Should Wolves do anything with expiring contracts?

[Billy Ray]

This is an important topic.

With the Saric trade, suddenly Tolliver becomes expendable. Also, Gibson shouldn't get the same run. So if a team thinks they need Gibson........

Also, at PG. We should be shopping around all 3 to see if we can get anything of value.

With Saric at PF, we have a good top 6 inlcluding Okogie. Everyone else (and whoever the starting PG is) should be expendable. The chances of us making the playoffs are very low.

But with Thibs as GM, unfortunately, we wont make any moves that hurt us now and help us in the future.

[j2j]

How about Tristan Thompson? Solid big option that let's KAT play more 4. But we'd have to clear out some of our bigs to do it. Cleveland has a few 2 year deals like you're referring to. Gorgui, Taj, and Bayless for Thompson, Korver, and JR Smith? Then cut JR immediately.

Any buyers remorse for Washington with Otto Porter? Would they trade him for a bunch of expirings?

Oooh.

Bayless + future 2nd for Korver. Separate deal to execute now.
Gorgui+Taj+Tyus for Thompson + Smith. Smith waived immediately.
Sign Noah.

Thompson/Noah
Towns/Saric/Tolliver
Covington/Korver/KBD
Wiggins/Okogie/Nunnally
Teague/Rose

Teague/Thompson clears about 40 mil after 2020.

Great minds... I like it. The Noah bit does nothing for me though, and not sure we'd need to.

[Thrillkill]

Wigs, Towns, Covington, Okogie, KBD. That's the list of players that should not be loudly on the market.

This is a straight up rebuild.

[irishman89]

I was just trying to find a new home for Taj. I seriously can't find a team that could use him.

[Thrillkill]

I was just trying to find a new home for Taj. I seriously can't find a team that could use him.

The teams that could use him are teams looking to shed money off next year's cap and willing to pay to do it. There will be about 20 of them at the deadline. And there will be one owner who has never been smart enough to take advantage of that.

Hey! it's our owner!

[j2j]

I was just trying to find a new home for Taj. I seriously can't find a team that could use him.

Philly, actually could. Though it's messy finding something to work.

Portland? As mentioned above for Evan Turner.

More importantly, in my search to answer this question I learned MarShon Brooks is still in the league... With Memphis.

Seriously, I was just wondering the other day what happened to him.

[irishman89]

Brooks actually finished last year scoring like a madman.

[irishman89]

I thought about Turner as well but he's actually pretty valuable for Portland right now in a very steady role that is probably more important than anything Gibson would bring above and beyond Harkless and Aminu.

[Thrillkill]

I was just trying to find a new home for Taj. I seriously can't find a team that could use him.

Philly, actually could. Though it's messy finding something to work.

Portland? As mentioned above for Evan Turner.

More importantly, in my search to answer this question I learned MarShon Brooks is still in the league... With Memphis.

Seriously, I was just wondering the other day what happened to him.

Philly for Tolliver. Just makes a ton of sense considering how much they need shooting. Still rather keep him and move Saric though. 60 days to prove me wrong there Dario.

[j2j]

Move Dario for what?

[digitalwolf]

I think there could be a market for Rose. Vet minimum deal and he’s showing scoring punch off the bench. There’ll likely be a contender that wants him. Dare to dream of a 1st?

I'd really like to re-sign him if possible.

He just doesn’t fit the age timeline or style of play out of the PG position that would make me want to pass up an asset while extending him and his risky health.

For the right price, bench scoring is always needed. If he's looking for 8 figures, he can kick rocks and go to the highest bidder, but if he makes it through the year healthy and wants to return, they had at very least better have a chat with him.

[salamander]

I wish the T-Wolves would expire. B-ball blows at a professional level.

[HeHateMe]

I wish the T-Wolves would expire. B-ball blows at a professional level.

Just noticed this post.... funny. We're supposed to take into account your opinion yet you hate nba?

[HeHateMe]

Dane Moore:

Is Another Trade Coming?

With having more capable rotation players than minutes available, it’s hard to not consider the trade market.

Let’s get this out of the way right away: Josh Okogie isn’t getting traded. With the addition of Saric, the Wolves now have a spawning crop of youth. The Butler acquisition aged this team quickly last season, as did the signings of Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague. The Wolves need to keep an eye on future windows, and Okogie should be a part of those.

Anthony Tolliver may be a different story. The 33-year-old stretch big signed in Minnesota after the Wolves rescinded the qualifying offer on Nemanja Bjelica, sending the Serbian big into the free agent abyss. There was a need for Tolliver’s services then. Now? Not so much. Saric, in ways, is really a combination of Bjelica and Tolliver.

But what could Tolliver fetch? The answer here is likely just a second round pick, if we’re talking about straight up trade value. Related: one maybe undercovered nugget from the recent Butler trade is that the pick they got back with Saric and Covington is basically worthless. A 2022 second round pick from a team with two budding superstars is about as fruitless as it gets. What’s the projection for that pick? 50th overall?

This is all to say, Thibodeau clearly didn’t place any sort of premium on acquiring future assets with that deal. The assumption should likely be that this trend continues. I highly doubt Thibodeau jumps on moving Tolliver for a second round pick if the Wolves are remotely in contention for the playoffs come February.

That said, Tolliver could be grouped in part of a bigger deal. What about a Tolliver and Gorgui Dieng package? The Wolves would do well to get off of Dieng’s money (averaging $16 million per year) through 2020-21. Perhaps a team that craves Tolliver’s services would accept both players for another sub-optimal, but better than Dieng, contract.

Together, Tolliver and Dieng count as a $20.9 million cap hit. Here are a few players in that price range who could be a building block of a deal:

Allen Crabbe (Nets) — $18.5 million in 2018-19 and 2019-20

Crabbe is a shooter; not a big man; and his deal is a year shorter than Dieng’s. Three pluses that offset some of that ridiculously high salary.

Robin Lopez (Bulls) — $14.4 million for 2018-19

Wolves would likely need to sweeten this with a draft pick, probably a future first. Chicago has cap space to absorb some additional salary. Lopez may be out of the rotation with the Bulls, but his contract serves as a cap relief gift card.

Danilo Gallinari (Clippers) — $21.6 million in 2018-19, $22.6 million in 2019-20

Would need to sweeten this with a pick, also. However, the superstar-hungry Clippers may be enticed by the additional $6 million it would free up on their books in a Gallinari-Dieng swap.

Ryan Anderson (Suns) — $20.4 million in 2018-19, $21.2 million (partially-guaranteed) in 2019-20

The Suns are a team with some cap flexibility that might be willing to take on long-term money for the right price. That price might be Tyus Jones instead of Tolliver, and the Wolves may be intrigued by Anderson’s shorter contract.

Evan Turner (Blazers) — $17.9 million in 2018-19, $18.6 million in 2019-20

Thibodeau called Turner “one of the most underrated players in the league” when the Blazers came to town on Friday. Turner’s deal is shorter than Dieng’s, and Portland could be intrigued by Tolliver’s shooting.

As alluded to in the hypothetical Suns deal, Tyus Jones could be another name to throw in potential trade talks. The backup point guard is a free agent at season’s end and Thibodeau could cover up the backup guard minutes with Derrick Rose, sliding Okogie back into the rotation.

Time will tell how active Minnesota is in the February trade market. Whether they are buyers or sellers is an interesting in-bound subplot of the season.

[populousample]

Wiggin Dieng Bayless for Beal and Porter. Saves WASH a chunk, costs us $8m of cap next year and beyond. Never happen

[irishman89]

I don't know why Washington didn't just swap one of their guys for Butler. Now it sounds like they've got a dumpster fire brewing over there.