Trav Targaryen

Mr. Brightside

[greg @gandalf_thegreg]

toddlers to people with deformities in the grocery store

[SleeperVikings @SleeperVikings]

LaMelo Ball and Jordan Addison pulling up to a stop light downtown:

[Trav Targaryen @teerav48]

@DaneMooreNBA @JonKrawczynski Dane talk to us

[Jon Krawczynski @JonKrawczynski]

"He’s going to make everybody better. That was the thing that was missing." -- Wolves source on the addition of LaMelo Ball.

[Michael Grady @Grady]

Two Words.

Thank you 🫶🏾🙏🏾

[🤺🇸🇳🇧🇪 @philfanacc]

Lamelo Ball on Hennepin Ave in about 2 weeks

[Logan Stepan @Step2Logan]

Naz Reid’s tenure as the starting PF for the Wolves

[Trav Targaryen @teerav48]

@RichbyRisks @CharlieWaltonMN You’re right he’s better. Complete list of nba players to score 43 off the bench in a playoff game: Ayo and Steph curry. Bye

[Big Cat @BarstoolBigCat]

Julius Randle having to play in New York for the Nets the season after the Knicks break a 53 year championship drought seems like borderline criminal bullying

[Big Baller Brandon @BrandonBeck4]

Farewell Julius Randle, sometimes you were good, sometimes you were bad, at the end you were really very bad, but every time you gave us those Goosebumps

[Dane Moore @DaneMooreNBA]

If the Wolves were able to have a cap space team (maybe Brooklyn or Chicago) absorb Julius Randle's contract next season ($33M), that would open up three interesting roster building tools I want to highlight.

I think this is relevant because the Wolves front office has a history of kind of stringing together transactions -- even over the course of multiple transaction windows (offseason and trade deadline).

The Randle trade would be Randle + draft compensation for say Brooklyn to absorb the contract
- maybe: Randle + No. 28 for a future 2nd
(Adjust compensation as you see fit. Not the point of this exercise. Obviously if this would cost a bunch, they wouldn't do it. Or maybe they'd have to move to using Gobert's salary as the salary moved into another team's cap space.)

Shedding Randle's salary would drop the Wolves well below the *1st* apron (about $52M). And while beneath the 1st apron, the Wolves would open up the ability to three additional roster building tools for spending that $52M... (If Ayo Dosunmu were to sign for $17M, that would be $35M in room below the 1st apron. And need to make sure to get the roster to 14 players.)

1. The non-taxpayer midlevel exception ($15M)
- The "big MLE" is a $15M gift card for teams to spend above the salary cap but below the 1st apron. So if the Wolves were to use this, they would be hard-capped at the 1st apron ($13M below 2nd apron). If a team is over the 1st apron, they only have access to the taxpayer or "mini MLE", which is $6M next season
- Could go out and sign a free agent for up to $15M in starting salary
- Could also use this $15M as a trade exception and trade for a player who makes up to $15M

2. The trade exception generated in the Mike Conley salary dump trade to Chicago ($10.77M)
- A trade exception allows a team to trade for a player without sending back matching salary for up to the amount of the trade exception
- So with access to this trade exception, the Wolves could trade for a player making up to $10.77M
- Using a trade exception also hard caps a team at the 1st apron ($13M below 2nd apron)

3. Making a Randle trade to a team who absorbs his contract into cap space would also create another trade exception (up to $33M)
- The size of that trade exception would be Randle's $33M, minus whatever the Wolves took back in the trade
- Might not need that for spending this summer. But doesn't expire for 365 days.

The downside of working below the 1st apron as opposed to the 2nd apron is it restricts overall spending power by $13M -- because that's the gap between the two aprons.

[NBACentral @TheDunkCentral]

The Timberwolves plan to start Naz Reid at PF, per @JonKrawczynski

[Jon Krawczynski @JonKrawczynski]

Naz Reid is going to be the starting power forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves for the first time in his career. This move is a big statement of belief in Reid and Jaden McDaniels to take the next steps in their development.

[Clev @irish_tr4sh]

Saw Chris finch and Tim Connelly on my drive home

[Legion Hoops @LegionHoops]

Trump responds to Stephen A. Smith:

“He’s an arrogant fool, a low IQ individual. In other words, he's ‘dumb as a rock’… He’d get annihilated in a debate by the most incompetent politician… Within a few weeks, they’d laugh him out of politics!!!”

[DailyRapFacts @DailyRapFacts]

15 years ago today, Kendrick Lamar and Drake exchanged DMs 👀📨

[Trav Targaryen @teerav48]

😭😭😭

[Legion Hoops @LegionHoops]

The Cavaliers plan to sign James Harden to a multi-year deal this summer to keep him in Cleveland, per ESPN.

[Spurs Culture @SpursCulture]

Ant is so likeable its crazy

[Luca Evans @bylucaevans]

Spotted in Denver

[Legion Hoops @LegionHoops]

Anthony Edwards put his body on the line to try to bring a championship to Minnesota:

“He told teammates he really believed that if he could get back on the court after his injuries, the Wolves could win a title. He pushed his body to the edge to try to make it happen.” (@JonKrawczynski)

Respect.