Jake

@JakePaynting Do you think that Ayo can do that? It feels like the potential is there to mold into that role

The appeal of White and to a lesser-rumored degree Suggs is not to get pure PG play, it’s to get Jaden off ball defensively where I think he’d be 1st team defense and actually have a defensive role that allows him to expend more energy offensively.

@DietBeginsMon @ChristopherHine Not to mention I think we can all see Ant Jaden and Naz vibing with Ja’s energy and swagger that he plays with. He oozes flashy and confidence. Which I think would rub off on our core guys.

The reason I like Morant and Kyrie over some other options is you basically get to have your cake and eat it too withe giving Jaden and Naz more responsibility as especially with Morant it really shouldn’t cost much mote than Julius So you continue to level those guys up with better facilitators to get them the ball

Striking out on another big swing also does this, maybe even more so. But (for those that read it) I sort of endorsed taking a swing for Morant if they wanted to go big-name hunting. Sounds like he's more gettable than Kyrie, fits age curve, easier to pivot off his deal.

@TimGarrisonMN Just how bad do you think a Naz Sabonis front court would be

Julius and Donte add up to $45.86 million in outgoing salary. Because taking back more than you send out would hard cap Minnesota at the 1st apron, I’d say it’s safe to assume Minnesota would keep any player coming back below that salary mark. Here’s a list of players that make less: - Domantas Sabonis $45.5m - Kevin Durant $43.9m - OG Anunoby $42.5m - James Harden $42.3m - Darius Garland $42.1m - Ja Morant $42.1m - Zion Williamson $42.1m - Scottie Barnes $41.8m - Franz Wagner $41.8m - Paolo Banchero $41.3m - Chet Holmgren $41.3m - Jalen Williams $41.3m - SGA $40.8m - Michael Porter Jr. $40.8m - LaMelo Ball $40.8m - Tyrese Maxey $40.8m - Brandon Ingram $40m - Kyrie Irving $39.5m

@TimGarrisonMN @NBATRADERUMORS8 In that scenario I’d love to get back Gafford, Claxton, Kalkbrenner/Diabete, etc as a bridge center for the year until Beringer is ready hopefully by 2027-2028 season to be a starter 🤞

@jakepetey22 @NBATRADERUMORS8 This is a core reason why I think it will be Rudy and Randle going out to get Kyrie +. Rudy makes a ton of sense for Charlotte, and they own the rights to Dallas’ 2027 pick.

REPORT: The Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers have all shown interest in trading for Kyrie Irving, per sources.

@TimGarrisonMN Do you see the extension coming first or a trade?

There's a ton of aggregation around an Ayo Dosunmu extension that I don't believe to be entirely accurate. Below is the Timberwolves cap sheet if they were to sign Ayo to a 4-year $72 million deal structured as a bird-rights 8% raise every year. Note- they could structure the deal differently. Assuming Mike Conley, Jaylen Clark, and Bones Hyland sign for at or near the minimum, Minnesota would have $22.5 million in space left over. At 4 years $72 Million, Minnesota would actually have $6.5 Million in space to utilize their taxpayer exception to go above the minimum for a free agent. This is also prior to any trades, but the Wolves could still likely absorb 2-3 million in a trade and still round out the roster with minimum contracts and an Ayo extension.

@JakePaynting Where would you put Derrick White

Wolves trade tiers for me: Any depressed asset/salary match that also nets them 1st round picks ——————————————— Giannis Kawhi ——————————————— Kyrie ——————————————— Better fitting depressed asset (Quickley, MPJ, Jrue etc) ——————————————— Zion Ja ——————————————— Murray

@TimGarrisonMN And with how well Conley is playing

Upon Ayo’s return and dissipation of Ant’s minute restriction, TJ’s ability to scale up with the ball in his hands may spell the end for Bones in this series against the Spurs. It’s not the best matchup for him, and with how TJ is responding to his scaled up role I’m not sure how you can put the genie back in the bottle. He needs a 20-25 minute bench role where he can run wild with the ball in his hands, not the limited 10-15 minute role.

3 years ago they traded me. 3 years fast forward we eliminated them. I love you Minny! Wolves in 6 🐺

THE TIMBERWOLVES ELIMINATE THE NUGGETS 🐺 Minnesota handles Denver in six games despite injuries to advance 🔥

Wait, no fine for Jaden McDaniels making a layup while the game was still going on?

JADEN MCDANIELS PUT EM TO SLEEP

WOLVES WIN!!! WOLVES WIN!!! WOLVES WIN!!! #WolvesBack

@TimGarrisonMN That graphic is also why I’m pumped to have Slomo back

The real kicker was you had Rudy in help because we could ignore Aaron Gordon in the corner. That double was so effective, and it also put Rudy in excellent rebounding position all series. It’s not Jokic scoring that concerns me. It’s when Jokic is scoring and getting his teammates wide open looks that the Nuggets feel impossible to stop. The Wolves will need to be excellent on Jamal Murray and be disciplined running guys off the 3pt line.

Underrated skill: Letting other people have their moment. No one-upping. No "that reminds me of when I..." Just listening. Asking the next question. Secure people don't compete for attention. They give it.

@TimGarrisonMN @NBA Do you have faith TSJ will add a right hand finish to his game? Or some other move driving to the rim to mix it up. Feels like he is getting blocked as often as Dillingham

Wolves 108, Pistons 113 A tough stretch in the 4th quarter blew open what I otherwise thought was a well fought game between the Wolves and Pistons. The Wolves missed too many open looks from deep, going 31% from 3pt range in the game. It was also concerning how unplayable Rudy was at times. A bright spot was TJ looked like himself. He had a few missed layups again, and he’s got to fix that, but otherwise was sound defensively and added some athletic pop off the bench. Minnesota feels destined for the 6th seed. Onto the next.

@JonKrawczynski It’s easy to see a role for him next year if he gets in the lab this summer and works on actually using his right hand when finishing. Is this something that the coaches are working on him with? Feels like this year he gets blocked as much as Dillingham at the rim

Really good minutes from Terrence Shannon Jr.

@TimGarrisonMN Feels like a huge miss from the coaching staff to not put Ant on Murray. Jaden being rim protection help would be way better

@jakepetey22 I promise you Ant will have a big time 4th. He’s been trying to get the ball to his teammates all game. He knows he can score. I’d bet on a 15 point 4th

Watching Jokic be a rim protector against Anthony Edwards is simply a collection of defensive lowlights.