Wolfson podcast with Taylor

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I know Monster is on top of these things, but I don't always listen to the various Wolves-related podcasts and interviews (does Thibs even do any and if he did, would they reveal anything new?). Taylor recently sat down with Wolfson and provided a decent 30-minutes worth of substance and candor. Here are a few highlights for those that want the Cliff's notes:

- Taylor expects the Wolves to make the playoffs and make some noise. It seems to me that missing the playoffs or squeaking in as an 8th seed and losing to (whoever) in 4 or 5 games won't be good enough for him.

- His commentary on Thibs' status is very much contingent on the above. I don't think he's too thrilled with Thibs as a person (that's just my sense), so he will be measured very much on results. And the bar did not get lowered just because Butler was traded.

- He expects Wiggins to be a top 20 player based on his draft position and max contract, so clearly he's been disappointed in him. Again, the expectations are high. He'd like to see him take it to the basket more.

- He said there were six offers on the table for Butler at the time we pulled the trigger; three of them, including the Philly offer, were competitive. He said the earlier rumors about the Miami deal and falling through based on a request by the Wolves for $5M cash to be thrown in at the last minute were false.

- He definitely viewed the trade as getting two guys that will be long-term starters for the Wolves, so I expect the Wolves to let Gibson move onto his next team (job well done by the way) and sign Saric to a longer term deal. He is our PF of the future.

- He said the Wolves weren't looking for any further deals this year, but are always listening.

- He said Thibs/Layden are co-partners in running the front office and that Thibs isn't "only" coaching with Layden running the front office - so it's back to what it was before the Butler distraction. It was just sorting through all the proposals on the Butler deal where Thibs was asked to focus more on the team since he had his hands full with Jimmy's antics and the season had started (not that Thibs was anything but an enabler throughout that fiasco, smh).

I may have missed something here or there, but those were the my main takeaways.

[Monster]

I know Monster is on top of these things, but I don't always listen to the various Wolves-related podcasts and interviews (does Thibs even do any and if he did, would they reveal anything new?). Taylor recently sat down with Wolfson and provided a decent 30-minutes worth of substance and candor. Here are a few highlights for those that want the Cliff's notes:

- Taylor expects the Wolves to make the playoffs and make some noise. It seems to me that missing the playoffs or squeaking in as an 8th seed and losing to (whoever) in 4 or 5 games won't be good enough for him.

- His commentary on Thibs' status is very much contingent on the above. I don't think he's too thrilled with Thibs as a person (that's just my sense), so he will be measured very much on results. And the bar did not get lowered just because Butler was traded.

- He expects Wiggins to be a top 20 player based on his draft position and max contract, so clearly he's been disappointed in him. Again, the expectations are high. He'd like to see him take it to the basket more.

- He said there were six offers on the table for Butler at the time we pulled the trigger; three of them, including the Philly offer, were competitive. He said the earlier rumors about the Miami deal and falling through based on a request by the Wolves for $5M cash to be thrown in at the last minute were false.

- He definitely viewed the trade as getting two guys that will be long-term starters for the Wolves, so I expect the Wolves to let Gibson move onto his next team (job well done by the way) and sign Saric to a longer term deal. He is our PF of the future.

- He said the Wolves weren't looking for any further deals this year, but are always listening.

- He said Thibs/Layden are co-partners in running the front office and that Thibs isn't "only" coaching with Layden running the front office - so it's back to what it was before the Butler distraction. It was just sorting through all the proposals on the Butler deal where Thibs was asked to focus more on the team since he had his hands full with Jimmy's antics and the season had started (not that Thibs was anything but an enabler throughout that fiasco, smh).

I may have missed something here or there, but those were the my main takeaways.

That's a pretty good run down Q. I'd be curious what you thought but I felt this was a pretty good back and forth with Wolfson.

An additional thing on Taj Glen said they would like to have him back but said it was unlikely they would be able to afford him coming back as teams may be willing to spend more than they can. Glen actually seemed to have a pretty decent grasp of what was ahead in that sense of what might happen with guys like Taj.

I didn't get the sense that Glen was that unhappy with Thibs actually. I think he was disappointed with how things played out and yeah Thibs was a part of that but I didn't get the sense he was quietly stewing either. That's my perception though. Meanwhile Glen was out there smiling and chuckling with Thibs and doing a side huge after the Rockets game. Hard not to be pleased after that game was over though.

Glen also spoke glowingly about Covington and also Rose. We know Glen likes to have good relationships with people especially players (I thought his comments when asked about KG were well done) so this should t be a big surprise but yeah.

Anyway it was a pretty good listen even though a lot of it has been broken down here so think it's worth a half hour (or less is you listen 1.5 speed like I do).

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I would very much like to bring Taj Gibson back this off-season, but I'd much rather him play for $7-9M annually instead of the current salary he's signed for.

That's not to say that he's been anything short of being worth that money, but I think Saric needs to displace him from the starting lineup to boost the overall ceiling of this team. Gibson as your first big off the bench at a fair valued deal for that role would be ideal.

[kekgeek]

I would very much like to bring Taj Gibson back this off-season, but I'd much rather him play for $7-9M annually instead of the current salary he's signed for.

That's not to say that he's been anything short of being worth that money, but I think Saric needs to displace him from the starting lineup to boost the overall ceiling of this team. Gibson as your first big off the bench at a fair valued deal for that role would be ideal.

I agree with you, I would love to have Taj back at the salary but I don't think it will happen. Wolves are one of the few teams without cap space this year. I can see a lot of teams offering Taj a 1yr 14-17mil dollar contact after they strike out in the offseason.

[Monster]

I would very much like to bring Taj Gibson back this off-season, but I'd much rather him play for $7-9M annually instead of the current salary he's signed for.

That's not to say that he's been anything short of being worth that money, but I think Saric needs to displace him from the starting lineup to boost the overall ceiling of this team. Gibson as your first big off the bench at a fair valued deal for that role would be ideal.

I agree with you, I would love to have Taj back at the salary but I don't think it will happen. Wolves are one of the few teams without cap space this year. I can see a lot of teams offering Taj a 1yr 14-17mil dollar contact after they strike out in the offseason.

It will be interesting to see what the Market for guys like Taj ends up being. I'd bet he could get another short term deal for more than 10 million next year at least on a 1 year deal. What If Taj wants to stay here and continue to be part of something? What if he is willing to take less money or even a multi-year deal for the type of money Cam suggested instead of another even shorter term deal? What if he considers the fact that his first contract here paid him pretty well AND under Thibs with these guy he played well? If there is one guy I could see coming back for that reason it's Taj. It also sounds like Glen and Thibs knows what they can afford when it comes to Taj. They aren't gonna he breaking the bank to keep him if he stays ala Pau Gasol for the Spurs. Of course the more intriguing question is what happens with Derrick Rose.