The DLO Wiggins Deal Re-Visited

[Lipoli390]

An anonymous NBA coach blasts the Timberwolves

"[gs] got Wiggins, they got the pick they used for [jonathan] Kuminga, and they got that for D'Angelo Russell. That is highway robbery...What kind of franchise trades that pick plus Wiggins for D'Angelo Russell?"

(Via @SeanDeveney)

That doesn't seem particularly newsworthy today, but I saw it and thought I'd post it for discussion if anyone's interested. In my view, Including the 1st-round pick was particularly dumb given the likelihood at the time that the Wolves would be a lottery team. Note that the Wolves also included their 2nd-round pick, which at the time was likely to be a pretty high one given where the team was at. Rosas made some nice moves, but he made some really bad ones too in my view - the DLO deal, the Culver pick, re-signing Juancho. But to his credit, Rosas ultimately left a really good team in his wake with all of the team's future 1st round picks retained. As for DLO, I just watched the replay of last season's play-in game against the Clippers. It was a reminder of just how good DLO can be.

Rosas is gone and Connelly is here. It didn't take Connelly long to make a signature move as he put a big bet down on Rudy Gobert. I think the bet could pay off. But if Gobert, Edwards or Towns gets hurt and is out most of the season, then there's a good chance we'll be losing another lottery pick to a Conference rival - this time to the Utah Jazz. Let's hope for some good fortune this upcoming season. If this team's three key players stay relatively healthy, then the Wolves are definitely not a lottery team. In that sense, Connelly giving up future 1st-round picks for a defensive superstar like Gobert isn't nearly as problematic as Rosas giving up what was likely to be a lottery pick and a high 2nd-round pick for DLO.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I tend to think we're all very much dug into our positions on that particular trade, and none of us are willing to concede any ground either, but I'd remind everyone that the Andrew Wiggins in Golden State wasn't the player that was traded from Minnesota, nor was his trade value anywhere close to being positive at that time. On the contrary, it was reported that it would take at least one first-round pick just to move him and his contract at that time regardless of what was coming back to the Timberwolves, which is a detail that far too often is overlooked whenever this topic brings itself about.

Also, to answer the question this "anonymous NBA coach" presented, the franchise that had endured the highs and lows of Wiggins for six seasons with a putrid 166-276 record in that timeframe, and a 145-198 record alongside Karl-Anthony Towns. Change was necessary. Change was inevitable. The state of the franchise is much better today as we've moved forward without him, and that includes the contributions from D'Angelo Russell who was a key piece to last year's playoff team and presumably this year's contender.

[Coolbreeze44]

I think I'm going to sit this one out. Past is past and we have an exciting team to back for the next few years. LFG!

[thedoper]

Id rather have this team than whatever we would have been having not made that trade. Maybe it was dumb luck or whatever and yes we probably could have done better in that trade but this is the most talented and deep team we've ever had. Im also really glad Wiggins found a good situation and excelled in Golden State. Win win as I see it.

[Porckchop]

Some real progress was made here today.

[Lipoli390]

By the way, if you have the chance to watch the play-in game against the Clippers again, I urge you to do so. I was at the game last April. I watched it on TV for the first time Friday as a replay on NBA TV. It really was a great game. KAT had a terrible game. But other players stepped up. The key players for the Wolves were DLO, Edwards, Beverley, Beasley and Vando. DLO and Edwards carried the offensive load while also playing terrific on the defensive end. Beasley was also a key offensive contributor, but what probably never got enough recognition was his rebounding - 6 rebounds. Beverly's box score wasn't impressive, but he was huge as an offensive catalyst at key points in the game and with his defensive activity and intensity. Vando was huge with his 10 rebounds - none of them easy rebounds like the ones that often just fall in to KAT's hands.

I'll note that two of the four key players for the Wolves that game are no longer with the team. But the two most important ones - Edwards and DLO -- are still here. The problem with DLO of course is that you never know whether you'll get the version we saw against the Clippers in the play-in game or the version we saw against the Grizzlies in the playoffs. The question surrounding Edwards is whether he'll take a significant step forward. Same question for McDaniels and Nowell. We'll have Gobert and Anderson. Imagine DLO as the player we saw against the Clippers most of next season. Imagine Edwards, McDaniels and Nowell taking significant leaps forward as players often do in their 3rd or 4th seasons. And maybe Naz Reid has another level in him we haven't seen yet.

I'm not interested in looking back two years to re-examine the DLO-Wiggins deal. It's much more interesting to look ahead. If I'm going to look back, I'll look back five months for some signs of what we might see next season. We'll miss Beverley, Vando and Beasley. But Gobert, Anderson, DLO, Edwards, McDaniels and Nowell have the potential to make us pretty much forget those three.

[Monster]

I remember liking what I saw from Kuninga watching him person at the summer league his first year. Having said that one question I consider is that he would have taken up a roster spot last season and would have been a player with salary that would have affected what the Wolves did as they likely would have been still trying to stay under the luxury tax. In addition Wiggins made over 1.5 million more than Russell last season. Would the Wolves have had to give up assets to stay under the luxury tax? Would a guy like McLaughlin not be on the roster? It's fair to think the Wolves roster would certainly look different if they had not done this deal but I tend to think they probably would have traded for Rubio either way.

What I'm getting at here is there is enough moving parts/scenarios that while it's totally fine if someone says Wiggins and Kuminga is much better for GS (especially since GS won a championship) than Russell there is other factors on the Wolves side of the equation that could add value for them. I'm not making a strong argument for the trade for the Wolves just saying there is various factors to consider and several paths that we can never know how they would have played out. Maybe a year or more from now the trade looks even less favorable for the Wolves than it does now. Maybe Kuminga just ends up being a worthwhile fringe starter which while valuable maybe isn't a huge deal especially if the Wolves have their own strong roster. Of course maybe he turns into a strong starter or better. Also what would the Wolves have done with that pick if they still had it in that draft? Seems likely they would have targeted a PG type. Maybe Russell ends up moving on and the Wolves can't ever find the guard they need next to Edwards. Maybe Russell becomes a strong starter and meshes well with this current group and resigns for a somewhat reasonable market value deal.

Like Lip said in his last post I'm much more interested in looking forward. It's worth noting that the Wolves despite having zero picks from the 2021 draft still have a pretty nice group of young talent and certainly did last season on their way to becoming a playoff team.

[Phenom]

This is so bogus. I bet this anonymous coach wasn't banging both fists on the table demanding that his gm trade for Wiggins at that time. Also let's not ignore the Curry factor. He is the most dominant winning player in the game right now. If the Wolves had traded Wiggins and Kuminga for player X from Orlando, Sacramento or pretty much any other team, the trade is an afterthought. There are likely many avenues the Warriors could have taken to win the chip this year without Wiggins and likely no other avenues that Wiggins wins a chip without going there. And I'm not even a Wig hater.

[TheFuture]

I am more annoyed by the initial Butler trade, and the subsequent Butler trade.

Excited to see what this team can do. There is nothing left to do unless you would prefer to trade off Dlo for 2 lesser players.

[AbeVigodaLive]

It's not rocket science that Wiggins leaving arguably the league's worst franchise and joining arguably the league's best franchise could have a positive effect on his game. Especially when a lot less would be asked of Wiggins as a secondary player.

A lot of us thought he would improve... or be more effective away from Minnesota. His time here was stagnant and things would have only gotten worse. Sometimes, that's part of pro sports.

That being said, people can wonder whether the pick was too much or whether Russell was the right guy to trade for... I'd just hesitate trusting people's takes on it this long past the trade who are playing with revisionist history...