed. Much of what ails this Minnesota Timberwolves team still remains with few tangible changes made to the roster in the off-season thus far. In this thread I'll provide a few rumors and reports that interested me as of late.

- Multiple teams in the draft lottery were reportedly very interested in acquiring Jaden McDaniels for their pick. The Wolves did not seriously entertain those discussions.

- Reports are that Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards are Minnesota's only "untouchable" players. In reality, no player is truly untouchable, but this report does confirm that the front office is open to moving D'Angelo Russell and/or McDaniels if the right deal came along.

- Los Angeles offered Kyle Kuzma to Minnesota prior to making the blockbuster deal for Russell Westbrook. What the Lakers wanted from the Wolves is unknown at this time. Minnesota reportedly has real interest in Kuzma, but declined the Lakers' offer.

- The Wolves offered Ricky Rubio to the Atlanta Hawks for Danilo Gallinari and their offer was turned down, unsurprisingly.

- Minnesota traded Rubio to Cleveland last week for Taurean Prince's expiring contract and a 2022 second-round pick. They did not inquire on Larry Nance Jr. as it's believed that the price for him was too high for the Wolves' front office when they were interested at last year's trade deadline.

- When free agency began Monday the Wolves were reportedly first meeting with... Jordan McLaughlin. While backup point guard is an area of need, I'm not sure McLaughlin -- or Jarred Vanderbilt, for that matter -- should have been made a priority, especially when upgrades in free agency were still available.

- Minnesota attempted to acquire Alex Caruso and Marc Gasol from the Los Angeles Lakers before the former signed his four-year, $37M deal with Chicago. There were no details in what the Wolves would have offered in terms of salary or sign-and-trade compensation. My personal opinion is that Malik Beasley was likely on the table here.

- Minnesota reportedly offered a first-round pick to Houston for a 35-year old P.J. Tucker last year around the draft. Whether that was before or after the Wolves traded 17 to acquire 25 and 28 remains to be seen. Tucker eventually gets traded, wins a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks, and then signed with the Miami Heat this off-season. The likelihood of him ever re-signing with Minnesota was slim to none. Sometimes the deals that don't happen end up being the most valuable.

- Minnesota showed various levels of interest in JaMychal Green and Lauri Markkanen. Green was never expected to leave Denver, but the Wolves' interest is consistent as they were in on him last year. Markkanen, a very intriguing young talent, remains unsigned with few sensible landing spots available after reportedly looking for a deal in the four-years, $80-million range. The Wolves would likely have to combine Juan Hernangomez with one of Josh Okogie and Jarrett Culver in order to match salary for Markkanen in a sign-and-trade. It's thought that Markkanen could sign the qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

- It's rumored that two-way Wolves' guard McKinley Wright was a second-round draft target of Charlotte's before eventually going undrafted. The Hornets acquired J.T. Thor and Scottie Lewis in the second-round instead.

- Minnesota signed Nathan Knight to a two-way contract. Oklahoma City and Golden State were reportedly interested in Knight as well.

[Lipoli390]

Great to hear from you Cam. Thanks for the terrific summary of the various rumors or reports regarding the Wolves off-season activity and thinking. So happy Houston didn't take advantage of Gersson's ridiculous offer last year!! As you noted, sometimes the best deals are the ones that don't happen.

$20M per year seems way too high for Lauri Markkanen. I wouldn't go there if I were Gersson. But he's probably tempted. If he's take less, perhaps we could just trade Prince straight up for Markkanen. Do you think he's worth a 4 year $80M contract?

[Monster]

Good to hear from you Cam. Wolfson was on Dane Moore's podcast and mentioned that Wright could have been drafted in the 2nd round but that was contingent on him signing a 2-way deal. He wanted to be able to pick his own spot and there were other teams that wanted him. Teams drafting a guy in the 2nd round based on whether or not they will sign a 2 way deal sounds fairly common. I'm looking forward to seeing Wright in Summer league.

I'm hoping to hear some of your takes on the team and the league in general.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Great to hear from you Cam. Thanks for the terrific summary of the various rumors or reports regarding the Wolves off-season activity and thinking. So happy Houston didn't take advantage of Gersson's ridiculous offer last year!! As you noted, sometimes the best deals are the ones that don't happen.

$20M per year seems way too high for Lauri Markkanen. I wouldn't go there if I were Gersson. But he's probably tempted. If he's take less, perhaps we could just trade Prince straight up for Markkanen. Do you think he's worth a 4 year $80M contract?

Imagine not having Jaden McDaniels because your President of Basketball Operations traded that pick for a 35-year old expiring contract. Houston's reluctance to trade P.J. Tucker at that time may have saved Gersson Rosas' job for the short-term.

I just replied to you in the other thread, but I believe Lauri Markkanen to be in the Malik Beasley range as far as contracts go. The highest I would entertain for him is four-years, $60-million with a team option on that final year, or essentially a three-year, $44.5-million deal. If not for injury issues, Markkanen likely could have commanded a deal in that four-years, $80-million range. He's a knockdown three-point shooter (40.2 3P%, 3.3 - 8.1 3PA Per 36) with size and fluidity. It hasn't all come together for him yet, but his ceiling is moderately high and an acceptable floor, in my opinion.

[Lipoli390]

The possible deal for Caruso and Marc Gasol intrigues me. Beasley for both would see like a good deal for the Wolves. Looks like Caruso would have gotten around $9M per year, which is essentially what he signed for with Chicago. It would be interesting to know what sort of deal was coming together before Caruso signed with the Bulls.

[Lipoli390]

Great to hear from you Cam. Thanks for the terrific summary of the various rumors or reports regarding the Wolves off-season activity and thinking. So happy Houston didn't take advantage of Gersson's ridiculous offer last year!! As you noted, sometimes the best deals are the ones that don't happen.

$20M per year seems way too high for Lauri Markkanen. I wouldn't go there if I were Gersson. But he's probably tempted. If he's take less, perhaps we could just trade Prince straight up for Markkanen. Do you think he's worth a 4 year $80M contract?

Imagine not having Jaden McDaniels because your President of Basketball Operations traded that pick for a 35-year old expiring contract. Houston's reluctance to trade P.J. Tucker at that time may have saved Gersson Rosas' job for the short-term.

I just replied to you in the other thread, but I believe Lauri Markkanen to be in the Malik Beasley range as far as contracts go. The highest I would entertain for him is four-years, $60-million with a team option on that final year, or essentially a three-year, $44.5-million deal. If not for injury issues, Markkanen could likely have commanded a deal in that four-years, $80-million range. He's a knockdown three-point shooter (40.2 3P%, 3.3 - 8.1 3PA Per 36) with size and fluidity. It hasn't all come together for him yet, but his ceiling is moderately high and an acceptable floor, in my opinion.

The PJ Tucker near-miss is yet another among many examples that leaves me with no confidence in Gersson's judgment when making trades or business decisions. Someone in the organization, maybe even Gersson, seems to have good judgment in evaluating young under-the-radar players coming out of college. But Gersson seems almost clueless when it comes to deal making judgment.

[Tactical unit]

Great to hear from you Cam. Thanks for the terrific summary of the various rumors or reports regarding the Wolves off-season activity and thinking. So happy Houston didn't take advantage of Gersson's ridiculous offer last year!! As you noted, sometimes the best deals are the ones that don't happen.

$20M per year seems way too high for Lauri Markkanen. I wouldn't go there if I were Gersson. But he's probably tempted. If he's take less, perhaps we could just trade Prince straight up for Markkanen. Do you think he's worth a 4 year $80M contract?

NO

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

- Darren Wolfson notes that the Wolves have inquired on free agent guard Josh Hart.

- Zach Lowe mentioned Minnesota as a possible Dennis Schröder fit on The Jump. It would likely be a one-year deal.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

- The Wolves touched base with Paul Millsap in the last two days. Nothing close to a signing there, but the interest makes sense. Minnesota appears more focused on their own free agents.

- It sounds like the Wolves made Jarrett Culver available to any team that would take him (and his salary) this off-season, but found no takers. It also sounds like Minnesota was unwilling to attach draft compensation to Culver to ship him away.

[Lipoli390]

- The Wolves touched base with Paul Millsap in the last two days. Nothing close to a signing there, but the interest makes sense. Minnesota appears more focused on their own free agents.

- It sounds like the Wolves made Jarrett Culver available to any team that would take him (and his salary) this off-season, but found no takers. It also sounds like Minnesota was unwilling to attach draft compensation to Culver to ship him away.

Good info. Thanks.

I'm happy that Rosas refused to attach draft compensation to jettison Culver. Patience is a virtue and it would have been a mistake to lose a future draft pick simply to jettison a player who will come off the books anyway in less than a year. Meanwhile, he could potentially have a breakthrough season or at least create some marginally positive trade value leading up to the February trade deadline. Britt was right. You don't give away assets to clear bad players off your roster when you're coming off a bottom 6 finish. That's especially true when talking about bad players with only one year left on their contracts. Again, I'm pleased with Gersson's restrain this summer. I hope it continues.

As for Millsap, I'm not interested. He's 36 years old and his defensive stats were pretty bad last season. He's not a rim protector and I think his days as a defensive stalwart are over. However, if we can sign him for one year at $6M and keep Bolmaro in Spain to ensure a roster spot, I'm fine signing signing him.