[MettaWorldDurant1Participant]

This team missed the playoffs again. I had them at the 7th seed looking back at my pre-season rankings. The pick that they’re due to get wont really get them to the playoffs, Hopefully they draft well which would be to take the best available player given  their situation. IMO they need to get someone through FA to atleast be good enough so that Kevin Love won’t bolt. I would say they have some holes at the SF and PF positions. If I were in the front office I would be chasing at Loul Deng because he would bring more stabilty and defense. Maybe make an  for Nate Robinson at the right price and seriously try and push for the playoffs next year. This scenario is what I would do..Who knows maybe the Twolves don’t feel like they have to make a push. We all know teams can be unpredictable in FA.. What would you do if you were the Twolves?

[i’m jus so offendedParticipant]

Luol wants to play with a winning team. That’s how he’s wired. Nate’s knee is ripped up and it remains to be seen how is going to come back. Plus Barea is like him with less athleticism and the same defensive ability. If I’m Flip, this offseason I’m getting the best package I can for Kev Love Better to get at least something for him than trying sell him on cold weather and losing and after that sterling pitch, probably losing him for nothing. Adelman has seemingly worn out his welcome unfortunately. Get a young coach not afraid to play the young kids. Also around draft time or the offseason, I’d see if I can get any decent package for Rubio or Pek. Also, I’m not sold on Flip as a decision maker. He’s connected to too many s***ty people in his NBA circle. I’d start over like Philly or Boston.

[i’m jus so offendedParticipant]

Luol wants to play with a winning team. That’s how he’s wired. Nate’s knee is ripped up and it remains to be seen how is going to come back. Plus Barea is like him with less athleticism and the same defensive ability. If I’m Flip, this offseason I’m getting the best package I can for Kev Love Better to get at least something for him than trying sell him on cold weather and losing and after that sterling pitch, probably losing him for nothing. Adelman has seemingly worn out his welcome unfortunately. Get a young coach not afraid to play the young kids. Also around draft time or the offseason, I’d see if I can get any decent package for Rubio or Pek. Also, I’m not sold on Flip as a decision maker. He’s connected to too many s***ty people in his NBA circle. I’d start over like Philly or Boston.

[BlueLacesParticipant]

Why would the wolves try and trade Rubio? He’s only 23 years old, still on his rookie deal and is a pass first point guard that people will want to play with. I understand he hasn’t improved as rapidly as people were expecting or hoping, but the potential is still there to be a very good player in this league for a long time. 

[i’m jus so offendedParticipant]

In his 3 years in the NBA, he has shot 35%, 36%, and 38%…which wouldn’t be so terrible from three point range but that’s from the FIELD! And it doesn’t get any prettier from downtown, with percentages of 34%, 29%, and 33%. He’s never made more than 50 3’s in a season and I would bet my paycheck most of those are wide open. His rookie deal is up after next season my friend. How much money do you really want to pour into a PG who can’t space the floor? How do the Wolves fair if Love leaves and Ricky doesn’t have the best stretch 4 in the game to lean on? How good can your team be if he’s your best player? Not very I’d say

[i’m jus so offendedParticipant]

In his 3 years in the NBA, he has shot 35%, 36%, and 38%…which wouldn’t be so terrible from three point range but that’s from the FIELD! And it doesn’t get any prettier from downtown, with percentages of 34%, 29%, and 33%. He’s never made more than 50 3’s in a season and I would bet my paycheck most of those are wide open. His rookie deal is up after next season my friend. How much money do you really want to pour into a PG who can’t space the floor? How do the Wolves fair if Love leaves and Ricky doesn’t have the best stretch 4 in the game to lean on? How good can your team be if he’s your best player? Not very I’d say

[BlueLacesParticipant]

Why would the wolves try and trade Rubio? He’s only 23 years old, still on his rookie deal and is a pass first point guard that people will want to play with. I understand he hasn’t improved as rapidly as people were expecting or hoping, but the potential is still there to be a very good player in this league for a long time. 

[WITNESS2014Participant]

I think you have to trade Love so you can get something for him. Try to do a better job this time around building through the draft instead of taking two point guards in early lottery in which they waited 2 years for one and the other isn’t even in the league. Drafting Derrick Williams was also another mistake because they drafted him 2nd overall and already had Love there and they didn’t even try to play him at SF. Wesley Johnson was a mistake at 4. They haven’t been able to do anything in free agency so its best to just get something for Love because the world knows hes not coming back. I would try to just build through the draft and maybe get a few young good players in the trade.

[WITNESS2014Participant]

I think you have to trade Love so you can get something for him. Try to do a better job this time around building through the draft instead of taking two point guards in early lottery in which they waited 2 years for one and the other isn’t even in the league. Drafting Derrick Williams was also another mistake because they drafted him 2nd overall and already had Love there and they didn’t even try to play him at SF. Wesley Johnson was a mistake at 4. They haven’t been able to do anything in free agency so its best to just get something for Love because the world knows hes not coming back. I would try to just build through the draft and maybe get a few young good players in the trade.

[shangrilaParticipant]

Of course they can. The team right now isn’t bad, it’s average. Everyone just thinks it’s the end of the world because the pre-season expectations were so high. But it wouldn’t take much to make the team better.

Upgrading the bench with either the expirings (Barea, Shved and I think Mbah A Moute), the MLE, the 13th pick or a combination of the above should be the priority and a relatively easy task. For example, Barea and Mbah A Moute suck and Shved never played. It can’t be hard to find people more productive than those 3, can it? Shabazz should improve and give the unit a bench, as would a healthy Bud.

Moving Dieng into the starting line up would also help with the defence, which was a flaw. If they could then use Pek for an upgrade at SF (maybe a Luol Deng S&T, although Chicago kind of ran him into the ground and that worries me), I think the team would look much better.

The real question is whether it’s enough to get Love to stay. I honestly don’t know, but I’m fine with them at least trying to keep him. You won’t find a player like Love very often, if at all.

[shangrilaParticipant]

Of course they can. The team right now isn’t bad, it’s average. Everyone just thinks it’s the end of the world because the pre-season expectations were so high. But it wouldn’t take much to make the team better.

Upgrading the bench with either the expirings (Barea, Shved and I think Mbah A Moute), the MLE, the 13th pick or a combination of the above should be the priority and a relatively easy task. For example, Barea and Mbah A Moute suck and Shved never played. It can’t be hard to find people more productive than those 3, can it? Shabazz should improve and give the unit a bench, as would a healthy Bud.

Moving Dieng into the starting line up would also help with the defence, which was a flaw. If they could then use Pek for an upgrade at SF (maybe a Luol Deng S&T, although Chicago kind of ran him into the ground and that worries me), I think the team would look much better.

The real question is whether it’s enough to get Love to stay. I honestly don’t know, but I’m fine with them at least trying to keep him. You won’t find a player like Love very often, if at all.

[BajeebzParticipant]

Awhile back I said the team should blow it up. Now, it seems pretty clear that Flip Saunders truly has no intention of moving Love. They’re going to go into next season with whatever they can put around Love in hopes of finally becoming a team worth sticking around for. If things are mess around the trade deadline, I suspect they’ll give in and trade him for whatever they can get, but until then they’re holding out. I’d be surprised if he was dealt in the off-season.

If the plan is to build a winner around Love and then offer him an extra year and $30 million more, then they have to do something big this offseason, but it won’t be in free agency because they’re projected to be at $66 million. The luxury tax line is at around $71 million, so I doubt they’ll be doing much more than a mid-level exception type move. So, they’ll have to make some trades. Nikola Pekovic, as much as I like him, seems to be the guy that should be moved .(I’d like to see Kevin Martin shipped out as well, but his contract 3 yr at 21 mil is tough to swallow considering he has no value outside of streaky scoring.) He’s a valuable player with good efficiency numbers and he probably is playing up to his contract (4 for 48 left) but his defense is a liability. Simply put, if the Wolves want to keep Love, then they should get rid of Pek. The offense is getting canceled out by the weak defense.

The emergence of Gorgui Dieng in the last month or two makes moving Pekovic more reasonable. He’s not as good overall as Pek just yet, but he brings much greater defensive potential, and surprising offensive promise as well. He rebounds (20 tonight), blocks and alters shots, passes the ball well, and shows nice touch on his 15-18 foot jumper.

I know Larry Sanders’ reputation has taken a hit this season, but I think the Wolves would serve themselves well by trading Pekovic for him. He could play Center next to Love, or slide over to the Power Forward when Dieng is in the game, to give the Wolves a really nice three man rotation, with a strong emphasis on defense (with Kevin scoring over 25 a game that shouldn’t be a problem)

If not for a Sanders-like player, then they should get a really good wing player. I hope I’m not reaching. In my estimation Pekovic, to certain teams around the league, is valuable enough to get a really good player in return. Somebody else said Josh Smith; I like Nicolas Batum, although I doubt the Blazers do this trade because Robin Lopez is playing so well.

Outside of the Pekovic situation, the Wolves have too many pretty good players all battling for playing time. Corey Brewer, Budinger, Muhammad, Mbah a Moute, Robbie Hummel; all of these guys are just kind of lumped in there as good players, but no one seems to be able to separate themselves from the others. (I really like Shabazz but he struggled to get consistent minutes) My point here is that they should move somebody from the wing rotation, because there just aren’t enough minutes.

Finally, the draft. The Timberwolves pick 13th as of today. If they’re trying to keep Love, they should grab a player who can contribute right away. Adriene Payne is my pick. They’ll probably cut ties with Cunningham after the season, and Payne is an upgrade in my opinion. Optimally, I’d like to see the Wolves get Payne’s teammate Gary Harris, but he’ll probably be off the board by the time they pick. Granted, if we trade Love, I’d go for more of an upside pick, but since they don’t want to cash in and rebuild, Payne is a guy that’ll step in and help right away.

If the Wolves follow my late night advice, their team for next season will look something like this:

Sanders
Love
Brewer
Martin—-please trade this guy, Flip. He’s much better on NBA 2k13 for Houston
Rubio

Barea
Dieng
Payne (or Harris if he’s somehow on the board)
Muhammad
Budinger
Turiaf
Mbah a Moute
Shved

They’ve gotta find away to shorten their rotation; it’s much too long…Much like this post. Goodnight

[BajeebzParticipant]

Awhile back I said the team should blow it up. Now, it seems pretty clear that Flip Saunders truly has no intention of moving Love. They’re going to go into next season with whatever they can put around Love in hopes of finally becoming a team worth sticking around for. If things are mess around the trade deadline, I suspect they’ll give in and trade him for whatever they can get, but until then they’re holding out. I’d be surprised if he was dealt in the off-season.

If the plan is to build a winner around Love and then offer him an extra year and $30 million more, then they have to do something big this offseason, but it won’t be in free agency because they’re projected to be at $66 million. The luxury tax line is at around $71 million, so I doubt they’ll be doing much more than a mid-level exception type move. So, they’ll have to make some trades. Nikola Pekovic, as much as I like him, seems to be the guy that should be moved .(I’d like to see Kevin Martin shipped out as well, but his contract 3 yr at 21 mil is tough to swallow considering he has no value outside of streaky scoring.) He’s a valuable player with good efficiency numbers and he probably is playing up to his contract (4 for 48 left) but his defense is a liability. Simply put, if the Wolves want to keep Love, then they should get rid of Pek. The offense is getting canceled out by the weak defense.

The emergence of Gorgui Dieng in the last month or two makes moving Pekovic more reasonable. He’s not as good overall as Pek just yet, but he brings much greater defensive potential, and surprising offensive promise as well. He rebounds (20 tonight), blocks and alters shots, passes the ball well, and shows nice touch on his 15-18 foot jumper.

I know Larry Sanders’ reputation has taken a hit this season, but I think the Wolves would serve themselves well by trading Pekovic for him. He could play Center next to Love, or slide over to the Power Forward when Dieng is in the game, to give the Wolves a really nice three man rotation, with a strong emphasis on defense (with Kevin scoring over 25 a game that shouldn’t be a problem)

If not for a Sanders-like player, then they should get a really good wing player. I hope I’m not reaching. In my estimation Pekovic, to certain teams around the league, is valuable enough to get a really good player in return. Somebody else said Josh Smith; I like Nicolas Batum, although I doubt the Blazers do this trade because Robin Lopez is playing so well.

Outside of the Pekovic situation, the Wolves have too many pretty good players all battling for playing time. Corey Brewer, Budinger, Muhammad, Mbah a Moute, Robbie Hummel; all of these guys are just kind of lumped in there as good players, but no one seems to be able to separate themselves from the others. (I really like Shabazz but he struggled to get consistent minutes) My point here is that they should move somebody from the wing rotation, because there just aren’t enough minutes.

Finally, the draft. The Timberwolves pick 13th as of today. If they’re trying to keep Love, they should grab a player who can contribute right away. Adriene Payne is my pick. They’ll probably cut ties with Cunningham after the season, and Payne is an upgrade in my opinion. Optimally, I’d like to see the Wolves get Payne’s teammate Gary Harris, but he’ll probably be off the board by the time they pick. Granted, if we trade Love, I’d go for more of an upside pick, but since they don’t want to cash in and rebuild, Payne is a guy that’ll step in and help right away.

If the Wolves follow my late night advice, their team for next season will look something like this:

Sanders
Love
Brewer
Martin—-please trade this guy, Flip. He’s much better on NBA 2k13 for Houston
Rubio

Barea
Dieng
Payne (or Harris if he’s somehow on the board)
Muhammad
Budinger
Turiaf
Mbah a Moute
Shved

They’ve gotta find away to shorten their rotation; it’s much too long…Much like this post. Goodnight

[TyroberParticipant]

 As much as I think they should trade him it seems like they will keep him and then watch him walk away while they get nothing in return. 

[TyroberParticipant]

 As much as I think they should trade him it seems like they will keep him and then watch him walk away while they get nothing in return. 

[kazamParticipant]

 They have to captialize on his value now. Long term I cant fathom seeing him toil away in Minnesota for his career. He will want a bigger market, higher chance to win. T-Wolves have to ensure their future by getting draft picks and hopefully a young prospect for him. 

[kazamParticipant]

 They have to captialize on his value now. Long term I cant fathom seeing him toil away in Minnesota for his career. He will want a bigger market, higher chance to win. T-Wolves have to ensure their future by getting draft picks and hopefully a young prospect for him. 

[The Scare Crow RisesParticipant]

As long as it’s not Purple and Gold or Celtic Green I’ll be in board with his decision. 

My money is him pairing up with Rose, Butler and Noah in Chicago, but the Fan in me wants him to come to Philadelphia and become the lynch pin to our young team (MCW+Noel+2 top 12 picks in 2014+Possible Top 7 pick in 2015) 

I think the Wolves may be screwed, they have to think about their future, but teams know Love is becoming a Free Agent soon and they’ll likely wait out his contract to make their pitch and hope he signs away the prime years of his career to join your franchise. 

Realisticly speaking Love deserves Max money, I don’t think there are going to be a lot of teams in the right position to offer him the absolute Max (Philly and a few other may have the money but will anyone want to take the road less traveled and put a franchise on their back)

[The Scare Crow RisesParticipant]

As long as it’s not Purple and Gold or Celtic Green I’ll be in board with his decision. 

My money is him pairing up with Rose, Butler and Noah in Chicago, but the Fan in me wants him to come to Philadelphia and become the lynch pin to our young team (MCW+Noel+2 top 12 picks in 2014+Possible Top 7 pick in 2015) 

I think the Wolves may be screwed, they have to think about their future, but teams know Love is becoming a Free Agent soon and they’ll likely wait out his contract to make their pitch and hope he signs away the prime years of his career to join your franchise. 

Realisticly speaking Love deserves Max money, I don’t think there are going to be a lot of teams in the right position to offer him the absolute Max (Philly and a few other may have the money but will anyone want to take the road less traveled and put a franchise on their back)

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 Yes, they didn’t make the playoffs. But they are a game over 500 in the West. So they are definitely within the top 10 to 15 team in the league.

They have a good starting five. Frankly their starters can hang with anyone. Love’s ridiculous plus/minus on court/off court differential is partly due to the fact that he is good and partly because he plays most of his minutes with the starters. 

Here’s a quote from a J. Casciaro article about Love:

Through 57 games, the Timberwolves have outscored opponents by 9.2 points per 48 minutes with Love on the floor, a point-differential that would rank atop the NBA (Indiana leads at +8.0). With their star sitting down, however, the T-Wolves have been outscored by 9.1 points per 48 minutes, a mark that would best only that of the dreadful 76ers (-10.5).

——

Now this isn’t all just because of Love. But it basically is showing how terrible the Wolve’s bench is. The good thing about that is changing your bench is actually fairly easy. Hit a home run the draft and you’ve got it. Pick up a sweet free agent, and you’ve got it. Take the Net’s draft of Plumlee and free agent signing of Livingston. Both those guys would revolutionize the Wolve’s bench. 

So they should make some tweaks and take another run with this squad. You can trade Love at the deadline if the tweaks don’t work. Or if playoffs are a lock (and seriously if you added Plumlee and Livingston to the Wolves the Wolves would easily have made the playoffs (Plumlee receiving passes from Rubio would get its own weekly spot on sportscenter because it would dominate too many highlight reals)), then you can keep him and hope that a long playoff run convinces him to stay. 

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

 Yes, they didn’t make the playoffs. But they are a game over 500 in the West. So they are definitely within the top 10 to 15 team in the league.

They have a good starting five. Frankly their starters can hang with anyone. Love’s ridiculous plus/minus on court/off court differential is partly due to the fact that he is good and partly because he plays most of his minutes with the starters. 

Here’s a quote from a J. Casciaro article about Love:

Through 57 games, the Timberwolves have outscored opponents by 9.2 points per 48 minutes with Love on the floor, a point-differential that would rank atop the NBA (Indiana leads at +8.0). With their star sitting down, however, the T-Wolves have been outscored by 9.1 points per 48 minutes, a mark that would best only that of the dreadful 76ers (-10.5).

——

Now this isn’t all just because of Love. But it basically is showing how terrible the Wolve’s bench is. The good thing about that is changing your bench is actually fairly easy. Hit a home run the draft and you’ve got it. Pick up a sweet free agent, and you’ve got it. Take the Net’s draft of Plumlee and free agent signing of Livingston. Both those guys would revolutionize the Wolve’s bench. 

So they should make some tweaks and take another run with this squad. You can trade Love at the deadline if the tweaks don’t work. Or if playoffs are a lock (and seriously if you added Plumlee and Livingston to the Wolves the Wolves would easily have made the playoffs (Plumlee receiving passes from Rubio would get its own weekly spot on sportscenter because it would dominate too many highlight reals)), then you can keep him and hope that a long playoff run convinces him to stay. 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Trade Kevin Love plus JJ Barea’s contract to the Lakers for Pau Gasol, their lottery pick, the 36th pick, and Xavier Henry.

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Trade Kevin Love plus JJ Barea’s contract to the Lakers for Pau Gasol, their lottery pick, the 36th pick, and Xavier Henry.

 

[MopgrassParticipant]

 I actually think Rubio’s the wrong fit for them. He’s great for a mobile, athletic team that runs. I still like him a lot for someone else. Minnesota has plenty of talent, they just need pieces that fit. 

The only top-shelf PG that might be available is Rondo. Rondo could drive and open things up for them. Teams are afraid of him. The rumor was he is available for 2 first rounders. So… Shabazz and this year’s 1st pick would do it. They wouldn’t even have to lose Rubio. It  might even attract some other talent.

I’m not sold on the idea, but it’s a thought.

[MopgrassParticipant]

 I actually think Rubio’s the wrong fit for them. He’s great for a mobile, athletic team that runs. I still like him a lot for someone else. Minnesota has plenty of talent, they just need pieces that fit. 

The only top-shelf PG that might be available is Rondo. Rondo could drive and open things up for them. Teams are afraid of him. The rumor was he is available for 2 first rounders. So… Shabazz and this year’s 1st pick would do it. They wouldn’t even have to lose Rubio. It  might even attract some other talent.

I’m not sold on the idea, but it’s a thought.

[Ny2daDeathOFmeParticipant]

 I mean they CAN but WILL they be able to keep love is a better question. I honestly don’t think they will though but if they was to make a mirical like resigning love happen, they would have to win. That’s the only thing that would probably make love want to stay. If he actually see a positive future with this team. I don’t see Kevin Love as a high matenence superstar that needs a big market to be satisfied, its more about winning and being able to win big seems to be his motivation.

[Ny2daDeathOFmeParticipant]

 I mean they CAN but WILL they be able to keep love is a better question. I honestly don’t think they will though but if they was to make a mirical like resigning love happen, they would have to win. That’s the only thing that would probably make love want to stay. If he actually see a positive future with this team. I don’t see Kevin Love as a high matenence superstar that needs a big market to be satisfied, its more about winning and being able to win big seems to be his motivation.

[Author]

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