Jake Paynting

@jakebanderson32 Yeah I agree. If you told me they sold off Randle and Gobert for actual 1st round picks and bad but short contracts I’d probably be pretty understanding of that logic.

@JakePaynting 💯 no doubt Like you said. Every path has risk I’d just prefer to risk on synergy and that removing awkwardness of our roster lifts us up more than any depressed asset would And it’s the one path that leaves optionally. If we risk on a big swing we’re out of moves ant def gone

I’m not overly into the Ja stuff but I do think the Wolves are gonna have to take a risk somewhere. Star hunting means giving up meaningful depth+picks, depressed asset hunting is a failure risk, prioritizing picks/retool is a step back and dangerous. Gotta pick a risky lane

@farming_bro Yeah that’s the theoretical blueprint isn’t it. Just juice up their downhill scoring/playmaking to a point where they’ve never had it next to Ant before.

@JakePaynting i’d be nervous about it but just think about how much of an impact TSJ had in the playoffs this year and then imagine if it was ja doing that

@dennissports5 Yeah it’s not gonna be prime prime but it can’t even be close to the checked out version we’re seeing — hence the risk I guess

@JakePaynting Well there’s no chance it’s prime Ja anymore. But maybe he can shoot 35% from three?

@jakebanderson32 In the long term that’s probably the best option but if that team misses the playoffs then Ant bailing becomes a very real possibility very quickly

@JakePaynting I don’t get why there isn’t more interest in the risk of “addition by subtraction” Sell Rudy Randle for whatever you can. Take a yr and see what we really have with Ant Ayo Jaden Naz Donte (2 yrs out) Joann We’ve never seen ant in a tm that fits around him

@dennissports5 It’s hard because are they 45 games of something close to prime Ja? Or 45 of last season’s Ja? That’s a big difference lol

@JakePaynting If you could get 45 healthy Ja games but you can’t pick what part of the season he’s healthy would you take it? (Don’t worry about what the trade is rn)

@DietBeginsMon Yeah I wouldn’t mind them taking a swing at a cost controlled price but I’d have my reservations on if it’d actually move the needle more than a legit star or stockpiling some draft assets and trying to catch lightning in a bottle that way. Both of those paths are more risky tho.

@JakePaynting This is exactly why I like the Ja stuff cause the risk is more or less in the player and not the cost to get him - we can probably get him for Randle + Shannon and I think he’s got well enough upside to be worth that cost

@ethankinneyy Agree but I do think we’re all taking the Ant off ball stuff a little far. He’s gonna be on ball a ton, he’s not a Klay kind of star, so needs guys next to him who enhance that. Ja being great off the catch going downhill would help there but he’d have to take a big usage cut?

@JakePaynting I think he can easily be a 35% three point shooter again, which is better than what Randle gave us. And I don't mind the on-ball stuff if he can get Ant lots of off ball looks/have elite chemistry with a roller

@ethankinneyy I do think he’s a prime candidate to bounce back when he leaves the team he’s clearly fallen out with, but the shooting and need to have the ball scare me a little. He’s still a great rim pressure guy and a great passer so I could get around those things on this team for sure.

@JakePaynting Ja is probably my favorite wolves target besides kyrie. Fits Ants timeline Elite passer still even with the down year I trust that a change of scenery would do wonders for him, I just think hes too good of a talent to write off before he gets on his next team.

@fork_king Yeah, I don’t think Ayo is a top tier POA guy but if they can’t find one somehow I’d rather just roll with him for most matchups and maximize Jaden as a roamer

@JakePaynting Agreed, + he shouldn’t be the de facto POA defender anymore, he’s simply too large for it and his role has expanded such that he can’t expend so much energy there anymore

Jaden McDaniels has played 29 games without either Anthony Edwards or Julius Randle in the past two regular seasons, games where I’d say he was the unequivocal 2nd option. In those games: 19.1 PPG 6.5 RPG 3.4 APG 57.9% EFG

@fork_king He should be used as a legit PnR roller a ton if they want to bump his scoring usage up. He’s just a skilled big in my eyes and playing him that way would negate some of the shooting/handling stuff.

@JakePaynting I think the issue is moreso how he chooses to score rather than his scoring ability, he just doesn't shoot enough to be a proper second option IMO. Would prefer if he played power forward and they fed him paint touches in order to utilize his interior scoring

@NVizion28 I think he'd help there defensively, but right now I just don't think the offense even outside of the shooting issues is gonna be enough. Still room to grow there for sure but I think he needs a leap in his ball-handling/playmaking and then obviously the shooting too.

@JakePaynting I agree with that. NAW would have been useful here. Do you think Clark could scale up given the opportunity? (Barring he’s not involved any trades and can be more consistent offensively)

@NVizion28 Yeah I think if they can find a good point of attack guy, Ayo can maybe take a step forward there, or both, then they can use him off ball more and that would maximize him defensively, allow him to do less work, and cover some of the Rudy hole maybe?

@JakePaynting Definitely. That paired with a Rudy trade could be a massive stepback for the defensive side of the ball. Although maybe that would put Jaden off ball/rim protector more often.

@NVizion28 Yeah I think if they’re asking him to do way more offensively they’re gonna have to ask him to do at least a little less defensively

@JakePaynting The other intriguing part is if he can scale up and continue to be an All-NBA caliber defender. Most of these other 2nd options don’t carry the same defensive burden as Jaden.

Other notable western conference 2nd options: Murray: 24-4-7-57.3% (All-NBA) Sengun: 20.4-8.9-6.2-53.7% (All-Star) Fox: 18.6-3.6-6.2-54.9% (All-Star) Reaves: 23.3-4.7-5.5-56.7% 24/25 JDub: 21.6-5.3-5.1-53.7% (All-NBA)

Wolves gotta decide whether this scattered sample size is real, whether it can be juiced even further with more consistent work into it, and whether that actually moves the needle. Fair arguments for both sides I think.

Trade ideas poll thread: This is purely a thought exercise. Do not freak out over any of these trade ideas. I’m looking at what works cap-wise, and what might work basketball wise. Purely a thought exercise.

@skiyouMeeko That’s fine man I put the feelers out and people wanted a breakdown on it. No time wasted here I love watching hoops lol.

@JakePaynting Love you and all your breakdowns but I think we’re wasting time He’s not coming here

Feel like there's lots of talk about Giannis, the Wolves, the trade package feasibility, and whether Minnesota should even do it. So I kinda wanted to dig in to what would it would actually be like on the court if Ant and Giannis teamed up. Breakdown: youtu.be/HB75dgZn7kE