Did the Timberwolves Make the Right Decision in the KAT Trade?

#pickaside #Timberwolves #413

[ABAncient]

Naz replaces KAT more than Julius with the way he stretches the floor and we played just fine worth him starting last year. Julius just adds another level on playmaking we needed at the 4. We are better

[Daveyjdigital]

Most talented Timberwolves roster of all time.

[sgulasch]

Minneapolis-St. Paul is the #13 largest NBA market. Don't call them a small market because it takes the owners off the hook.

[shawnmichalski]

Wolves are deep and people need to realize they got better by addition by subtraction. They are stacked with youth too. Wolves will end the season with a better record than the Knicks and the west is far tougher. Dante is also kind of like an insurance policy when Ant is on the bench.

[Dilemina]

Randle played with a non shooting center most of his career. Donte helps to space the floor, wolves didnt have a player like him since Malik Beasley, and Donte is better than Beasley.
This Team is Hungry like the Wolf.

[gcqjmdc]

I think this was the right trade for the Wolves because they improved their depth and gave themselves the flexibility to possibly sign a superstar free agent in 2 years. Kat is a good player but he’s just not an asset with that contract. This gives Ant time to develop and become the true leader of the team, while also giving them positive assets for future moves.

[Mjk]

Kat is not a better playmaker than Randle so he brings that and naz will space the floor and bring more tenacity on the defensive end and their bench will bring home games after halftime and they can rest starters their like the Celtics from last year

[chetisanhart]

I'm a basketball fan. Not a wolves fan.
You guys are going to be very, very good by the end of the season if key players are healthy.

[blakelarson]

They have WAY more shooting this year. They played heavy minutes with Rudy and Slomo on the court together…

[bdunny]

People act like it was a 1 for 1 trade

[andrewthares]

To help with the Wolves spacing issue after losing KAT, you mentioned Donte and Naz, but they also brought in Joe Ingles and Rob Dillingham who both shot above 43% from 3 last year. Obviously, Rob was in college so not as impressive, but 44% in college is still pretty strong. They also got rid of Slo Mo, which will hurt there defense a bit but will significantly improve spacing coming off the bench.

[ajroc]

Put some damn respect on our name! We are nowhere near being in the same conversation as the Lakers and Pelicans 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

**EDIT** Ant rebirthed the franchise not KAT come on bro.

[DexterFabian]

KAT is overated and injury prone and both will be true in his 10th year and going forward. Nobody, but the Knicks, wanted him at that pricepoint. KAT was not part of any of the top 5 (by +/-) three man lineups or top 8 two man groupings on the Wolves. He doesn't drive winning and I am so happy to be rid of him on my team. I like the excitement of the unkown of how the new pieces will all mesh way more than knowing what I would have watched with another season of KAT. Wolves are going to be deep, talented and good.

[shanejackson]

7:24 mark the Wolves were lifeless hahaaha that's great

[daviduhr]

I think we got better in the ways we needed to get better… it’s kind of like losing Kyle Anderson and signing Joe Ingles; sure, we lost a strong defender and leader, but we have defense to spare and what we need is offensive shot creators… Joe is a pretty big offensive upgrade, even if he’s not playing defense as tightly as KA.

Obviously there are the future ramifications of getting off KAT and his salary and the flexibility that comes with that, which keeps us viable into the future, but even in the short term, we get better in the ways we needed to get better.

Personally, I think people are making a bigger deal than is necessary about spacing. One, there are many ways to provide spacing and throwing that squarely on the 4 just bc KAT was good as a stretch is short sighted. Second, Randle played with Mitchell Robinson for years, whose play is very similar to Rudy Gobert. He can space and he’s able to stretch in his own right… it just means guys like Jaden are going to have to shoulder a bit more of that burden.

But where we get better is with playmaking. KAT was a turnover machine in the paint and had sus handles at best. randle is a natural playmaker and is strong enough to back players down near the rim. In addition to making his own shots off the dribble, he’s a significant upgrade passing off the dribble. While KAT was a better passer in terms of pass creation while stationary, Randle is much better finding open players on the perimeter or near the rim while driving… this will open our perimeter shooting, but more significantly, if he can get on the same page as Rudy, this will open him up for more dunks at the rim… where you lose out is on Kat’s efficiency and his willingness to play defense against other bigs. It remains to be seen if Randle is willing to step up in those areas.

As has been discussed ad nauseam, DDV gives us amazing depth and gives Rob Dillingham extra length on his leash to develop, mature, and become the future PG of this team. He also gives us a microwave scorer of the bench who can keep our offensive rating up when Ant needs a spell. That’s something we didn’t have last year. DDV is also the perfect guy to take significant minutes off MC’s plate and to start for him like once a week to keep his old ass healthy…

Listen, Randle is not as good as KAT. I don’t think the gulf is as huge as people are making out, but he is for sure a downgrade. But we have guys like Jaden, Nas, and NAW ready to emerge, so he doesn’t need to be a one for one replacement. He brings an edge and toughness and another playmaker to compliment Ant… and DDV coming off the bench is a huge huge addition. We got better in the short and are set up to compete for the long term.

[amazonfinds]

They also have Luka Garza and Josh minott

[GalaticPanda]

1st dude have no clue what he talking about.

[nazdalaan]

They did, KAT’s liability in big time moments. Now twolves got great shooter and grinder…

[cerebralfanatic]

Coach finch has prior history with Randle

[shanejackson]

How does one define small market team?