Minnesota Sports Forum

If we could acquire one star player who would it be and what role players would you add?

My choice:
Mike Conley or Al Horford. Both are young (28 and 29 next season); however they will demand large contracts.
If we were able to get Conley I would look to trade Rubio.
If instead, we got Horford, I would use him at the PF with Dieng as the backup and start KAT at center with PEK as backup.

I would also consider as a role/backup player: one of Mario Chalmers or Jon Leuer. Again both are young, but neither of the two should cost too much.

KAT, PEK, Payne
Horford, Dieng, Belly, Garnett
Muhammad, Prince, Rudez
Wiggins, LaVine
Rubio/Conley, Chalmers, Jones

With this roster I would also look to:
Trade either Muhammad or LaVine (only if we got something significant, trade high)
Trade Martin
Let Prince walk (hate to do so, nice defense and nice contract)

Have at it :)

I'd prefer to hold off on acquiring a huge contract FA until the Wolves are closer to competing... another year or two. That's when getting a guy right around 30 might not be on the downside of their prime, so it coincided with the young pups nearing their primes...

I'd pick Conley if given the choice. We need his ability to hit open shots to go with his ability to be an effective floor general who doesn't need to dominate the ball. He's not a sniper, but he can hit open shots which is what we need. A Conley/Towns or Conley/Pek PnR would be very difficult to stop. We basically need a more threatening offensive version of Ricky to take us to the next level and he's that guy.

khans2k5 wrote:I'd pick Conley if given the choice. We need his ability to hit open shots to go with his ability to be an effective floor general who doesn't need to dominate the ball. He's not a sniper, but he can hit open shots which is what we need. A Conley/Towns or Conley/Pek PnR would be very difficult to stop. We basically need a more threatening offensive version of Ricky to take us to the next level and he's that guy.

Even though I dig Conley, I don't know how much of a threat he really is though.

He's two years removed from his "best" season and has been a bit uneven this season. With the glut of good and promising PGs in the NBA, I'd have to feel pretty strongly that Conley was definitely in the top 10 to pull the trigger on a long-term, big-money contract.

15.1 ppg / 5.9 ast / 40.6% fg


[Note: I do agree that he's an upgrade though... maybe that's all that's needed to see legit W/L improvement?]

Abe, during most years I would agree with you about not going for a huge FA contract, but this year is different. The new TV deal means that the Wolves WILL spend big money on someone or spread it across multiple role players. I believe we will be approximately $21M under the new cap, with 13 players.

TXviking wrote:Abe, during most years I would agree with you about not going for a huge FA contract, but this year is different. The new TV deal means that the Wolves WILL spend big money on someone or spread it across multiple role players. I believe we will be approximately $21M under the new cap, with 13 players.

I don't see any reason to believe the wolves "WILL" spend big money. I think they are more likely to stay on the sidelines for the most part. If an opportunity to land a top FA, sure they will jump in, but they clearly have a minutes issue with all the young guys they are trying to develop.

I agree with Abe that Conley might not be the right choice at this point. His and Rubio's efficiency numbers aren't that far apart, and Conley is also likely around his prime, and would be falling off at the time Wig and KAT start hitting theirs.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&y1=2016&p1=conlemi01&y2=2016&p2=rubiori01&p3=&p4=&p5=&p6=

I realize that Conley is a better offensive player, but as Abe pointed out, he hasn't been at the same level this season. That may be more a reflection on his teammates, but giving him 20+mil for 4 years seems like a big risk.

TXviking wrote:Abe, during most years I would agree with you about not going for a huge FA contract, but this year is different. The new TV deal means that the Wolves WILL spend big money on someone or spread it across multiple role players. I believe we will be approximately $21M under the new cap, with 13 players.

With the cap going up and almost every team having space what will $21M buy? I suspect not much when location and current team performance if factored in.

I would sit on the sideline this year. I would save cap dollars for Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine at this point. If that means letting players walk or trading them because you don't plan to resign them then do it.
I would look 3 types of FA's.

1. Sub 5M role players - Figure you only need 3 of these
2. LLE or Vet Minimum players
3. Max Players - Starters that fill out the roster

3 will be the hardest to find, but you have to have the space to sign them when they are available.

Since this is all hypothetical, I'll just put my ideas here in list form since it kind of coincides with the theme of the thread.

- Minnesota signs Tom Thibodeau to be head coach.

- Minnesota trades 2016 first-round pick (likely top-five), Adreian Payne and Damjan Rudez to Philadelphia for Nerlens Noel.

- Kevin Martin turns down player option for 2016 (if Minnesota hasn't dealt him previous to this point).

- Minnesota signs Nicolas Batum to five-year, $80M deal.

- Minnesota re-signs Tayshaun Prince to one-year deal for the veteran minimum.

- Minnesota re-signs Andre Miller to one-year deal for the veteran minimum

Final Roster:

PG: Ricky Rubio / Tyus Jones / Andre Miller
SG: Andrew Wiggins / Zach LaVine
SF: Nicolas Batum / Shabazz Muhammad / Tayshaun Prince
PF: Nerlens Noel / Nemanja Bjelica / Kevin Garnett
C: Karl-Anthony Towns / Nikola Pekovic / Gorgui Dieng

Cam,

Team will still eventually need outside shooters, but I don't mind your take. The interesting angle is the Noel/Towns pairing. It's a disaster in Philly when Noel is out there with Okafor on both ends of the court. Noel is actually better near/at the rim defensively. I'd think Towns' mobility and range would alleviate some of those concerns.

As for Batum, as long as I know it's Charlotte contract year Batum and not the Mike Miller in Minnesota impersonator Batum was his last season in Portland.