Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Connelly, Washington, Jerome, Beal

August 28th, 2025 at 10:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly had the ability to opt out of his contract with the team this offseason but chose not to do so, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets.

When Connelly was hired by the Wolves in 2022, he received a five-year deal that included an opt-out clause after the second season. He and the team agreed in 2024 to push that opt-out back by a year with the ownership situation still up in the air, but now that Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have assumed majority control, Connelly decided not to take advantage of the clause this summer.

Since he’s still on his initial five-year deal, Connelly is under contract with the Wolves for two more seasons, Krawczynski notes. Assuming Lore and Rodriguez are satisfied with the job he has done, the veteran executive figures to be an extension candidate in 2026.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

With P.J. Washington set to become extension-eligible on Friday, Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News weighs the pros and cons of a new deal for Washington from the Mavericks‘ perspective. Like NBA insider Marc Stein, Curtis has heard that an extension for Washington is likely, though he cautions that the exact terms of the deal remain unclear. Washington would be eligible to receive up to nearly $89MM over four years.
The Grizzlies need elite shooting, two-way play-making, and swagger from newcomer Ty Jerome, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, who takes a closer look at the veteran guard to whom the team devoted its full room exception.
Appearing on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue pointed out that Bradley Beal put up “unbelievable stats” for the Suns over the past two seasons but was “overshadowed” as the third option behind stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker (hat tip to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). “I think by coming here, I think it’s a fresh start and I think he’s going to be great for us,” Lue said of Beal, who signed with the Clippers after being bought out by Phoenix.

Fischer’s Latest: Beasley, Warriors, Brogdon, Highsmith, More

August 28th, 2025 at 2:35pm CST by Rory Maher

The status of free agent wing Malik Beasley is somewhat murky at the moment, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

While Beasley’s lawyers told ESPN their client is no longer the “target” of a federal gambling probe, a subsequent report said he was still a “subject” and could still face legal challenges. Beasley is also expected to be investigated by the NBA, Fischer reports.

According to Fischer, the Cavaliers, Knicks, Timberwolves and Pistons are the main teams to touch base with Beasley’s camp in the hope that he’ll eventually be able to play in 2025/26. However, Fischer hears none of those teams have actually discussed signing Beasley with his future seemingly still up in the air.

If Beasley is ultimately cleared of any legal wrongdoing and by the NBA, the 28-year-old will be seeking more than the veteran’s minimum on his next contract, sources tell Fischer. It’s worth noting that of the four suitors, Detroit — his incumbent team — can offer Beasley the highest starting salary ($7.2MM). Cleveland and New York would be limited to minimum-salary deals, while Minnesota could offer a little above the minimum.

Here are a few more rumors from Fischer’s latest story:

Jonathan Kuminga‘s uncertain contract status has had a ripple effect on several free agents still on the market, Fischer notes, including Malcolm Brogdon. Fischer says the Warriors are expected to sign Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II and No. 56 overall pick Will Richard once Kuminga’s situation is resolved and have expressed a level of interest in Brogdon as well. The Knicks and Timberwolves have also been keeping an eye on Brogdon, Fischer adds.
While Fischer’s breakdown of prospective Warriors signees includes Richard, he doesn’t mention No. 52 overall pick Alex Toohey at all. That could point to the Australian wing ending up on a two-way contract or as a draft-and-stash prospect rather than being a candidate for the 15-man roster.
Fischer hears that the Timberwolves are “actively trying to work through the financial details” in a new contract for Bones Hyland. That suggests Hyland, who is no longer eligible for a two-way deal, may receive a non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contract.
The Heat are still trying to trade Terry Rozier but there’s “scant” interest in the veteran guard, who is also being investigated as part of a federal gambling probe. Miami is also believed to be interested in a buyout, Fischer reports, though nothing is imminent on that front.
Fischer expects new Nets forward Haywood Highsmith to be back on the trade block at some point. Brooklyn has “no plans” to be competitive in 2025/26 and will continue to look to stockpile assets in trades, Fischer adds. The Nets recently acquired Highsmith, who is recovering from knee surgery, from Miami along with a second-round pick. Assuming he’s back to full health, Highsmith should have a chance to rebuild his trade value, and his expiring $5.6MM contract would fit into a team’s mid-level exception.

Timberwolves Hire NHL Panthers’ Caldwell As CEO

August 27th, 2025 at 9:45am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves have hired Matthew Caldwell as Chief Executive Officer of the organization, effective Sept. 2, according to a team press release.

Caldwell will oversee day-to-day business operations and high-level strategic initiatives for the Timberwolves, WNBA Lynx, and G League Iowa Wolves. New team owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez gave Caldwell, who had served as President and CEO of the NHL Florida Panthers the past nine years, a 10-year contract.

Caldwell is the first major hire by Lore and Rodriguez since the NBA’s Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale of the franchise following a lengthy legal battle with previous majority owner Glen Taylor. The Panthers have won the last two Stanley Cups.

“I’m honored and humbled to join the Timberwolves and Lynx organization at such a pivotal moment in its history,” Caldwell said in a statement. “I am inspired by Marc and Alex’s vision and passion for Minnesota basketball and their commitment to excellence. I look forward to making my mark across the organization, and to building a lasting foundation that gives Minnesota basketball fans what they deserve – the best experience in sports, bar none.”

Caldwell’s leadership played an instrumental role behind the Panthers’ most successful period in franchise history which culminated with the organization being named 2025 Sports Business Journal Team of the Year. Caldwell first joined the Panthers in 2014 as Chief Operating Officer, before being appointed CEO in 2016, at which time he was the youngest CEO in U.S. professional sports at age 36.

“Our vision is for the Timberwolves and Lynx to set a new standard of excellence in pro sports and we’re confident that Matthew is the leader needed to make that a reality,” Lore and Rodriguez said in a joint statement. “Leading our organization into an innovative new era requires an exceptional individual at the helm and Matthew’s proven track record leading the business of the Florida Panthers is undeniable. We can’t wait to see the remarkable impact his bold leadership will have on this organization.”

Panthers owner Vincent Viola calls Caldwell’s departure “bittersweet,” according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

“There are very few opportunities I would advise him to pursue, but working with Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore on a global platform like the NBA is at the top of that list,” Voila said.

Caldwell will take over responsibilities from interim CEO Kelly Laferriere, who has led the organization during its ownership transition period. Laferriere will assume the role of senior advisor to ownership. Tim Connelly will continue to oversee oversee basketball operations.

Wolves Among Teams To Touch Base With Malik Beasley

August 26th, 2025 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves are among the teams that have been in contact with Malik Beasley‘s camp about the free agent swingman, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Minnesota joins the Pistons, Cavaliers, and Knicks as the teams known to have expressed interest in Beasley, Scotto notes.

As we detailed earlier today, while the 28-year-old is no longer a target of a federal investigation into unusual gambling and prop betting activity, he’s still considered a subject of that probe, so he hasn’t been fully cleared by either investigators or the NBA. However, his outlook has apparently improved enough that teams are increasingly willing to explore the idea of signing him.

Beasley spent two-and-a-half seasons with the Timberwolves from 2020-22 before being traded to Utah as part of the Rudy Gobert mega-deal during the ’22 offseason. He put up some of the best scoring numbers of his career in Minnesota, averaging 15.1 points per game in 130 outings, with a 38.9% mark on three-point tries.

The Timberwolves have 13 players under contract and are operating about $5.9MM below the second tax apron, so they would have the ability to offer Beasley more than a minimum-salary contract using the taxpayer mid-level exception, especially if they’re not committed to carrying a 15th man to open the regular season.

The Pistons still control Beasley’s Non-Bird rights, giving them the ability to offer him a first-year salary worth up to $7.2MM. However, their level of interest in re-signing him after adding Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson this summer is unclear.

The Knicks and Cavaliers are both limited to minimum-salary offers. As Scotto points out, Cleveland’s desire to add another wing may have increased in the wake of Max Strus‘ foot surgery.

Fischer’s Latest: Beasley, Martin, Hyland, Cavaliers

August 22nd, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Following the recent report that Malik Beasley is no longer the target of a federal gambling investigation, it is expected that the sharp-shooting free agent will rejoin the market as one of the more valuable players still available. One of the teams that has shown interest in his services is the Knicks, writes Jake Fischer for The Stein Line, confirming a report from Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

The Knicks currently have an open roster spot, and have been rumored to be considering Landry Shamet or Ben Simmons for the role, though there’s debate as to how real the Simmons interest is. Fischer notes that the Knicks’ interest in Beasley dates back to their first-round playoff series against the Pistons, who still hold his Non-Bird rights.

Begley, in a tweet, adds that it wouldn’t be surprising if Beasley’s market was more than the veteran minimum contract the Knicks would be able to offer. Beasley reportedly had a three-year, $42MM deal on the table from the Pistons before news of the gambling investigation broke and Detroit moved on to signing Duncan Robinson.

Beasley averaged 16.3 points per game last season while shooting 41.6% from three on 9.3 attempts and earning the runner-up status for Sixth Man of the Year. Despite coming off the bench for all but 18 games, Beasley ranked second in the league in total made three-pointers.

We have more news from Jake Fischer’s latest article:

While rival teams expect the Warriors to sign Al Horford, Gary Payton II, and De’Anthony Melton once their stalemate with Jonathan Kuminga is resolved, they will still have more moves to make. One name that they’re considering, according to Fischer, is Cody Martin. Fischer notes that Martin has interest from multiple playoff teams, and is waiting to determine if Golden State would offer the best situation or if it would be better to make his choice once training camps have started. The 6’5″ wing has struggled with his shot in recent years but is a strong athlete and capable defender.
The Timberwolves are hoping to bring Bones Hyland back with one of their two remaining roster spots, Fischer writes, confirming prior reporting from The Athletic. Hyland, a 24-year-old scoring guard, played just four games with the Wolves last year after starting the season with the Clippers, with whom he averaged 7.2 points and shot 38.8% on three-point attempts in 11.1 minutes per night. Hyland would provide depth for the Wolves’ point guard rotation, which currently features 38-year-old Mike Conley and 21-year-old Rob Dillingham,
The Cavaliers also have two open roster spots, but Fischer writes that they’re not expected to fill the 15th spot heading into the season. With a massive payroll and a punitive luxury tax bill, Fischer instead expects them to sign a a 14th man to a non-guaranteed contract and leave the 15th spot open.

New Wolves Owners Focusing Changes On Business Side Of The Organization

August 20th, 2025 at 8:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Now that Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have full ownership of the Timberwolves and WNBA’s Lynx, they’re focusing their changes on the business side of the organizations, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Timberwolves Officially Waive Jesse Edwards

August 18th, 2025 at 8:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves have waived two-way center Jesse Edwards, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

The expected move was first reported at the start of August, and it became a formality when Edwards signed a one-year contract with Melbourne United of Australia’s National Basketball League last week. It’s now official and Minnesota has a two-way opening available, with Rocco Zikarsky and Enrique Freeman holding the team’s other two-way slots.

The 25-year-old big man, who played collegiately at Syracuse and West Virginia, signed with the Timberwolves in July of 2024 after going undrafted. He saw brief action in two NBA games, but he was a rotation player for the G League Iowa Wolves, averaging 11.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 25.1 minutes in 34 total contests.

In late June, Edwards accepted a two-way qualifying offer, which came with a partial guarantee of $85,300. That money won’t count against Minnesota’s salary cap.

There has been no official word yet on Tristen Newton, who is reportedly accepting his own two-way qualifying offer to return to the team and fill the final two-way opening. The 24-year-old shooting guard appeared in eight total games last season with Indiana and Minnesota.

NBA Teams Average 14.4 Back-To-Backs In 2025/26

August 15th, 2025 at 9:32am CST by Luke Adams

Five NBA teams will play a league-high 16 back-to-back sets during the 2025/26 regular season, while six clubs will have just 13 instances of back-to-back games on their schedules. The remaining 19 teams will play either 14 or 15 back-to-backs.

[RELATED: 2025/26 NBA Schedules By Team]

Those totals – along with an overall average of 14.4 back-to-backs per team – are about what we’ve come to expect in recent years.

Prior to the COVID-shortened seasons of 2019/20 and ’20/21, the NBA’s regular season consisted of 177 days, and the league had made a concerted effort to reduce instances of back-to-backs. When the league announced its initial schedule in ’19/20, its press release boasted that teams were averaging a record-low 12.4 back-to-backs that season, marking the fifth straight year in which that number had reached an all-time low.

However, since 2021/22, NBA regular seasons have spanned just 174 days, making it a little more difficult for schedule-makers to avoid back-to-back sets. The average number of back-to-backs per team is still well below where it once was (teams averaged 19.3 in 2024/25), but it’s no longer at a record low.

Here are the back-to-backs by team in 2025/26:

Charlotte Hornets: 16
Denver Nuggets: 16
Philadelphia 76ers: 16
Phoenix Suns: 16
Washington Wizards: 16
Golden State Warriors: 15
Los Angeles Clippers: 15
Miami Heat: 15
New Orleans Pelicans: 15
Portland Trail Blazers: 15
Toronto Raptors: 15
Utah Jazz: 15
Brooklyn Nets: 14
Cleveland Cavaliers: 14
Dallas Mavericks: 14
Detroit Pistons: 14
Houston Rockets: 14
Los Angeles Lakers: 14
Memphis Grizzlies: 14
Milwaukee Bucks: 14
New York Knicks: 14
Orlando Magic: 14
Sacramento Kings: 14
San Antonio Spurs: 14
Atlanta Hawks: 13
Boston Celtics: 13
Chicago Bulls: 13
Indiana Pacers: 13
Minnesota Timberwolves: 13
Oklahoma City Thunder: 13

Warriors, Lakers, Knicks, Thunder Get Most Nationally Televised Games For 2025/26

August 15th, 2025 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

Having gone from two national broadcasting partners (ABC/ESPN and TNT) to three (ABC/ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime) ahead of the 2025/26 season, the NBA’s schedule will feature a significant increase in nationally televised games.

When the league unveiled its full regular season schedule on Thursday, it announced 237 nationally televised regular season matchups, along with the seven knockout round NBA Cup games whose participants aren’t yet known, for a total of 244 contests.

As Colin Salao of Front Office Sports writes in a subscriber story, the total number of nationally televised games is up by more than 40% from last season, when the league’s partners nationally broadcasted a total of 172 games.

Salao also points out that beginning in the middle of the season, when the NFL schedule starts winding down, the NBA will have national games every day of the week: Peacock on Monday; NBC/Peacock on Tuesday; ESPN on Wednesday; Amazon on Thursday; Amazon and ESPN on Friday; Amazon and ABC on Saturday; and ABC, NBC, and Peacock on Sunday.

Every team will be featured at least twice on the national TV broadcast schedule, with the Warriors, Lakers, Knicks, and defending champion Thunder leading the way with 34 appearances apiece.

Here’s the full breakdown of nationally televised games by team:

Golden State Warriors: 34
Los Angeles Lakers: 34
New York Knicks: 34
Oklahoma City Thunder: 34
Houston Rockets: 28
Minnesota Timberwolves: 28
Denver Nuggets: 26
Boston Celtics: 25
Cleveland Cavaliers: 24
Dallas Mavericks: 23
San Antonio Spurs: 22
Los Angeles Clippers: 21
Milwaukee Bucks: 18
Detroit Pistons: 16
Orlando Magic: 14
Philadelphia 76ers: 14
Atlanta Hawks: 13
Memphis Grizzlies: 10
Indiana Pacers: 9
Phoenix Suns: 9
Sacramento Kings: 9
Portland Trail Blazers: 8
Miami Heat: 5
Charlotte Hornets: 3
Chicago Bulls: 3
Brooklyn Nets: 2
New Orleans Pelicans: 2
Toronto Raptors: 2
Utah Jazz: 2
Washington Wizards: 2

Since nationally televised matchups are subject to change, there’s no guarantee that every team will ultimately end up being featured multiple times on the national stage.

As Salao points out, all 30 clubs showed up at least once on the national broadcast schedule initially announced for 2024/25, but the Wizards didn’t get any nationally televised games after having their lone contest replaced by a showdown between Cleveland and Oklahoma City.

Additionally, not every team this season will have a game aired on a traditional, non-streaming network — the only games featuring the Raptors or Wizards will air on either Peacock or Amazon Prime.

Western Notes: Wolves, Hyland, Dundon, Durant, Suns

August 14th, 2025 at 3:58pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Due to their proximity to the second tax apron, the Timberwolves may only carry 14 players on standard contracts to open the 2025/26 season, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. While Minnesota has checked in on several free agent guards, including Cameron Payne, Malcolm Brogdon and Landry Shamet, all signs point to Bones Hyland being the frontrunner for the 14th spot, Krawczynski reports.

Hyland signed a two-way contract with the Wolves last season, appearing in four games. As Krawczynski notes, Hyland was a former first-round pick by president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.

While breaking down the roster, Krawczynski writes that Johnny Juzang — who agreed to a training camp deal with the Wolves — is a long shot to make the cut but that Luka Garza forced his way onto the team with similar odds last year. Young players like Jaylen Clark, Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. are expected to have larger roles this season, Krawczynski adds.

We have more from the Western Conference:

A group led by the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon reached an agreement on Wednesday to buy the Trail Blazers. That group includes Sheel Tyle, co-CEO of Collective Global who is married to Dr. Sejal Hathi, the head of Oregon Health Authority, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report writes (Substack subscriber link). The group’s local connection through Tyle is one of a few reasons why it stood out among the bidders, per Highkin.
After suggesting in a recent podcast that the Rockets might be reluctant to sign Kevin Durant to a maximum-salary extension, Tim MacMahon said on an NBA Today appearance that there isn’t any urgency to complete a multiyear agreement. MacMahon said the Rockets have other matters to attend to, including an extension for Tari Eason. “Kevin Durant is their best player, he’s not necessarily their priority,” MacMahon said. “That’s not an insult to him, their priority is making sure they have as long of a runway as possible while trying to cash in on this window that they created by getting Kevin Durant.“
Plenty of “ifs” stand in the way of the Suns making the playoffs, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports writes. While they could be a surprise team if things break the right way, Bourguet has them just on the outside looking in of the Western Conference playoff picture for next season, sitting at No. 11 in his conference power rankings. The Suns basically remade their depth after trading away Durant and waiving Bradley Beal, adding the likes of Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams via trades.