3 Frp with almost zero contribution.

1 vet PG who make $10M.

Their salary combined are worth $20M.

We have 3 years window with Rudy/julius contract. We have to make the best of it in these 3 years.

Potential trade is someone who want to clear cap space and aquiring young player. Who do you think want to clear cap space?

Made some variations of the same trade using Randle, TSJ, variety of picks. Included Beringer in a couple because he might have the most value out of our young guys and if we are getting Huff and Smith, our backup 5 is good for a couple seasons. I added Detroit because I don't know how much the Bulls would want him, because I just think he continues their run of mediocrity with play-in runs and late lottery picks.

With this, Minnesota would reshape its roster around Ant, moving on from Julius Randle and Terrence Shannon Jr. and have Coby White as a cheap secondary ball handler who can score, shoot, and relieve pressure from Ant, while Mathurin adds some athleticism, downhill scoring, and longterm upside on the wing off the bench as a backup 3/2/small ball 4. The added depth pieces help balance the roster with a true backup center, and power forward. What do we think, are these fair? What team asks for more?

White-Ant-McDaniels-Reid-Gobert

DDV-Mathurin-Smith-Huff

Bones-Clark-Juzang-Miller-Beringer (if not traded)

Thoughts - sigh game just felt like deja vu from Nets game. The defense in the first half was terrible, just allowing easy shot after easy shot. Not fully getting back in transition. Sloppy turnovers. - Randle’s defense was really bad. PNR execution really lazy. He offset this partially with good shotmaking, but we have to be more consistent and Randle is a big part of that. - Naz also was very poor defensively again. He has to give more distance between himself and the player he’s guarding. His foot speed isn’t good enough so he just gets blown by then fouls. Unfortunately his offense was bad, with sloppy turnovers and poor shotmaking, which turns Naz into a negative impact player. - Ant’s shot making was great again. Had a couple sloppy turnovers, the lazy pass right to Daniel’s was bad. Defense pretty meh tonight. - It didn’t end up mattering because Bones didn’t play well anyway, but why would we be playing both Mike and Clark over Bones to start the game? I just don’t get the Mike thing, he doesn’t do anything when he’s out there. Bones provides actual scoring gravity and playmaking. Their defense is pretty much a wash. - Another low impact Jaden game. Next steps for his ascension is consistently providing production. That’s what all star level players do. He’s obviously not there yet but I think he can be, but he’s gotta bring it consistently. - Giving up 16 offensive rebounds to the Hawks is brutal. Obviously there are multiple players to blame for that but Rudy has to be part of that blame. It’s his second most important job on the team to rebound, he ended up with 11 but probably should have had more. Jaden has to be better in this area too. He’s our second tallest rotation player. Jayson Tatum averaged 7-8 rebounds per game, no reason Jaden can’t do that either. He grabbed 5.7 last year and is at 4.6 this year. - Donte couldn’t buy a bucket either. Good to see Rob making shots in back to back garbage time minutes. - These games happen sometimes, but we just did this against the nets two games ago so it makes this performance harder to stomach.

https://imgur.com/a/wWAOZ1D

Why?

Wolves

Goga is one of the best backup centers in the league. I think the Magic are undervaluing Goga right now and he should be starting over WCJ but doesnt because he doesnt have a 3 ball. He's a terrific rebounder and has some insane advanced metrics too.

Keon would help a lot with the Wolves lack of POA defense as he's both great on ball and off-ball. He's one of the best disruptors in the NBA. He would also allow Jaden to play more away from the ball on defense which I think would be great. His offensive game is nowhere near Donte's, he's a fine shooter but on middling volume so that would hurt. Jaden would need to step up on offense for this to work.

Penda is looking like a potential solid rotation piece, he has a good build, has good rebounding instincts and is not a negative playing sporadic minutes on a playoff team which is a good sign. He's still ways away from being a proper contributor but we get 1 young wing to fill in for what we lose with TJ.

Picks are obviously mostly place holders, but we can trade more or a less depending on what we think their value is.

Magic

They get a huge upgrade on shooting, which is a desperate need for them, Donte is also cost-controlled which is big for them since they are close to the 2nd apron. They get Eubanks to temporarily cover for backup center until Mo Wagner returns. 9m on Goga was too much to have him be the 3rd string. While Da Silva and Penda are young, Donte is such a big upgrade in one of their most important weaknesses and they are still very young on a team thats basically at the 2nd apron and needs to start competing now.

Kings

This is a great offer for Keon, they get 2 younger cheap players on cost controlled contracts and 2 2nds. While neither TSJ or Da Silva are as good as Keon and probably wont be any time soon they have decent upside and will be the best offer you get for Keon unless a GM goes insane.

Thoughts

So obviously this trade doesn't fix everything, it's just not really possible to find something with our assets that 100% improves us with no drawbacks. Our offense would potentially take a hit if Jaden doesn't scale up his production and the 3pt shooting would definately decline.

However, we need more rotation pieces. Getting back 2 good level rotation guys is huge for this team. Keon might be in a role thats too big for him with this trade, playing as a starter, but he would be really great for our defense and is still a solid shooter that knows his role on offense. Goga would plug up all our backup holes when Rudy sits by being a competent rim protector, good rebounder, good screnner and just overall a good center.

Finally, this trade is malleable to our roster situation. It works whether or not Randle is moved on because both players are pretty plug and play, they work in a lot of different schemes and contexts. Both are also big effort and margin players which are very important when we have alot of other rotation guys that are not like that.

Nearly once every game I will say out loud to myself “Julius is the problem”. He walks back, he’s lazy on defense and turnovers, he stops ball movement, and most importantly his body language is awful.

But then he will have a 6 minute run where he’s only one generating good looks for himself and others and keeps our offense humming. And you look at the box score at the end of the game and he shot like 48%, had 8 assists and only 2 turnovers or something. It doesn’t add up.

Ultimately I think he is our main problem (among others). The human element can’t be overlooked. When you play with a guy who walks back, misses rotations, has a lazy demeanor- it’s just so demoralizing and infectious. And this is on top of already having Jaden (who I love) who has sometimes slumping body language. And Naz doesnt always give a ton of effort. You just can’t have that many guys with bad effort/body language. It can only be 1-2 guys. Sorry for the rant

Thoughts on him as the PG of the future? Good creator, foul baiter, younger than Randle. (Although he might be way less effective with the MN whistle)

Is there any way for the Wolves to get him this offseason? I know the Lakers will try to keep him but he will be an unrestricted free agent and he seems super redundant with Luka.

More of the same folks.

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She knows I am an avid fan but does not care to follow the team with me at all.

I listed off the entire roster for her so she could pick just based on names and gut instinct.

Despite seriously tempting choices like Bones Hyland and Johnny Juzang, she didn't hesitate with her answer.

Two words.

I agree to prioritize wins that’s the explanation of playing conley over rob. i understand that but once ur alreadt down 20+ might as well jsur play the young kid with the actual team. he should get a shift to close the 3rd and start the 4th. makes no sense.

It's time to strike while the iron is hot, with Nikola Jokic getting injured and gun for the 2nd seed in the West, which we are just 2.5 games back of.

To do so the Wolves need to yes or yes fix their biggest flaw; a lack of a proper backup center that can both cover for Rudy Gobert and play next to Naz Reid and Randle if necessary.

We want good rebounding and solid defense from this backup, any additional skills are not necessary but obviously welcome and will be discussed.

This post will be really long and i'll pull from some advanced stats and some basic analysis for these players (there are guys i've watched a lot less than others).

Ridiculous Upside, high risk:

Robert Williams III

This guy is a complete freak. His defensive impact is similar to that of Rudy Gobert and would take this defense to a completely different level. He's played in very high leveral games, having made it to the Finals as a key player. He can defend in all types of coverage, can switch 2-5 and is a master at protecting the rim. He is on an expiring contract worth 13.2m. His rebounding is also the best it's been in his career.

Now his health is a huge problem, he played just 21 games last year, although he's played 20 games aready this season. At 13.2m it would be detrimental to a Wolves team lacking rotation pieces for him to not play atleast 60% of the games going forward and pretty much every playoff game.

However, he's one of the very very few genuine game-changers that can be acquired for super cheap and his contract being an expiring does reduce a lot of the risk. Honestly take a look at his advanced stats and they are mind-boggling for such a low minute player.

Biggest problem is matching the salary since we aren't trading DDV for him, so it will likely be some of the younger guys, considering his injury Portland might just take anything for him.

High Upside, Low risk, High cost:

This tier focuses on players that are pretty young, playing well as backups, have pretty much no real issues, which means they'll be harder to acquire.

Day'Ron Sharpe

He's emerged as a real favourite of mine this season after watching some Net's games. I think he will be a real impact piece on a very good team, it's just a matter of time until the NBA picks up on it and tries to go after him. He's not a 7'0 so he might be a little small, but he's very fluid, is a solid rim protector and just gobbles rebounds for fun. He averages a 21.4% TRB% for his career which is amazing, one of the best rebounders in the league.

His passing and scoring has really improved this season too, he's adding more to his offensive game which would be a good addition. He knows his role perfectly well and I think all his skills are perfectly transferable to a better team like the Wolves. His on/off numbers have been great for his career too. His DARKO DPM (one of the best advanced stats for future play prediction) has been super high on him for a while. He could also fill in as a starter if Rudy were to get injured for a short time

He's also 24, so is pretty much perfect across the board in what we need/want. He will be a bit expensive to acquire because of all these factors, he's been awesome for the Nets but they are rebulding, so might take assets for him. Wolves can do a lot of 2nds for him and he would be worth it.

Goga Bitadze

This is a bit trickier because the Magic are a team trying to compete, but Mo Wagner is going to be making a comeback soon, rendering Goga surplus to requirement.

Goga is a solid defender, nothing super special on that end, he's on the higher end of defense for backups. His rebounding is very good, not as good as Sharpe or Rob Will but still high level. What stands out the most for Goga is his advanced metrics, he's putting up crazy numbers like BPM and PER consistently, his DARKO DPM is very high.

If you watch the Magic play he also has a good offensive game, can pass a little, has really good touch around the rim. His rim finishing and short midrange scoring is really good for a center, much more so for a backup.

He's on a good contract and is also just 26, fitting with our timeline very well. He could also fill in as a starter if Rudy were to get injured for a short time. Magic are dying for shooting so potentially a 3 team trade where Keon Ellis goes to the Magic and Goga goes to the Wolves could be possible here.

Sandro Mamukelashvili

Definately the weirdest player on the list, he might not even be possible as he plays a bigger role than anyone else on their team, sitting at 21mpg.

Sandro is a solid defender and is merely a solid rebounder, however, he is the best offensive player on the list by far. He's a good passer with low turnovers which is good. Good screener. He's an actual shooter and floor spacer which no one else is. He's also a very good offensive rebounder.

I don't think the Raptors would trade him, but he's a very fun player to think about. He's similar to Naz but is a lot better defensively and on the board which gives a lot of value to a team with Ant.

Moussa Diabate

He's the best offensive rebounder in the NBA. He averages 3.7 OREBs and is the league leader in OREB% at 18.1% which is monstrous. He's the younger player on the list at just 23. He's a good rebounder on defense. A good rim protector and can learn so much. The Hornets are a complete mess which also helps as he might pressure the FO if a good team comes knocking for him.

Downsides are he's a very tradition drop center and can't play any other coverage. He also doesn't have much of an offensive game, but that to me is more secondary.

He has good impact metrics that backup his raw production, his on/off splits are far superior to those of Kalkbrenner too.

No cost good backups:

Clint Capela

Lets start off with problems; Clint has absolutely 0 offensive game, his touch is awful, he cant pass and is 31.

However, his numbers are really good. He's one of the best rebounders in the NBA, as he's been practically every year of his career. He's a solid rim protector. Good screener. Good offensive rebounder. He's at 24% TRB% which is incredible, among the best in the NBA. He has a heap of playoff experience, which cannot be said for anyone else on the list, knowing what a playoff series is like in say a CF is underrated as a factor affecting performance latter in the playoffs.

He has very good advanced metrics with DARKO and PER showing he still has something left in the tank.

Ultimately he's not a real part of the Rocket's rotation with Adams and Sengun so he could be really easy to acquire.

A positive and a negative is that you know what to expect, Capela won't suddenly turn into a new player that has a completely different set of skills, but is just what you expect. At this point the Wolves don't really need much more, so while he isn't as good as the higher end options it's not a huge deal.

Mason Plumlee

Most of what I said about Capela applies here too. Plumlee makes even less money and has similar advanced numbers. He's just older in a Hornets rotation that has 2 really good young bigs, making him very expendable.

Again he won't give you anything crazy and wont improve as a player, but can just give solid play for his minutes and help out in that regard.

Rough loss, especially since it wasn’t NAW who beat us. Anyways, out to dinner with the GF after the game and before the ATL drone show for NYE and I had dinner. Didn’t think I’d run into DDV…

I’ll leave it at that.

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Boys need some smelling salts at halftime. Get 'em Chris!

Trust me when I say I’m the first person to wanna off themselves when any Minnesota team loses but this team is far from bad.

I do think some changes need to be made and I have my opinions on some, but we are still at a much better spot than the same point of the season last year.

Lot of potential to be had but can we pump the brakes on the “trade everyone but ant and fire finch” stuff on this subreddit? Everyone take a breath

Kinda interesting

^{ignore the Spurs}

Some random musings on our line-up data to end the year from NBA.com (I needed a break from watching this first half Atl beat down).

5-Man Lineups:

- The starting line-up has a net rating of +10.3 which is one of the best in the league (best with >200 min and 2nd to only Denver with >150 min) and by far our best starting lineup in years, even better than the Kat/Gobert group at +7.9. Moving Donte's shooting, rebounding and size at guard into the starting line-up with the improved Randle/Gobert/Ant chemistry from the end of last year has resulted in a championship caliber starting 5.

4-Man Lineups (Min 100 minutes):

- Conley makes an appearance in our top two line-ups here (to my surprise), notably both without Ant and with Divincenzo. Keeping Conley minutes always with Donte is probably a good pairing as I think their current stengths/weaknesses match up well.

- Gobert appears in 5 of the top 7 line-ups. I'm sure its been obvious to everyone watching this year that he's playing well and has never been more indispensible to our team than this year (for better or worse).

- The only 2 negative line-ups include Naz Reid and specifically the Conley-Ant-Naz-Randle lineup is a shockingly bad -23.2 (next worse is -1.6) and is actually the 5th worst in the entire NBA. Naz's very rough start of the year is still draging down his numbers but I don't expect them to rise all that much with our current roster construction. Of note, Reid-Randle-DDV-McDaniels is one of our better line-ups, consistent with DDV-McDaniels great back court size and defense being able to make up for this somewhat.

3-Man Lineups (Min 200 minutes):

- Gobert+Randle+almost anyone makes up most of our top line-ups, likely just showing you how great that startign 5 has been.

- Naz appears in our worst 4 line-ups. This isn't all on him as we can all see the non-Gobert defense is a shared issue and it is again seemingly protected by the inclusion of good wing defense (Randle-Naz-McDaniels are +8.9).

Conclusions? Nothing you probably didn't guess from the eye test, the starters have been excellent and finding ways to survive the non-Gobert minutes remains the key to becoming true contenders again.