ESPN Article Saying the Wolves Might Be Interested in a PF

[Who]

Dieng as it stands I'm not sold on his ceiling. He reminds me too much of Amir johnson in ways with better upside probably.  I don't see him necessarily as a championship player.  He's on that fringe and a good player though. This move reminds of the phoenix suns and I know why.  It doesn't seem like it's pushing it enough for Boston.

Dieng was a really good player at Louisville though. I like him as a player.  But his upside is somewhat questionable. He's a better version of Amir potentially but right now he's not much better.

It makes sense for both teams but not so much for us I feel.  I think we are selling ourselves short.

I think of Dieng as a backup center. I like him in that role. I think he is better at it than T.Zeller. I would be bringing in Dieng to play that role for Boston. Maybe start for a short while until a starting center is acquired (hopefully this summer!).

I think of Sully as a bench player too. As a PF/C. A tweener big who can create matchup problems off the bench. Even if Sully is kept this summer, I do not see him starting for Boston in the future. He will be moved to the bench as higher quality bigs are acquired.

So I am for swapping Sully (bench PF/C) for a Dieng (bench C) because I think having a center with Dieng's skill-set is more valuable than Sully's skill-set as a PF/C moving forward.

[number_n9ne]

Sully, ET, and Zeller for Kevin Martin and Dieng works on realgm.com tradechecker and it makes sense for both teams!!

http://basketball.realgm.com/tradechecker/saved_trade/6652105

This give us our outside marksman that we NEED and a nice possible reclamation project that Brad is SO GOOD at in Dieng (and yes, he HAS REGRESSED this year!!)!!!

We also clear out the front court slightly, get rid of our WORST low post defender (calling Sully a "defender" is a JOKE!!!) and the nightmare of having to re-sign TUBBY.  We also get rid of Zeller (who I LIKE) that we are simply NOT using.  We lastly get rid of ET (I like him when he does NOT shoot threes and is not a turnover machine) to clear room up for Smart to get more minutes NOW that he is EARNING them!!!

The only drawback is that Kmart will likely be owed $7.4 million next year, but with the cap increase, that is really not that bad, especially IF we can get Kmart back close to his career averages!!!

Thoughts??

Smitty77

I like this a lot as an end of the deadline, all other options have been exhausted deal. I would be trying to pry away Shabazz too.

Still works: http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=hdl96g3

Part of me would be sad to see Turner go. Would it hurt our playoff run losing his ball handling skills? I understand in the long run it would be good for Smart's development. Also, I just like Turner's swagger.

Does anyone know anything of Martin's presence as a vet leader? Having him for 7mil next year might not be a bad thing if he can contribute as a leader and locker room glue guy.

[slamtheking]

http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/14601334/minnesota-timberwolves-top-trade-targets-assets-nba

Pelton suggested trading Sullinger, who would be a decent fit next to KAT. The Wolves might like a guy who can hit a mid-range shot and bang on the inside to save KAT a bit.

Assuming for a second that the Wolves would want Sullinger (even though it doesn't make sense to me) ...

The question I have is, if you got the feeling that Lavine or Muhammad were available, which one would you want and what kind of picks, if any, would you be willing to offer for one of them.

I'm not seeing any options for Dieng or for the Wolves to send us more.

Sully's demonstrated his rebounding ability as well as his ability to score (no, not 3-pointers but around the basket and from mid-range).  Lavine and Shabazz are still wildly inconsistent. 

[Smitty77]

Sully, ET, and Zeller for Kevin Martin and Dieng works on realgm.com tradechecker and it makes sense for both teams!!

http://basketball.realgm.com/tradechecker/saved_trade/6652105

This give us our outside marksman that we NEED and a nice possible reclamation project that Brad is SO GOOD at in Dieng (and yes, he HAS REGRESSED this year!!)!!!

We also clear out the front court slightly, get rid of our WORST low post defender (calling Sully a "defender" is a JOKE!!!) and the nightmare of having to re-sign TUBBY.  We also get rid of Zeller (who I LIKE) that we are simply NOT using.  We lastly get rid of ET (I like him when he does NOT shoot threes and is not a turnover machine) to clear room up for Smart to get more minutes NOW that he is EARNING them!!!

The only drawback is that Kmart will likely be owed $7.4 million next year, but with the cap increase, that is really not that bad, especially IF we can get Kmart back close to his career averages!!!

Thoughts??

Smitty77

I like this a lot as an end of the deadline, all other options have been exhausted deal. I would be trying to pry away Shabazz too.

Still works: http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=hdl96g3

Part of me would be sad to see Turner go. Would it hurt our playoff run losing his ball handling skills? I understand in the long run it would be good for Smart's development. Also, I just like Turner's swagger.

Does anyone know anything of Martin's presence as a vet leader? Having him for 7mil next year might not be a bad thing if he can contribute as a leader and locker room glue guy.

Found an interesting read about Kmart's leadership.  Sounds more like a quiet leader, but he did take the young guys under his wing.

http://www.foxsports.com/north/story/timberwolves-veteran-martin-s-leadership-a-work-in-progress-111014

Smitty77

[Sketch5]

http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/14601334/minnesota-timberwolves-top-trade-targets-assets-nba

Pelton suggested trading Sullinger, who would be a decent fit next to KAT. The Wolves might like a guy who can hit a mid-range shot and bang on the inside to save KAT a bit.

Assuming for a second that the Wolves would want Sullinger (even though it doesn't make sense to me) ...

The question I have is, if you got the feeling that Lavine or Muhammad were available, which one would you want and what kind of picks, if any, would you be willing to offer for one of them.

I'm not seeing any options for Dieng or for the Wolves to send us more.

Sully's demonstrated his rebounding ability as well as his ability to score (no, not 3-pointers but around the basket and from mid-range).  Lavine and Shabazz are still wildly inconsistent.

LaVine's issue has been coming off the bench and playing PG, wheres he's much better at the 2 guard.  Kid can score, he has every shot, outside, midrange, and he can get to the paint. We have two guys who can do that and that IT and Crowder, who can only do it when he has a straight line to the hoop.

Kid's 20 in his second year and averaging two less than AB.

I'd do AB,Sullyor KO,Turner for  Martin,Dieng, and LaVine, and what ever picks that need to exchange. The Wolves don't need any more projects. They have Wiggins and Towns, Shabazz if you want to toss him in. Rubio is still young, and with Sully and AB being more season youngs players balances them off better. Gives them the jump shooting 2 guard and stretch PF they are looking for, and and Tuner helps. They're not going to make the palyoffs, so an other Rookie actually hurts them moving forward.

We lose some defence at the two guard, but get some length, and maybe Stevens can get the kid to play some good D. Martin is a solid vet, and Dieng gives us the length at the 5 spot we've needed. I'd be even fine with Young/Zeller in this.

Yeah we might take a step back this year, but we haven't been here for that long, so this might be a good time to step back for half a season to jump forward next. Wolves have been bad for a long time, they're going to need to do some things now they have a nice core of Wiggins,Towns and Rubio. They now can start thinking of surrounding them with guys.

[LilRip]

If there's anyone in Minny to trade for, it's gotta be Dieng. He's buried in the rotation which makes him a buy-low candidate, but he has the talent to break out in the right system. Shabazz would be good too, I suppose. I wouldn't want Lavine because our backcourt is already so good. KAT and Wiggins are pretty much untouchable.

How can he be buried in the rotation if he is 4th on the team in minutes?  He's not starting, but he is getting more playing time than Kevin Garnett, who is starting.

Ok, buried might be too strong a word but he's definitely not getting enough minutes. He can start and with Pekovic getting healthy, he's on his way down the rotation. He had a nice stretch a little earlier in the season, but he's back to the bench and getting minutes mainly when Pekovic rests.