Welcome to the Daily Bulls podcast, I'm your host Tripp, joined as always by my fellow host Evan, very special guest, metaphorically in the building today. He's a man that many would know, I would say he's the man of summer really, if you kind of break it down from what he used to do, and now he's at Score North with our boy Matthew, and obviously love all the guys over there, Flagrant Howells is a must listen and watch on YouTube, I'm much more of a YouTube guy myself, but who am I? End of the Daymore podcast, Kyle, Heidi, Kyle, what's up man? Fellas, how's it going?
You got some big guests on this summer, so I'm just trying to keep the momentum going, but yeah, big fan of this podcast, obviously big fan of both of you, and I think we have some cool things to talk about as we prepare for, I don't know, the best season that we can remember. No bigger guests than you, Kyle. Oh, stop, stop, stop, stop. Never will be.
With that being said, let's just, I mean, you said momentum, let's just, I mean, I don't care, the Minnesota Timberwolves are 4-0 on paper, right? So, what do we like about the preseason so far? Like, okay, preseason is fairly meaningless, obviously, it's a little more meaningful though than football, because you play your guys. I was at a game in Vegas last week, they played the Lakers, like third string guys, not a lot to take in that.
I kind of thought you could take a lot from their win against the Lakers on ESPN on Wednesday, like last night. They, again, are the deepest team they've ever had, and they just have dudes at every position. They're like, oh, Carl can't play, Rudy can't play? Okay, cool, non-free, look at Garza, go get us 35 and 20 combined.
And then you say, with the Lakers playing their starters and who their bench is, the talent gap between the Wolves bench and a team like the Lakers bench is truly incredible, and no one wants to talk about that now, but that would be a thing we talk about all season. The depth just keeps winning them more and more games, and I think, as cool as the starting lineup is, we love it, D'Lo and Jaden, Carl, Rudy, me betting the over 48 and a half wins is because they can just bring in 12, 13 guys that can play, and that becomes a real thing in December and January when you're trying to grind out, you know, four games and five nights type stuff. We, I mean, you know, people have to remember that we beat the Lakers A-Squad last night in the morning. That's what they're rolling out there with, looking to realistically, not so realistically, that's the roster that they think they can win a championship with.
Whether that's true or not, you know, their core guys were out there, and the Wolves went out there and handled business from guy 1 to, what, 15? Like, you even mentioned Luka Garza. I mean, I don't want to spend too much time on him, but, I mean, obviously college player of the year, but, I mean, you have to imagine, based off his preseason, he's making the team, right? Like, he might earn his way.
I don't think he'll play, but I know he's going to probably be in the G League, but he certainly earned himself some potential scrap minutes at the end of the game. I mean, defensively, obviously, not much there, but a lot to like out of Luka Garza. I was going to say, Evan, quick, like, Luka Garza's not going to be on this team. I think everyone kind of knows that.
Luka Garza, like, low-key, might be, like, the eighth best player on the Lakers. So, like, that's just another thing. It's just the team is so deep. That's, like, the biggest thing I'm excited about.
If D'Lo doesn't have it all night, okay, cool, just play Jalen at the point. If Jalen's not hitting threes, play TP, play Kyle Anderson. Like, there's just everywhere you go, Chris Finch can just have three guys that can play a certain position. It's going to be crazy.
Yeah, I don't know if Luka Garza makes a team trip. And the reason, I love him. I absolutely love him. I love what he did last night.
I was going nuts when I was watching the game. I was already tweeting stuff. I mean, everyone was going crazy on social media for Luka Garza. What do they call him?
Garzilla? That's good. I like that. Yeah, but I think he's going to play.
I think he's going to snatch him up for, you're going to see a lot of Luka Garza in Iowa. And I think that's, like, a great stash. He's a guy that, like, you could put him on like a two-way that in the air, or he's going to, if there's injuries at all for any time, I could see him or, like, Nate Knight is somebody getting called up. I mean, I still think Nate Knight has a chance to make that last spot.
But other than that, I mean, I don't think he's going to make a team. That's just my opinion. I love him, but that's just my opinion. And then I wanted to swing back something to rebound up what Kyle said.
We, like, in Minnesota, like, when you have such a big depth, and we're talking about depth, and all these guys, as I'm watching the game and the other night, and just saying, like, wow, our players are so much better than their bench plays. I mean, when's the last time we've really had that Minnesota? Please put Towns back in, or please put Dio back in, or Edwards or somebody. Like, we need them back in.
But now it's like, if they go out of the game, we have guys who can hold it down, and not only hold it down, they can actually bring back, if we're down from the starters, they can come back and really help us get back in the game, which I love. Yeah. I mean, it's one of those things, the bench is, I mean, Kyle, you briefly mentioned his name, but, and I don't think, again, it's a guy we've spent a ton of time on, because I think everyone's talking about him, but my question is this. Based off the end of last season, obviously, the swing of the trade for Gobert, everyone got excited for this guy, because it opened a role.
Jalen Noel, obviously, the momentum has been there from before the preseason started, but, I mean, have you seen enough in the preseason to feel good about, you know, what you're going to see from Noel here? Dude, when I watch Jalen Noel, I get sad, because it's probably likely this is his last year. That's not for sure, like, they're trying to work out a contract. I don't know if you guys remember this, because you're diehards, but when Jalen was drafted in the second round, they really, like, low-balled him in terms of, like, a contract thing, and, like, to the point where I think it was, like, August, I was like, oh, my God, is this second-round pick kid who was, like, the Pac-12 player of the year?
Is he just, like, not, are they going to, like, lose his rights? So, he ended up getting a goop to special. He's making, you know, good money compared to us, but in the NBA, not. Like, I think that dude thinks he should make $15 million a year.
So, can the Wolves afford that? Do they want to pay that? This roster gets really top-heavy and expensive next year with Ant and Jalen's extensions, but Jalen Noel is awesome. Jalen Noel could start on a half-dozen teams right now in the league and could get you 20 points.
So, I think this year, he's, I mean, I'm not going to say he's X-Factor, because he's X-Factor is Daniel Russell, but if he can come off the bench and just be an absolute microwave scorer and can run the point a little bit, can play alongside Ant, can replace Ant, any of this stuff, he's going to be so much fun to watch, and it's just going to make me sad, because if they can't come to an agreement in the season, that dude's going to get paid next year, and he deserves to get paid, but if it goes into the summer, he's probably not going to get paid by Minnesota. Do you roll, to that point, do you roll the dice and say, like, just pray to God that, you know, because of the impact he's going to have on winning at the end of the year, you can figure it out, or do you roll the dice and basically say, fuck, man, like, we've got to trade this guy to the deadline. I'm not advocating for that. I'm a fan who thinks it's so short-sighted, it would make you stick to your stomach, and I can't, I'm the dumbest fan on planet Earth, so to me, like, I'm just trying to be logical here from a business standpoint, do you weigh the pros and cons if you're Gupta and fucking Conley, and say, like, shit, and, like, I want him here long-term, but if you don't even think that, I mean, they know better than anyone, if they don't think it's even remotely possible to be in the same ballpark of him, at the end of the year, do you, I mean, if he's balling out, do you trade him, or do you just make shit, we can win this year?
Dude, it's a fantastic question. I actually talked about this today on Flager and Hollis with Phil Mackie. Like, there's 20 guys right now from Minnesota Timbers that we all love. Okay, well, they can't have 20 in a week.
They got to cut some guys, they got to send some guys to Iowa, right? And then they're going to be really deep throughout the season. But Tim Conley's here for a reason, long-term. He's got 100 different assistant GMs.
They also don't have a lot of draft capital moving forward. Yeah, sure, I'm with you. If there wasn't a salary cap, I would just pay Jalen what he wants. I'd throw the bag at D'Lo and just keep paying these guys.
But they're going to be into a crumb. We haven't even mentioned that Nas Reed's a free agent next summer. Jordan Gawthlin's a free agent next summer. Like, all these guys we love, you physically cannot pay them all because you just brought in Rudy.
So my kind of take, I guess, is that I think between now and February, they're sellers. And I know you're trying to win 50 games, and they can go do that with all the Jets. But like you just said, if you know, hey, Jalen, we're not going to be able to do this, and we can get other offensive production from staggering D'Lo and Ant and bringing KK up, and maybe Wendell Moore gets a bigger role. Like, maybe we have to trade a guy because we know we're not going to keep him in the summer and go get a couple side-round picks.
That's not ideal. But I also think, too, that a forward-thinking front office is going to be like, okay, Luka Garza, the next big thing. Like, maybe we trade Nas. Because you cannot play all these guys.
I want to, but you can't. My brain, the way it works, I'm just so accustomed to the idea of like, oh, yeah, we have no one on our wheel. There's always one guy. We draft not five every year, so there's always that one guy that we have to pay, but that's not a problem because the rest of the 14 guys are barely NBA players.
So this is probably a tough question to answer, but just, you know, at the end of the season, do you see them picking between D'Lo and Jalen Noel? Do you see both of them walking? Do you see one of them say, like, I know you mentioned you think Jalen Noel's gone, but for devil's advocate purposes here, I mean, is there a pathway that both of them return in any capacity, or do you think even either of them are capable of returning? I think at least one of them's back.
I know they want, I mean, again, Finch said this three months ago, four months ago. They love Noel. They want Noel to be part of this. They also realize that if they lose D'Lo, they have no point guard.
So I think you want both of them. And then this kind of triggers another topic of like, you know, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lurie make their next big ownership payment this December. And then next December 2023, they get the keys. They've said all the right things.
They've done all the right things. They've painted the walls. But like, are they going to pay a luxury tax? Because Tripp, if you pay both Jalen and D'Lo, you're a tax team well into the tax.
And that means not only are you paying a penalty, you're not getting the paycheck of all the other tax paying teams. So this isn't supposed to be a downer. They're loaded. They are loaded.
They have 42 better players than the Lakers. But it's something that they're going to talk about with all those, you know, Sachin and all these different guys, Steve Senior, Matt Lloyd. Like, this is probably a conversation they're having. It's like, what does the long-term stuff look like for this team?
But for now, it's just a bunch of dudes that are hungry on Chip on the controller and should allow them to win 50 games. Yeah, it's so funny that you mentioned that, like the negative aspect. Like, I'm just so used to it. Like, let's talk about negative things that are going to happen because inevitably they're too good to be this positive about.
But is there – in terms of the negative piece, this is the last somewhat negative question I have, I hope. How much money does D-Lo want? I mean, I love D-Lo. So I'll harp on him for it.
Like, my God, dude, like, you're a $20 to $25 million a year player. You got your $100 million math, whatever, four years, $120, whatever the number was. Dude, like, do you want to be here and take, like, a little, I guess, a discount in your own mind? But, like, fuck, man, don't you want to be here?
Like, let's make it happen. Like, you're not a Max player. I love D-Lo. I'm saying he's not a Max player.
He got his Max. He's going to be generationally wealthy. He already is. But, like, is it a matter of, like, making the money work?
Or, like, I'm just so – I'm concerned about losing my boy. Yeah, I think – and we can kind of toss this around. I still hold on hope that they sign him to an extension in the season. But he's, you know, he's a very confident person.
He watched his two friends this summer in Devin Booker and Conley Towns get the Max that they could. They all have the same agent. I'm with you. Like, to me, what's the difference between $20 million and $25 million?
But if you just were making $30 some, like, I don't want to take a pay cut of my job. He probably doesn't want to take a pay cut of his job. And if he's like, hey, I got to explore free agency. I'm still confident that with him and with this front office, they know if we lose him, we don't have other options.
I love Jalen Noelle. But you can probably patch together guys to fill Jalen Noelle's role. If you lose your starting point guard, dude, I don't – like, who are the options? You don't get to get $30 million back.
So I think they'll make it work. I think they'll probably do a smaller deal, two years maybe, so that when the cap really spikes, when they do the new TV deal, maybe he's on the hook again. I'm 28, and I can go get – you know, maybe someone will pay me $45 million a year. But that's a thing to monitor because he looks great against the Lakers.
He looks athletic, and he looks engaged and locked in. But if they lose him next summer, again, not to be doom and gloom, like, that's a big deal. Whether or not you like him or not, I love him. But you can't lose your starting point guard for nothing.
I'll kick it over to Evan if it's just to end on the – you think he wants to be here? I mean, there's got to be something to be said about the fact he's been traded or not re-signed a thousand – you know, whatever. He's been traded a thousand times and he's younger. He's, like, 26 years, whatever.
He's young. Like, I mean, there's got to be something to be said about finding a home, right? I mean, even if it's like you mentioned a two-year deal where it makes full-time happy, is there a world where, like, he doesn't want to be here? I think he likes Finch.
I think he likes the organization. And I also think, too, he's not the one that's athletic, but he's really, really smart. And he knows this is the most talented roster he's ever played with. I mean, when he was in Golden State, they didn't have all the talent then that they have now.
They had staff and clay, but they were banged up and stuff. So I think it's a mutually good deal for them to find a common ground on a deal because you can't lose him. I mean, Evan, do – I know what Tripp feels about him. Evan, are you a D-Low guy?
I think D'Angelo Russell, I think it's key that we bring him back. Kind of what you said, I think that you don't really have an option for another point guard if you don't get D'Angelo back. Yeah, I would start losing D'Angelo well, but if I'm going to choose between one and two, I'm going to pick D'Angelo Russell because I just think having a playmaker, I think him showing the progress that he made last year, having probably the best season that he's had since playing in that all-star year for the Brooklyn Nets, taking a step on defense, really becoming a leader, kind of in the locker room, a leader on the floor. Everyone talks about how D'Angelo Russell is a big part of defense, how you call out things he saw in place.
And I just love what I saw from last year. I just think, like, that part is so valuable. And it's like, if you're going to keep one or the other, and you look at J'Angelo well, you can find some scoring somewhere else, or you can find somebody to kind of cover that up. Maybe he's not a straight bucket getter, but, like, you know, this is the next guy I kind of want to bring up to you guys.
Like, you know, Brent Forbes, my boy over here, is looking kind of nice. No, I think Adam makes a weird point, though. Like, we want to tattoo J'Angelo's face on our arms, but, like, you can find J'Angelo. You just, you can't.
Like, J'Angelo's better than Austin Rivers, but Austin Rivers can get you buckets, and, like, he signed for $3 million. So, you just go out and find a guy that'll take $2, $3, $4 million instead of paying Dale in $15, maybe. But I think we're all in agreement you can't lose your starting point guard. DeAndre Russell said himself, he's not the most athletic, not the fastest, didn't jump the highest.
And that's kind of cool, actually. That means he's not going to, like, age poorly. He's going to be able to keep doing what D'Lo does until he's 32, 33. So, I think that's a big topic to monitor this year, because while everything's going well, they've got to kind of have a long-term vision, too.
They can't just be like, me and Tripp, who are just focused on, like, can they win tomorrow? Can they keep this thing sustainable over the course of these next four or five years? So, shout-out to Bryn Forbes. Never thought he'd play for the Wolves.
Very friendly. He just didn't want me to buy him a drink. Shout-out to you, Bryn. Evan, you're, like, leading the charge for him, right?
Because I was lukewarm on his best. I actually didn't like this guy. But you love him, right? I love him, dude.
And so, when we first signed, I'm like, I've always felt like Bryn Forbes when we play kind of against him. It's a guy I've always noticed on the floor. I've always noticed him making an impact. I'm like, God, who is this guy?
When he was younger when he first came in, I'm like, why is this guy always in chance? Why is this guy out here? I'm like, who is this guy? Why do the Spurs always find these players, right?
And so, as time goes on, we land Bryn Forbes. I text Rip. I remember it. I don't know if you remember that trip.
I texted you. And we're like, oh, my God, we got Forbes. And we're like, what? And a lot of Minnesota's not really thinking too much of it.
I'm just kind of like, okay, we'll see how it goes, right? We have Tim Conley here. Of course, he was in Denver with Bryn Forbes, so I can see why. But let's just see how it goes, right?
I've heard the rumors his defense is bad. I know it's statistically horrendous on the defensive side of the ball. But let's just see, right? We lose Malik Beasley.
We lose shooting. And now we have Bryn Forbes coming in. Hopefully, he can repair some of it. In the four preseason games, he's been absolutely incredible.
Before last night, in the first three games, he was shooting 66% from three. Last night, he went two for four from three. So shot 50% last night. Plus 16 in just 17 minutes last night.
And, I mean, the dude looks, he just looks like he fits the roster so well. Like, I can't explain it to everybody like how I see it. But I just feel like you watch him, I'm like, wow, like our system and how Chris Finch and Tim Conley have it here, I'm like, he really fits the mold. What do you boys think?
He said, I mean, for me, it's pretty simple. Like, you're talking about an elite three-point shooter for basically, in NBA money terms, you basically got him for free. So that's all I really have to say. I'm going to kick it over to Kyle because hearing you say you hated the signings a lot.
Okay, no, no, no. I hated it in terms of, when I was in Vegas for Summer League, I was hanging out with a lot of the guys that covered the Denver Nuggets. And, like, they had a bad face in their mouth because I think, we have to go back and double-check this. But I think Forbes was just kind of meh in his stint with the Nuggets.
not nearly as maybe polished as he was in San Antonio or Milwaukee, which, by the way, those are two winning organizations. So, like, same with the Conliners and coming from San Antonio, Memphis. Like, the Wolves have always signed the free agents that come from, like, the Kings or the Pacers. Like, now they're getting these guys that are, like, proven vets, winning organizations, playing under their coaches.
So, I think Forbes had a bad run in Denver, but I kind of forgot about him. I wondered if someone in here tweeted out some things about the Bucs. Like, I forgot how good he was on the Bucs and, like, how much of a role he had on that thing. I didn't think you could just replace Malik Beasley with another volume shooter and have it work.
And I was totally wrong. Like, he just comes in, doesn't have to do anything, just runs around screens, hits threes. Last night, he had a four-point play. Like, I didn't think he was going to be in the rotation.
And last night, after, like, I had a couple glasses of wine, I was like, should this guy start? Like, this guy's fantastic. So, Evan, I concede to you. Like, you were spot on.
And this team does need as much shooting as possible. I'm not worried about the defense. They've got a long guy. They're the second-longest team in the league.
Like, you can never have enough shooting. He is a professional shooter. So, I was wrong. Tripp was wrong.
Evan was right. And if they win, maybe Tripp, Tripp. Don't stop trying to buy guys beers. So, someone will let you get them one soon.
I'm not saying I love him. Great guy. He was friendly. But he was like, who are you?
But I was just, like, trying to be cool. And I was 21 or whatever. I was not cool. So, I've accepted that.
It's been eight years. So, Kyle, what about Kyle? What do you make of Kyle Anderson? I just think he's, I think he is, like, the glue.
He's been, you know, I think he's a couple threes hit one. It's not always pretty. It's not always fast. But I just think he's the guy that if things start to go really wrong in a game, Finch is just going to sub him in.
Yeah, he'll sub him for Carl at the four. He'll sub him for Janus. He can play a bunch of positions. He can bring the ball up a little bit.
I just, he, yes, has a nickname Salomo. But he does see everything in a speed that just allows him to not make mistakes and get rebounds. He's long. And, again, like, this is kind of, I was looking back at, like, three-agent signings.
I think there's a pretty strong case to be made that Taj Gibson was, like, the best three-agent signing this team has ever had, which is, like, low-key really embarrassing. Kyle Anderson is very much in the running to take that crown. Like, again, go back and look at who they signed, not necessarily who they've acquired in trades. Kyle Anderson's going to have a massive role on this team.
He's going to play, you know, depending on what happens with Nas, if he's still here, you know, all season. Carl and Reid, if they're not playing center, Kyle Anderson might just play the five. So, he is the Swiss Army Knight. Every team needs a Kyle Anderson.
And that was the signing that came up. Like, oh, my God, I've always, we all have types, both dating and sports. Like, Kyle Anderson's my type. I just wanted to have that guy on my team because he does a bunch of stuff.
And I love guys that do multiple things. Interesting. Kevin, what do you think of Kyle Anderson? Last night, okay, I want to bring it up.
Like, his stats are looking at right now from just last night. Like, he's put up stats like this, other games this preseason as well. But I just want to, like, for our listeners, I just want them to be able to, like, really hear, like, how versatile this man is. So, Kyle Anderson last night has nine points.
He had five rebounds, four assists, a steal, and he ends up with a plus out. And so, like, he just, he's not, he's kind of like what Kyle said. He's not going to come up there and he's not going to wow you in scoring or do anything incredible. But he just does all these little things like Todd Gibson used to do for us.
The glue guy, keep us together, not turn it over, can handle the ball, just get you all those little, and, like, I just write off the stats. And he just stuffs the stats. And it just, we needed that here since Todd's left. He's going to be somebody that Memphis Grizzlies fans are going to miss dearly.
And I think he was a big part to the Memphis Grizzlies team in the locker room and from a veteran leadership. And I think he's bringing that here. He's played in winning organizations with the Spurs, with Memphis. And so, I think Kyle Anderson is going to be somebody who every fan's going to love.
Yes, he might not be the loudest guy. He might not do the crazy interviews after the game like Anthony Edwards. But I just think Kyle Anderson's a guy who's, you're going to, at the end of the game, you're going to look at the box score every night and you're going to be like, oh, wow, Kyle Anderson had 12 points and eight rebounds and seven assists. Like, I don't even know that.
He almost had a triple bubble. He's going to be like that guy every night. By season's end, over, under. Knights per game at Target Center, two and a half.
That you see a Kyle Anderson jersey in the crowd. Oh, I'm going to go under. But I do, I think that's a really good question. I think to Evan's point, though, like, I bet you, all three of us at some point throughout the season, multiple times, will tweet out during the game, like, wow, Kyle Anderson's only two steals away from a five by five.
Like, that's the type of guy that he's, like, like, he, and hell, he might struggle to get to the five points. That might be the worst part. But he's going to get to assist. He's going to, like, he's just going to block that shot.
He's going to run a break. He's going to get an assist. He's going to get a rebound. He's going to get a steal.
Like, he's another one of those guys, too, that he was one of the first guys Tim Conley wanted when he got here. He met with fans and they did all this stuff. You know, order of operations. He came a good week before the Gobert stuff even happened.
Like, if they were going to embrace the Walker-Kessler era, it was going to be with Kyle Anderson. So, that was a big part of what they want to do moving forward. Like, Evan said, he was a huge, huge asset in Memphis. And to steal a guy away from a team like Memphis and come on your team, that's a big deal.
Plus, he's well-respected in the locker room. When I was in Vegas, like, they sat up next to Ant. I just think that guy is going to be kind of one of the adults on the team as this young team continues to learn how to win games. I wonder if he kind of takes, like, the leadership approach, kind of like the Torian Prince, a more quiet guy, but that calming influence kind of role.
And then on top of that, I'm just, you know, Kyle Anderson, how many guys in the league do you really have on your team that are 6'10 and can handle the ball like Kyle Anderson? And that's just, it's going to be something that's, like, overlooked right now. But, like, if you have an injury or you're in certain scenarios, like, he could be used whether you want to, like, if you're playing at the 5, like you said, like, you can play small ball. You can play in super, you can go really big in certain lineups.
And then when you have Jaden McDaniels and you have Kyle Anderson, basically one of them can be on the floor at all times, giving you that length, that size, and that defense. So you don't really have to, like, like, before it was kind of like, oh, like, we lose defense if Jaden's not coming off our bench, even though he was, right? So now it's like, you always have these, you have Jaden, you have this length, you have Rudy Gobert, you have Kyle Anderson. It's just like, D'Angelo Russell's long.
I mean, you're throwing all the length at every team, and I think that's underrated. Weird concept to be this excited about a bench team in Minnesota. Well, I just think, too, it's like, if Chris Finch is the chef, he has a whole grocery store, right? Like, we're always so focused on starting five and then the sixth man, and then who's the one backup big?
Like, we might have lineups where Kyle Anderson's running the point, he's got D'Angelo and Ant on each side of him, which is a lot of length, and, you know, he's found defense, and then Jaden at the four and Gobert at the five. Like, that's an extremely long, versatile lineup with, you know, three and a half shooters and a big guy to protect the rim. Finch is going to be able to do so many different things that, yeah, it is, to Tripp's point, it is weird that we just keep geeking out of our bench, but I think it's because the Wolves have had good players before starting. They've never had this much depth, and really, again, this isn't football, it's not 17 games, 82 games is a grind.
We're hyped now, but, man, by game 48, we're like, holy shit, we still got 34 more of these things, and having multiple guys that can play and give you 35 fresh minutes, that's how this team takes it to the next level. Yeah, speaking of the next level, am I going to be one that's a little worried about the Jaden Daniels hype? I know your answer, Kyle, but go ahead. No, no, because I think you saw him be attached or involved in trade rumors that essentially netted multiple extra first round picks instead of giving the player to Utah.
So you want him to take a leap, and you want that leap to be, I don't know, what, 15 points a game in eight or nine rebounds? I don't think that's functionally available. I just, you have too many other guys that you got to feed. We have Jalen and D'Lo, Carl, but I think you have seen him, I mean, he just went at Russell Westbrook last night.
It was really sad and embarrassing for the Westbrook family. Not only did he go at him on offense, defense, he didn't give a shit about what Westbrook was trying to do. He had a whole back and forth throwing the ball thing, kind of showing his, like, personality that he had in Washington, which I love. Like, have a little dog in you.
Like, get some technical fouls. We love that shit. So I don't think he's going to score as much as you want or rebound as much as you want, but he is attacking the basket a little more. He is dribbling more than ever before.
And I think he'll be worth the hype far more on defense because I think this team is going to be a juggernaut defensively, having him an ant in front of Rudy. And I think we know, at least Minnesota fans know for sure what Jaden McDaniels not only brings, but is probably going to elevate his gameplay to bring. This year, I'm just being maybe a little irrational. I have friends that aren't Timberwolves fans, but, you know, they hear about Jaden McDaniels regularly.
Like, this guy's going to be a star. This guy's going to take the next leap. You know, like, Minnesota's got all these great pieces. Don't forget about Jaden McDaniels.
And I get worried that the box score warriors are going to kind of, like, this dude scored eight points. What do you mean? This guy sucks. And obviously that's not true, but I just get worried from a hype standpoint of, like, how to deal with that, you know, that noise.
I don't know if it's a perfect comp, but, like, McDaniel Bridges down in Phoenix, like, he was a defensive stud. Like, he doesn't really blow you away on a box score, and it took him a little longer to kind of gain his position at starting lineup, and he ended up being paid just like Jaden's going to. But, yeah, I'm going to go on that trip. Like, it's going to take more than a box score to figure out if Jaden had an impact on the game.
But you just see him out there in front of guys. I mean, guarding LeBron, he's taller than LeBron. He's as wide and long as Anthony Davis. Like, Westbrook couldn't do anything with him.
They played the Clippers last week. Reggie Jackson had this possession where, like, Jaden just, Reggie had to throw the ball. He's like, I have no plan here. I cannot get by this guy.
So, I think defensively, it'll be more of a nerds thing. The nerds and the fans, like us, will be okay, Jaden's impact was crazy. And, yeah, he's probably not ever going to score 30 points. Yeah.
No, I agree with that. And I think when you see what he's done, what you've heard in the offseason when, I'm sure, Kyle, when you saw he dropped, what, 52 in the Pro-Am? Yeah. You led the charge.
You're, like, the leader of the Jaden McDaniel phantom over here. So, I can only imagine how excited you are watching those highlights. But, um, I just think that Jaden, like, from what I've seen in the preseason, I've noticed that he's putting the ball on the deck more and he shows the handles more. And I think that, like, that one play against, uh, was it the Lakers or the Clippers where he, like, spins kind of backwards and then dunks it, you know, base, he's driving baseline.
That play got me out of my seat. I mean, that was incredible. That play happened right in front of me on Meteor Row. And it was, it was incredible.
He literally took a couple dribbles, spun, and then not only does he spin, which, you know, takes your center of gravity away from you a little bit. Like, he just was able to compose himself and finish by dunking all over one to Scott Anderson. So, that isn't enough trip for our friends who don't follow the team. They're like, okay, well, I've seen other guys do that.
But it's like, yeah, but we haven't seen him do that yet. And I think that's the next step. Like, against the Lakers last night, he grabbed a rebound and just went coast to coast. He didn't do that in year one or year two.
So, he's not going to make an all-star team. He's not going to average 20 and 10. But it's also kind of cool, too, that he doesn't really need to or, like, desire to. He's not looking to be on the Hornets and, you know, score a bunch of points.
He just wants to win basketball games. And he is going to have such a big role on this team because Finch – that might be one of Finch's two favorite players on the team. And Finch is going to give him every minute he can to kind of prove himself. Yep, I agree.
He's a perfect fit for this team. I know I have a question, but before that, really quick, this just came to mind. Humble brag by you sitting in media row. How – for us peasants that sit in, you know, potentially the upper deck – ideally the lower bowl, but, you know, I'm more of a sit behind the – you know, I sit at the tunnel.
I enjoy the action. With that being said, how elite is the viewing and the spacing that you're given in media row? You know, the Timberwolves do a pretty good job. It's hit or miss at every arena.
It's different. Like, out here in Portland, you sit kind of in the second level, which is actually not bad. You kind of sit, like, center court, second level. You get a good view.
In Minnesota, you're right behind the bench, or you have been in the past. So you get to kind of pick up on things that the three of us would geek out over. Like, during a commercial break or a timeout, like, seeing a guy like D-Lo grab Jalen and, like, give him some pointers. I love that stuff.
And then in Vegas, like, we got to sit kind of right on the baseline. So it is really cool. I'm kind of like you, though, Tripp. Like, if I'm just attending a game, I kind of like the NFL is all 22.
Like, I want to see the entire court and kind of see how plays are breaking down. So, and also, too, I'd probably just prefer to watch games on my couch. Attending games is cool, but I'd much rather be on my couch with, like, a beer and just sending out tweets. I agree.
I love it. It just looks like a spacious play. It looks like you got a lot of leg. It's not bad.
It's not bad. So, I have to hear both your opinions because we haven't brought him up here yet. But let's talk about a guy who's kind of, after the Rudy Gobert trade goes down, you know, it's a guy who, and Chris Finch has come out and said, we're looking to get Rudy Gobert and Carl Peele Towns, at least one of them, on the floor at all times. So, you're wondering, you know, where does Nas Reed come up?
A guy who's been in a rotation. And, like, how many minutes does Nas Reed get? Does he play every night kind of thing? And Nas Reed's looking really good these last few games in the preseason, and he's making a case to Chris Finch saying, man, I deserve some minutes.
You better have me in your damn rotation. What do you guys think of Nas Reed and his play? I think to the conversation we just had about can you pay Jalen or can you pay D'Lo or can you pay them both, I think there's a way to carve out just enough space to pay them both. You can't pay Nas.
I think Nas Reed might be one of my two favorite players. His development, he is competitive as hell. He was the guy that took losing the hardest when they were kind of subtly throwing games those first couple years under Rosas. But long-term, like, okay, long-term, I know where Jalen could fit on this team.
And long-term, I know where D'Lo can fit. You're not going to be able to pay Nas Reed $7, $8 million to be, like, your third center when you're paying your other two centers, $95 million. So, to me, as much as I love the guy, like, he seems like the surest bet to be part of that trade him at the deadline for a couple second-round picks or a future first or – and, again, he's so good that you might just want to do the player a favor. I'm like, hey, you don't have enough growth here.
Like, go to the Hornets and be their starting center or something. But I think as long as he is here, I think he's shown that he can play the floor next to those guys. He can stretch the floor. He is Carl Wright, again, in terms of he can put the ball on the deck a little bit.
So, you won't have a bigger Nas Reed fan than me. But, again, after this year, like, there's no way I see that guy on this roster. And that's sad, but it's true. That is sad.
I love Nas Reed. I mean, that's probably – in recent years, has to be one of the best undrafted free agent pickups. Obviously, I know there's some maneuvering with undrafted guys. Sometimes agents say, don't draft my guy, et cetera.
Not saying that's the case with this. But, you know, he has been – like you say, he's proved he could probably start for a number of teams in this league. If not, he can't be a contributor off the bench. You're not going to find many big men that can shoot like him.
Obviously, rebounding needs to continue to improve. But, I mean, certainly last night looked like a first half of the game. No one was at the practice facility this summer more than Nas. No one's put more work into their body.
Again, you can go look – you can go see how he looked as an undrafted free agent coming out of LSU. He just – you know, he was another one of those kind of games against. He was a highly talented kid out of high school, had a bad college year, didn't get drafted, and he has worked so hard that – again, I know we want to keep everyone and pay everyone, but he would be a guy that I would be happy and proud if down the road he went and got, you know, four years, 40 million. Because he's another guy that's not making much money that deserves to be getting paid way more than, you know, all these other guys that are kind of retread centers.
Yeah, like Nas is 22-23, can shoot, can rebound, just falls down all the time and gets back up. Like, that's the type of guy you want on your team. Whether he starts or he's a prominent bench player, you want him on your team. I just don't think this team has the wiggle room for him, you know, long term.
Do you see it trending upward, you know, the amount of players that stay back in the Twin Cities in the summer? Because I think if you can get that trend, like, fully on board, as someone who used to live there, like, I understand, you know, they don't want, it's cold, like, all people think is it's cold, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like, man, there's something to be said, one, about continuity, the practice facility is incredible. And by the way, like, if you can start attracting guys, I think you can with the talent they have, but long term, like, if you can get these guys out on Lake Minnetonka, man, like, they're going to want to live here in the summer, right?
But, like, do you see that trend of these guys hanging around in the summer, like you mentioned? 1,000%, and it all goes back to when they go to that practice facility, it is a wonderful practice facility in downtown, easy access in and out for the players, state-of-the-art stuff all over the place. But, yeah, I mean, we're all, like, love the state of Minnesota, and there's no better time to be in Minnesota than the summer months. So, I think, I mean, again, you'll never be able to compete, no matter how beautiful July 8th is on Minnetonka, you'll never compete with Malibu or South Beach, and those guys will get their, you know, get their minutes in down there.
But, yeah, a lot of guys, Jay McDaniels, Jalen, Nate Knight, Nons-Reed, Antwoz Bakalat, Carl's Bakalat, those guys are always there, and when they're in town, you know, they want to work on their game, they go to the practice facility. So, way more than in the past. I mean, in the past, whether it was because the team sucked or they didn't have a practice facility, they had flights booked the game 82, like, they would do post-game, and then they were off to wherever they wanted to go to. That's not the case anymore, and I think that does, you know, it's kind of sappy as it sounds, I think that talks about the culture and the continuity, like Tripp said, having those guys be around 12 months a year instead of eight.
It's a pretty big deal. I love it. Let's, uh, before we wrap it up here, Kyle, it's been awesome having you on, by the way, but let's just, we always ask a lot of our guests, you know, what is your prediction for the upcoming season? I know you bet the over on the Timberwolves, which is amazing, so I'm sure you have them high, but like, what's your prediction?
Roughly, you know, your estimate, which is like, what seed do you think the Timberwolves are going to land in the Western Conference this year? It's a great, great question. I did online in Vegas, whatever I have, bet a lot of money on the over of 48 and a half wins. I do think there's a tier above them.
I think some combination of Phoenix, Golden State, and the Clippers, if I was a Wolves fan, I love that Clippers team this year. I just like a bunch of kind of multi-positional guys that can guard different positions. So I think like two of those teams, probably Golden State and the Clippers, take the top two seeds. I think Denver's going to win a lot of games, so I kind of have them peg three, and I have Minnesota just like in their own tier of the four seed, so a home playoff series.
I think they have way more depth than Dallas. I think they have a way better kind of injury track record than Memphis. Memphis is good, but like the whole Jaron Jackson thing, he's out till like Christmas, I just think the Wolves will have no problem with those teams. And then the Suns, I mean, I mean, you're down there too.
Like, I think vibes matter, and I just wonder if that team another year older, they're going to lose Crowder for maybe not that much. You know, they just don't have a backup point guard. The Suns don't worry me like the Suns worried me 24 months ago. So I'll say 52 and 30.
I'll say a four seed. The West is going to be a juggernaut, but they're going to accumulate so many wins in February, March, and April as half the league turns their attention to Wimbaniana, and the Wolves are just going to beat the Pacers here, beat the Kings there, beat the Hornets there, I think that arena is going to be incredible. The Tarps have come up on the upper deck, and now the whole stadium has a chance to be sold out just like the playoff games. So it's going to be quite the atmosphere.
Hopefully you can, you know, all the boys can get together, eventually have some beers, catch a game, talk some basketball, but anything to add for it? Let's hang a banner in Target's time, shall we? Yeah, the real one, right? Yeah.
Not like a Jay McDaniels or a headband thing, like one that has like a record on it. So I think, again, I've said this before, off the record or offline, you two are saddishes, and you two have stuck around through the dark days, and in the Wolves' Twitter nation that we can't wait to hear you talk your shit to, Kyle, Kyle Pygey, Kyle Pygey on Twitter, Flagrant Howells, I can't speak tonight, and the Daymore Podcast, I'm going to just go out on a limb, I don't even really think it's a limb, and say Flagrant Howells is, hands down, the best Timberwolves podcast slash show on the internet. Go on YouTube, Score North, it's an elite network slash channel, whatever you want to call it, Score North's elite, Kyle Pygey's elite, Kyle Pygey's elite, everyone over there is awesome. Go check them out, you probably already do, but if you don't, again, it's the best,