JaMychal Green is a talented stretch forward who solidified his position in the NBA by starting 75 games last season. Green’s agent, Michael Hodges, and the Memphis Grizzlies haven’t had much success in their contract talks, and sign-and-trade possibilities have been broached. The Grizzlies have basically challenged Green to land an offer sheet to keep from bidding against themselves. With Zach Randolph gone to the Sacramento Kings, and young and oft-injured forward talent remaining next to star center Marc Gasol, it would be tough for the Grizzlies to lose Green.
Appearing on The Scoop podcast with Darren Wolfson of SKOR North and 5 Eyewitness News, Glen Taylor said new Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly had his eye on multiple impact trade targets, but Gobert was his “number one option.” The input of head coach Chris Finch, who expressed confidence in his ability to use Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, was also a key factor in Minnesota’s decision to pull the trigger on the blockbuster deal. “What I did when Tim and Chris talked to me about this trade is to ask (Finch) is there a system that he knows how to utilize these players,” Taylor said. “And he was very confident that he did understand how to utilize their skill sets, being two big guys. We talked about a lot, so he convinced me that this is something that is going to take us to a winning situation, and gave us the go-ahead to make the trade.”