Answering Burning Minnesota Timberwolves Offseason Questions | The Minnesota Basketball Party

Answering Burning Minnesota Timberwolves Offseason Questions | The Minnesota Basketball Party

welcome to the basketball party I’m Sam extrom Michael Bloomberg joins the ownership squabble and we address the obligatory offseason cat trade rumors today on the Minnesota basketball party this is locked on Sports Minnesota podcast it’s endless Minnesota Timberwolves talk with the diverse voices of your local experts it’s time for the Minnesota basketball party on the locked on podcast Network your Team every day wolves talk every Wednesday we’re back at it on the Minnesota basketball party un lock on Sports Minnesota thanks a lot for joining us today whether you are live on the lock on Sports Minnesota YouTube Channel Please Subscribe watching us there on demand or listening to us on the lockdown wolves podcast feed wherever you get your podcast that includes the SiriusXM app by the way and uh by the way Ben Beacon produces great in-depth daily wolves content on that lock on wolves podcast feed he is among our panel of experts today on a show that will dive into the Michael Bloomberg Edition to the A-Rod Lorry ownership team Carl Anthony Town’s offseason status this is becoming an annual write of Passage what do the wolves do with cat and uh we’ll get into the Wolves notable um unrestricted free agents what to do with them on a limited budget we address all that today but first we meet our panel of experts with the opening tip I’m B Beacon host of The Daily lockdown wolves podcast we’ll talk a little bit today about carony towns and I’ll talk about why I don’t think the Wolves will trade him this offseason despite the cap implications and I’m Ron Johnson former gopher wide receiver gopher h of Famer and host of The Ron Johnson show on locked on Sports Minnesota and I want to talk about why Anthony Edwards is continuing to show us he is the Michael Jordan but there’s something the Bulls did to help Jordan get a championship will they do that for Anthony Edwards I’m Jack Borman uh soon to be former editor and chief of kupus uh and co-host of the lockon wolves postcast with my man Luke Inman and uh I’m gonna be getting into a little bit why I think that uh it’s going to be a relatively quiet off season uh for the Timberwolves outside of of making a couple draft selections here uh later this month I’m Reggie Wilson Sports director at k 11 and uh unlike Jack I think it’s going to be a little bit more of a loud uh offseason but not because of the moves that they have on the court but some of the ownership stuff some compelling teases there and we’ll start where Reggie ended with the ownership squabble since our last show I think this broke either the day of or the day after we did our last show Michael Bloomberg 12th richest man in the world joins the ownership team and I I think in addition to that there were reports in the story about some of the intentions of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lorie chiefly they want to spearhead a new sports network locally um that obviously is going to take a lot of cost a lot of effort but it’s actually much needed in this market the wild need a home the twins need a new TV home and of course the Timberwolves need a TV home as well so that could be a pretty huge deal secondly they’re targeting an arena being built by 2031 and Michael Bloomberg joins and wants to buy out Glen Taylor these are all the the notable bullet points from the report um is this them getting a step ahead because it seems to me like they’re still going over the fine print of the contract they need to win arbitration against Glenn they need to get the board of Governor’s vote what is what is the point of Bloomberg what does it mean for the ownership bid since Reggie brought it up I’ll I’ll kick it to Reggie first what is uh what’s the deal with mik Bloomberg yeah so uh right now on carol.com and on Carol YouTube you can uh watch the conversation that I had with John krinski uh the day that that story broke uh he and Shams broke that story that day so of course I had to talk to him about it and it’s it’s very layered uh very very layered but some of the the bullet points of when he was talking to me um as you said Sam you know 2031 could be the earliest that they could try to get going on this on this Stadium uh deal um possibly down by the farmers market uh in Minneapolis which I’m just trying to logistically see how that works I know they can do anything but um you know that’s a that’s like a one-way Road right there so you’re not taking my Farmers Market stand in front of the bulldozzer the farmers market stays but it’s just a weird area the highways literally right there so I’m I’m interested to see what that would look like but also the sports network you know some of the guys that are involved um in this prospective ownership group you know they’ve had uh experience with the Yes Network and you know creating networks before so that’s something that that they are looking into as well that could be a home not just of the wolves and links but could be the home of the Twins and maybe the wild too if if they are successful in some of the things that they you know want to do in developing a new network and then also just it’s interesting because I was asking John like what does this mean as far as like who feels like they have the upper hand and this arbitration pay off the te’s this arbitration is going to go well into the summer it may be before the season starts right before or it may be you know a couple months from now that we find out you know what exactly is going to be the fate of each ownership group and it’s funny because I’m like okay Michael Bloomberg joins the you know the A-Rod Lori ownership group but if the judge rules in favor of Glenn and he will no longer sell that portion to A-Rod and Lori then it’s all moot as John said but what’s interesting is both sides are jockeying in different ways he was mentioning how you know A-Rod and Lori they’re they’re doing this with Bloomberg and that would mean him buying out the rest of Glenn’s stake in the team as opposed to Glenn keeping that 20% that he was trying to when the sell initially was agreed upon and then also on Glenn’s side he look I’m gonna I I’ll pay to the luxury tax so both sides are saying that they’ll pay into the tax and A-Rod and Lori getting Bloomberg pretty much allows them to do that because he’s the what 12th richest man in the world 106 North of6 billion dollar net worth and so this all this whole thing is very interesting but I think because of the ownership situation it’s going to be quite the theatrical uh offseason for the wolves and I’m interested to see how it all plays out but Bloomberg joining is not like a small deal it’s a big deal but it’s all moot if the judge doesn’t rule in A-Rod and Lor’s favor because then you you know they’re stuck with the percentage of the team that they have now and it won’t move forward yeah Ben you had some interesting thoughts in our text thread where you thought maybe the Bloomberg move is sweetening the pot so to speak if they get through arbitration and they get to the Board of Governors vote this might be something to to create appeal with the rest of the league so that they win that vote correct yeah I mean I think it just it it credibility is the biggest thing I mean everybody knows that name I mean it’s a guy who’s the mayor of the biggest city and and uh 12th richest man in the world as Reggie said and uh you know media Mogul and ran for president you know a few years ago so like everybody knows who he is it adds credibility and and obviously like everybody at all the Board of Governors guys are all they’re all rich they’re all famous on some level but this is a name that like it helps him in the court of public opinion and I’ll let someone else speak more to the to the to the team owners and the Board of Governors but I do think it helps there in terms of credibility um but but in terms of of a public opinion which is very important to laor and Rodriguez we saw the media tour where they went on following the uh the the you know all the stuff that happened back in the late winter early spring initially when this got messy um like they want the public opinion to be on their side and they don’t have to work too hard to do it although you know there’s been a lot of jokes about ah why would you buy a team if if you don’t have the cash and all this stuff but now they don’t have that problem and so now there’s a name and there’s additional Capital they’ll have liquidity like if they and I know Lori talks about having liquid assets Etc but now they really have liquidity with Michael Bloomberg so if this thing goes through and they win arbitration which is an if obviously as Reggie said and then if they get approved by the league which this helps there too then they’ve got money moving forward and there’s no question that public and and I’m sure they’re assuming wolves fans are going to be on the side of Lori redri as Bloomberg and be like hey these guys know what they’re doing they’ve got the money they’ve got the name they’ve got the vision um they’re more likely even though Glenn says he’ll pay the tax like now they really do have the money to do it Glenn’s a billionaire but now you have two billionaires on the other side of things and um and also just given how aggressive they were leading the charge for Tim Connelly and the um you know the acquisition of Rudy goar they’ve shown that they’re going to be aggressive and now also this this other you know down the road whether it’s the arena or the the media the TV deal um they’re being aggressive and and Progressive in what they’re trying to do moving forward and this again it goes back to credibility and then also flexibility with in terms of uh the the capital that Bloomberg adds to the group so I think it helps them in a number of ways it obviously as regie alluded to doesn’t doesn’t have any impact on the arbitration so it it becomes somewhat moot if they don’t win and then they only have the 36% or whatever it is and Bloomberg’s just part of that group um but you know if they do in arbitration it is a big deal Ron a lot of rich people battling for power it feels like only one group is going to be left standing I just I don’t see a world world where these these two sides coexist um running this team for the next five years it’s just hard to imagine they all stick around there’s got to be a winner here and I wonder if Bloomberg kind of pushes A-Rod and Lori over the top I mean not only push him over the top I think the the biggest thing is follow the money you know you go back to Steve balber you go back to Michael Jordan you know sometimes there’s Fame and name and then there’s money Bloomberg brings you both and I think that’s the key here A-Rod is the name and fame similar to a Michael Jordan with money but not as much as Bloomberg Glen Taylor is worth $2.8 billion Bloomberg is worth $106 billion and what he does every day he touches other billionaires he can whether it’s through spiderwebs of money whether it’s through the Bloomberg report whether it’s through his his uh his his Bloomberg LP Financial Services his information software media he has the ability to create and print money he has the ability to come up with ways to enrich an organization to enrich a city and the things he can do create a media Outlet those are things that Glen Taylor would probably want to do but can’t do if Glen Taylor could do it all over again and he could see the future he would say man I need to partner with Michael Bloomberg it’s too late Bloomberg is now on the other side of the table the best thing he can do to save face because one money is no object to Bloomberg he would be willing to pay call it whatever you want $3 billion knowing two new teams are coming to the league knowing he can create a media outlet that I mean I’m pretty sure he looks at social media and Twitter and the people that hate some of the ways the T Timber Wells and twins games are broadcasted if he comes up with a way to even figure out like we can make money on this the the sky is the limit for him so his his buyin is not just the team his buyin is a market he’s trying to figure out how and then from there he’s now in one of the richest fraternities in America when you talk about these other owners and they operate and how they do business together as a group and how they you know have their funds and the in the TV rights and XYZ so I I I I I don’t see really out for Glen Taylor that helps him look good because keeping the team now is the worst possible solution because they have the money that he claimed they didn’t have and so other than that now it’s just he wants more money well then be honest now you have to show your cards and I think that’s where we’re going to be he’s going to have to show his cards of what he wants he said it wasn’t money it was that he didn’t want them to do x y to the team but now they have the money to pay what was in their contract so we’ll see where they go from there yeah Jack let me ask you one quick question then I’ll let you cook so with the part of them buying out Glenn completely do you from what you know about the dealings do they have the right to do that within the the contract because why would Glenn agree to that when he can sell that 20% for double to a different stakeholder do you know anything about that part of it uh I I don’t know with 100% certainty but I I I’m pretty sure that that there was a clause that was in the initial contract that was that would allow for them to completely buy out Glenn if if that’s what everybody involved wanted to have happen um but but I’m not 100% sure on that I think we’ve all focused so much more about uh can they just get majority control before getting you know complete control I think there was something in there about they would be to buy out all of Glenn’s LPS um but I’m not sure about Glenn specifically um but yeah I think again do you really think that Michael Bloomberg would get in on the Timberwolves and links ownership if he wasn’t pretty confident and those around him weren’t pretty confident that Mark Lori and Alex Rodriguez were going to come out the other side of this arbitration like even if you’re talking about the court of public opinion um I I still just have a really hard time getting to the fact that that Bloomberg would join this thing if if it wasn’t going to go Mark Lori and Alex Rodriguez’s way you know Glen Taylor the only thing that Glen Taylor has going for him is that he was the chair of the Board of Governors from 2008 to 2012 and again from 2014 to 2017 so he obviously has good rapport with the majority of these uh of these governors of all these teams you know I know that that there are definitely some teams that have changed hands uh in recent years when you think about about the Suns and the Jazz and and the Mavericks um so so there’s certainly some new faces but not enough that would that would swing it in any direction uh and Glen Taylor now finally is is just saying he’s willing to do the bare minimum of paying the luxury tax to try to help you know keep this team uh you know near the top of the Western Conference that is the only thing that has come out have you heard Glen Taylor or or anybody on the on the Taylor ownership side of the house present any type of plan for moving this franchise forward no no you haven’t and and I think if if I’m if I’m an owner let’s say I’m the owner of of the Miami Heat or the Atlanta Hawks or uh or the wizard or some random team you know where all I care about is are you going to appreciably contribute more money to the overall bottom line of the league that will in hand or in turn put more money in my hand and I think unquestionably that the side that I would take in that is Mark Lori and Alex Rodriguez they’ presented plans that are going to drive both of these franchises forward with with a new Arena uh I don’t think you would start to hear leaks about where a new Arena might be uh at least as loudly as they’ve become if you didn’t feel pretty solid about that plan and have talked to really important stakeholders involved in making a decision like that nor would you put a year on it I also don’t think that you would get as far down the line as as it seems they have with a new Regional Sports Network I think everybody knows that that business model at least how it is presently with balet sports is an abject disaster um and you look at some success stories I mean you look at what the Wizards have done what Ted leonis has done with uh with Monumental Sports Network aing capitals uh Wizards and Mystics games on that network has been has been great uh you saw what the Jazz did the Jazz kind of you know started their own uh you know their own broadcast service that allowed uh fans to to purchase access to games and and whole lot more uh behind the scenes content as well for subscription price every single month where you don’t have to deal with blackouts and all this other garbage that uh you know fans continually have to deal with and and then then you look at what Matt ishbia did with the Suns he just said I’m GNA put every game on you know Public Access TV where it’s available for everybody that has an antenna and if you don’t have an antenna or you have no way of accessing the games I’m going to give them to you for free so you can you know watch these games become a fan in turn hopefully uh come to more games spend more money on on merchandise and um and all the rest of it I I just think that it it seems really it seem really odd to me that Michael Bloomberg would join this ownership group if he didn’t feel extremely confident that Mark Lori and Alex Rodriguez were going to come out the other side of it and and it just seems like they have so much more of a detailed plan for how they want to move these franchises forward whereas Glen Taylor I think and and those around him um you know obviously there’s things that haven’t come out publicly maybe there’s plans privately but uh he sure seems uh fine with you know staying in Target Center and and and just barely doing the bare minimum of paying the luxury tax and um you know and and trying to keep Tim Connelly around for another yeah that’s another part of it too like Tim Connelly very clearly does not want to work for Glen Taylor you know like not not signing a long-term extension when you’ve built this thing and this is a contender and and you have a super bright future you have an incredibly talented in deep uh roster an incredibly talented in deep front office and and you don’t want to sign a long-term contract extension that just scream and you’re just kicking the can down the road one year because again you probably feel pretty confident that Mark glor and Alex Rodriguez are going to become uh majority owners at that point where then you’ll sign a very lucrative contract I mean it’s just it’s just crazy to me uh how how everything here is pointing to um Mark Lori and Alex Rodriguez and and people I I guess still like we’re we’re having doubts about all this stuff I mean it’s just it’s just crazy I mean if you if you were just doing like a a pros and cons or how many points are in this column and how many points are in that I mean it’s just it’s crazy how how lopsided this is right now no no doubt about it yeah superb analysis a lot of tentacles here and we’ll be following it every step of the way here on the Minnesota basketball party next we address the elephants in the room the Carl Anthony towns offseason trade murmurs an annual tradition unlike any other that’s next today’s episode is sponsored by better help we all have stress in our lives some of it’s big some of it’s small I might be stressed about this ownership situation and the local sports network situation but some of us have issues that are bigger than our favorite sports teams and therapy is a good way to get those things off your chest and work through what ever is weighing you down affecting you NE negatively just getting in your brain space that you want to get out so if you’re thinking of starting therapy give better help a try it’s entirely online very convenient very flexible suited to your schedule fill out a brief questionnaire get matched up with a licensed therapist and you can switch at any time uh for no additional charge make sure that that is a good fit for you so get it off your chest with betterhelp that’s betterhelp.com locked on NBA today to get 10% off your first month betterhelp hp.com locked on NBA Minnesota basketball party on locked on Sports Minnesota Please Subscribe we would appreciate that and listen to Ben Beacon the lockon Wolves podcast feed as well and check out the rest of our programming here at locked on Sports Minnesota Minnesota football party on Mondays and Thursdays the Ron Johnson show Tuesdays round table on Fridays with our k 11 Stars uh let’s go to Ron Johnson first and Talk Carl Anthony towns um we have been talking about a cat trade for several years now and he’s again going to be the fixture of those rumors this off season um not only because of his expense but in case they wanted to to shake up this roster they don’t believe they can win with cat that would be maybe another motivation now Ron last off season I think you were in the camp of you would you would have shaking it up you would have traded one of the big guys probably either either Carl or Rudy um how you feeling now going into this off season ah excuse me um so I mean I’ve I’ve said the same thing so I kind of teases that Anthony Edwards is is possibly the upand cominging Michael Jordan uh when you look at the an Anthony Edwards Adidas commercial there’s all those spiky jokes about um you know I think I forgot somebody else said he’s not oh um forgot the guy but he said not the face of the league he’s an All-Star to me but not a superstar Anthony Edwards is you know he’s he’s making all these comments the one thing the Bulls did people forget this at this stage in the Bulls career for Michael Jordan he still was looking for a Scotty Pippen he hadn’t gotten him yet not to say Carin the towns can’t be that but Carin the towns can’t be that Carin the towns is a guy that every night if he put into his mind he could go 20 and 20 with rebounds and points easily 20 and 15 but Carl anony town has to want to do it Carl Anthony towns has to not always think he has to be the best best big man shooter in the NBA he has to come up with a more well-rounded game than just that because he’s there when it matters but then sometimes he disappears like he’s there when you’re like oh yeah he’s getting but then they’re like you’re already down three nothing in this like where was this in game one where was this in game two and so Scotty Pippen just became consistent so in my opinion I would be okay with trading Carlin the towns if you look at what but the the problem is who who can you trade them for now there’s the Toronto Raptors they’re saying you can get Grady Dick Bruce Brown uh and and Jacob uh uh P does that help them I don’t know car times to the Brooklyn Nets Dorian finny Smith Dennis Schroeder and some draft picks is there a draft pick guy that can come in and be a Scotty Pippen and then there’s the Bulls Lonzo ball uh Alex Caruso and Nicol uh Nicola vulovic so those three options there right away none of them look good to me none of them look like yeah let’s go make that trade I don’t think any of those guys become Scotty Pippen so is this one of those trade and get draft pick situations and try to draft more guys to fill in for what Anthony Edwards can be I’ve also said keep Anthony Edwards and car towns and get rid of Rudy go bear I love the defense I love but I think they do need another scorer I don’t know where quote unquote that that guy comes from but I don’t know Trad and Cat to me for what’s out there just is it’s what out there if there was something out there that was worth it I would say do it but it doesn’t feel like there is right now yeah it with a with a contract this expensive Jack it’s not easy to to make it work you have to take salary back in that trade most likely unless you’re trading into the cap space and and most teams can’t just absorb $50 million per year up to $60 Million by the end of it so if you’re making this trade I mean you’re you’re trying to get pieces in return that you think fit your roster better and it’s it’s you be you know trying to shoot the eye of a needle to make this thing work yeah no question about it I think the other part of this too that I I don’t think enough people are talking about is that you know Mike Conley I believe is going to be what 37 or 38 years old on opening night Rudy goar I think they turns 32 um th this summer uh so like the window with the roster as presently constructed is is a lot shorter than I think people are realizing that it is and that’s not and look like the basis of of what you have moving forward is concretely is Anthony Edwards and Jane McDaniels everything after that I I think is negotiable one way or the other um and so so the window to build around those two guys and be able to remake this roster in some capacity that can still contend is obviously much larger and and and longer than than the duration of Mike Conley’s the rest of his career and the you know rest of Rudy go Bear’s Prime whatever that ends up becoming um and so when when you frame it that way I think you have to think can you trade Carl Anthony towns for either a player or a collection of players that is going to either match Carl’s production or you know meet it in the Aggregate and and I just I struggle to find a deal out there because given Carl’s contract I think it’s hard to uh for me at least to get to the point of thinking that you could get three or four first round picks uh back for Carl Anthony towns in a way that you can recruit some of what you uh are sending out in the in the go bear trade and so I’m with Ron I just struggle to get there I also you know you have to think about who’s who’s at the negotiating table here it’s Tim Connelly he’s an extremely patient guy I mean we all thought that D’Angelo Russell would get traded uh in the off season but he ended up waiting until the deadline and he ended up being the guy say no you give me more second round picks and and that’s exactly what happened so I just I just don’t foresee Tim Connelly operating uh negotiating from a a position of weakness I guess which you certainly could perceive um you know the the the clock ticking down until Carl’s super max extension kicks in um but but you know what I I also think that that people forget just like how great Carl was in the early part of the season and and everything that he did to make this whole thing work like could you make an argument that you know you’d want to get more production from a guy you’re paying a super max contract to absolutely there’s no question about it I think everybody would would hope that but at the end of the day like Carl Anthony towns was an All-Star this season Carl Anthony towns came back probably two and a half three weeks sooner than um than everyone thought he would and outside of that that one play I think it was against Denver where uh you know his knee really looked like it might have been given out on him everybody forgot that he had a miniscus injury uh because he was that good in the playoffs and it’s extremely rare for someone to go you know undergo miniscus surgery of any kind uh and play at the level that he did especially defensively uh in the first two Series so I I certainly think that that Carl did enough this season to Warrant running it back when you consider um you know that you need this team to be as good as it can in the interim and then maybe once uh you know once Mike’s contract runs out or or you know you start to see Rudy gobear uh you know noticeably decline um in a way that you know obviously is a little bit more uh you know telling than it was last season because I think it was a little bit more obvious that that was just a lingering injury that he needed to recover from um so yeah I I just I you know is it realistic I think it’s a realistic conversation to have certainly um but but do I see it happening uh I’d be pretty shocked yeah it is a rare opportunity in the NBA to take a a contender that made the Western Conference finals and then get back your top seven guys they have an opportunity to bring back basically everybody that mattered and um and you’d be mortgaging a lot of good like Goodwill that you’ve just built up with the fan base too and and I think it would be a tough sell to to the fan base too to trade the guy that’s been here the longest 100% Reggie where do you stand so it’s interesting that you say that Jack because yeah it it feels like it would be you know ripping up some good willll but I feel like CAD has been one of the more polarizing figures in Minnesota sports because like people were praising him for his play in those first two series and then man how quickly they turned on him people like trade him get rid of him we’re ready to see him go like the discourse on social media was kind of crazy how like things just changed and you know I know it’s a what have you done for me lately type of a league but but you know he was so criticized not just by you know folks on social but um National puns I remember talking to Vincent Goodwill and he was kind of down on him uh TNT I mean not just trashing the Timberwolves but specifically trashing like Rudy and C for their play in the West Conference Finals and it’s it’s uh as you said it’s it’s pretty rich just because like he did come back from that injury and he did play well this year trying to figure out his role in this in this offense that you know was kind of middling this season so my thing too is those trades that that Ron mentioned just made me feel queasy like none of those felt good none of them felt like trades that you’re like oh yeah I feel good about those trades and honestly like none of the trades really make you feel good for from a standpoint of getting value back as opposed to just being like a salary dump with his supermax kicking in um this off season it just like I feel like if you were to get rid of cat that’s really what it would be is a salary dumb just trying to get rid of a salary that is pretty ballooned on your on your uh roster and if you’re just gonna do that I would just say get him in the gym with corus get him in the gy with with kg somebody like that and just get him to to play more like a big man you know I was talking to some coach um was it last week two weeks ago and they were like I unless he was hot I wouldn’t allow cat to shoot more than one three a game or one three a quarter and I’m just like man that that seems you know kind of kind of harsh for you know the best shooting big man of Our Generation but but I think the tough part is is you have a guy who’s seven foot who you know come coming into the league showed a lot of Promise as a big man and now he’s really just good with with taking threes and and picking his spots to drive into the paint drawing charges and things like that which is not a very efficient basketball player and then you look at places like Denver and you know all these other play you know play Cleveland and teams that have big men who are playing off the pick and roll well with each other I think Jack mentioned that last week him and anunt being able to be a little bit more complimentary off the pick and roll like I think the best case scenario is not trading cat but just having him get in the gym and working on being a better overall player and not just being a player who’s a seven foot guard taking threes and and you know driving in the lane and and you know kind of out of control and getting charged call so I think that’s the best case scenario but trading him just doesn’t seem like you get the type of value that you get for a guy of his caliber being an Allstar but also if you’re gonna keep a guy at the number that he has like he has to be more of an all-around player to to help move this team past the Western Conference Finals into a perennial Championship Contender Ben take us home on this cat you said ear on in your opening teas that you think uh he’s sticking around yeah and I’ve talked about this a lot and we’ll continue to talk about it a lot on lockdown wolves this offseason and um like I agree with I think the overarching theme of what everybody said so far I don’t think he gets traded I think the easy the the only reason he would be traded is because you’re worried about about the cap right like you’re worried about the second apron and and it’s a legit thing to worry about but you don’t rock the boat on a Conference Finals team whose best player is is 22 unless you absolutely have to unless their hand is forced if Glenn wins and he goes back you know something terrible where it’s like okay there they they just got to make a change it’s trading cat or it’s trading NZ and you know we think we can get more for cat or whatever like if you’re going to get under that second apron that’s the only reason you do this I mean clearly the fit worked to the extent that they got to the Conference Finals um a couple people already alluded to cat’s defense and the work he put in on that side of the floor um you know the the the way that he came back from the way he defended in the playoffs and switched from you know from like the cat as a Defender the meme of cat as a Defender has always been much more dramatic than the reality like he’s had some pretty poor defensive years but he’s never been a disaster and he’s incre incrementally improved in all these different schemes over the last several years he keeps being asked to do different things and he keeps getting better at the same time and so we saw him guard Kevin Durant admirably in the first round then we saw him guard Nicole yic really well in the second round and the Mavs match up was a little bit more difficult because you know what were you going to do with him and there were other matchup issues in that series anyway but um C doing everything he’s asked and getting better while he’s doing it uh there certainly were some areas where he took half steps back this year we saw you know attacking off the dribble wasn’t as fruitful this season as it had been in the recent past uh but he shot the three better this year than he did in his abbreviated campaign last year and we know he’s you know one of the best Shooters in the league full stop and so there’s no issue with him shooting a ton of Threes he probably should shoot more and Chris fin has said that um I also wouldn’t mind him getting more post touches because he is really good in the post that’s just not a part of the Wolves offense right now so I think he’s on the team moving forward I think that um you know it’s about and I think Jack I think said this at the beginning of his um his part a minute ago it it’s really about about Windows right I mean like Golden State’s a recent example of a team that W you know one reinvented themselves on the Fly adding Kevin Durant one again took a few years where they weren’t very good they had a 15- win season in there somewhere and then they come back and win a title again with Andrew Wiggins and a slightly tweaked roster still around Steph Curry so like it’s that’s obviously an extreme example and we’re talking about a team that won four titles the Wolves haven’t even been to the finals yet but that’s like that’s what you have to do it’s create these windows and with Rudy and with uh with Mike connley they now have a window that you have to keep open as long as you can and then you have to find a way to as gracefully as possible transition to that next window where ant is still your best player but the players around him need to be you know know up to par with what you’re trying to do and the best way to keep this window open is to pay the tax and to keep Carlton towns and run it back next year good stuff from all after this we decide what to do with the three primary unrestricted free agents on the Timberwolves that’s next on the Minnesota basketball party Today’s Show is brought to you by FanDuel sports book it’s summertime and that means baseball that means the end of the NBA Finals you can bet at all at FanDuel they have uh they’ve Juiced the pot for you now new customers get $200 in bonus bets not 150 they’ve increased it to $200 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet so if you’re eyeing up the Celtics series price right now yeah it’s minus 770 you’re going to win like 2 cents on it but if you win that $5 bet on the Celtics to to fi uh finish off the finals then you get $200 in bonus bet and once you’ve got that then the world is your oyster you can spread it around on future bets props money lines run lines whatever you want fanduel.com lockon fanduel.com lockon add a big win to your summer bucket list FanDuel America’s number one Sportsbook speed round time there are three Minnesota Timberwolves free agents that I would like to discuss I would like to hear what you would do with them and yes money is an issue with the Timberwolves we know this they’re way over the cap so uh affordability would come into play here let’s let’s just kick that a little bit to the to the side and just talk about whether you would want this player back uh to help kind of keep keep the team together um we’ll start with Monte Morris the guy they acquired via trade uh midseason we’ll start with Ben go around the circle keep it fast Ben Monte Morris what would you do yeah I think I I’d bring him back if you could and and the three guys we’re going to talk about uh are all kind of creators Off the Bench Playmakers they’re essentially all point guards in some way or another well I guess in Morris mcan’s case they are point guards but um they need somebody to to be the straw that stir the drink Off the Bench and Monte Morris is is actually the one that he’s going to need more than the vet minimum but you may be able to get him for what they have available in terms of their mid-level exception um which I believe they still get part of this and and maybe Jack correct me if I’m wrong I think they still get like five million or something um and so I think he’s realistic to keep and I think he is somebody who Connelly likes obviously and and fits what they need he can make threes he can he can orchestrate the offense so I think he’s a realistic guy to keep and I don’t know that you’re going to do much better in terms of a backup point guard assuming he’s you know once he gets a year uh he hurt the quad or whatever it was last October he clearly wasn’t 100% and you know he’s not yet like he’s not over 30 right he’s still relatively young so I think that he makes a ton of sense to bring back Ron oh you’re muted uh yeah I would say yes bring him back he’s 28 years old you look at what you haven’t seen yet is fully healthy how does he fit into this offense Mike connley being uper up in age uh can he come in and give you some some crucial minutes to give him quick breather but turnover to to to scoring ratio is it going to be good enough and I’d say yeah if you have to pay a little bit more for him like being bought up it might be worth it uh because again and then I agree with Reggie or I’m glad Reggie saw what I saw when I originally thought about cat I’m like yeah trade them and then I looked at what’s out there I’m like oh brother no no what is that oh what is that like I just so same thing Monte Morris I think we got him everybody was like okay this could be a big help he seemed like he was helpful so yeah I would bring him back Jack yeah I think this is an interesting one just because I I think there was some lack of alignment between Chris Finch and Tim Connelly there uh on that move I mean there were just plenty of opportunities that that called for Monte Morris to play more uh in the postseason and they Finch and his staff just did not elect to to do so uh I I definitely think that that bringing him back if you can if you can swing it financially is a smart move um just giving him a full offseason a full training camp uh to to get more acclimated and feel more comfortable especially as a score offense L um so yeah i’ I’d certainly want him him back I just think that it was unfortunate there wasn’t uh you know kind of complete alignment after that after that trade re yeah I agree with you jack I was gonna say that like he didn’t play as much as I was expecting him to play especially down the stretch for a guy who could light it up from three and and who could give you good minutes like I was expecting a little bit more from him but then when we talk about some of these other free agents if they can’t bring some of those guys back or they don’t bring some of those guys back I think his role increases a little bit more you know if if finy likes him enough I guess but yeah I would bring him back at whatever the number that is necessary to do it um and increase his Menace yeah I I think it could come down and I don’t know this for a fact it might come down to a choice between Monte Morris and our next guy Jordan mcglaflin both kind of undersized guard neither of them played much in the postseason but Jordan McGloin coming off a 47% three-point shooting season Ron Johnson start with you Jordan McGlothlin the fan favorite what would you do I’m I’m torn with this one uh I mean I think again bringing guys back when you make it as far as you did clearly there’s some chemistry there there’s some things there mlin down the stretch though was weird to me like there was times where I thought he should have taken a shot didn’t take it late in the in the buzzer and and had a shot clock violation it only had happened a few times but to me that’s glaring to not be ready to just let it go when you think about uh Steve Kerr how you know he came off the bench or Vinnie the microwave Johnson with the Pistons um that’s what I always think about a guy that’s supposed to come off and give you instant buckets and just do what you do and then go back and sit down that’s the one where I’d be like what else is out there I I would take a second look at some of these other guys when you look at the Denver Nuggets bench when you look at the Mavs bench and some of the other teams that had some really good bench players come off and give them some some key minutes some points um I wouldn’t be opposed to that one I I wish I had a better like gut instinct on cost I have no clue what the going rate is for you know a 28-year-old who can light it up from three who’s super undersized but is like a very smooth ball handler who can run an offense I don’t know I don’t know what he costs maybe Jack Borman can help me with that yeah I think it would probably be a veteran minimum deal uh once again for Jordan mcclaflin or something slightly above that like he was on previously um yeah I I personally think that Jordan mlin has the probably the highest percentage chance of being back of any of these guys in part because of that but also because I mean he plays exactly the way that Chris Finch wants guys to play with with making extremely quick decisions um I know he shot 47% from three on only 89 attempts this season but even if he’s shooting like 35 38% that’s still huge considering what else he brings so I’d love to see Jordan mcclaflin um pack I think like I said probably the the highest percent chance of of any of these three guys to be back reg yeah I mean I wouldn’t mind seeing them back uh It’s just tough though because I feel like where are the minutes and also you know even with the 47% I feel like there are times you know when he gets into the game and you know he’s cold he’s not necessarily in a rhythm and uh the shots don’t fall consistently so I’m I’m interested to see yeah if he does come back then how is he used because we we haven’t seen some of the consistency that that we would like to see that being said Chris Finch loves the guy like he loves him almost as much as he loves slow-mo we’ll get to him Ben yeah I co sign up bringing him back I mean you’re not going to do better for a third-point guard vet minimum guy I mean he’s I don’t know that there’s like a a third string point guard rankings anywhere but like he’s he’d be one of the better ones right like they’re they’re just for a stretch there before the C injury you know really early last season 2223 I mean he was he was playing unbelievably well like we’ve seen him get hot from through we’ve seen the crazy assistant turnover streaks um for as far as an insurance security blanket third point guard if he’s a vet minimum which I think he is makes a ton of sense to bring him back he’s just not going to be your primary backup point guard he’s going to be like your 11th guy and and you know Chris fit’s security blanket and and like I said you’re not going to do much better all right last guy I want 30 seconds each on Kyle Anderson I assume probably the most costly of the free agents he’s coming off a you know 89 million salary a career worst from three so the opposite of mlin uh we’ll start with Jack what do you do with slowmo yeah I’d say I’d say bring him back I I’d try the hardest to bring SLO back I think over the course of his season it’s really important he also said in his exit interview that his son is on the Spectrum um and is really doing well in the Minnesota uh school system that he’s in which is really important um and I think it’s just a human El that that factors into this decision as well for him is that I think he’ll he’ll want to be back if he can I know he really loves playing here he loves Chris Finch loves his teammates so um yeah I I really hope he’s back because I think he he’s really important uh over the course of an 82 Game season and then into the playoffs like we saw against Dallas Reggie I think before the Dallas series I would say probably not but then after the Dallas series I’m like well maybe I I I would be interested to see what the financials look like and also yeah as Jack said the human element with his his son being on the Spectrum like we have some good resources here in Minnesota to to help with that so I’m interested to see what that looks like Ben yeah I mean I think unfortunately he’s the one that’s the least likely to be back I I think just because of the financial situation I certainly also think he’s the most difficult role to fill I mean he’d be the only one of the the you know top eight rotation guys that wouldn’t be back he’s the only one that’s not under contract um it’s it’s a tough roll to fill he is as Chris Fitch has called him many times a Swiss army knife on both ends of the floor I mean he could run offense he can guard multiple positions he was big in the Dallas series as Reggie said so I don’t think he’ll be back mainly because of the financials but it’s certainly going to be a challenge to try and you know pull up what Denver tried to do this year is back full veteran role with younger players or on the cheap um so if they can bring him back like that would be huge and Ron yeah I I you know Sam I I hate the slow play game his but I will say in the playoffs I was very impressed with his defensive prowess his ability to stop some of the bigger forwards uh and still stay in front of some of the guards not great but he did kind of uh really piss a lot of people off and so I I would say if you can that’s the one guy of those three if you can only pick one that would be my one out of the three I would keep yeah yeah if you’re going to splurge on on one guy that might be the guy to do it on and again I just I don’t know if he’s increased in value decreased in value since that last contract he signed he’s two years older now he’s over 30 um maybe they can get a little bit of a HomeTown discount on him but uh going forward on the basketball party we’ll talk about outside free agents that we might want to bring in for the Timberwolves to fill out this roster we’ll also get into some Draft preview stuff as well that is fast approaching uh fun show guys we covered a lot of ground Ben Beacon locked on wolves Ron Johnson of the Ron Johnson show Jack Borman CIS hoopus and Reggie Wilson car 11 Sports director I’m Sam extrom thanks thanks a lot for watching and listening the lockon Wolves podcast feed and we will talk to you soon see you

The Minnesota Timberwolves have an ownership kerfuffle, an expensive roster, and several free agents to decide on. Plus, Karl-Anthony Towns’ future looms once again. Our panel of experts discusses it all on the Minnesota Basketball Party.