Minnesota Sports Forum

I know Doogie isn't the greatest but it was a good 30 minute conversation with Jamal

http://www.1500espn.com/the-scoop-2/2016/05/the-scoop-ep-23-jamal-crawford-on-wolves-nba-brian-robison-on-vikings/

Thanks for posting that. That's a different side of Crawford it was a very worthwhile listen.

Good stuff. Given the presence of Thidodeau, it's not surprising that they are high on Dunn.

So, this off-season is going to be very anti-climatic. We already know what's going to happen.!

Draft Dunn.
Sign Crawford, Deng and Noah.

Rubio / Dunn / Jones
LaVine / Crawford
Wiggins / Deng / Bazz
Towns / Bjelica / KG / Payne
Noah / Dieng / Pek

See you next October! :)

I think it's going to be interesting to see whether any Ex-Bulls actually want to sign up to play for Thibs again. Especially if they have other options.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:I think it's going to be interesting to see whether any Ex-Bulls actually want to sign up to play for Thibs again. Especially if they have other options.

Well Wolfson does claim in this podcast that he knows someone close to Noah that said he would be all in for playing for Thibs again. Wolfson also says there will be a lot of teams in on Noah. I wonder if that means he is gonna get paid.

On the other Chicago guy...there have been reports Deng will get somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 years 24 million or a little higher or 3 years 36. I would be down with that kind of a deal with the cap going up that's basically about the same as his last deal with Miami for 10 million per. In other words sort of a bargain or at least a good value deal.

60WinTim wrote:So, this off-season is going to be very anti-climatic. We already know what's going to happen.!

Draft Dunn.
Sign Crawford, Deng and Noah.

Rubio / Dunn / Jones
LaVine / Crawford
Wiggins / Deng / Bazz
Towns / Bjelica / KG / Payne
Noah / Dieng / Pek

See you next October! :)

That seems pretty climatic if they can pull off all those moves.

60WinTim wrote:So, this off-season is going to be very anti-climatic. We already know what's going to happen.!

Draft Dunn.
Sign Crawford, Deng and Noah.

Rubio / Dunn / Jones
LaVine / Crawford
Wiggins / Deng / Bazz
Towns / Bjelica / KG / Payne
Noah / Dieng / Pek

See you next October! :)

That would be an epic offseason, and totally possible.

Noah's going to command way more money and cap space than a lot of you are thinking. Somewhere around $15M annually, probably north of that. Last big chance to cash in and likely will do so. Him having a plethora of suitors doesn't help his price tag come down either.

So, with that said, it's really unlikely that we land all three of Luol Deng, Jamal Crawford, and Noah.

Thanks for posting, Geek. It was a really good interview.

I'm a big Jamal fan. I love his passion for the game. He's also really sharp and a definite student of the game. He's a guy I'd definitely pursue in free agency this summer. He can still play at the high level off the bench and he'd be a great teacher for our young guys, especially Zach.

As for free agency generally, I wouldn't pursue Deng or Noah. I like both players a lot, but both will command a lot of cap space for multiple years. As a non-playoff team with a great young core in their early 20s, this is not the time to tie up cap space for multiple years on 31-year old veterans. You sign a Noah or a Deng when you're already a playoff team attempting to add that missing piece to take your team to that next level of title contention. We're just not there yet. This is a process. We have the best young (emphasis young) roster in the League according to Thibs himself and many others. We now have an elite head coach coming in to coach this young core. Let's add a couple of good vets on modest contracts to add depth and experience without prematurely tying up cap space or interfering with the development of our young core.

In that spirit, my top two FA targets would be Jamal Crawford and Cole Aldrich. Signing those two and drafting Heild, Murray or Dunn would significantly upgrade our depth and overall talent. I might also resign Prince.

Think about it. We were a nearly .500 team after the allstar break last season, beating the Warriors and Blazers on the road with the guys we have playing under Sam Mitchell. Then consider the following:

1. Sam Mitchell has been replaced by one of the best coaches in the League in Thibs.

2. Our talented young core of KAT, Wiggins, LaVine, Gorgui and Bazz will inevitably be better next season simply based on their own individual physical maturation and the work their putting in this summer. Same for Bazz and Tyus Jones. That's independent of the Thibs factor.

3. Add Jamal Crawford, Cole Aldrich and either Hield or Dunn to the roster.

Assuming relatively good health, that's a playoff team and possibly as high as 4th or 5th. And that's before considering the possibility of Pek coming back relatively healthy. The Thunder didn't add any high priced vets when they jumped from a lottery team to a 50-win playoff team. If we're going to sign a high-priced free agent or make a major trade, that's something to consider in a year or two. But not this summer. I really hope the Wolves front office is more patient than a lot of folks on our message board. :)