Thibs’ moves would have had them third in the West had Butler not suffered a freak injury against the Rockets. Also, Markkanen is a stretch 4 that would have been a terrible fit next to a poor defender in Towns, and taking a 7th overall pick to be an elite sixth man is a poor use of draft capital. Surrounding Towns with good defenders in Butler and Gibson were smart moves, and swapping Rubio for Teague was about a wash. They need to replace Andrew Wiggins with a 3 & D guy, but otherwise, the Wolves have a nice starting five. Wiggins is the real problem in Minnesota. Unless he improves or is traded, they will never reach the next level. Finally, not sure where you got the idea that Teague is a chucker from, he took 11 shots a game in Minnesota, and 11 the year before in Indiana.
Towns was the best player on the Wolves last year tho. In terms of WS/48, KAT is tied for the third best age 22 season of the three point era, only behind Chris Paul (#1 and not even close), and A'mare Stoudemire, and is tied with James Harden and Shaq. You don't trade talent like that for anything less than another superstar. Its quite ironic that a fanbase which endured cries of "KlAy ThOmpSoN is BeTTer tHaN HArdeN CuZ HE PlayZ D!!!!" is now recommending that a generational talent should be traded to appease an older, worse player because "he plays defense". Could Towns be more A'mare Stoudemire than Dirk Nowtizki? Sure, I could see that. But A'mare was no scrub, he led multiple 60 win teams in both scoring and rebounding, and was only stopped by his knees and a BS suspension from being a champion.
Its never an "if" when it comes to Injuries and Thibs, its "when". While that is true, he's already better than Wiggins who can neither shoot nor defend, at least Markkanen can do one of those things. Tell that to James Harden. Butler would have been nicer had they given up wiggins too. I already praised the Gibson signing. Rubio was younger, cheaper, and better than Teague the year prior, and the same remained last season. Yes, its amazing how he came in with all that hype in HS, then underachieved his way to the #1 pick, then underachieved his way to ROTY, and now shapes up to be a Beasly-esque bust. I believe I meant to say that Rubio historically is a lower usage, high assist %, and more defensive-oriented guard, three things that the Wolves needed, while Teague is 4 years older, more expensive, lower assist % (and some of the worst post entry passes I've seen), and not a very good defender, not a total chucker, but more of a scoring guard than Rubio nonetheless.
I agree with you about Thibs running guys into the ground, but Butler’s knee sprain had nothing to do with that. It was a freak collision with Nene. Yes, they would be better off having Markkanen than Wiggins, and giving Wiggins that extension was idiotic. But long term, Markkanen is a poor fit next to Towns. Markkanen is nice player, but he’s no James Harden. Perhaps the Bulls didn’t want Wiggins. Takes two to tango after all. Also, Gibson doesn’t sign in Minnesota without Thibs and Butler there. Not arguing that Rubio isn’t better than Teague. But, overall, the swap didn’t have a drastic impact on the Wolves season. Also, I can understand the Wolves moving on from Rubio when they were going to run their offense through Butler. Ricky Rubio developed his outside shot in Utah more than anyone ever thought he would, or could. This I agree with. As I said earlier, Wiggins is the one holding back the Wolves. Rubio was one of the lowest usage point guards in NBA history during his team in Minnesota, so most anyone else will look like a chucker in comparison. The rest of your analysis I agree with.
I knew Towns was good, but didn’t realize how good he was last season. So yes, he was the Wolves best player last year, not Butler. That said, I wasn’t advocating to trade him for a scrub. But, it is a fact that it is much harder to build around a big in today’s NBA, and especially one like Towns that is a poor rim protector/pick and roll defender. The bottom line is the Wolves need to do whatever it takes to keep Butler. He was a top 20 player in WS/48 himself. If I were Minnesota, I’d trade Wiggins for the best offer and build around a Butler and Towns pairing.
@DVauthrin sit down with Butler all you want. Promise him the moon. But he is gone. If you don't want to believe that, don't know what else to tell ya.
I think both will be in play. Everything I have seen says he wants the bright lights. So both fit the bill.
The Lakers are the Trumps of the NBA, their means of success is all inherited, but at least they make the absolute most of it. The Knicks are the Kardashians of the NBA, like the former, they are only relevant like their father, but all they do is sleep around with washed up athletes and make money by doing absolutely nothing.
Jimmy won't be first priority for the Lakers (Durant, Leonard, Thompson?) but might be for the Knicks/Nets.
Unless you are in Butler’s inner circle, you don’t know what he will do as a free agent. Everyone thinks he is gone, but things can change. Look no further than Paul George and OKC for proof. Until he signs somewhere else, anything can happen. Also, Butler is very tight with Thibs, and turning down $50 million dollars in extra salary is difficult for anyone to do. He very well may walk, but considering Minnesota’s franchise history and their status as a small-market team, they are better off gambling that he stays, because the alternative is reverting right back to a rebuilding, lottery-bound franchise yet again.
