ON THE BLOCK
It is always a tough time when it comes to losing players, especially if the guys in question have been with the club for a while.
As the GM of the Minnesota Timberwolves it is my duty to announce that we are currently assessing our trade options for Marko Jaric, Troy Hudson and Trenton Hassell.
The needs of the Minnesota Timberwolves on-court team are such that another big man and-or small forward is needed to bolster our team from off the bench with the possibility of starting some games as well.
Off the court, we also require players who are more financially viable, which shall be examined below, along with the on-court reasons for deciding to shop these players:
Marko Jaric: Whilst having a more or less solid start to the season, Marko Jaric has been dropping off of late. He is probably a little too slow both on his feet and with his hands/dribbling skills for the PG and SG positions he has been playing. Although decently priced at 5M and an overall rating of 71, we believe he just isn't what we need right now, and could get a greater return from a different player for our money.
Troy Hudson: It pains us to put Troy on the trading block as he's been with us for a couple of seasons now, and pretty much has done nothing wrong. He is always reliable off the bench or as a starter at the PG spot. Very quick skills and a scorching three-point shot, there is very little that Troy cannot do. However with this young evolving team he struggles to see minutes sometimes behind the likes of developing starter PG Marcus Banks. In many teams Troy would be the starter or number one backup but because of the number of guards on the team, he isn't getting as much playing time as he should.
A good player, he deserves his minutes but we just can't give them to him right now and believe he would be put to much better use by another club. On the money side of things, his 5.25M salary is simply too much for someone seeing as few minutes as he is.
Trenton Hassell: There was doubt in the minds of many when perservering with Trenton at the beginning of the season but he came out of training camp firing, having gained 2 overall ratings points in that training time alone so we stuck by him. However it was not long before we were second-guessing ourselves. He is a dogging defender, one of our toughest but he just isn't worth the 3.96M we are paying him.
We are looking to package these players in a deal for a big man and mid-high 70s guard/forward. Because of the salaries inovled however we are having trouble in negotiations with most teams when trying to balance out the money. Most teams are over the cap so our options have been somewhat restricted. We are investigating all possibilities though, so stay tuned.
Opinions welcome.