cmajo

The simplest way I can put it with Anthony Edwards versus LaMelo Ball: I believe Edwards has the best chance in this class of becoming the best player on a team and that Ball has the best chance at becoming a player who makes your team's best player better.

If the Wolves were able to have a cap space team (maybe Brooklyn or Chicago) absorb Julius Randle's contract next season ($33M), that would open up three interesting roster building tools I want to highlight. I think this is relevant because the Wolves front office has a history of kind of stringing together transactions -- even over the course of multiple transaction windows (offseason and trade deadline). The Randle trade would be Randle + draft compensation for say Brooklyn to absorb the contract - maybe: Randle + No. 28 for a future 2nd (Adjust compensation as you see fit. Not the point of this exercise. Obviously if this would cost a bunch, they wouldn't do it. Or maybe they'd have to move to using Gobert's salary as the salary moved into another team's cap space.) Shedding Randle's salary would drop the Wolves well below the *1st* apron (about $52M). And while beneath the 1st apron, the Wolves would open up the ability to three additional roster building tools for spending that $52M... (If Ayo Dosunmu were to sign for $17M, that would be $35M in room below the 1st apron. And need to make sure to get the roster to 14 players.) 1. The non-taxpayer midlevel exception ($15M) - The "big MLE" is a $15M gift card for teams to spend above the salary cap but below the 1st apron. So if the Wolves were to use this, they would be hard-capped at the 1st apron ($13M below 2nd apron). If a team is over the 1st apron, they only have access to the taxpayer or "mini MLE", which is $6M next season - Could go out and sign a free agent for up to $15M in starting salary - Could also use this $15M as a trade exception and trade for a player who makes up to $15M 2. The trade exception generated in the Mike Conley salary dump trade to Chicago ($10.77M) - A trade exception allows a team to trade for a player without sending back matching salary for up to the amount of the trade exception - So with access to this trade exception, the Wolves could trade for a player making up to $10.77M - Using a trade exception also hard caps a team at the 1st apron ($13M below 2nd apron) 3. Making a Randle trade to a team who absorbs his contract into cap space would also create another trade exception (up to $33M) - The size of that trade exception would be Randle's $33M, minus whatever the Wolves took back in the trade - Might not need that for spending this summer. But doesn't expire for 365 days. The downside of working below the 1st apron as opposed to the 2nd apron is it restricts overall spending power by $13M -- because that's the gap between the two aprons.

Naz Reid is going to be the starting power forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves for the first time in his career. This move is a big statement of belief in Reid and Jaden McDaniels to take the next steps in their development.

Tim Connelly and the Wolves continue to protect Jaden as though he’s a bonafide 2-way star and future All-Star. The big question: When are they going to start giving him that kind of role? If he’s off limits in a trade for an MVP, at some point we’re going to need to see why…