July 1, 2025 • 25 mins
In this episode of The Grind, Tim discusses the latest developments in Minnesota sports, including the Minnesota Wild's new arena name, the ongoing debate over sports gambling legalization, and significant roster changes for the Timberwolves. He highlights the impact of veteran players like Joe Ingles and the potential of young talents like Terrance Shannon Jr. The episode also covers the Wild's trade for Vladimir Tarasenko and the financial flexibility the team now has to improve its roster.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Grind, a Minnesota sports podcast. This is The Grind,
a Minnesota sports podcast. It's been twelve thousand, three hundred
and one days since the Minnesota Twins captured their nineteen
ninety one World Series title, and that's why this podcast
(00:22):
is called the Grind, because being a Minnesota sports fan
is a grind, and being a Minnesota sports professional athlete
is also a grind, which is why this podcast is
called The Grind. Many stories to dive into Timberwolves, free
agency in Minnesota, wild trades, Minnesota Timberwolves, stories from rookies,
(00:48):
and a new arena name which is very odd. But
first I need to tell you about Five Star Baths
Solutions of Minneapolis because they transformed our bathroom in forty
eight hours a full bathroom ra model. We talked to
some other companies eight week project, nine week project, what
(01:10):
we have to cram into our teeny tiny bathroom for
weeks right off our bedroom and it's gonna take forever
for this master bathroom to get done. I don't want
to do that. Five Star Bastions came in and remodeled
our entire master bathroom and had it done in forty
eight hours. Our prior bathroom had blue floor, a blue
(01:31):
step going into the shower, handrails, a mouldi shower, a
brown vanity, ugly countertops and mirror, and one sink. They
come in and va lah in forty eight hours, a
new floor, a new tub, a noo surround, a new vanity,
a new countertop. We went from one sink to two
sinks and a new mirror. Forty eight hours we had
(01:53):
our bathroom back. Affordable payment plans, three consultations. Five Star
Bathrooms of Minneapolis, contact them today, five Star Best Solutions
of Minneapolis. All right, where should we start. Let's talk
about the Minnesota Wild and their new arena name, Grand
(02:18):
Casino Arena. The Excel Energy Center is gone. I do
wonder how long it will take Minnesota sports fans to
get used to the new arena name, because where the
Golden Golphers play football. It's technically called Huntington Bank Stadium,
(02:42):
but my first instinct is to call it the Bank
the TCF Bank Stadium TCF. And now that the Minnesota
Wild are no longer called the Excel Energy Center, and
they weren't even really called the Excel Energy Center the Wild,
(03:04):
they were known as the X just like Anthony Edwards
is known as AUNT. Kevin Garnett is known as KG.
Excel Energy Center was known as X the X. Are
you going to the X? Are you gonna go watch
the While that the X, no one called it the
(03:25):
Excel Energy Center? It was always the X. And now
the Grand Casino Arena has taken over as the new
arena name. I have a question how long is it
going to take for the state of Minnesota to legalize
(03:47):
sports gambling. It is one of the most fascinating things
to me that one of the four professional sports teams
ken re name an arena the Grand Casino Arena, and
yet the state still has not legalized sports gambling. Because
(04:17):
you look at how many states have done that throughout
the United States, thirty eight have legalized sports betting. Additionally, Washington, DC,
and Puerto Rico also permit legal sports betting. So a
(04:42):
new arena can go and be called the Grand Casino Arena,
Yet you still can't legalize sports gambling in the state
of Minnesota. That seems like a problem. I don't I
don't know why they can't legalize sports gambling. I don't
(05:03):
know what goes into it, but I do know this
there are thirty eight other states that have legalized sports betting,
and Minnesota is one of twelve that haven't done it yet.
Iowa's done it, have the Dakota's done it. I don't
(05:26):
even but I know Iowa has why as Minnesota not?
And I'm not even a gambler. I don't even gamble
on the side for fun. There's a long time ago
when I lived in Washington, d C. For three years,
and I had a hospital bill like one hundred and
twenty dollars, and I thought, hmm, what if I make
(05:47):
a couple of bets. I hit on those bets and
I'll pay off that hospital bill with this bet that
I make money on. Well, it turns out Derrick Rose
goes for a fifty something points for the Timberwolves, and
I lose the bet, and then I got the hospital
bill to pay for and the bet that I lost,
(06:08):
So I ended up losing money in that situation because
of Derek flip in a Rowse hitting the reset button
and putting up fifty plus points in the time. I
remember watching that game because I was in a hotel
with a friend from Minnesota. I was in town. I
was watching the game and I was realizing what was
(06:29):
going on, and I'm like, I put money on the
Timberwolves to lose this game, and now Derek Rose is
going for fifty plus points. Crazy. So that's story number one.
What else do we got? The Minnesota Timberwolves did not
(06:51):
pick up the team options for Luca Garza and Josh
may not. Luca Garza has already picked up a deal
with the Boston Celtics, a two year deal, five million,
fully guaranteed. Josh I don't think has signed anywhere yet.
(07:14):
I have not seen that. But a lot of people
are reacting to the Minnesota Timberwolves re signing of Joe Ingles,
thirty seven year old Joe Ingles, who can stroke it
from anywhere, but is not going to give the Timberwolves
(07:36):
valuable playing time at all. And I look at Joe
Ingles and I see people reacting, why did the Timberwolves
do this? Why did they not just bring him on
as a coach. He's not going to give the Timberwolves anything.
My first reaction to that is, how many players of
(08:00):
the fourteenth best player on a roster give the team anything?
On most NBA teams, the rotation doesn't go further than
eight or nine guys, which means there's about four to
five guys on the bench that never play. So Joe
(08:20):
Ingles is just going to be one of those players
that doesn't play. And Joe Ingles was not the only
player on the Timberbowls roster last year that never played.
Might Not hardly played, Garza barely played, PJ. Dozer never played,
(08:41):
Bones Highland never played. So why not bring Ingles back
for another year to be that player coach because players
love him. He formed an amazing friendship with Jaden McDaniels
last year. Who knew Jaden McDaniels even spoke. And Joe
(09:05):
brings a leadership aswega againsta to the Timberwolves' roster that
I don't think anybody would look at Ingles and disrespect
the IQ and the player that he's been throughout his career.
When Ingles speaks, people listen. So yes, the Timberwolves are
(09:31):
paying him three point six million dollars next season over
or or compared to the two million that they would
have paid Luca Garza or Josh Might not. But regardless,
they're all going to be playing the same role. They're
going to be riding the bench and why not have
(09:51):
a guy riding the bench that actually adds basketball IQ
into the equation, that adds valuable X experience and veteran
leadership instead of a guy that's young that doesn't add
any of that. So on the surface, it seems like
why are the Timbrels bringing him back? But you look
(10:13):
into it more and every NBA organization has four to
five guys that ride the bench that don't play a
single minute in ninety five percent of basketball games. Joe
Ingles is that guy. But he brings a valuable trait
that most bench warmers don't, and it's a wealth of
(10:35):
experience and a basketball IQ and the inbounce pass. Joe
Ingles comes in foroer point nine seconds to inbound the pass.
That's more valuable than he even realized. It's a joke,
but it's true. It's more valuable than he realized to
have a guy that's calm under pressure and can deliver
(10:55):
the ball while there's a seven foot are guarding him
to have the strength to throw it over that guy
and the height to do it. So even if you're
just paying Joe Ingalls to be an inbounds passer for
the Timberwolves, I think there's value in that. And the
biggest Timberwolves story is that they lose Nikhil Alexander Walker
(11:21):
in free agency to the Atlanta Hawks, but the Timberwolves
were able to pull off a sign in trade. They
picked up a future second round pick and cash from
the Atlanta Hawks, and this keeps the Timberwolves from entering
(11:43):
the Second Apron, which if you enter the second Apron,
you have to pay a lot in taxes, and I'm
sure of it. I guarantee you that Alex Rodriguez and
Mark Laurie do not want to pay their Pharish taxes
their first year as official Timberwolves' owners. So the fact
(12:10):
that you could sign and trade Nikill Alexander Walker and
not have to take a contract back, but instead take
back a second round pick and some cash considerations, it's
a cool thing. Now. We all knew that Nikill Alexander
Walker would be gone after the Timberwolves focused on Nas
(12:31):
Reed and Julius Randall. The question that needs to be
answered with Nikhil Alexander Walker gone is does Terence Shannon Junior,
who showed lots of promise last year for the Timberwolves
(12:53):
in his rookie campaign. Is he going to make his
presence felt in year two? Now? I love what Terrence
Shannon Jr. Brought the Timberwolves last year, and I think
he can play. He has a lot of energy, he
has a lot of skill, and he is a scorer.
(13:15):
He's like an energy buzzer. Uh, an energy bunny on
the court. And you saw it during the limited action
that he got last year in the playoffs and in
the regular season when Arren Shannon Junior was on the court.
Good things were happening for the Timberwolves offensively and defensively.
(13:40):
And Terrence Shannon Jr. Hey, Zoe, how's it going? You
brush your hair? What's that? You didn't look at pictures? Well?
Mom brushed your hair. Oh that's so cute. You to
come over here. Can I see your hair? Oh? That
(14:03):
is so pretty? Wow? Oh yut. You brushed your teeth too,
and you have pigtails. Oh that is cute. No braids today? Okay,
it looks really nice. Do you think I can finish
(14:23):
recording my show now? Okay? Thank you, honey, thank you
for showing me your cool hair. Bye. Uh, if you
could close it, that would be great. Thank you. So
that was my daughter where was I Tarren Shannon Jr.
(14:48):
And Tarren Shannon Jr. His greatest decision was not entering
the NBA Draft as a rookie because he is valuable
to the Timbrils because he has his man body and
he is twenty four years old and he has developed
(15:08):
into the body that he's going to have for basically
the rest of his NBA career. If he was nineteen
years old, he would really bring nothing to the Tymbrils organization.
But he has the athleticism and he has the skill
because he has developed. If you are a college basketball
player that is not projected to be a top ten
(15:32):
pick in the NBA Draft, everybody should make the decision
like Tiren Shanyon Junior did because the longer you allow
your body to develop, then you allow a team to
select you and then you can play right away instead
of having him go through the developmental process. You see
(15:53):
too many times a guy that's a freshman come out
into the NBA Draft, is selected in the twenties and
then is a nobody for the rest of his career,
instead of being patient, waiting for the process, allowing your
skill and body to develop, and then he steps in
and he has a role for the Timberwolves last year,
and we'll have a bigger role this next year. So
(16:18):
I think that more players coming out of college basketball
should make a similar decision as Terrence Shannon Junior did,
especially with all of the money they can make in
college basketball these days, and in college sports, you can
(16:40):
make more money as a star player for our college
than you could as the twenty something overall pick in
the NBA draft. So hopefully we see that happening more.
But Nikhil Alexander Walker, you know, a lot of people
(17:00):
liked him and he brought an energy and a consistency
to the Timberwolves. I personally did not like his inconsistency
because he was very inconsistent and we saw it throughout
his time with a timber Yeah, he shot thirty eight
percent from three. Yeah, I can knock down the three
and ball handle, and his defense was good. But he
(17:25):
saw too many stretches from mister Walker where he would
put up fifteen points, twenty points and then he would
know show for a few games in a row. So
although he will be you know, missed from the Timberwolves organization,
(17:47):
I do think that he's replaceable with a Terrence Shannon
Junior coming off the bench. So although the Timberwolves couldn't
bring him back, I don't think the Timberwolves will miss
him as much. Uh. One more quick story to dive
into and we'll wrap up the show. The Minnesota Wild
made some noise and traded for Detroit Red Wings player
(18:12):
Vladimir Tarasenko. Tarasenko, thirty three, is a two times Down
the Cup champion as three hundred and four career NHL goals.
He has one year remaining on his nine point five
million dollar contract, so the Wild will pay him four
(18:36):
point seventy five million because it's a two year, nine
point five million dollar contract. And what's interesting is the
Wild bring on a player that only had eleven goals
last year. He had a twenty two assists. But you
(18:58):
look at Tarasenko's career a little closer, and this is
his sixth NHL team in the last three years. Teams
around the league view Tarasenko as expendable, and most likely
(19:18):
the Wild will too. Because he has a one year
deal left. I would assume that he will walk after
the year is over, so he will be on his
seventh team in four years, which means this move does
not get me excited for the Wild. And I don't
think the Wild have improved their roster by bringing in
(19:43):
an aging Tarasenko that does have Stanley Cup experience, But
you've got to make it to the Stanley Cup first.
You've got to make it into the playoffs first. And
this next storyline is going to be the fascinating one
to follow because after trading for Tarasenko, the Wild will
(20:08):
have thirteen million to spend an ANHL free agency when
it opens on Tuesday. And for years the Wild have
been hamstrung by the contracts to Zach Peesy and Ryan Souter.
(20:30):
But now they're not as much. They have money to spend,
and although they have been hamstrung by those two contracts,
sometimes what happens is when you're hamstrung like that, that
hides the inefficiencies of an organization. It creates a built
(20:53):
in excuse to say, well, we can't improve the roster
because Zach Prie and Ryan Suter's contracts are killing us. Well,
now that those contracts are not what they used to
be and you have money to spend, it will be
fascinating to see if the Timberwolves, if the Timbrels, if
(21:16):
the Wild can take their roster to another level because
what's the excuse. The built an excuse of Perisei and
Suitor is gone. And with them being gone, now what
you have the money to spend. You have the ability
to bring in players that can play. You're not bringing
(21:41):
in these veterans on minimum contracts anymore because of the
outlandish contract that you're still paying Parisian Suitor. You have
thirteen million dollars to spend. You've got career capriz Off
who is in the prime of his career, and when
(22:01):
he's on the ice, the Minnesota Wild are a different team.
So you bring in some players to compliment Caprizov. You're
looking at a team that really could ascend to another
level in the NHL. But if you can't, if you
(22:24):
can't bring in guys and take this roster to another level.
Now that those contracts are basically done, then the deficiencies
of the Wild organization is going to be obvious. It's
kind of like the injury theory. The injury theory you
(22:45):
see it all the time in professional sports where a
team tries to make this run at a title, a
player gets hurt mid season or in the playoffs, and
that actually in a way, when that team fails, that
(23:10):
injury actually makes the team come back for another year,
even if they weren't relatively close, because what happens is
player A gets injured and then it's like, oh, the
season's over, we better run it back one more year
to see if we can pull this thing off. But
(23:31):
in reality, you had really no chance at winning at all. Anyways.
Now you're just stalling and trying to put a build
an excuse. It's kind of the same thing in the wild.
The wild have been hamstrung by these contracts for years,
and now you don't have these contracts hamstringing you anymore.
(23:52):
Then what does the excuse become if you can't build
a roster? Now, Bill Garren, you're out the window. You're gone.
You're gonna get fired because you've had this excuse for years. Well, Peisi,
the contract suitor, the contract we can't pay guys. Well,
now that those aren't what they used to be, what's
(24:13):
your excuse? Why did you not improve the roster? So
you better improve the roster this offseason or the owners
the fan base will be growing impatient, very very quickly,
because as sour as those contracts made you feel, it
(24:36):
created a built an excuse. So those are the takes
of the day, twelve three and one days Minnesota Sports.
We'll see what happens next. We'll definitely make it to
twelve thousand, three hundred and two days tomorrow. Thank you
(24:58):
for watching. We shouldhit that subscribe button if you're watching
on YouTube or listening somewhere else. Timberwolves will keep an
eye out on some roster decisions in free agency if
they add in a player or to a point guard
or whomever. But now that the first day of NBA
(25:22):
free agency is over and NHL free agency begins soon,
we will keep our eyes out and be writing articles
mnsportsgrind dot com check it out. Thank you for watching
and for making this podcast part of your day.
The Grind, a Minnesota sports podcast. This is The Grind,
a Minnesota sports podcast. It's been twelve thousand, three hundred
and one days since the Minnesota Twins captured their nineteen
ninety one World Series title, and that's why this podcast
(00:22):
is called the Grind, because being a Minnesota sports fan
is a grind, and being a Minnesota sports professional athlete
is also a grind, which is why this podcast is
called The Grind. Many stories to dive into Timberwolves, free
agency in Minnesota, wild trades, Minnesota Timberwolves, stories from rookies,
(00:48):
and a new arena name which is very odd. But
first I need to tell you about Five Star Baths
Solutions of Minneapolis because they transformed our bathroom in forty
eight hours a full bathroom ra model. We talked to
some other companies eight week project, nine week project, what
(01:10):
we have to cram into our teeny tiny bathroom for
weeks right off our bedroom and it's gonna take forever
for this master bathroom to get done. I don't want
to do that. Five Star Bastions came in and remodeled
our entire master bathroom and had it done in forty
eight hours. Our prior bathroom had blue floor, a blue
(01:31):
step going into the shower, handrails, a mouldi shower, a
brown vanity, ugly countertops and mirror, and one sink. They
come in and va lah in forty eight hours, a
new floor, a new tub, a noo surround, a new vanity,
a new countertop. We went from one sink to two
sinks and a new mirror. Forty eight hours we had
(01:53):
our bathroom back. Affordable payment plans, three consultations. Five Star
Bathrooms of Minneapolis, contact them today, five Star Best Solutions
of Minneapolis. All right, where should we start. Let's talk
about the Minnesota Wild and their new arena name, Grand
(02:18):
Casino Arena. The Excel Energy Center is gone. I do
wonder how long it will take Minnesota sports fans to
get used to the new arena name, because where the
Golden Golphers play football. It's technically called Huntington Bank Stadium,
(02:42):
but my first instinct is to call it the Bank
the TCF Bank Stadium TCF. And now that the Minnesota
Wild are no longer called the Excel Energy Center, and
they weren't even really called the Excel Energy Center the Wild,
(03:04):
they were known as the X just like Anthony Edwards
is known as AUNT. Kevin Garnett is known as KG.
Excel Energy Center was known as X the X. Are
you going to the X? Are you gonna go watch
the While that the X, no one called it the
(03:25):
Excel Energy Center? It was always the X. And now
the Grand Casino Arena has taken over as the new
arena name. I have a question how long is it
going to take for the state of Minnesota to legalize
(03:47):
sports gambling. It is one of the most fascinating things
to me that one of the four professional sports teams
ken re name an arena the Grand Casino Arena, and
yet the state still has not legalized sports gambling. Because
(04:17):
you look at how many states have done that throughout
the United States, thirty eight have legalized sports betting. Additionally, Washington, DC,
and Puerto Rico also permit legal sports betting. So a
(04:42):
new arena can go and be called the Grand Casino Arena,
Yet you still can't legalize sports gambling in the state
of Minnesota. That seems like a problem. I don't I
don't know why they can't legalize sports gambling. I don't
(05:03):
know what goes into it, but I do know this
there are thirty eight other states that have legalized sports betting,
and Minnesota is one of twelve that haven't done it yet.
Iowa's done it, have the Dakota's done it. I don't
(05:26):
even but I know Iowa has why as Minnesota not?
And I'm not even a gambler. I don't even gamble
on the side for fun. There's a long time ago
when I lived in Washington, d C. For three years,
and I had a hospital bill like one hundred and
twenty dollars, and I thought, hmm, what if I make
(05:47):
a couple of bets. I hit on those bets and
I'll pay off that hospital bill with this bet that
I make money on. Well, it turns out Derrick Rose
goes for a fifty something points for the Timberwolves, and
I lose the bet, and then I got the hospital
bill to pay for and the bet that I lost,
(06:08):
So I ended up losing money in that situation because
of Derek flip in a Rowse hitting the reset button
and putting up fifty plus points in the time. I
remember watching that game because I was in a hotel
with a friend from Minnesota. I was in town. I
was watching the game and I was realizing what was
(06:29):
going on, and I'm like, I put money on the
Timberwolves to lose this game, and now Derek Rose is
going for fifty plus points. Crazy. So that's story number one.
What else do we got? The Minnesota Timberwolves did not
(06:51):
pick up the team options for Luca Garza and Josh
may not. Luca Garza has already picked up a deal
with the Boston Celtics, a two year deal, five million,
fully guaranteed. Josh I don't think has signed anywhere yet.
(07:14):
I have not seen that. But a lot of people
are reacting to the Minnesota Timberwolves re signing of Joe Ingles,
thirty seven year old Joe Ingles, who can stroke it
from anywhere, but is not going to give the Timberwolves
(07:36):
valuable playing time at all. And I look at Joe
Ingles and I see people reacting, why did the Timberwolves
do this? Why did they not just bring him on
as a coach. He's not going to give the Timberwolves anything.
My first reaction to that is, how many players of
(08:00):
the fourteenth best player on a roster give the team anything?
On most NBA teams, the rotation doesn't go further than
eight or nine guys, which means there's about four to
five guys on the bench that never play. So Joe
(08:20):
Ingles is just going to be one of those players
that doesn't play. And Joe Ingles was not the only
player on the Timberbowls roster last year that never played.
Might Not hardly played, Garza barely played, PJ. Dozer never played,
(08:41):
Bones Highland never played. So why not bring Ingles back
for another year to be that player coach because players
love him. He formed an amazing friendship with Jaden McDaniels
last year. Who knew Jaden McDaniels even spoke. And Joe
(09:05):
brings a leadership aswega againsta to the Timberwolves' roster that
I don't think anybody would look at Ingles and disrespect
the IQ and the player that he's been throughout his career.
When Ingles speaks, people listen. So yes, the Timberwolves are
(09:31):
paying him three point six million dollars next season over
or or compared to the two million that they would
have paid Luca Garza or Josh Might not. But regardless,
they're all going to be playing the same role. They're
going to be riding the bench and why not have
(09:51):
a guy riding the bench that actually adds basketball IQ
into the equation, that adds valuable X experience and veteran
leadership instead of a guy that's young that doesn't add
any of that. So on the surface, it seems like
why are the Timbrels bringing him back? But you look
(10:13):
into it more and every NBA organization has four to
five guys that ride the bench that don't play a
single minute in ninety five percent of basketball games. Joe
Ingles is that guy. But he brings a valuable trait
that most bench warmers don't, and it's a wealth of
(10:35):
experience and a basketball IQ and the inbounce pass. Joe
Ingles comes in foroer point nine seconds to inbound the pass.
That's more valuable than he even realized. It's a joke,
but it's true. It's more valuable than he realized to
have a guy that's calm under pressure and can deliver
(10:55):
the ball while there's a seven foot are guarding him
to have the strength to throw it over that guy
and the height to do it. So even if you're
just paying Joe Ingalls to be an inbounds passer for
the Timberwolves, I think there's value in that. And the
biggest Timberwolves story is that they lose Nikhil Alexander Walker
(11:21):
in free agency to the Atlanta Hawks, but the Timberwolves
were able to pull off a sign in trade. They
picked up a future second round pick and cash from
the Atlanta Hawks, and this keeps the Timberwolves from entering
(11:43):
the Second Apron, which if you enter the second Apron,
you have to pay a lot in taxes, and I'm
sure of it. I guarantee you that Alex Rodriguez and
Mark Laurie do not want to pay their Pharish taxes
their first year as official Timberwolves' owners. So the fact
(12:10):
that you could sign and trade Nikill Alexander Walker and
not have to take a contract back, but instead take
back a second round pick and some cash considerations, it's
a cool thing. Now. We all knew that Nikill Alexander
Walker would be gone after the Timberwolves focused on Nas
(12:31):
Reed and Julius Randall. The question that needs to be
answered with Nikhil Alexander Walker gone is does Terence Shannon Junior,
who showed lots of promise last year for the Timberwolves
(12:53):
in his rookie campaign. Is he going to make his
presence felt in year two? Now? I love what Terrence
Shannon Jr. Brought the Timberwolves last year, and I think
he can play. He has a lot of energy, he
has a lot of skill, and he is a scorer.
(13:15):
He's like an energy buzzer. Uh, an energy bunny on
the court. And you saw it during the limited action
that he got last year in the playoffs and in
the regular season when Arren Shannon Junior was on the court.
Good things were happening for the Timberwolves offensively and defensively.
(13:40):
And Terrence Shannon Jr. Hey, Zoe, how's it going? You
brush your hair? What's that? You didn't look at pictures? Well?
Mom brushed your hair. Oh that's so cute. You to
come over here. Can I see your hair? Oh? That
(14:03):
is so pretty? Wow? Oh yut. You brushed your teeth too,
and you have pigtails. Oh that is cute. No braids today? Okay,
it looks really nice. Do you think I can finish
(14:23):
recording my show now? Okay? Thank you, honey, thank you
for showing me your cool hair. Bye. Uh, if you
could close it, that would be great. Thank you. So
that was my daughter where was I Tarren Shannon Jr.
(14:48):
And Tarren Shannon Jr. His greatest decision was not entering
the NBA Draft as a rookie because he is valuable
to the Timbrils because he has his man body and
he is twenty four years old and he has developed
(15:08):
into the body that he's going to have for basically
the rest of his NBA career. If he was nineteen
years old, he would really bring nothing to the Tymbrils organization.
But he has the athleticism and he has the skill
because he has developed. If you are a college basketball
player that is not projected to be a top ten
(15:32):
pick in the NBA Draft, everybody should make the decision
like Tiren Shanyon Junior did because the longer you allow
your body to develop, then you allow a team to
select you and then you can play right away instead
of having him go through the developmental process. You see
(15:53):
too many times a guy that's a freshman come out
into the NBA Draft, is selected in the twenties and
then is a nobody for the rest of his career,
instead of being patient, waiting for the process, allowing your
skill and body to develop, and then he steps in
and he has a role for the Timberwolves last year,
and we'll have a bigger role this next year. So
(16:18):
I think that more players coming out of college basketball
should make a similar decision as Terrence Shannon Junior did,
especially with all of the money they can make in
college basketball these days, and in college sports, you can
(16:40):
make more money as a star player for our college
than you could as the twenty something overall pick in
the NBA draft. So hopefully we see that happening more.
But Nikhil Alexander Walker, you know, a lot of people
(17:00):
liked him and he brought an energy and a consistency
to the Timberwolves. I personally did not like his inconsistency
because he was very inconsistent and we saw it throughout
his time with a timber Yeah, he shot thirty eight
percent from three. Yeah, I can knock down the three
and ball handle, and his defense was good. But he
(17:25):
saw too many stretches from mister Walker where he would
put up fifteen points, twenty points and then he would
know show for a few games in a row. So
although he will be you know, missed from the Timberwolves organization,
(17:47):
I do think that he's replaceable with a Terrence Shannon
Junior coming off the bench. So although the Timberwolves couldn't
bring him back, I don't think the Timberwolves will miss
him as much. Uh. One more quick story to dive
into and we'll wrap up the show. The Minnesota Wild
made some noise and traded for Detroit Red Wings player
(18:12):
Vladimir Tarasenko. Tarasenko, thirty three, is a two times Down
the Cup champion as three hundred and four career NHL goals.
He has one year remaining on his nine point five
million dollar contract, so the Wild will pay him four
(18:36):
point seventy five million because it's a two year, nine
point five million dollar contract. And what's interesting is the
Wild bring on a player that only had eleven goals
last year. He had a twenty two assists. But you
(18:58):
look at Tarasenko's career a little closer, and this is
his sixth NHL team in the last three years. Teams
around the league view Tarasenko as expendable, and most likely
(19:18):
the Wild will too. Because he has a one year
deal left. I would assume that he will walk after
the year is over, so he will be on his
seventh team in four years, which means this move does
not get me excited for the Wild. And I don't
think the Wild have improved their roster by bringing in
(19:43):
an aging Tarasenko that does have Stanley Cup experience, But
you've got to make it to the Stanley Cup first.
You've got to make it into the playoffs first. And
this next storyline is going to be the fascinating one
to follow because after trading for Tarasenko, the Wild will
(20:08):
have thirteen million to spend an ANHL free agency when
it opens on Tuesday. And for years the Wild have
been hamstrung by the contracts to Zach Peesy and Ryan Souter.
(20:30):
But now they're not as much. They have money to spend,
and although they have been hamstrung by those two contracts,
sometimes what happens is when you're hamstrung like that, that
hides the inefficiencies of an organization. It creates a built
(20:53):
in excuse to say, well, we can't improve the roster
because Zach Prie and Ryan Suter's contracts are killing us. Well,
now that those contracts are not what they used to
be and you have money to spend, it will be
fascinating to see if the Timberwolves, if the Timbrels, if
(21:16):
the Wild can take their roster to another level because
what's the excuse. The built an excuse of Perisei and
Suitor is gone. And with them being gone, now what
you have the money to spend. You have the ability
to bring in players that can play. You're not bringing
(21:41):
in these veterans on minimum contracts anymore because of the
outlandish contract that you're still paying Parisian Suitor. You have
thirteen million dollars to spend. You've got career capriz Off
who is in the prime of his career, and when
(22:01):
he's on the ice, the Minnesota Wild are a different team.
So you bring in some players to compliment Caprizov. You're
looking at a team that really could ascend to another
level in the NHL. But if you can't, if you
(22:24):
can't bring in guys and take this roster to another level.
Now that those contracts are basically done, then the deficiencies
of the Wild organization is going to be obvious. It's
kind of like the injury theory. The injury theory you
(22:45):
see it all the time in professional sports where a
team tries to make this run at a title, a
player gets hurt mid season or in the playoffs, and
that actually in a way, when that team fails, that
(23:10):
injury actually makes the team come back for another year,
even if they weren't relatively close, because what happens is
player A gets injured and then it's like, oh, the
season's over, we better run it back one more year
to see if we can pull this thing off. But
(23:31):
in reality, you had really no chance at winning at all. Anyways.
Now you're just stalling and trying to put a build
an excuse. It's kind of the same thing in the wild.
The wild have been hamstrung by these contracts for years,
and now you don't have these contracts hamstringing you anymore.
(23:52):
Then what does the excuse become if you can't build
a roster? Now, Bill Garren, you're out the window. You're gone.
You're gonna get fired because you've had this excuse for years. Well, Peisi,
the contract suitor, the contract we can't pay guys. Well,
now that those aren't what they used to be, what's
(24:13):
your excuse? Why did you not improve the roster? So
you better improve the roster this offseason or the owners
the fan base will be growing impatient, very very quickly,
because as sour as those contracts made you feel, it
(24:36):
created a built an excuse. So those are the takes
of the day, twelve three and one days Minnesota Sports.
We'll see what happens next. We'll definitely make it to
twelve thousand, three hundred and two days tomorrow. Thank you
(24:58):
for watching. We shouldhit that subscribe button if you're watching
on YouTube or listening somewhere else. Timberwolves will keep an
eye out on some roster decisions in free agency if
they add in a player or to a point guard
or whomever. But now that the first day of NBA
(25:22):
free agency is over and NHL free agency begins soon,
we will keep our eyes out and be writing articles
mnsportsgrind dot com check it out. Thank you for watching
and for making this podcast part of your day.
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