You are the new GM of the MN Timberwolves...what are you gonna do about it?
by Mplax on Jul 19, 2009 4:33 PM CDT
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So since posting has been pretty slow here, I figured I would post this just for fun to get the ball rolling. If you were the GM of the MN Timberwolves for 2 years and 2 years only, what would you do to make this team the best team it can be? Please keep it realistic, we aren't signing Lebron or Wade so don't include them in your teams please. You aren't THAT good of a GM, you amateur! Trades, draft picks, FAs, contract buyouts, coaching hires (head and assistant coaches), etc.
Let's assume for the sake of our game here that the Wolves end up with the 4-9th pick next year? So try to pick a guy who falls in that range if you don't trade your pick away.
Bonus points:
If figure out what the payroll would be give or take $5M
You tell us why you picked coaches/assistants and what kind of style you are playing and why your team matches that style.
If you can reasonably predict what situations the teams you are trading with are in when you make the trade and why they would agree to the trade.
If you really want to get into it, tell me who you bid for in FA to run their price up knowing another team will match and owe that much more money therefore having that much less buying power.
Anything else you want to add to make it more comprehensive if this isnt enough already.
I will host a poll related to this topic after we have all of our answers in to vote on who did the best job. We will all collectively be Glen Taylor in this poll
Have fun! Maybe Glen will keep you on a couple more years if you do a good job.
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As GM of the Minnesota Timberwolves, I would...
I would first make sure that Ricky Rubio comes to our team.
Then I would hire Mark Jackson as head coach and trade Sebastian Telfair and Darius Songaila to the San Antonio Spurs for Roger Mason and Matt Bonner. I would immediately waive Bonner due to the surplus of PF’s.
Minnesota would get a good SG who could battle for the starting job with Wayne Ellington. Either could start. Letting go of Telfair would be fine because Rubio is coming and Mark Jackson (one of the best PG’s ever) would be coach, so he could teach the two rookies some of what he knows.
San Antonio would do this because they have a couple SG’s, including Manu, but need help with PG and C, so they get a solid PG in Bassy and a possible C in Songaila. They could sign Matt Bonner if they wanted to once the Wolves waive him.
Our lineup would now have 2 good SG’s instead of 1. We would also have two potentially great players at PG and 2 at PF.
After that, we could possibly be 9th or 10th place in the Western Conference.
We would draft someone like Jerome Jordan with our lottery pick.
Interesting draft choice
I hadn’t heard Jerome Jordan as a prospect for the Wolves (draftexpress has him going 20 which is probably the reason for that). After looking at him for a good 20 seconds I am sold on the idea that he could be a tremendous C complementing Al’s weaknesses on the help side, but I am also a little concerned because I am one of those who believes Al is a center…kind of. More who he is guarding than what position. He guards Shaq, Bynum, Dwight, and the other less mobile Cs and PFs while leaving the Garnetts and Dirks and Brad Millers to the more mobile defender. Love and Al are not that and that is what worries me about Jerome, he doesn’t seem too mobile out of the post either. I would definitely consider Jerome if he does well this year and if we couldnt get him with Utah’s pick if we keep that.
Thats all, just wanted to comment on Jerome Jordan since I hadn’t heard his name mentioned yet. Thanks for bringing his name to my attention!
I just named Jerome Jordan because he was ranked 20th and he was a center.
And his stats were actually pretty good. I don’t really follow college though, so I’m not sure.
Also, maybe for the 09-10 season,
We could sign Rasho, Mikki Moore, or maybe even Garrett Siler from our summer league team.
hire a coach...
A coach who is a NBA 50 Legend, has 5 championship rings, and is well liked by the top players on the current Wolves team. Well, actually, rehire coach McHale to a one-year contract. I would add a stipulation that a review take place at the All Star break to insure that he is aligned with my approach and outlook.
Since I can do little other than pay $500,000 USD towards Rubio’s contractual buyout, I would work with the Spanish team ownership to insure that Ricky develops effectively in preparation for his eventual Wolves NBA career.
Look to upgrade the team without leaving significant cap room. The Wolves will be incredibly fortunate to crack 30 wins this season. The economy will dampen future contracts.
Mortgage the FUTURE
You give me two years, so I try to win immediately at any cost, including all future assets. I only did trades with teams looking to save money or not in a position to contend this year.
First and most critical deal. I see if New Orleans really wants to save money. I offer a three team trade:
Memphis gets:
Craig Smith + $2.5 million from Wolves. They get a servicable player free for a year.
New Orleans gets:
$2.5 million trade exception from Memphis.
Ricky Rubio
Pekovic
Brian Cardinal
Total salary about $12 million to make the trade work. New Orleans tells Rubio to spend the year in Europe, providing them a salary savings this year with the trade exception of about $7 million. Also a savings of $7 million on the luxury tax. May be their best chance to save money and get back good players.
Minnesota gets:
Chris Paul
Next trade:
Houston gets: Etan Thomas + Utah pick
Minnesota gets: Shane Battier
Houston gets a player to plug in a center in place of Yao + a late teens pick. Getting rid of Battier sets them up for high pick, like San Antonio did the season David Robinson was injured. Also leaves them with a ton of cap room next off season.
Minnesota lineup:
PG – Paul, Flynn, Bassy, Brown
SG – Gomes, Brewer, Ellington
SF – Battier, Gomes, Brewer
PF – Love, Songaila
C – Jefferson, Pecherov, Madsen
I go into the season with this lineup, then as a few teams fall out of contention I use the $10 million or so in expirings I still have + Flynn or the Charlotte pick to fill the hole at SG.
Not sure it all could get done, but I would start with these offers. I might add the Charlotte pick to New Orleans to get Paul, but would like to keep it for a SG.
Now now
Riley isn’t coming to MN even if we do end up pulling all of those off.
I like where your head’s at. But I just can’t see NO giving up Paul. And I don’t like Gomes as our starting 2 guard. Battier is a better 2 than Gomes, but neither of them should be there. Houston loves Battier from what I have seen, but they might like the idea of a San Antonio style championship…of course San Antonio was also gifted Tim Duncan that year… unless John Wall ends up in Houston…probably not worth it for them.
Both of them could happen, I just don’t think its likely. Plus, I gave you two years, not one. You can wait to trade for Paul til next year if it makes sense for you? Then you get a high pick and maybe NO wants to get rid of him. Who knows! Personally, the more I have looked at Evan Turner, the more I have liked him as a pick next year.
But, you gave a solid lineup, no doubt about that. If it all happened the way you want it to, its gold Rumblebee, solid gold. We have, as your predecessor David Kahn put it: Our best player in Paul, our 2 in Big Al, our 3 in your future SG?, our 4 in Love, and our 5 and a great rotation guy in Battier.
My guess, you have Phoenix falling out of contention, possibly Utah….possibly, they have Jerry Sloan so its unlikely, maybe Charlotte, maybe Dallas…again, probably not, and Indiana. Who are you looking at for SG? Maybe make that Battier trade into a blockbuster and steal TMac coming off injury! Haha, ok probably not, but he would be the third best! But I am just your assistant, GM Rumblebee, what do you think?
For starters, let me say I like the original post/question.
I have been supporting Kahn’s go slow approach, so this makes me think another way. The scary thing is that while most of my moves are doubtful, in this economy if you are in a position to take on a contract good things can happen.
I agree Riley as coach is unlikely, but if I have two years and I put this group together I don’t want a coach who will mess things up. Maybe Jeff VanGundy??
I really struggle with the SG, that is why I skirted the issue and said let’s address it at the trading deadline with expiring contracts. Right now it seems that most of the good SG are on teams that are in contention or think they are in contention, or will just cost more than the Wolves have to offer. I think the top 5-10 SG’s in the league are basically untouchable at this time. If people think Battier could be a SG then perhaps Gerald Wallace could be a possibility at the trading deadline if Charlotte struggles. Give Charlotte their 1st rounder back and throw in a few expiring contracts. It would be a talented starting lineup with a couple solid backups. Jason Richardson would be the other guy to go after at the trading deadline.
Love the post idea
Great post idea, here is my two cents.
For starters, I’m making sure Rubio comes over and I’m hiring Mark Jackson to continue Rubio’s development. By the start of 2010, I want the Wolves to be able to alternate between a fast-paced full court game with everyone running the floor or a slow half court game where Jefferson can dominate.
The only move I make before the season starts is for Matt Barnes, and I sign him with a portion of our MLE. The reason I sign Barnes is that he gives us a 3/4 combo who can be used to defend more mobile 4’s that Love can’t guard and he also gives us a 3pt threat. He will also come relatively cheaply.
At the Feb trade deadline, I would be looking to get players that give us more perimeter defense, shooting, athleticism and versatility. With this in mind, I constructed this trade:
Minn receives:
Gerald Wallace
Jason Richardson
Phoenix receives:
Jonny Flynn
Brian Cardinal
Charlotte receives:
Ryan Gomes
Etan Thomas
Utah’s (or Charlotte’s) 1st round pick from Min
Here is my trade reasoning:
Minnesota do this trade because they get the two best players involved in the trade. J-Rich gives them shooting, athleticism and perimeter D. Gerald Wallace gives them a defensive beast who can do a little bit of everything.
Phoenix do this trade because they have seriously under achieved, and after giving Steve Nash a big extension, have no cap room and no where to go. This trade gives them cap flexibility for 2010 and a PG in Flynn who will become great under Nash.
Charlotte do this because they are severely cash strapped and are still unsure of which direction they are heading. Gomes will walk straight into the starting SF position and Thomas will compete for minutes with Nazr Mohammed. There is also a good chance that Okafor will be injured at some stage of the season, meaning that Thomas becomes much more than just an expiring contract. They also get a draft pick to sweeten the deal.
On a side note, I throw in any of Brewer/Madsen/Smith etc to sweeten the deal for either Charlotte or Phoenix
This leaves the Wolves with the following line-up going into the 2010 draft:
Rubio/Telfair
RIchardson/Ellington/Brewer
Wallace/Barnes/Pecherov
Love/Smith/Madsen
Jefferson/Songaila
For the most part of the season, this team would have been close to a 20 win team. I’ll predict that with a late surge after the Feb trade we end up with 30 wins and the 7th pick in the draft. With this pick we draft Evan Turner (based on DX’s 2010 mock) who will join Ben Gordon as the only other rookie to win the 6th man award. We use our other 1st round pick, whichever isn’t sent to Charlotte, on Solomon Alabi who gives us the athletic mobile 7 footer (7’1 to be precise) that we need.
We start the 2010 season with:
Rubio/Telfair
Richardson/Turner/Ellington
Wallace/Barnes
Love/Songaila
Jefferson/Alabi
This team will give our opposition absolute nightmares with its versatility. Almost every player on this roster can play 2 or more positions and gives us great height and length at every position. And the best part, Wolves get back to the playoffs where they belong!
What say you?
Payroll
The Wolves, after signing their 2010 rookies, would be slightly over the salary cap but this is not much of an issue as Minnesota isn’t going to be able to sign any top tier FA’s anyway. To reiterate what many people have said before me, the only way the Wolves are getting better is by trading and through the draft.
Haha
I enjoyed the fact that you took into account that Okafor will most likely get injured!
I have also been a big proponent of the Wolves taking Evan Turner for a very long time (since about noon yesterday) assuming he improves this year and mantains his standing as a top 10 pick (otherwise nab him with whatever other picks we have). If Wallace can stay healthy, thats a nice lineup you made for us there. My only question is not whether the teams will trade those guys or not, but rather if they think they could get more value elsewhere. I also think Wallace might be staying in Charlotte when they are in the 7th spot in the East this year and they think they can make a run at it…
Overall, I definitely liked it, makes me excited about the Wolves. Alabi though reaks of Saer Sene
Jason Richardson doesn't play for Charlotte
He was traded to Phoenix last year for Raja Bell and Boris Diaw.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jul 20, 2009 11:03 AM CDT up reply actions
A great player
Gerald Wallace is a great player and/but he give’s up his body every night…i want to be sure he’s healthy..
My GM Plan
1. Let this season develop with the roster in place inspite of whatever perceived holes exist. Answer the following questions:
1. Brewer’s viability long-term as a Defensive Stopper and 4th-5th Offensive Option?
2. Can Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn Co-Exist?
3. Can Al Jefferson and Kevin Love Co-Exist?
4. What role might Wayne Ellington play in the future?
This then makes all roster decisions for 2010-2011 easier to make.
It’s hard to say what coach would be the best. If I was to just look at background- I would prefer Elston Turner. I can’t answer questions though regarding?
1. Tempermant (Wittman?)
2. Patience with Young Players/Long-Term Outlook (Bill Musselman)
3. Ability to intergrate the roster- we currently have. This is why I like Turner as Adelman’s shown an incredible flexibility to adjust given the personnel at hand.
As far as style of player- two things are going to be important (Tempo and Off-Ball Movement) 1. Run when the opportunity presents itself. 2. Rubio will the most effective within a system with players that move well without the ball.
FA’s 2010-2011
1. I would target Marvin Williams. Williams is a long-legit three who can ball-handle, defend, draw fouls, and has shown potential from deep. He would be the perfect long-term compliment to Jefferson and Love. (I’m assuming he accepts Atlanta’s 1 Year Qualifying Offer). I rate Marvin Williams higher than Rudy Gay, or Joe Johnson. This is based on the premise that age, ball-movement, and defense matter.
Draft 2010
1. I would target either Cole Aldrich, or Evan Turner. Aldrich as a compliment to the Love/Jefferson/Williams Front-Court. This would make this team’s Front-Court into a tremendous strength overtime. Turner as a long-term solution at the 2. I would also be open to Derrick Favors’ skill-set as the long-athletic 4-5 hybrid this team could use. A lot of this depends on where we land in the draft. Favors should be getting more love on this blog.
2. Use the other 2 firsts to find long-term role players with the following positions in mind (Rangy 4-5, Shooter 2-3)
Let's see...
1. Hire Brian Shaw as coach. He’s not considered as good of a prospect as Kurt Rambis, but he was always an effective and smart player who played with the late 80’s Celtics, the Shaq-and-Penny Magic, the Shaq-and-Kobe Lakers, and in Europe. Plus, unlike Mark Jackson, he’s been an assistant for many years. Hire 5-7 assistants in the following areas: a) point guard tutor (Darrell Armstrong? Mark Price?); b) defensive coordinator; c) offensive coordinator; d) shooting tutor (Allan Houston? Mark Price?) ; e) post defense tutor (Antonio Davis?); f) perimeter defense tutor (Mario Elie?); g) dribble penetration tutor (Damon Stoudamire?). I’m not going to pretend that I know the best fits for each of these. If necessary, overpay someone to get them away from another team.
2. Balance out the roster by trading expirings for expirings: a) Craig Smith to Dallas for Shawne Williams; b) Brian Cardinal to the Hornets for Antonio Daniels. Williams is a 3/4 who is young and might still develop, and Daniels would add a veteran combo guard who can defend and make an occasional jump shot.
3. Continue to work behind-the-scenes with Rubio’s agent and try to facilitate a good buyout for him. If he comes over, offer Telfair and a moderate asset (like a future first in 2014 or two of their second-rounders next year) to the Warriors for Brandan Wright. I don’t know what Don Nelson’s opinion of Wright is, but he once traded Sam Cassell and Jimmy Jackson for Shawn Bradley and Robert Pack, so if he’s down on a player, they could be had for cheap. Otherwise, find the best deal for the team and Telfair that gets them an asset that doesn’t take up a roster spot next year (pick or the rights to another player).
4. Offer the same free agent deal to the following 4 players and sign the first one that takes it: Keith Bogans, Von Wafer, Desmond Mason, and Wally Szczerbiak. Each has their advantages (Bogans — shooter/defender, Wafer — scorer, Mason — defender, athlete, Szczerbiak — shooter, douchebag who is a crowd favorite because he’s white and seems to be working hard). This would give the team a serviceable perimeter rotation. Then sign Garrett Siler and stash him in the D-League if they don’t get Wright for Telfair. The 09-10 team: Rubio or Telfair/Flynn/Brown/Daniels/Wafer/Brewer/Ellington/Gomes/Williams/Jefferson/Love/Pecherov/Songaila/Thomas/Siler or Wright
5. Shop everyone but Love/Jefferson/Rubio/Flynn up to and during the trading deadline with the following goals: a) a playoff-caliber wing player; b) a playoff-caliber 3/4 who can cover guys from Memo Okur to Rashard Lewis; c) a veteran big guy who can play tough interior defense; d) a team willing to trade an expiring for Songaila’s longer deal.
6. Depending on where they draft, pick Cole Aldrich, Evan Turner, or Al-Farouq Aminu with the lottery pick or offer the pick to the Warriors for Anthony Randolph. If they get Charlotte’s pick, draft either Devin Ebanks, Solomon Alabi, James Anderson, or Xavier Henry. If they have 3 picks, flip either the Utah or Charlotte pick for a future first-rounder.
7. Put together the following offer for the Hornets: the choice of Rubio or Flynn, either of the team’s first-rounders from the ‘10 draft, the rights to Pekovic, and a future first for Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic or Tyson Chandler. I don’t want Stojakovic, but accepting him in the deal might be necessary to sweeten the pot enough for the Hornets. If it’s rejected, make the obligatory offers to the big names (Wade, James, Bosh, Nowitzki, and maybe Roy), just in case one is interested in joining the team. If they aren’t, make the obligatory offer to Joe Johnson to see if he’s interested. If not, offer a long-term deal to Kelenna Azubuike that’s above the mid-level but not above $7.5 mil/season. If he doesn’t sign, offer one-year deals to 2 vets out of the following group: Raja Bell, Brad Miller, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas, Michael Finley, and Matt Harpring, overpaying them slightly because they’re on one-year deals and because there’s enough cap space to do so. The main goal: keep the long-term cap flexibility unless a potential All-Star or playoff-tested vet who can still start for 5 years is coming in return.
8. Repeat #5 at the ’10 trade deadline if the team still has expirings or cap space to see if a player can be had on the cheap.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jul 20, 2009 12:26 PM CDT reply actions
Adding to #6...
Take all Euros and stash them over there unless someone is willing to trade a future first for 1-2 of them.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jul 20, 2009 12:28 PM CDT up reply actions
It would probably require Cardinal agreeing to a buyout from the Hornets because their salaries are similar and Daniels is probably more useful than Cardinal. But the Hornets did add Collison who should be able to back up Paul and also have Devin Brown.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jul 21, 2009 12:05 PM CDT up reply actions
I think David Kahn just won this contest...
…we just have to see what he does next.
As a way of keeping an even playing field
We will assume for the rest of this post that we have not done the Richardson trade.
If you have any points about how it can be used, throw them in as an extra for all of us.
I suppose it's about time to answer my own question...
As our roster (not active) sits right now (for this thread at least) we have:
PG(4): Rubio, Flynn, Telfair, Brown
SG(1): Ellington
SF(3): Brewer, Gomes, Cardinal
PF(6): Love, Smith, Madsen, Songaila, Norel, Mavrokefalidis(not on Wolves roster but I dont know what else would have happened to him)
C(4): Jefferson, Thomas, Pecherov, Pekovic
This is 18 players, 4 of whom are overseas. Norel and Mavrokefalidis we will probably never see in the NBA, although apparently Loukas has been doing alright over in Europe so you never know. Sounds more and more every day like Rubio will be here! Pekovic sounds like a Euro Big Al so he should be here soon making some noise.
First things first. People I want on the roster for sure (obviously there are exceptions) include: Jefferson, Love, Craig Smith, the rookies
I would hire Mark Jackson as the coach. He seems to be a great guy for a team like this and I think could make a lot of guys who don’t know each other work well together. Bonus: 2 new PGs he can help. Try to get McHale back as an assistant/big man coach if bridges aren’t burnt. I still think he was a decent coach and a good guy working with bigs. Bring on a defensive specialist (I have no idea who) as another lead assistant. I believe PSR mentioned Mario Elie, maybe he’s onto something. No need for a shooting coach, we have Ioaw Freddy.
I also like the Antonio Daniels trade because I heard from some Wizard fans that they really missed the guy and enjoyed having him on the team because he gives it his all every night. I don’t think NO would give him up for Cardinal and take on a higher salary when he could be shipped elsewhere though. I would however give him VERY serious consideration in FA next year and offer him a fair deal as a backup before the hype about the big names dies down and other teams start scraping for guys like him. If he doesn’t accept a veterans minimum or a front loaded deal just above it though, I would pass him over.
I am also mulling some of Golden State’s young accumulated, underused, and Nellie-doghoused talent. They are in desperate need of some 4s and we…well we have a couple. They are loaded with young guys 1-3 and we are in need of 2 and 3. Match made in Basketball Heaven! We get Belinelli, Maggette, and the reason I am taking Maggette: Anthony Randolph. We send them the expiring contract of Brian Cardinal and the four year contract of Ryan Gomes. If they woudl rather, I would be thrilled to send them Songaila’s shorter contract in place of Gomes.
GS does it because they unload an extremely unfavorable contract in Maggette and clear the logjam at the 2 and the 3. At the 2 they still have Monta or Curry, Azubuike, Jackson, and they open space for Morrow. At the 3 they have Azubuike, Jackson, and Wright. Gomes fits nicely in Nellie Ball as a smaller, slightly quicker and better shooting 4. We do it because we fill the 2 and the 3 with Ellington, Belinelli, Brewer, Maggette and most importantly, Randolph. Without Randolph this trade is nothing to me. Brandan Wright is a consolation, but a small one and I am unsure if I would take on Maggette for him. When all is said and done I probably would but would counter with someone in the place of Maggette. We also clear space at the 4 and unload a little bit of long term contract in return for Maggette’s. If they take on Bobby Brown, great (they are still taking less salary than us in the first year let alone the next 3). Otherwise we send him to the DLeague to open a space. We also get an extremely promising talent in Randolph who has been reported to have been a gym rat this year, adding to his already terrific upside. Belinelli is obviously another floor spacer with decent handles.
I would do this trade as soon as possible in order to get Randolph before his value goes up. If they don’t give him up right away, I wait til the deadline and go after Wright for cheaper because they are still overloaded at his spot.
We end this season with our roster looking like this:
PG: Flynn, Telfair, and possibly Rubio. (If Rubio comes over, Flynn or Telfair has to go, if its Flynn, you promise Telfair that he will get time after a trade can be made and show Flynn off a bit! Or maybe its Rubio if he doesnt seem to fit or still doesnt want to be here)
SG: Ellington, Belinelli, possibly Daniels, Brewer
SF: Randolph, Maggette, Brewer
PF: Love, Smith, Songaila
C: Jefferson, Thomas if he fits well and is healthy
The best part is, we got A LOT more athletic (thank you GS and draft). We also become a very dangerous team in the half court, especially if Rubio can translate and Flynn can still get into the lane at will in real games. Maggette is slashing left and right, he and Randolph are going up for alley oops passes from Rubio. Al and Love, well we have seen what they can do. Ellington and Belinelli are huge benefactors of how well this team can spread the floor as far as an inside out style with slashing ability.
Next year: We do all we can to resign Randolph long-term (assuming he looks good) for a decent price and/or only 2 or 3 years so we don’t get someone who gives up after making bank, because I could see that happening with him (biggest knock on him was that he lacked motivation coming in to the league if I remember correctly). We figure out the Flynn/Rubio situation assuming they cant coexist entirely. If they can, GREAT! We draft Evan Turner out of Ohio I believe, as an extremely versatile 2/3 to hopefully finalize our starting 5. Try to find a nice backup 5 whether we get Thomas back or not, I assume we wouldn’t because he will probably head for a contender for cheap. There seem to be a lot of big man options in this draft so I am going to opt out of speculation except to say that I do not want Mouhammad Saer Sene #2 in Solomon Alabi (little experience but a great frame if he could ever put it together in the NBA…sorry, the odds are against it working out).
If we pull this off, we are sitting on a decent salary (I will figure it out tomorrow, its late) and our present and future are looking extremely promising!
Potential starters in 2010-2011:
Rubio
Turner
Randolph/Maggette (depending on how Randolph develops)
Love
Jefferson
If Flynn and Rubio can coexist nicely he is our 6.5th man along with Maggette or possibly Randolph. This way, we avoid the need to hit free agency altogether if 1 or both of our PGs work out and Turner, Ellington, or Belinelli can be a nice shooter/defensive role player. Otherwise, Maggette starts at 2 and we got really bad luck with all 3 of them.
I got to keep my favorite “teammate” in Craig Smith and we can even placate him with minutes behind Jefferson for 10-15 per game when we go small with Love at the 5 and Smith at the 4.
What say you? Think we could pull that off with Golden State or do you think they actually want Maggette and his awful contract there with so many 2s and 3s already?
The Cardinal/Daniels deal...
Would probably have to include Cardinal’s verbal agreement to be bought out at a reduced rate by the Hornets. Otherwise, the Wolves could do Cardinal/Brown for Daniels/Devin Brown (which saves Hornets Brown’s deal because they can cut Bobby) or Cardinal/Brewer for Daniels/Butler (which also saves them $1 mil).
by pagingstanleyroberts on Jul 21, 2009 12:01 PM CDT up reply actions
I decided that I was too tired to be writing this last night
I think we would have to include at least 1 first rounder in this deal for the Warriors to bite. I would of course offer it first without and hope it suffices to take salary off their books. But we really are getting one solid player, one huge potential player, and luckily the third guy is doghoused (and now redundant with Curry) and probably has no effect on this deal for GS.
Or maybe everyone thinks it would work without it and I am a better GM when I am tired than awake? Salary numbers coming sometime in the nearish future.
A little blast from the past
I did a write-up like this in March of this year for my site, and much of the core of it works now.
http://veganfishtacos.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/framework-of-a-franchise-minnesota-timberwolves/
What I would change based on what has happened:
1. The primary objective now is to get a swingman who can be as close to a #1 scorer as possible. Joe Johnson would be ideal, though obviously unlikely.
2. Get Ricky Rubio over here.
3. If possible, try to get both Kyle Singler and Jerome Jordan in the 2010 Draft. Jordan is the perfect gettable complement to Love and Jefferson (incidentally, Kevin Love’s friend DeAndre Jordan would be good as well)
4. Try to use the expiring contracts to get a player of superior talent with a less desirable contract. Gerald Wallace seems like a guy worth going after, considering MJ considered trading him for Eddy Curry, you never know what’s possible.
Good shooting out of position white guys from Duke rarely work out in the NBA
I wouldn’t be upset with a Jerome Jordan pick if he continues to improve this year, I have doubts though. I am a proponent of getting DeAndre from the Clippers, but I feel like they don’t mind having him for when Camby and Kaman expire. Although Kaman is around for 3 years, so maybe we can nab him. I feel like Telfair was our only chance at that…but Quentin could not be traded with other players for 2 months so that would have been difficult to work out. The only players I would want from the Clippers would be their 3 Cs (Kaman least of all) or Thornton and I don’t see us getting 2 centers in the deal unless we give them Pekovic and Songaila back and Pekovic comes over next year. Even then, we don’t have the additional assets (that we would want to move) to get this deal done. Even if Thornton was somehow included, I feel like he is a player we would rent for a year before losing to FA cuz he is used to a warmer climate (Florida in college and LA now) and has no motivation to stay here unless we pay him handsomely (and he gets the starting role immediately…). I just don’t see us getting DeAndre now that Telfair is gone. Would have been nice in an uptempo system though.
Yeah, that's not how analysis works
Just because other guys haven’t made the transition only has marginal meaning for Singler.
I saw him play in high school and his passing, handle (for a SF), and shot were already good enough to project to the next level. Things like that don’t get lost in the shuffle.
Plus, how many good shooting out of position white guys from Duke have failed? Redick was playing the same position, Laettner wasn’t a particularly good shooter (and didn’t play out of position), and that wasn’t the niche for either McRoberts or Shavlik.
I'm sure I am missing someone
its just that think of a good white guy from duke…. Laettner is the best I can remember in the past 10 years. These guys get taken in to their system because they have a unique skillset, and not because they are athletic high potential players. There are very few players that are successful in this league that are as unathletic as Redick and McRoberts. You can go ahead and take him, if he is anything more than an average role player some day, I will kiss the ground you walk on.
My final plan:
I decided Evan Turner might be a bit out of reach if we actually get these deals done much before the trade deadline. I am now looking at Avery Bradley the freshman out of Texas. He is supposed to be solid on defense and decent on offense too. Hopefully he grows a bit more, but his wingspan is supposed to be decent.
My GS deal probably wont get done as is so I would throw in Pekovic to see it through. So Pekovic, a first rounder, Gomes, and 6.75M expiring in Cardinal (could also use Thomas). Or scratch Gomes and make it another 4M worth of expirings to get it done.
I think my final salary starting next year (before draft picks and increases/decreases in salary I have no idea about) will be about…..
$65M when comparing it to ESPN’s trade machine. There seems to be an extra 13M floating around that I added in and have no idea why. It might be for coaching staff? In which case add more for new coaches.
For next year, guys we let expire and walk away are (barring any dramatic increases in talent this year):
Corey Brewer (3M)
Bobby Brown (750K)
Etan Thomas (8M)
Oleksiy Pecherov(1.5M)
Mark Madsen (3M)
Total = 16.25M
Guys we try to resign or options we pick up:
Sebastian Telfair
Craig Smith
Anthony Randolph (2M Option?)
Marco Belinelli (2M Option?)
Kevin Love (4M Option?)
Total = 13M or drop Telfair and Smith if they want too much more than 5M combined. Otherwise we go into FA with an additional 8.25M to maybe do something at the 2spot. The 1, 3, and 4 are easily taken care of. The 2 has potential and we need a mobile defensive specialist to back up Al and Love at the 4 and 5. DeMarcus Cousins all the way? Or if Kahn lets us suck for another year, we get a shot at John Wall (trade Rubio!) or Derrick Favors (trade Al or Love eventually, whichever one he replaces better/complements less)!
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