NAW

[60WinTim]

As long as everyone else has their own thread...

I assume NAW is allowed to sign an extension and avoid free agency like NAZ just did. I have to think those discussions are going on. I am just not sure what NAW's side thinks he is worth, or what value the Wolves place on him.

After the NAZ signing, I really do think TC has some sort of KAT trade lined up. So if some of the return on that trade supplants NAW, then the Wolves might be in no hurry to pursue him in free agency, let alone an extension now. 6/29 is when the QO must be extended to keep him a restricted FA.

[TheFuture]

I will be very upset if NAW is not retained.

[60WinTim]

I will be very upset if NAW is not retained.

You don't think Moore is ready to backup ANT?!?

I have to think Moore is playing for his NBA career in summer league and training camp. The Wolves have until 10/31 to decide whether to pick up his option for 2024-25. (unless he is traded before then...)

[TheFuture]

I will be very upset if NAW is not retained.

You don't think Moore is ready to backup ANT?!?

I have to think Moore is playing for his NBA career in summer league and training camp. The Wolves have until 10/31 to decide whether to pick up his option for 2024-25. (unless he is traded before then...)

What even is Moore. He just seems so ... nothing. Atleast Wes Johnson smiled and did a few cool things.

I just hope the next two TC moves are these:

Retain NAW at all reasonable cost so we can have this:

Conley
Ant/NAW
Jaden/Prince
KAT/SloMo/Reid
Gobert/KAT/Reid

Find a trade with the Wizards for Morris, with Orlando for Cole, or with Philly for Melton.

Part with any picks we even can, the hell with the rest.

Jmac, Knight, Garza, Ryan, Rivers, Moore whoever else are nothing.

(Only young players to care about are Minott, Williams, and Clark)

[Monster]

I will be very upset if NAW is not retained.

You don't think Moore is ready to backup ANT?!?

I have to think Moore is playing for his NBA career in summer league and training camp. The Wolves have until 10/31 to decide whether to pick up his option for 2024-25. (unless he is traded before then...)

I like NAW but I also think some folks on this board have overvalued him to some extent because so don’t think he has proved himself enough at this point.

I can’t remember where I read or heard this (might have been Connelly) but the point was that teams and player agents have been focused on the draft but with that out of the way they can focus on other contracts. We already have one extension done with Naz so NAW could be next.

I think what gives the Wolves an advantage in keeping NAW is he knows Finch from when he had him as an assistant coach and right now NAW is easily in line for legit playing time. Even if the Wolves signed a legit FA guard that was firmly in the rotation NAW would probably still get some regular minutes and would be an injury away (or some player not playing on a back to back load management etc) from playing pretty legit rotation minutes. Let’s put it this way. Bruce Brown got around 6 million last year with a player option. The cap jumped so that means a guy in the same situation would get what something like 7 million? NAW I don’t think has shown as much as Brown did coming into last offseason. I’ll be a little surprised if NAW isn’t back because I think the cost is gonna be reasonable. It also an eems like something will get worked out one way or another because it’s a good fit for the team and player.

The other positive is unlike Naz because NAW was a first round pick he has already made over 13 million which in NBA terms isn’t a ton but it’s a decent chunk of money. Naz has made less than half of that at around 6 million. It might be a little easier to lock into a pretty good contract and not try and get as much as you can when you already have a decent chunk on the bank. If the Wolves are willing to give him say 6 million starting salary and they don’t agree to something in an extension they could go with the qualifying offer of 7 million and maybe make it harder for another team to want to sign him. That’s some leverage but NAW’s camp also knows that the Wolves probably don’t want to pay that much this year due to Lux tax concerns. Again both team and player have reason to come to an agreement. I could see a 3 year deal with a player option (maybe even a mutual option) on the 3rd year so each side could move on if it doesn’t work out. Of course what’s the vet min gonna be in 3 years for a guy with 6 years experience with the cap jumping? I’d guess it will be somewhere close to 3 million.

[Q-is-here]

I will be very upset if NAW is not retained.

You don't think Moore is ready to backup ANT?!?

I have to think Moore is playing for his NBA career in summer league and training camp. The Wolves have until 10/31 to decide whether to pick up his option for 2024-25. (unless he is traded before then...)

I like NAW but I also think some folks on this board have overvalued him to some extent because so don’t think he has proved himself enough at this point.

I can’t remember where I read or heard this (might have been Connelly) but the point was that teams and player agents have been focused on the draft but with that out of the way they can focus on other contracts. We already have one extension done with Naz so NAW could be next.

I think what gives the Wolves an advantage in keeping NAW is he knows Finch from when he had him as an assistant coach and right now NAW is easily in line for legit playing time. Even if the Wolves signed a legit FA guard that was firmly in the rotation NAW would probably still get some regular minutes and would be an injury away (or some player not playing on a back to back load management etc) from playing pretty legit rotation minutes. Let’s put it this way. Bruce Brown got around 6 million last year with a player option. The cap jumped so that means a guy in the same situation would get what something like 7 million? NAW I don’t think has shown as much as Brown did coming into last offseason. I’ll be a little surprised if NAW isn’t back because I think the cost is gonna be reasonable. It also an eems like something will get worked out one way or another because it’s a good fit for the team and player.

The other positive is unlike Naz because NAW was a first round pick he has already made over 13 million which in NBA terms isn’t a ton but it’s a decent chunk of money. Naz has made less than half of that at around 6 million. It might be a little easier to lock into a pretty good contract and not try and get as much as you can when you already have a decent chunk on the bank. If the Wolves are willing to give him say 6 million starting salary and they don’t agree to something in an extension they could go with the qualifying offer of 7 million and maybe make it harder for another team to want to sign him. That’s some leverage but NAW’s camp also knows that the Wolves probably don’t want to pay that much this year due to Lux tax concerns. Again both team and player have reason to come to an agreement. I could see a 3 year deal with a player option (maybe even a mutual option) on the 3rd year so each side could move on if it doesn’t work out. Of course what’s the vet min gonna be in 3 years for a guy with 6 years experience with the cap jumping? I’d guess it will be somewhere close to 3 million.

I think we all watched with admiration the way NAW chased Jamal Murray around and just how damn hard he worked defending him. But that was a small sample size and I still don't trust his shot yet. It's not the end of the world if we don't keep him.

[60WinTim]

You don't think Moore is ready to backup ANT?!?

I have to think Moore is playing for his NBA career in summer league and training camp. The Wolves have until 10/31 to decide whether to pick up his option for 2024-25. (unless he is traded before then...)

I like NAW but I also think some folks on this board have overvalued him to some extent because so don’t think he has proved himself enough at this point.

I can’t remember where I read or heard this (might have been Connelly) but the point was that teams and player agents have been focused on the draft but with that out of the way they can focus on other contracts. We already have one extension done with Naz so NAW could be next.

I think what gives the Wolves an advantage in keeping NAW is he knows Finch from when he had him as an assistant coach and right now NAW is easily in line for legit playing time. Even if the Wolves signed a legit FA guard that was firmly in the rotation NAW would probably still get some regular minutes and would be an injury away (or some player not playing on a back to back load management etc) from playing pretty legit rotation minutes. Let’s put it this way. Bruce Brown got around 6 million last year with a player option. The cap jumped so that means a guy in the same situation would get what something like 7 million? NAW I don’t think has shown as much as Brown did coming into last offseason. I’ll be a little surprised if NAW isn’t back because I think the cost is gonna be reasonable. It also an eems like something will get worked out one way or another because it’s a good fit for the team and player.

The other positive is unlike Naz because NAW was a first round pick he has already made over 13 million which in NBA terms isn’t a ton but it’s a decent chunk of money. Naz has made less than half of that at around 6 million. It might be a little easier to lock into a pretty good contract and not try and get as much as you can when you already have a decent chunk on the bank. If the Wolves are willing to give him say 6 million starting salary and they don’t agree to something in an extension they could go with the qualifying offer of 7 million and maybe make it harder for another team to want to sign him. That’s some leverage but NAW’s camp also knows that the Wolves probably don’t want to pay that much this year due to Lux tax concerns. Again both team and player have reason to come to an agreement. I could see a 3 year deal with a player option (maybe even a mutual option) on the 3rd year so each side could move on if it doesn’t work out. Of course what’s the vet min gonna be in 3 years for a guy with 6 years experience with the cap jumping? I’d guess it will be somewhere close to 3 million.

I think we all watched with admiration the way NAW chased Jamal Murray around and just how damn hard he worked defending him. But that was a small sample size and I still don't trust his shot yet. It's not the end of the world if we don't keep him.

I don't forget the awesome game he had against Shai to win that final play-in game!

[Lipoli390]

With the luxury tax threshold now projected to be about $165M and Naz making just under $13M next season, the Wolves are well positioned to re-sign NAW. They can easily pay him $6M in the first year of a multi-year deal without exceeding the luxury tax. We’d have a 14 player roster after signing Miller and either Clark or another minimum salary player. The team would be talented and deep. And although it would be very close, I think the Wolves could pay NAW his $7M qualifying offer and stay barely under the luxury tax threshold.

I think it’s inevitable that the Wolves re-sign NAW. I’m guessing his salary will start at around $5M. That might leave the Wolves room to sign two minimum salary players - one of them Clark. If they’re going to sign Clark, they’ll probably need to fill the 15th roster spot because Clark won’t be able to play next season.

The only question now is whether the Wolves decide to make a trade to acquire a player they really want. We know the Wolves won’t trade Ant or Jaden. It seems highly unlikely they’ll trade KAT or Rudy this summer either. I also think it’s highly unlikely they trade Kyle Anderson. And I don’t think they’ll trade Minott or Miller because of their upsides and the Wolves lack of future draft picks. The Wolves can’t trade any of their future 1st round picks before 2031 so we know there won’t be any future 1sts as part of a Wolves outgoing package. After trading two 2nd round picks for Leonard Miller, I don’t see the Wolves including any future second-round picks in a deal this summer. So what’s left as potential Wolves trade trade assets that might have enough value to bring back a consequential player? I think the answer is obviously and solely Taurean Prince and Wendell Moore. There might be some interest around the League in Spagnolo and JMac as well as part of a Prince package. But Prince especially and to a lesser extent Moore are the two remaining valuable assets I believe the Wolves would be willing to trade this summer.

So that’s where we’re at in my opinion. The Wolves will re-sign NAW and obviously let Nowell walk. They’ll sign Miller to a contract similar to Minott’s and also sign Clark to a minimum regular contract or a two-way contract. Then they’ll explore potential trades involving Prince and possibly Wendell Moore and/or JMac. But I don’t think they’re committed to trading Prince. To the contrary, I think the organization values Prince and TC is probably inclined to keep him unless he gets a compelling offer. Remember, TC was quick to shut down the notion that the team has a positional (i.e.) PG need in the near term. TC has also been emphasizing continuity in his recent comments. Keeping Prince is consistent with the priority TC puts on continuity. Keeping him is also consistent with TC’s emphasis on maturity and character. I think Prince is the most mature and highest character player on the Wolves roster.

[Q-is-here]

I like NAW but I also think some folks on this board have overvalued him to some extent because so don’t think he has proved himself enough at this point.

I can’t remember where I read or heard this (might have been Connelly) but the point was that teams and player agents have been focused on the draft but with that out of the way they can focus on other contracts. We already have one extension done with Naz so NAW could be next.

I think what gives the Wolves an advantage in keeping NAW is he knows Finch from when he had him as an assistant coach and right now NAW is easily in line for legit playing time. Even if the Wolves signed a legit FA guard that was firmly in the rotation NAW would probably still get some regular minutes and would be an injury away (or some player not playing on a back to back load management etc) from playing pretty legit rotation minutes. Let’s put it this way. Bruce Brown got around 6 million last year with a player option. The cap jumped so that means a guy in the same situation would get what something like 7 million? NAW I don’t think has shown as much as Brown did coming into last offseason. I’ll be a little surprised if NAW isn’t back because I think the cost is gonna be reasonable. It also an eems like something will get worked out one way or another because it’s a good fit for the team and player.

The other positive is unlike Naz because NAW was a first round pick he has already made over 13 million which in NBA terms isn’t a ton but it’s a decent chunk of money. Naz has made less than half of that at around 6 million. It might be a little easier to lock into a pretty good contract and not try and get as much as you can when you already have a decent chunk on the bank. If the Wolves are willing to give him say 6 million starting salary and they don’t agree to something in an extension they could go with the qualifying offer of 7 million and maybe make it harder for another team to want to sign him. That’s some leverage but NAW’s camp also knows that the Wolves probably don’t want to pay that much this year due to Lux tax concerns. Again both team and player have reason to come to an agreement. I could see a 3 year deal with a player option (maybe even a mutual option) on the 3rd year so each side could move on if it doesn’t work out. Of course what’s the vet min gonna be in 3 years for a guy with 6 years experience with the cap jumping? I’d guess it will be somewhere close to 3 million.

I think we all watched with admiration the way NAW chased Jamal Murray around and just how damn hard he worked defending him. But that was a small sample size and I still don't trust his shot yet. It's not the end of the world if we don't keep him.

I don't forget the awesome game he had against Shai to win that final play-in game!

I don't dislike NAW and I can see his value as a defensive 6th man of sorts. Basically, he's the guy we sick on other team's 6th men, who are usually guards or wings. And our offensive 6th man is Naz. In fact, may be Naz starts looking a little better defensively because we don't have him out there with the likes of Jaylen Nowell!

[Q-is-here]

....oh, and I also think it helps McDaniels if he can share some of the responsibilities for guarding the SGAs and Murrays of the world with NAW, as It allows him to play off ball defensively a bit more and perhaps get fewer fouls.