Beijing time on July 10th, the Suns and the Bucks are in a fierce battle on the grand finals stage, and the attention of other teams in the league is focused on the next draft and trade discussions. This week, executives from 25 teams gathered in New York to participate in a draft jointly organized by the Timberwolves and the Jazz. This gives league executives a one-stop shopping opportunity and can see the prospects of many NBA draft players at the same time. . To be sure, as the draft approaches, trade negotiations will intensify.
“Based on the stage of our team and the market we are in, trading will always be our main platform for building the team. It gives us creativity and gives us the opportunity to be winners to meet different forms of demand.” Gersson Rosas, president of basketball operations, said.
Due to the new crown epidemic, everyone has been unable to communicate face-to-face for more than a year. The exchanges between league executives and agents at the Chicago Draft Conference have brought about the possibility of re-establishing interpersonal relationships. The opening of this door again will help facilitate the deal, and the Timberwolves can use this help to consolidate their lineup for next season.
“There is a real human factor there, which has disappeared in the past year or 14-16 months. Chicago has done a good job in this area, there are many opportunities for face-to-face communication, there are many interactions, not just because of transactions. The purpose, as well as the purpose of evaluation, is what the team and the individual are looking for. This is why this event has received so much support. This is another platform for evaluating players, because we are all preparing for the draft , Our work efficiency will be more efficient, not only us, but also all other participating teams.” Gersson Rosas continued.
A lot of discussion has focused on Ben Simmons. The All-Star player’s performance in the 76ers playoffs is shocking, which has led to widespread speculation that the 76ers will have to break Embiid + Simmons. The core lineup tried to reconfigure. The Timberwolves are proud to participate in trade negotiations. It is reported that they hope to compete for a playoff spot in the Western Conference with the help of Ben Simmons and some other players. But it’s one thing to talk about trading a player with the level and salary of Simmons, it’s another thing to actually do it.
In some ways, you can think of Ben Simmons’ trade to the Timberwolves as an upgraded version of Andrew Wiggins’ trade to the Warriors. An important reason why the Warriors and Wiggins are so happy together is that they don’t need Wiggins to lead the team like they did in the Timberwolves. He can be Stephen Curry, Clay Thompson and Draymond Green. good helper. In the Timberwolves, the team definitely needs Ben Simmons to shoot in the fourth quarter, but they don’t need him to be the second choice of offense. Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell (according to sources, the Timberwolves regard Russell as one of the core of the team and hope to maintain this status in the future.) are all excellent. Of offensive players, they can be responsible for scoring at the last moment. This way Ben Simmons can free up time to do what he is good at-defending every position on the court, which is exactly what the Timberwolves need him to do.
But from a financial point of view, it is very difficult to reach this deal. Few teams in the league are more susceptible to a slower-than-expected salary cap increase than the Timberwolves, and they have signed a maximum salary contract. Regardless of whether the salary cap increases, these contracts will increase by 5-8% every year, which means that even if they retain their full lineup for the 2020-21 season, they will face luxury tax issues next. Ben Simmons’ salary next season is $33 million. According to the labor agreement, the Timberwolves must include a salary of at least $26.4 million in the contract, regardless of whether the salary is ultimately given to the 76ers or other teams. Rich Rubio (expiring contract of 17 million) or Malik Beasley (13.5 million) will be sent away. The Timberwolves are only 6 million away from the luxury line, so any transaction for them to get a higher salary will make calculations more difficult.
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