The Timberwolves have made it known that they intend to match any offer to restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic, but surprisingly no one has been willing to test their willingness to do so, writes Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. Ingram argues that the Wolves already have a couple of players in Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio who expect to be max players in the near future, so it would at least be worth a try for a rival club. Here's more out of the Northwest Division..
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities speculates (via Twitter) that Pekovic's camp may be seeking a fifth year in negotiations with the Timberwolves. Flip Saunders is unlikely to go higher than four years though, according to Wolfson.
- More from Ingram, who writes that even though Nate Robinson isn't the type of player that is going to lead his team to the NBA Finals, he can still be a relentless spark plug for the Nuggets off of the bench. Robinson also comes at a bargain price, getting a two-year deal worth a little over $4MM.
- Guard John Lucas III told reporters, including Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter), that he has known GM Dennis Lindsey since he was "eight or nine", which helped steer him to Utah. The guard added (link) that his father sees Utah as an ideal place for him at this point in his career and he agrees.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.