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Post by Nick K on Apr 29, 2024 14:36:08 GMT -6
Also I think everything Ant has said during this season points to just how much he loves and trusts KAT and how badly he wants him on the team. That will be a factor going forward. And I think this series kind of put to rest the idea that Naz gives you "80% of KAT". Naz is a super important member of this team and a great 6th man scorer. But he's a fantastic compliment to KAT and Rudy, not a peer. I couldn't say it better.
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Post by Nick K on Apr 29, 2024 15:25:47 GMT -6
Its hard to overstate the contributions of McD and NAW. They have been clutch stars on both ends. I'm not sure Kyle Anderson is back next year. At least not for 9 million.
I have a hard time seeing Wendell Moore Jr being back either for 2.5 mil. He's on a team option.
J Mac is a free agent next year and he's making 2.3 mil or so. Can't see him back either.
Those 3 guys total around 15 mil.
Helps with the cap which should be going up next year anyway.
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Post by XRaySpecs on Apr 29, 2024 16:09:48 GMT -6
I have a hard time seeing Wendell Moore Jr being back either for 2.5 mil. He's on a team option. That option was already picked up I believe. Had to be done early in the season. In retrospect, picking it up was a mistake. He's not an NBA player so being able to replace him with a minimum guy would have nice. I'm guessing they'll look to dump him in a trade. J Mac is a free agent next year and he's making 2.3 mil or so. Can't see him back either. I would love him back, but he's probably got to look for a better situation for himself financially. JMac helped win a bunch of games this year and will be missed.
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Post by XRaySpecs on Apr 29, 2024 16:15:32 GMT -6
Lots of talk nationally on how big a disappointment the Suns were this season. I agree that they didn't meet expectations. They weren't well constructed and their chemistry wasn't great. Could it also be that the Wolves are just really good when they lock in like they have? I know it wasn't a close series really, but maybe in a month or so people will look back and question if maybe PHX isn't as bad as being discussed right now? KD and Booker took 2 off the Nuggets last year and had been pretty hot entering the playoffs. The Wolves (especially Ant) have rightfully gotten praise for their play, but maybe it's even better than that? Maybe the Wolves locked in are just a finals level team? Fingers crossed!
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Post by RAHchills on Apr 29, 2024 17:05:37 GMT -6
Lots of talk nationally on how big a disappointment the Suns were this season. I agree that they didn't meet expectations. They weren't well constructed and their chemistry wasn't great. Could it also be that the Wolves are just really good when they lock in like they have? I know it wasn't a close series really, but maybe in a month or so people will look back and question if maybe PHX isn't as bad as being discussed right now? KD and Booker took 2 off the Nuggets last year and had been pretty hot entering the playoffs. The Wolves (especially Ant) have rightfully gotten praise for their play, but maybe it's even better than that? Maybe the Wolves locked in are just a finals level team? Fingers crossed! Yea, it seems that most talking heads are not giving Minnesota the credit they deserved for their performance this series, because everybody counted them out before the Game 1 tip off. Even Charles Barkley in the post game last night was walking back their accomplishment when he had sh!t talked them at the beginning of the series. I have a hunch that if the Mavs, the Clips, or the Nuggs had done this to Phoenix - there would be more talk about those teams chances to win it all this year. My takeaway is that non-Wolves fans just aren’t ready for the Wolves to be as good as they are this season. And even if/when the team takes it to Denver, there will be “reasons” why they were able to do it that have nothing to do with them being a great team.
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Post by RAHchills on Apr 29, 2024 17:32:15 GMT -6
Can we talk about Ant’s composure late in the third and all of the fourth when the Suns and the refs were doing everything they could to let Booker score 100 points and extend the series?
There was just something about the way he carried himself with the ball in his hands and the game on the line that was different to me. Jason Tatum tries to do it, but in the moment you know he’s going to settle for something bullsh!t and likely shoot his team out of the game.
I wanted to feel nervous last night in the second half, but cueing in on Ant’s body language literally made me sit back in my chair with anticipation about what I might witness next instead… and the variety of ways he beat the Suns in the fourth was special to watch.
Everyone could see that Ant was locked all the way in, but I got the feeling in those moments that he genuinely believed the game was already over - and the world just needed to let time catch up so we could see what he had already seen.
To me, having that on my favorite team now makes these past 20 years worth the wait.
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Post by levine on Apr 29, 2024 17:59:58 GMT -6
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jr
Junior Member
Posts: 298
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Post by jr on Apr 29, 2024 18:44:44 GMT -6
Can we talk about Ant’s composure late in the third and all of the fourth when the Suns and the refs were doing everything they could to let Booker score 100 points and extend the series? There was just something about the way he carried himself with the ball in his hands and the game on the line that was different to me. Jason Tatum tries to do it, but in the moment you know he’s going to settle for something bullsh!t and likely shoot his team out of the game. I wanted to feel nervous last night in the second half, but cueing in on Ant’s body language literally made me sit back in my chair with anticipation about what I might witness next instead… and the variety of ways he beat the Suns in the fourth was special to watch. Everyone could see that Ant was locked all the way in, but I got the feeling in those moments that he genuinely believed the game was already over - and the world just needed to let time catch up so we could see what he had already seen. To me, having that on my favorite team now makes these past 20 years worth the wait. I found it an interesting dynamic between Kat and Ant in the postgame interview posted in this thread. Even with a significant age difference (6 years?) you could see Ant was the leader, building up his teammate and getting on Kat seriously about his fouling, clearly an alpha attitude. Ant gives the impression of being happy go lucky but now I see why some say he's the next Jordan; not just the numbers on the floor but also that attitude.
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Post by levine on Apr 29, 2024 18:56:39 GMT -6
Can we talk about Ant’s composure late in the third and all of the fourth when the Suns and the refs were doing everything they could to let Booker score 100 points and extend the series? There was just something about the way he carried himself with the ball in his hands and the game on the line that was different to me. Jason Tatum tries to do it, but in the moment you know he’s going to settle for something bullsh!t and likely shoot his team out of the game. I wanted to feel nervous last night in the second half, but cueing in on Ant’s body language literally made me sit back in my chair with anticipation about what I might witness next instead… and the variety of ways he beat the Suns in the fourth was special to watch. Everyone could see that Ant was locked all the way in, but I got the feeling in those moments that he genuinely believed the game was already over - and the world just needed to let time catch up so we could see what he had already seen. To me, having that on my favorite team now makes these past 20 years worth the wait. I found it an interesting dynamic between Kat and Ant in the postgame interview posted in this thread. Even with a significant age difference (6 years?) you could see Ant was the leader, building up his teammate and getting on Kat seriously about his fouling, clearly an alpha attitude. Ant gives the impression of being happy go lucky but now I see why some say he's the next Jordan; not just the numbers on the floor but also that attitude.Definitely the same killer instinct as Jordan, but he goes about it in such a different way. He's always building up his teammates, while Jordan was knocking them down to toughen them up.
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Post by WolvesLife on Apr 29, 2024 19:42:06 GMT -6
I found it an interesting dynamic between Kat and Ant in the postgame interview posted in this thread. Even with a significant age difference (6 years?) you could see Ant was the leader, building up his teammate and getting on Kat seriously about his fouling, clearly an alpha attitude. Ant gives the impression of being happy go lucky but now I see why some say he's the next Jordan; not just the numbers on the floor but also that attitude.Definitely the same killer instinct as Jordan, but he goes about it in such a different way. He's always building up his teammates, while Jordan was knocking them down to toughen them up. That's what I always hated about Jordan and Kobe, I get the killer instinct but you can have it without knocking down your own ppl. Kobe probably wasn't quite as big of an ass as Jordan in the locker room, but ether way I'm all the more appreciative of Ant. Diamonds may be formed under pressure, but bread rises when you let it rest. Everybody's different
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Post by kingsxman on Apr 29, 2024 22:00:00 GMT -6
Definitely the same killer instinct as Jordan, but he goes about it in such a different way. He's always building up his teammates, while Jordan was knocking them down to toughen them up. That's what I always hated about Jordan and Kobe, I get the killer instinct but you can have it without knocking down your own ppl. Kobe probably wasn't quite as big of an ass as Jordan in the locker room, but ether way I'm all the more appreciative of Ant. Diamonds may be formed under pressure, but bread rises when you let it rest. Everybody's different What Ants attitude is going to do is make people want to play with him. That will be good.
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