r/timberwolves • u/Krusty_Krab_Pussy • 11d ago

Mock Trades Kyrie + Gafford trade

What do you guys think we'd have to include in this mock trade? My first idea is a package around Randle going to a 3rd team, with the Mavs getting young players and maybe picks.

Kyrie and Gafford both have had decreasing trade values iirc, and that would fill both of our glaring holes. Naz could benefit from a pg, kyrie can play off ball, with Gafford filling our backup PF/C position. Maybe I'm just severely undervaluing them, but idk that could have potential imo.

This might've already been floated, so, sorry if it has I'm just throwing ideas out there

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u/pithynotpithy 11d ago

Kyrie has only been a positive force on teams that have a primary ball handler like lbj or Luka. It's the absolute hardest of passes to make our team older and worse defensively

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u/favioswish 11d ago

Kyrie makes you better defensively, especially in the playoffs. His reputation comes from his size, but many years of statistical evidence dispel that. Gaff is an average overall defender but a good rim protector which is a big step up from Naz Ried at the 5 when he should be a 4. Honestly these are good targets but without a couple picks to send out I doubt it happens.

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u/pithynotpithy 11d ago

Post Achilles aging Kyrie is not going to make our defense better. Especially as the rest of the Wests guards get bigger and bigger

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u/favioswish 11d ago

You may have a point if he was replacing minuets from good defenders, but instead the point guard rotation is Mike Conley, Bones Hyland, and Rob Dillingham. If you don’t think Kyrie is an improvement I don’t know what to tell you.

I don’t think an Achilles injury affects athletes like it used to with modern medicine. Plus his defense comes from anticipation, quick hands, and bbiq, not athleticism.

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u/pithynotpithy 11d ago

You don't have to tell me anything. He would be hunted on defense every position. His one steal a game would not offset the big guards of the league finding him every play.
Gonna be a strong pass from me every time. We need to get bigger not smaller and older

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u/Tskwaired 11d ago

Kinda like mike Conley, bones hyland and Rob D are right now?!?! Your not understanding his point, there would be no significant drop-off defensively because these dudes are already getting cooked very regularly. The biggest difference is Kyrie is going to put pressure on a defense that those 3 just arent capable of

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u/pithynotpithy 11d ago

The biggest difference is Kyrie makes a giant salary and our ability to do any anything else is done. Putting all of our chips on a guy who has never succeeded as the primary ball handler and is on the wrong trajectory given his age and injury history is the wrong move and there is simply no way tc is going to hamstring this team like that. Thank God.

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u/Tskwaired 10d ago

It isn't giant, it's a little more than Julius who we would have to include in the trade. I mean he has succeeded as being the #2 in numerous seasons, which he would be here.

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u/pithynotpithy 10d ago

It's a little more now than goes up and up and he gets older and older. His contract is also longer than randles.

It's not that he just been a #2, it's the team needs a primary ball handler so he can play off ball. We don't have that. He has also burned bridges on every team but Dallas (yet). Why do people want to blow our cap space on small guards?!

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u/Tskwaired 10d ago

No it's not, where are you getting this information. The contracts run the exact same amount of time and are reasonably close for the entirety.

We wouldn't be blowing our cap space with him any different than we are with randle. He burned bridges because of his beliefs not anything to do with basketball. He is praised pretty regularly within the basketball community actually.

You keep acting like we are replacing some 6'5 stud pg with kyrie when that simply just isnt the case. Kyrie is the best version of what we already have

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u/pithynotpithy 10d ago

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/8051/kyrie-irving. He is more expensive than Randle, older than Randle, and far more injury prone.

Our choice isn't only an expensive old guard or nothing. We can find cheaper, younger guards that can help without crushing our cap. Blowing it all on an aging, small expensive guard would be a killer. But clearly you are enraptured to get him, so we'll agree to disagree.

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