The Perennial Timberwolves trash heap bottom feeder thread

[rustywest]

Originally Posted by sportzluvr1

Edwards is a draft hit for sure. They have good pieces but still need to go through a complete culture revamp. I would try to get a guy like Ayton and ship out KAT and roll with Ayton/Edwards+ into the future. I'd say go after Zion but if he isn't DTP in NOLA, dont think hes gonna be up for Minny either.

I like Mcdaniels game as well, he was a solid late first round get also.

....D-lo gotta' go too.

They are still standing but I agree that KAT and D-Lo are expendable - and could potentially return an impressive haul.

I remember KAT foaming at the mouth, showboating in a regular season beatdown of the lowly Lakers and it was striking at how ridiculous it was. Fella needs step up

[mcgee2134]

Originally Posted by brock

Everyone keeps pointing to the lack of timeout during that run... The run spanned 2 quarters. They had a nice long break to regroup after Memphis went on an 11-0 or 12-0 (memory not recalling perfectly).

So to act like the coach somehow practiced gross negligence by allowing a 21-0 run is silly. They had a full end of quarter break, and came out and got torched again.

The problem was that easy 3s quit falling and no one on the team was smart enough to quit taking them. Oh and they allowed pat Bev to take a number of clutch shots and he missed them all.

Speaking of PB... I know he has a huge ego and all, but he isn't a premiere league talent. I remember seeing some video content of the inside of his home and he was wearing a pat Bev chain and had all pat Bev art work on his walls. He thinks he is as good as Ja (or literally fill in any other all star guard) and so he takes high leverage shots like we saw last game... And misses them.


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So you're saying Pat should've passed up a wide open 3 so one of the big three could take a highly contested desperation shot?

Our offense was terrible in the 4th and struggled to get open shots. Those shots he missed were probably the best shots we had in the quarter. If he doesn't shoot them then Memphis will play 5 on 3. Pat's hit plenty of those shots in the past, just went cold at the wrong time.

[brock]

Originally Posted by mcgee2134

So you're saying Pat should've passed up a wide open 3 so one of the big three could take a highly contested desperation shot?

Our offense was terrible in the 4th and struggled to get open shots. Those shots he missed were probably the best shots we had in the quarter. If he doesn't shoot them then Memphis will play 5 on 3. Pat's hit plenty of those shots in the past, just went cold at the wrong time.

The takeaway is that he looks like he has an axe to grind. That helps on defense, but leads to bad outcomes on offense. He also fires up the other team with his stupid antics.


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[ljandkg]

Originally Posted by brock

Everyone keeps pointing to the lack of timeout during that run... The run spanned 2 quarters. They had a nice long break to regroup after Memphis went on an 11-0 or 12-0 (memory not recalling perfectly).

So to act like the coach somehow practiced gross negligence by allowing a 21-0 run is silly. They had a full end of quarter break, and came out and got torched again.

The problem was that easy 3s quit falling and no one on the team was smart enough to quit taking them. Oh and they allowed pat Bev to take a number of clutch shots and he missed them all.

Speaking of PB... I know he has a huge ego and all, but he isn't a premiere league talent. I remember seeing some video content of the inside of his home and he was wearing a pat Bev chain and had all pat Bev art work on his walls. He thinks he is as good as Ja (or literally fill in any other all star guard) and so he takes high leverage shots like we saw last game... And misses them.


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It's not silly. They went on a run to end the 3rd. Went straight back out on another in the 4th. You shut that down and take a time out. It's as simple as that. The run didn't happen because they were tired, it happened because of momentum.
They literally give you a tonne of time outs to stop that. The coach should've used one, as Barkley, Jay Williams and numerous other NBA players have said.

[rustywest]

And he did. Big game from the big cat. Couple of bone-headed plays too but it didn't matter. 2-2

Antman with some really nice moments. Has just a beautiful 3 point stroke, top of the key areas

[ljandkg]

Insane game - think we got the rub of the green with the refs. I swear I've aged ten years this series.
God bless Jordan MacLachlan too!

[CC_123]

That officiating was just putrid, especially in the 4th. Grizz shot 17 free throws, we shot 5. Any time anyone breathes on Ja it's a foul

[minnesotachill]

I want the Wolves to win, but in the back of my mind, would be fine with seeing Memphis get swept by Golden State in the next round.

I felt like the Wolves got the benefit of a lot of calls thru the first 3 quarters.

Then in the 4th everything completely flipped on them. Their offense got stagnant, and the Grizz drove to the rim, threw themselves on the court and forced the refs to blow the whistle.

[Lone Wulf]

Sadness. The Wolves stuck with it until the end but just have trouble closing. Their offense at the end of games is just one player trying to make a shot on their own with basically no ball movement. Ja played poorly through 3 quarters, he finally came through at the end, but Clarke is the guy that really kills the Wolves and they have no answer for him.

The Ant 3 for the tie was great to see though!

[ljandkg]

Originally Posted by Lone Wulf

Sadness. The Wolves stuck with it until the end but just have trouble closing. Their offense at the end of games is just one player trying to make a shot on their own with basically no ball movement. Ja played poorly through 3 quarters, he finally came through at the end, but Clarke is the guy that really kills the Wolves and they have no answer for him.

The Ant 3 for the tie was great to see though!

That D-Lo iso was awful at the end, trying to force a shot over a taller defender.
You're right on Clarke - he's killed us. But as KAT said afterwards - they attack the basket, KAT is up trying to block the shot and Clarke is a master at getting the offensive boards - our next best rebounder is VDB who is too small really.

I was encouraged by the effort in game 5 - this team is so young, and I feel they still have a real chance to win the series.

Well worth mentioning the foul and free throw discrepancy after Jenkins moaned after game 4.....it was significant, although I can't recall too many absolutely shocking calls.

[AutoPatchRookie]

Really need the Twolves to somehow pull this series out. Shaq saying "meow" after every KAT 3p highlight has almost single-handedly lifted me out of depression.

[oldgoldy97]

Russell needs to go.

[tclausen]

I agree with an earlier post in that both D-Lo and pussy KAT have to go.

D-Lo has flashes of brilliance for about 5 minutes a game but does absolutely nothing the rest of the time. If he had the heart of someone like Ja he could be very good.

If the pussy KAT spent as much time in the paint on offense as he does whining about non-calls he could be dominant. Unfortunately I don't see that happening at this point (I believe this is his 7th year already). Even his 'post ups' are close to the 3-pt line. Plus he commits stupid fouls way to often, which he then goes on to cry about.

Not a fan of Pat Bevs antics either. He plays hard but looks like a middle-schooler out there at times with his stupidity. To me all it does is fire up the other team, especially players like Ja.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by tclausen

I agree with an earlier post in that both D-Lo and pussy KAT have to go.

D-Lo has flashes of brilliance for about 5 minutes a game but does absolutely nothing the rest of the time. If he had the heart of someone like Ja he could be very good.

If the pussy KAT spent as much time in the paint on offense as he does whining about non-calls he could be dominant. Unfortunately I don't see that happening at this point (I believe this is his 7th year already). Even his 'post ups' are close to the 3-pt line. Plus he commits stupid fouls way to often, which he then goes on to cry about.

Not a fan of Pat Bevs antics either. He plays hard but looks like a middle-schooler out there at times with his stupidity. To me all it does is fire up the other team, especially players like Ja.

Agreed.

Losing in the 1st round of the playoffs is probably the ceiling for this group of T'Wolves players.

[Lone Wulf]

The season ended with some obvious frustrations, but overall Chris Finch maximized what the roster was capable of given the personnel, they doubled the wins from the prior year and played Memphis very competitively. For a team that hasn't done basically anything since KG was MVP, this season was a blast (#1 offense in the league btw). The future is bright with Anthony Edwards. And KAT is important for the franchise too, even if the casuals here see an All NBA player have a bad series after he was heavily schemed against and think otherwise. Remember that Steven Adams guy that helped Memphis get the second best record in the NBA being a starter all season? Yeah, he was literally unplayable in this series because of KAT. Luckily for Memphis they have some pretty insane depth to be able to adjust and go with other looks, not many teams have that ability. Ja played at a lower level than he played all year, he had some great 4th quarters, but was not good for a lot of the series. KAT played below average 100%, and had a career worst game thrown in there, so yeah it wasn't good, but the amount of disrespect thrown his way is pretty wild. Assuming KAT gets his All NBA spot he will be supermax extension eligible and the Wolves are perfectly happy giving that to him to lock him up for the future.

D'angelo Rusell on the other hand is the biggest question for the offseason, with one year left on his max deal. I would like to see the Wolves move off of him however they can. People talk about KAT being bad in the series, but Russell was atrocious, going from over 30 per game against Memphis in the regular season to 12 per game in the playoff series. And he finished the game by getting benched in favor of Jordan McLaughlin who I am sure no one outside of Wolves fandom had ever even heard of before this series. Super bad look for D'Lo. I still like his personality and his style of play when it works, and he legitimately help the team overall get to where they ended up, but he just doesn't fit when it comes down to it in the end.

The Wolves finally have some draft picks again, and players like D'Lo and Beasley should be available to get some kind of deal done. The current roster did what they could, but they have obvious defensive rebounding deficiencies and could use more perimeter defense. I expect the Wolves to do something mildly splashy to get a legit power forward / center to put next to KAT (A Myles Turner type player). Jarred Vanderbilt made it work for this season on a budget contract, but they need something more at his spot.

As someone that usually is not that optimistic about Minnesota sports and the Wolves it is a weird feeling to be enjoying the prospect of the future. Frustrating close, but great season. This was only the beginning.

[ljandkg]

Originally Posted by Lone Wulf

The season ended with some obvious frustrations, but overall Chris Finch maximized what the roster was capable of given the personnel, they doubled the wins from the prior year and played Memphis very competitively. For a team that hasn't done basically anything since KG was MVP, this season was a blast (#1 offense in the league btw). The future is bright with Anthony Edwards. And KAT is important for the franchise too, even if the casuals here see an All NBA player have a bad series after he was heavily schemed against and think otherwise. Remember that Steven Adams guy that helped Memphis get the second best record in the NBA being a starter all season? Yeah, he was literally unplayable in this series because of KAT. Luckily for Memphis they have some pretty insane depth to be able to adjust and go with other looks, not many teams have that ability. Ja played at a lower level than he played all year, he had some great 4th quarters, but was not good for a lot of the series. KAT played below average 100%, and had a career worst game thrown in there, so yeah it wasn't good, but the amount of disrespect thrown his way is pretty wild. Assuming KAT gets his All NBA spot he will be supermax extension eligible and the Wolves are perfectly happy giving that to him to lock him up for the future.

D'angelo Rusell on the other hand is the biggest question for the offseason, with one year left on his max deal. I would like to see the Wolves move off of him however they can. People talk about KAT being bad in the series, but Russell was atrocious, going from over 30 per game against Memphis in the regular season to 12 per game in the playoff series. And he finished the game by getting benched in favor of Jordan McLaughlin who I am sure no one outside of Wolves fandom had ever even heard of before this series. Super bad look for D'Lo. I still like his personality and his style of play when it works, and he legitimately help the team overall get to where they ended up, but he just doesn't fit when it comes down to it in the end.

The Wolves finally have some draft picks again, and players like D'Lo and Beasley should be available to get some kind of deal done. The current roster did what they could, but they have obvious defensive rebounding deficiencies and could use more perimeter defense. I expect the Wolves to do something mildly splashy to get a legit power forward / center to put next to KAT (A Myles Turner type player). Jarred Vanderbilt made it work for this season on a budget contract, but they need something more at his spot.

As someone that usually is not that optimistic about Minnesota sports and the Wolves it is a weird feeling to be enjoying the prospect of the future. Frustrating close, but great season. This was only the beginning.

GREAT POST.
Well said about the casuals....trade everybody! After a season where they doubled their win tally and took the Griz (who are a damn good team) to 6 games.
As for D-Lo - Wolves were 39-26 with him, 7-10 without him. He did a lot to help this team with his experience, but was woeful in this series.

We got smoked on the boards as the Griz series went on, so yes - a rebounding 13-9 type mule is what is required - Isaiah Stewart type? Myles Turner isn't the go - he doesn't rebound either!

So much to be excited for - Jaden McDaniels aged 21, Ant man growing as a player in the playoffs aged 20 is AMAZING.

So much to look forward to.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by Lone Wulf

D'Angelo Rusell on the other hand is the biggest question for the offseason, with one year left on his max deal. I would like to see the Wolves move off of him however they can. People talk about KAT being bad in the series, but Russell was atrocious, going from over 30 per game against Memphis in the regular season to 12 per game in the playoff series. And he finished the game by getting benched in favor of Jordan McLaughlin who I am sure no one outside of Wolves fandom had ever even heard of before this series. Super bad look for D'Lo. I still like his personality and his style of play when it works, and he legitimately help the team overall get to where they ended up, but he just doesn't fit when it comes down to it in the end.

You just found out why the Warriors had zero interest in keeping Russell.

And the problem for you guys is that he's KAT's childhood friend and best buddy.....so you can't get rid of him without pissing off KAT.

[mcgee2134]

Originally Posted by mfw13

You just found out why the Warriors had zero interest in keeping Russell.

And the problem for you guys is that he's KAT's childhood friend and best buddy.....so you can't get rid of him without pissing off KAT.

That wasn't why. They brought him in so they would actually get something for Durant instead of getting nothing for KD, had to get assets for him. They never planned to keep him long-term because they knew once Klay came back that DLo would be out of the starting lineup. They knew the Wolves desperately wanted him as we tried to sign him. The Warriors traded him for Wiggins because he fit their roster better.

I like D'Lo, but not for max money. No way I would extend a max contract for him. I would look into finding a better fitting PG and seeing if they could sign D'Lo for less.

[Lone Wulf]

Originally Posted by mcgee2134

That wasn't why. They brought him in so they would actually get something for Durant instead of getting nothing for KD, had to get assets for him. They never planned to keep him long-term because they knew once Klay came back that DLo would be out of the starting lineup. They knew the Wolves desperately wanted him as we tried to sign him. The Warriors traded him for Wiggins because he fit their roster better.

I like D'Lo, but not for max money. No way I would extend a max contract for him. I would look into finding a better fitting PG and seeing if they could sign D'Lo for less.

For sure. D'Lo is good, but not for the max. Wiggins is in a similar spot honestly, good player, but not max money good. If they both made like $10-15 million a year their play and production would be easier to swallow. I think if the Wolves realize D'Lo is going want another max contract and he isn't the point guard of the future, they basically have to look at moving him if possible.

The Wolves have so many guards that I don't see that much of a drop-off even if D'Lo were to get traded. Between the guards of Jordan McLaughlin, Pat Bev, Ant running the offense a bit, and Jaylen Nowell off the bench as an option as well I think they can manage the offense fine if D'Lo was flipped into a forward or center to put next to KAT. But then again when I type that out, none of those guys are truly starting PG material, they would do fine as a committee, but none of them would be at the same level as D'Lo individually, so it is tough.

I really just want to see PG/Ant/Jaden/PF/KAT next year as the DeFacto lineup. I feel like the Wolves had to make due with what they had this season and they overachieved with what they had, but starting Ant at the 3 and having both Bev/D'Lo as the guards with Vanderbilt at PF wasn't really ideal. Bev and Vando should really be good bench pieces rather than starters imo. We will see what the summer brings, hoping for some upgrades.

[rustywest]

I said KAT and DLo were expendable. So I qualify here as a casual.

KAT has several seasons of NBA experience now and there are some legitimate concerns with him being your leader/highest paid but perhaps with AntMan dropping the swag bag into town he can be relieved the burden of being 'the guy'... perhaps a similar AD Bron dynamic if he matures. He seems a little immature to me? So yeah, you guys are right. Keeping him is a solid move but imagine the haul he could return in a trade and/or his mate DLo (who has an enormous chunk of cap)? You might be able step up a gear, KAT is obviously the more untouchable but also very valuable as an asset

Its just a different view. It is build around Antman, keep the impressive young role players, trade KAT and DLO. You may end up having to do it in a couple years anyway. I'm probably wrong, but it was worth a try. Keeping your home grown talent is nice, I approve of building like this. Something increasingly rare in today's era with increased player power.

Different players, but a similar dynamic, conundrum was Gobert. I was Camp - Jazz should've traded him after last years playoff's. Because I've pretty much seen the final body of work for what he can do/evolve/trend ^ and he can return a kings ransom on that fat contract. You always keep the boss mode guy (DonMitch) to keep on the franchise when you need that shake up. Rudy would be a really nice piece in the right place. His max contract is tough on the Jazz

Whatever happened to OKogie? He seemed like a Luguentz Dort version

[Lone Wulf]

Originally Posted by rustywest

I said KAT and DLo were expendable. So I qualify here as a casual.

KAT has several seasons of NBA experience now and there are some legitimate concerns with him being your leader/highest paid but perhaps with AntMan dropping the swag bag into town he can be relieved the burden of being 'the guy'... perhaps a similar AD Bron dynamic if he matures. He seems a little immature to me? So yeah, you guys are right. Keeping him is a solid move but imagine the haul he could return in a trade and/or his mate DLo (who has an enormous chunk of cap)? You might be able step up a gear, KAT is obviously the more untouchable but also very valuable as an asset

Its just a different view. It is build around Antman, keep the impressive young role players, trade KAT and DLO. You may end up having to do it in a couple years anyway. I'm probably wrong, but it was worth a try. Keeping your home grown talent is nice, I approve of building like this. Something increasingly rare in today's era with increased player power.

Different players, but a similar dynamic, conundrum was Gobert. I was Camp - Jazz should've traded him after last years playoff's. Because I've pretty much seen the final body of work for what he can do/evolve/trend ^ and he can return a kings ransom on that fat contract. You always keep the boss mode guy (DonMitch) to keep on the franchise when you need that shake up. Rudy would be a really nice piece in the right place. His max contract is tough on the Jazz

Whatever happened to OKogie? He seemed like a Luguentz Dort version

KAT was a top 15 player all season. He is going to make 3rd time All NBA barring something strange happening. He was an all star, he was the 3 point champion, he was one of two players to have a 60 point game, his defense improved a lot in the high wall scheme they run now, and he was the most stable part of this past season for the team (and it wasn't close).

1) Who do you think the Wolves can get that is an upgrade over a top 15 player? If you are looking to downgrade and get someone worse ... why?

1b) What superstars have the Timberwolves ever landed in a trade or free agency? Jimmy Butler briefly I guess, and then he messed up the team for the following years after he dipped. If they guess wrong and trade KAT it most likely just results in a worse situation.

2) Why would you blow up a team that just had their first year of any real success in such a long time (not counting 17-18, that year was dysfunctional, or if you want to count it, then sure, one other season in the past 18 was even decent). Sure, trade KAT, get some young players and draft capital, and then go back to a 30 win ceiling featuring Ant averaging 30 per game in meaningless seasons hoping your young trade assets or draft capital results in .... a top 15 player like the one you just traded away?

Not even trying to be difficult here, I just don't see any legitimate way that Towns is flipped into a better situation than him remaining on the team, I just don't. He does annoying stuff, he does random leg kick outs, he complains about foul calls, he needs to control his mental - I don't like that stuff either, but that is still better than dumping him and making the team worse. KAT is most likely getting All NBA, then getting his supermax extension, and the Wolves will like that situation.

One of the biggest areas for low hanging fruit improvement is that Ant and KAT basically have never played that well together or off of each other. Ant had 75 total assists this past year to KAT, a beat reporter brought it up in his exit interview and Ant said that is terrible and he will be over 200 next year lol. So imagine once they actually play more together rather than one or the other shoots a 3/drives while the other watches. There is a lot of development there that should happen. If you take KAT out it is kind of wasting that potential.

D'Lo is still the odd part in all of this. Listening to some recent pods on the team people think he will probably be on the team to start the season and they will see what happens. It is super hard to trade a struggling max contract guy, maybe at the deadline a team that wants an experience PG emerges as a trade candidate or maybe someone wants an expiring contract. From the "experts" that I have heard weigh in so far they don't really see a possible way to trade D'Lo given the situation.

And Okogie is still probably a top 2 defender on the Wolves tbh, but he has not done anything to improve his offensive game, so he was just cut out of the rotation since he was basically a zero on offense. I am sure another team will want him coming up though.

[ljandkg]

No way they trade KAT. I can see the argument for him not been option one on the team, but you wait for Antman to develop into that. And there's no doubt that'll happen. This team needs tinkered with, not blown up.

[AutoPatchRookie]

Originally Posted by Lone Wulf

KAT was a top 15 player all season. He is going to make 3rd time All NBA barring something strange happening. He was an all star, he was the 3 point champion, he was one of two players to have a 60 point game, his defense improved a lot in the high wall scheme they run now, and he was the most stable part of this past season for the team (and it wasn't close).

1) Who do you think the Wolves can get that is an upgrade over a top 15 player? If you are looking to downgrade and get someone worse ... why?

1b) What superstars have the Timberwolves ever landed in a trade or free agency? Jimmy Butler briefly I guess, and then he messed up the team for the following years after he dipped. If they guess wrong and trade KAT it most likely just results in a worse situation.

2) Why would you blow up a team that just had their first year of any real success in such a long time (not counting 17-18, that year was dysfunctional, or if you want to count it, then sure, one other season in the past 18 was even decent). Sure, trade KAT, get some young players and draft capital, and then go back to a 30 win ceiling featuring Ant averaging 30 per game in meaningless seasons hoping your young trade assets or draft capital results in .... a top 15 player like the one you just traded away?

Not even trying to be difficult here, I just don't see any legitimate way that Towns is flipped into a better situation than him remaining on the team, I just don't. He does annoying stuff, he does random leg kick outs, he complains about foul calls, he needs to control his mental - I don't like that stuff either, but that is still better than dumping him and making the team worse. KAT is most likely getting All NBA, then getting his supermax extension, and the Wolves will like that situation.

One of the biggest areas for low hanging fruit improvement is that Ant and KAT basically have never played that well together or off of each other. Ant had 75 total assists this past year to KAT, a beat reporter brought it up in his exit interview and Ant said that is terrible and he will be over 200 next year lol. So imagine once they actually play more together rather than one or the other shoots a 3/drives while the other watches. There is a lot of development there that should happen. If you take KAT out it is kind of wasting that potential.

D'Lo is still the odd part in all of this. Listening to some recent pods on the team people think he will probably be on the team to start the season and they will see what happens. It is super hard to trade a struggling max contract guy, maybe at the deadline a team that wants an experience PG emerges as a trade candidate or maybe someone wants an expiring contract. From the "experts" that I have heard weigh in so far they don't really see a possible way to trade D'Lo given the situation.

And Okogie is still probably a top 2 defender on the Wolves tbh, but he has not done anything to improve his offensive game, so he was just cut out of the rotation since he was basically a zero on offense. I am sure another team will want him coming up though.

Agree with everything you said. KAT and Ant could potentially be the best 1-2 combo in the league for a good chunk of this decade. It seemed their chemistry went from like 10/100 at the start of season to 50-60 post AS break to 90s by the end of game 6. Would be career suicide for any GM to screw that up. Their needs are fairly obvious and have been posted already: better defense and value at starting 1 and 5. If that can be accomplished this is a scary team.

[Lone Wulf]

The Timberwolves probably have the most buzz lately out of any team not left in the playoffs. A-Rod and Lore poached Tim Connelly away from the Nuggets and got their franchise POBO and KAT was named All-NBA 3rd team. Being the best center behind Jokic and Embiid is no small feat. And with the All-NBA selection he is super max eligible this off-season that sets up a really good trajectory for the team. KAT's new contract and Ant's eventual extension would both hit the books starting in the 2024-25 season. D'Lo, Malik Beasley (player option), and Pat Bev all have expiring contracts and can have their cap space open up next off-season giving the team a bunch of flexibility or ability to grab a huge player before the KAT and Ant contracts hit. Pat Bev will be on the team next year since he just signed that one year extension, it is the D'Lo and Beasley part that is hard to tell what will happen, but both will be shopped around I am sure.

And after having no draft picks last year the Wolves once again have control of all their picks. I would like to see them package something and move up from #19 to get an actual difference maker - maybe take a shot on someone like Mark Williams out of Duke. We shall see how things shake out this off-season with the draft and trades.

Seems like they might need to shift some pieces around in the 2022-23 season to get things set up for the future. Super early prediction would be to probably to duplicate about that they did this past year, unless Ant and KAT both level up substantially. But I am looking forward to the 2023-24 season hitting at which point the team should be in a spot where they can be legit.

Pretty strange feeling to have this much hype and hope for the future for the Timberwolves. All the ownership and front office stuff is looking great now, Finch got his extension and is looking like a great coach, KAT is about to be locked up for his prime, and Anthony Edwards is still just 20 years old with a decade of dominance coming up.

[CC_123]

I'd rather the Wolves move #19 for a veteran that is going to help us versus trading up for another young guy. Right now we don't need youth, we need some more veteran leadership and toughness. I'd love if #19 went in a trade for a big. We got murdered on the boards against an undersized Grizzlies team and that was essentially the difference maker. Could you imagine this team with someone like Myles Turner, Mo Bomba, or even a Clint Capela or Mitchell Robinson. All guys who rebound well and are rim protectors. We need someone like that. I love Vando, but he is just undersized. He is a perfect 4/5 to come off the bench and energize the squad, but if we could get a true 5 who rebounds and rim protects, that could make us even scarier. I'd rather #19 go towards someone like that versus a rookie, personally. Plus, getting a true 5 next to KAT could help with his foul woes, which would elevate his game another step.

I'd also say that keeping Beverely is more important than keeping Russell or Beasley. Bev brings grittiness to the team and some toughness. He is one of the biggest reasons the Wolves season was as successful as it was. Russell was obviously important too. We had a lot better record with him on the floor, but he had a bad playoffs against Memphis which put a sour taste in most peoples mouthes (including mine). He is expendable but you have to be smart about where you move him and the return you receive. If we keep him, I am fine with that. If we move on, I am fine with that too.