Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Howard, Rondo, Kaman, Payne

December 15th, 2015 at 4:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dwight Howard is “extremely unhappy” as a secondary option to James Harden on the Rockets, league sources tell Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops, but a source tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com that “everybody is unhappy” (Twitter link), with everybody presumably a reference to all of the Rockets. Houston has played better since last month’s coaching change, but the team is still just 12-13. Howard and Harden have never truly meshed, as Fran Blinebury of NBA.com wrote last month, adding that members of each other’s camp went into the 2014 offseason “whispering” about their desire to get rid of the other. Sheridan speculates about trade scenarios involving Howard, but no indication exists that the Rockets would indeed entertain any deals for the 30-year-old who has a player option worth more than $23.282MM for next season. Howard is No. 6 in our latest 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings. See more from the Western Conference:

Rajon Rondo apologized to referee Bill Kennedy today in the point guard’s second statement in response to the controversy surrounding the homophobic slur he used during a game earlier this month as an insult to Kennedy, who is gay. Some took issue with his first statement, which he issued Monday via two tweets, for its lack of a direct apology, and executives who spoke with Ken Berger of CBSSports.com offered split opinions on whether the matter would affect Rondo’s free agency this summer.
The Trail Blazers are making Chris Kaman available for trades, league sources told Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops. Kaman is pulling down $5.016MM this season, the last one on his contract. A sprained right ankle has helped limit him to just three appearances so far in 2015/16.
Timberwolves power forward Adreian Payne is also available, league sources said to Scotto for the same report. Payne, who’s earning almost $1.939MM in the second season of his rookie scale contract, was the 15th overall pick of the 2014 draft, but he’s played sparingly since. He’s averaging 3.5 points in 10.3 minutes per game across 15 appearances for Minnesota so far this season, though the team committed to him financially less than two months ago when it picked up his 2016/17 team option.

Western Notes: Lakers, Pelicans, Blazers

December 14th, 2015 at 9:05pm CST by Will Joseph

Despite a slow start for Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell, GM Mitch Kupchak has a lot of confidence in the shooting guard, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times relays. Russell has scored in double-figures in eight of the Lakers’ nine games this month. Kupchak attributed Russell’s success lately to figuring out the pace of the game and believes the young player will develop into a triple-double threat, Pincus adds.

“There’s never a doubt, when we scouted him last year and when we drafted him and worked him out, that he was going to be a very, very, very, very good player in this league,” Kupchak said in a live chat on Lakers.com, transcribed by Pincus. “That’s our feeling all along. He did not have a very good summer league and I think that was a wake-up call for him.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Pelicans re-signed Omer Asik to a five-year, $58MM contract in the summer, but the center’s performance has been underwhelming so far, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. Only the first four years of the deal are guaranteed, as Reid notes. The total value of guaranteed money is close to $45MM and Asik will be able to get entire value of the contract if he meets a certain amount of performance-based incentives, according to Reid, but his play indicates that’s not likely to happen.
C.J. McCollum is in the midst of a breakout season for the Blazers and there is a strong possibility he could be the league’s most improved player, Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group details. Portland exercised its rookie scale team option for the 2016/17 season with McCollum in September.
The Wolves were a perfect fit for rookie Karl-Anthony Towns in comparison to the Sixers and Lakers because in Minnesota he has veteran mentors like Kevin Garnett, Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press writes.

And-Ones: ‘Outperformers,’ Bryant, Dinwiddie

December 12th, 2015 at 10:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Four Western Conference players join Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis on an “Outperform” Team compiled by Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. The columnist honors the players who have most exceeded expectations during the first quarter of the season. The other team members are the Kings‘ Rajon Rondo, the Warriors‘ Stephen Curry, the Mavericks‘ Dirk Nowitzki and Wolves rookie Karl-Anthony Towns.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

The Lakers‘ Kobe Bryant addressed his relationship with former teammate Dwight Howard after tonight’s loss in Houston, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. “My responsibility when Dwight and I played together was to get him to play his best basketball,” Bryant said. “That involves pushing buttons.” Their rocky relationship was believed to be part of the reason Howard left Los Angeles for the Rockets in 2013.
Pistons guard Spencer Dinwiddie may be headed to the team’s D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids on Sunday, according to Terry Foster of The Detroit News. A slump and injuries have reduced Dinwiddie’s playing time, and he has dropped behind Steve Blake in the point guard mix. Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy suggested that Dinwiddie might benefit from increased minutes in Grand Rapids. “We have tried to use the D-League a little bit so he gets some game time,” Van Gundy said. “I think he has to take advantage of every opportunity he’s got to work and get better.”
The Thunder assigned Josh Huestis to the Oklahoma City Blue of the D-League, the team announced via press release. Huestis has played in seven games for the Blue this season, averaging 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.57 blocks.

Clippers Interested In Shabazz Muhammad

December 11th, 2015 at 12:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers are among the teams fond of Shabazz Muhammad, though the Timberwolves remain entrenched against moving him, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Wolfson also identified the Lakers and Nets as teams fond of the swingman despite the lack of playing time he’s seen thus far in his NBA career. Muhammad has averaged 8.6 points in 15.9 minutes per game since becoming the last pick of the 2013 lottery.

Muhammad, 23, would give the aging Clippers a much-needed injection of youthful talent if they were somehow able to convince the Timberwolves to budge. C.J. Wilcox is the only Clippers player on a rookie scale contract. Muhammad is in year three of his rookie scale deal and eligible for an extension in the offseason.

Trade rumors have swirled around the Clippers of late, with the team reportedly having gauged interest in Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith last month and recently having done the same with Jamal Crawford, who was also a subject of chatter over the summer. Still, Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers denied that he’s had any talks about Stephenson and Smith, and after the offseason stories surrounding Crawford, Rivers said in September that he intended to hold on to the veteran swingman through the season.

2016/17 Salary Cap Projection: Timberwolves

December 10th, 2015 at 9:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 has been set at $70MM, which is an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. The last cap projection from the league prior to the official numbers being announced had been $67.1MM, and the projection for the tax line had been $81.6MM. Many league executives and agents believe that the salary cap will escalate to a whopping $95MM for 2016/17, a higher figure than the league’s last projection of $89MM. This significant bump is a result of the league’s new $24 billion TV deal that kicks in just in time for next season.

The increase in the salary cap will almost assuredly set off a flurry of activity in the free agent market next summer, and it will also make it easier than ever for teams to deal away their higher-priced stars. Prudent executives are acutely aware of exactly how much cap room they have to play with, not just for the current campaign, but for next season and beyond as well. While the exact amount of 2016/17’s salary cap won’t be announced until next summer, it always pays to know just how much salary is on the books for each franchise. With this in mind, we at Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the projected 2016/17 financial commitments for each franchise, and we’ll continue onward with a look at the Minnesota Timberwolves:

Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $68,841,142*
Partially Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
Non Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
Total Projected Salary Cap Commitments: $68,841,142

*Note: This amount includes Kevin Martin‘s player option worth $7,377,500, as well as the team option for Damjan Rudez worth $1,199,000.

If the salary cap were to fall in line with the projection of $89MM, Minnesota would have approximately $20,158,858 in cap space, or $26,158,858 if the cap were to be set at the higher mark of $95MM. Again, these are merely predictions until the exact cap amounts are announced, and they are not meant to illustrate the exact amount that the team will have available to spend this coming offseason.

Trades and long-term free agent signings made during the season will also have a significant impact on the figures above, and we’ll be updating these posts to reflect the new numbers after any signings and trades have been made official.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 12/9/15

December 9th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

A number of teams have inquired about acquiring swingman Shabazz Muhammad from the Timberwolves, according to a report made by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The Nets and the Lakers are fond of Muhammad, according to a report by Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, though both reporters heard from sources who informed them that Minnesota, despite having depth at Muhammad’s position, is unwilling to trade the 23-year-old.

Muhammad’s NBA career didn’t begin to take off until his second season, when he averaged 13.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game, though it should be noted that was over just 38 appearances, including 13 starts. He’s appeared in all 20 contests for the Wolves thus far this season, averaging 8.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per night. The 23-year-old is under contract through the 2016/17 campaign after the team exercised his fourth year option in October.

This brings me to the topic for today: Should Minnesota look to trade Shabazz Muhammad, or is he a player whom the team should retain and continue to develop?

The Wolves currently have ample depth at the wing, and despite Muhammad’s level of talent, he’s stuck behind Andrew Wiggins, Tayshaun Prince, and Zach LaVine on Minnesota’s depth chart. Would it be wise for the team to deal him away if it could obtain a useful rotation piece, or would the Wolves be foolish to trade away an up-and-coming young player who is still on his rookie scale contract? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.

Western Notes: Garnett, Fournier, Morris

December 9th, 2015 at 8:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Timberwolves don’t expect Kevin Garnett to end his playing days with much fanfare, and the veteran intends to make the twilight of his career more about helping the younger players around him, Andy Greder of The Pioneer Press writes. “He’s never gonna go out on a Harley,” said Clippers head man Doc Rivers, who coached Garnett in Boston.”He’s really into it with his guys, loves the young guys. Kevin loving young guys is really good, because if you don’t have the right kind love of the game, for Kevin, he’s not gonna love you back, and that’s a fact. Clearly, he feels like they got it right with the young guys, not only guys with talent, but guys that want to be winners.”

“My choice in coming back here had a lot more of a plan and a future involved in to it,” Garnett said. “I understand that it’s not about me, it’s about Andrew Wiggins, it’s about Karl-Anthony Towns, it’s about Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine and these young guys in here,” Garnett said. “I’m just trying to teach the things I know and teach the things that I’ve experienced since I’ve been here.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Denver “will always be in my heart,” said Evan Fournier, who spent his first two NBA seasons with the Nuggets, but as far as basketball is concerned, he’s moved on, as he told Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Fournier is poised for restricted free agency this summer, with his camp having reportedly asked the Magic, who apparently offered $8MM annually, for salaries well in excess of $10MM a year.
Markieff Morris says that he is still happy to be a member of the Suns despite his reduced role on the team, though he wouldn’t directly answer questions about whether he still wanted to be traded and whether his relationship with the organization had gotten better, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays. “I’ll contribute any way I can, whether it’s cheering my teammates on or being in the game,” Morris said after Monday’s game. “Coach [Jeff Hornacek] is a great guy. Our team fought real hard. He put me in for a little bit of time and I just wanted to go out there and play hard and contribute any way I can. I didn’t score but I got a couple stops. We got the win. That’s what is important. I keep in high spirits and keep my confidence. Whenever my number is called, I’ll be ready always.”
The Kings have assigned Duje Dukan to the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Dukan’s third trek to Reno on the season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Nets, Lakers Eye Shabazz Muhammad

December 9th, 2015 at 11:31am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets and Lakers are among the several teams reportedly interested in Shabazz Muhammad, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities hears (Twitter link). Timberwolves GM Milt Newton nonetheless has no intention of dealing the former 14th overall pick anytime soon, Wolfson adds, which jibes with Tuesday’s report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, who wrote that the Wolves are unwilling to part with Muhammad despite the admiration he’s drawing from other front offices.

Brooklyn expects to be without Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for the next eight to 10 weeks, so it makes sense that the team would be looking at swingmen like Muhammad. Conflicting reports exist about whether the Nets have started gauging the interest that other teams have in trading for small forward Bojan Bogdanovic, a suggestion that Brooklyn was perhaps already anxious to make changes on the wing before the Hollis-Jefferson injury. GM Billy King told Sarah Kustok of the YES Network on Tuesday that the team would explore making roster moves but would give its current roster a chance “until we can find another option.”

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak accepts at least partial culpability for his team’s slow start and has called for a greater emphasis on player development. Muhammad, 23, would fit the mold of a growing team, though the Timberwolves have the aim of building around a young nucleus themselves. The retiring Kobe Bryant has been the starting small forward for the Lakers this season.

Muhammad, the top prospect in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index when he came out of high school in 2012, is making nearly $2.057MM on his rookie scale contract this season and has one more season to go on the pact, but he can negotiate a rookie scale extension this summer. He’s off to a slow start this season, seeing fewer minutes than he did in 2014/15 and shooting just 25.8% from behind the arc, compared to 39.2% last year.

How much do you think these teams should be willing to offer to try to see if they can pry Muhammad from the Timberwolves? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Northwest Notes: Nelson, Mitchell, Davis, Crabbe

December 9th, 2015 at 10:01am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets see Jameer Nelson as more than just someone who can shepherd rookie Emmanuel Mudiay, coach Michael Malone insisted Tuesday to reporters, including Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Denver re-signed Nelson to a three-year deal worth more than $13.6MM in the offseason.

“We believe in Jameer regardless of Emmanuel,” Malone said. “I think everybody thinks that [Jameer is around] just because we have a young point guard. We believe in Jameer because he’s a vet with tremendous experience, a very good leader on the court [and] in the locker room. And now you couple that with a young point guard like Emmanuel Mudiay, so Jameer can not only mentor him but push him. It’s always a competition.”

See more on Nelson amid our check around the Northwest Division:

Nelson had long envisioned finishing his career with the Magic, but he sensed that he and the team were heading in different directions before he left as a free agent last year, as Robbins details in the same piece. Still, the Nuggets veteran has a fondness for his old home. “I’m here in Denver, but I always talk to my wife about moving back to Orlando just because that’s where we basically spent the majority of my adult life so far,” Nelson said, according to Robbins. “Of my 33 years, 10 of it was in Orlando and that’s when I was a real adult.”
Timberwolves interim head coach Sam Mitchell isn’t assured of remaining in his position beyond the season, but Kevin Garnett is a fan of the job his coach and former teammate is doing, as Garnett expressed to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. “Fiery, competitive, wants to win, hates to lose,’’ Garnett said of Mitchell. “He coaches really hard, and he wants it, for everybody. He roots for guys. At the same time he wishes he could put a jersey on and [play]. But his spirit is there. You know, you want a coach who has your back, and everybody feels like that. They feel the coach goes out and fights for you, puts you in positions to be successful, too. ‘’
Damian Lillard calls Trail Blazers offseason signee Ed Davis “the ultimate teammate,” and coach Terry Stotts finds a lot to like about Allen Crabbe, two role players who are making a convincing case to be part of the team’s long-term plan, argues Jason Quick of CSNNW.com. Davis is already in place contractually, with a three-year, $20MM deal, but Crabbe is set for restricted free agency at season’s end.

Several Teams Interested In Shabazz Muhammad

December 8th, 2015 at 5:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There are several NBA teams that have expressed interest in acquiring Timberwolves swingman Shabazz Muhammad, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). It is unclear which franchises have checked in on Muhammad, though Wojnarowski’s sources inform him that Minnesota, despite having depth at the wing, is unwilling to trade the 23-year-old.

It’s understandable that the Wolves would be hesitant to deal away Muhammad, who is under contract through the 2016/17 campaign after the team exercised his fourth year option back in October. Young, controllable talent like Muhammad will likely be a valuable commodity in the league once the salary cap increases as expected in time for next season and player salaries jump along with that cap bump. Muhammad would be eligible to hit restricted free agency after the completion of the 2016/17 season, but Minnesota would have the right to match any offer sheet the forward were to sign, provided it submitted a qualifying offer to the player worth $4,237,401.

Muhammad’s NBA career didn’t begin to take off until his second season, when he averaged 13.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game, though it should be noted that was over just 38 appearances, including 13 starts. He’s appeared in all 20 contests for the Wolves thus far this season, averaging 8.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per night.