Glen Taylor Finds Buyer For Timberwolves
Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune reports that Glen Taylor has found a buyer for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The buyer's identity has not been revealed, but Taylor says he expects to close a deal soon.
Initially, the mystery buyer will own around 25 percent of the Timberwolves and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, while Taylor will continue to own a majority stake in the teams. This will allow the new owner to slowly transition into the majority owner as Taylor's influence decreases.
Although the unknown buyer is from out of state, Taylor stressed to the Star Tribune that that, as part of the purchase agreement, he has agreed to ensure that both the Timberwolves and Lynx remain in Minnesota.
Souhan On Wolves, Olympics
Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune has written a new column tracking several members of the Timberwolves' performances in the London Summer Olympics:
- New signees Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved, teammates on the Russian national team, both turned in strong performances in an opening victory over Great Britain and have already developed chemistry.
- Kevin Love, playing with Team USA, was impressed with the team's two new Russian players, and has already spoken to Kirilenko about the upcoming season.
- Kirilenko and Shved were likewise impressed with Love, both today and during the 2011/12 season, and are excited about playing in Minnesota.
Mayberry On Howard, Thunder, Lakers
As the Dwight Howard saga drags on, Lakers, Rockets, and Mavericks have emerged as the teams with the best chances of landing the superstar center from the Magic. The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry has posted two new columns on Howard's future:
- In the first column, Mayberry writes that landing Howard would be contradictory to the Thunder's long-term plans.
- In the second column, Mayberry argues that Howard ending up in Los Angeles will be bad for Oklahoma City's title chances in the next several years.
Josh Howard Close To Decision
Yahoo!'s Marc J. Spears tweets that unrestricted free-agent forward Josh Howard is close to making a decision on where to sign for the 2012/13 season. Spears reports that Howard's current team, the Utah Jazz, are in the mix to land him, along with the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Knicks.
Terms of Howard's upcoming deal are not known. Howard, 31, made approximately $2.1MM last season, averaging 8.7 PPG and 3.7 RPG for the Jazz.
Woelfel On Bucks, Przybilla, Meeks
Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times has a notebook about the Bucks' plans for the remainder of the offseason, including several players they have interest in:
- Woelfel writes that the Bucks remain interested in Joel Przybilla, as was reported earlier this week. They view him as a fit to back up Samuel Dalembert.
- The Bucks have explored the possibility of signing free-agent guard Jodie Meeks, Woelfel writes.
- Woelfel notes that the Denver Nuggets attempted to move ahead of the Bucks in June's NBA Draft to select John Henson, Milwaukee's eventual selection.
Suns Sign Michael Beasley
JULY 20TH: The Suns have confirmed that the Beasley deal is done, tweets Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
JULY 4TH: ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that unrestricted free agent forward Michael Beasley has agreed to sign with the Phoenix Suns for $18MM over three years.
According to Stein, Beasley, who played the last two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, chose Phoenix over four other interested teams. Beasley, 23, averaged 11.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 2011/12 as a member of the Timberwolves.
The T-Wolves decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Beasley last week, ensuring that he'd be an unrestricted free agent, and Minnesota wouldn't have a chance to match offers and retain him. The Suns, meanwhile, have now committed a sizable chunk of cap space to the agreement with Beasley and an offer sheet for Eric Gordon. There were rumors that the Suns would also aggressively pursue Goran Dragic, but the club may not have the necessary remaining cap space to make the point guard a competitive offer.
Thunder Sign Hasheem Thabeet
JULY 11TH: The Thunder have officially signed Thabeet, according to a team release.
JULY 4TH: The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to sign center Hasheem Thabeet to a two-year deal, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman, the contract is fully guaranteed for both seasons.
Lakers Acquire Steve Nash Via Sign-And-Trade
JULY 10TH, 11:10pm: The sign-and-trade sending Nash from the Suns to the Lakers in exchange for four draft picks is official, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. The Lakers confirmed the news in a press release.
JULY 4TH, 8:09pm: Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic tweets that the Suns will receive the Lakers' 2013 and 2015 first-round picks and their 2013 and 2014 second-round picks.
Rockets Make Offer To Jeremy Lin
4:58pm: Lin wants more money than the $31MM offer from the Rockets, reports Ian O'Connor of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter links). Lin is now waiting to see if the Mavericks present him with an offer as the team remains in the hunt for a starting point guard.
10:59am: The Rockets' offer is for four years and worth a little over $30MM, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Marc Berman of the New York Post pegs it at about $31MM. Lin has yet to make a decision on whether to accept it.
THURSDAY, 12:28am: The Rockets have extended an offer to Jeremy Lin and he's considering it, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Houston's multiyear offer includes a significant raise in year three, designed to hit the Knicks hard in the luxury tax. Lin will mull over the offer sheet and decide whether to accept it or to keep shopping, says Wojnarowski (all Twitter links).
Latest On Goran Dragic
8:45pm: CBSSports.com's Ken Berger reports (via Twitter) that the Charlotte Bobcats have been in contact with Dragic's camp and will be making him an offer tonight. He adds in another tweet that the Mavericks, Raptors, and Suns are also pursuing Dragic and that he is still "far apart" in talks with the Rockets.
8:41pm: With Deron Williams re-signing with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday and Steve Nash's stunning trade to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier today, the Rockets' Goran Dragic is arguably the best point guard remaining in free agency. ESPN.com's Marc Stein tweets that, following the Nash trade, the Phoenix Suns will be aggressively pursuing Dragic.