Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Lawson, Wolves, Montero

July 16th, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets were requesting a first-round pick and a young player in trade talks about Ty Lawson days before his latest DUI-related arrest, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Opposing teams were showing little to no interest, Spears adds, advancing a report from Yahoo Sports colleague Adrian Wojnarowski, who said that clubs were waiting for Lawson’s price to come down. Now, after the arrest, the Nuggets are in a position where they’re better off waiting for Lawson’s value to bounce back, an assistant GM tells Spears. We asked for your feedback about Lawson on Wednesday night. There’s more on the Nuggets amid the latest from around the Northwest Division:

Denver is scanning for trades that provide greater financial and roster flexibility, league sources tell Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The search is unrelated to Lawson, as Dempsey makes clear. In any case, the report would suggest that the Nuggets are looking to unload a player in a deal that doesn’t bring back anyone in return.
Coach/executive Flip Saunders, with the $2.139MM biannual exception and roughly $1.7MM left on the mid-level exception, sounds open to adding a veteran point guard to the Timberwolves, according to Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune (Twitter link via Tribune scribe Jerry Zgoda).
The Timberwolves had their choice of three trade exceptions with which they could take in Damjan Rudez from the Pacers, and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders says they used the $1.5MM Ronny Turiaf exception to do so (Twitter link). That reduces the Turiaf exception, which expires December 19th, to $350,500, essentially exhausting its value.
The Oregonian’s Mike Richman chronicles the unusual journey of Luis Montero to his partially guaranteed contract with the Blazers, adding the Knicks, Sixers, Suns and Thunder to the list of teams that previous reports indicated he worked out for prior to the draft.
A virtually unusable $88K sliver of the Thunder‘s Thabo Sefolosha trade exception expired Wednesday. Oklahoma City used most of what was originally a $4.15MM exception to trade for Dion Waiters in January.
Jazz power forward Trevor Booker‘s salary, which had been partially guaranteed for $250K, is now fully guaranteed for $4.775MM, as our list of salary guarantee dates shows.

Western Notes: Cousins, Levien, Montero

July 15th, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kings coach George Karl admits talking hypothetical DeMarcus Cousins trades “behind closed doors,” but Karl tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that he rejects the notion that he was actively trying to trade the center. “As a coach, in meetings every year and maybe four or five times a year, you talk about what-ifs,” Karl said. “And 99% of what-ifs never happen. But isn’t it our job to talk about what-ifs? Does this make us better? Does this get us in a better place? That’s our job. There was never a discussion in that area even close to happening, in my opinion. … Never in the whole time of this experience did I ever think that I wasn’t going to coach Cuz.”

Here’s what else is happening around the Western Conference:

Jason Levien has become an unofficial adviser to Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets. Levien was formerly the CEO of the Grizzlies, as well as a former Sacramento assistant GM, Howard-Cooper notes.
The Wolves were able to create a traded player exception worth $5MM as a result of dealing Chase Budinger to the Pacers, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link).
Danny Green said that LaMarcus Aldridge contacted him during the free agent process to pick his brain about the Spurs, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express News tweets. Green also noted that the possibility of playing alongside Aldridge factored heavily into his decision to re-sign with the Spurs, McDonald adds.
The Trail Blazers‘ deal with Luis Montero is a three year arrangement with the first season partially guaranteed, according to former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter links).
The Thunder have removed forward Steve Novak from the trading block, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays. OKC was reportedly seeking financial relief and was willing to flip Novak in exchange for a future draft pick.
Wilson Chandler‘s contract renegotiation and extension with the Nuggets will pay him $10.4MM in 2015/16, $11.2MM for 2016/17, $12.0MM in 2017/18, and $12.8MM during the final season, Pincus notes (Twitter links).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Lawson, Garnett, Ingles

July 14th, 2015 at 10:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ty Lawson was arrested early this morning on suspicion of DUI, his second DUI-related arrest in six months, report Jesse Paul and Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Lawson’s name has come up frequently in trade chatter since before the February deadline, and the teams with interest were waiting for Denver to reduce its price for the point guard, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, adding that today’s news devastates Lawson’s trade value. The Kings were reportedly one of those teams eyeing him and spoke with the Nuggets before the draft, but his off-court issues were a major reason why Sacramento wasn’t willing to give up the No. 6 pick in exchange for him, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link).

Here’s the latest out of the Northwest Division:

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said that the team’s roster is relatively set for the 2015/16 season, but the team could look to use its available cap space at the trade deadline to add a player who could help the team, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News relays (Twitter links).
Joe Ingles‘ base salary with the Jazz on his new contract is $4.1MM but can he increase that payout to $4.4MM via $150K per season worth of performance-based incentives that are included in his deal, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter links). This makes Ingles’ cap number for the 2015/16 season $2.15MM, as the NBA deems $100k worth of the incentives likely to be attained, and his 2016/17 cap number will range from $2.05-$2.20MM, Pincus adds.
Kevin Garnett‘s two-year deal with the Timberwolves will pay him $8.5MM for the 2015/16 campaign and $8MM in 2016/17, Pincus tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Timberwolves Sign Nemanja Bjelica

July 14th, 2015 at 11:32am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 14TH, 11:32am: The deal is official, the team announced (on Twitter).

1:40pm: Bjelica’s deal is worth $11.7MM over three years, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Bjelica confirmed that he’s heading to Minnesota in a statement released to Wojnarowski through Tellem. Minnesota will foot the maximum $625K toward his buyout from Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker, Wojnarowski adds. The total amount of that buyout was reportedly 1.2 million euros, the equivalent of more than $1.325MM, so Bjelica will have to pay the rest himself.

JULY 6TH, 1:12pm: The Timberwolves have reached a deal with draft-and-stash prospect Nemanja Bjelica, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Krawczynski reported in late June that the sides were close to agreement, and Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders more or less promised to get a deal done shortly thereafter. The sides had reportedly spoken about a $12MM deal over three years, but it’s unclear just how much the reigning Euroleague MVP is getting to come stateside.

The Arn Tellem client had reportedly been seeking between $5MM and $7MM a year, numbers that likely would have forced Minnesota to use its entire $5.434MM mid-level exception, though both sides have apparently held mutual interest for some time now. Minnesota acquired the rights to Bjelica in a trade on draft night in 2010, when the Wizards selected him 35th overall. Other teams reportedly had interest in trading for his rights this spring, but the Wolves clung to them.

Bjelica left Fenerbahce a few days ago after a season in which he averaged 11.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 26.1 minutes per game. He’s 27 years old, so he would appear to be an already fully developed prospect, save for whatever seasoning he’ll pick up in the NBA this year.

Spurs To Work Out John Jenkins

July 13th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Spurs have a workout set with former No. 23 overall pick John Jenkins, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Atlanta renounced its rights to the Relativity Sports client, but the close ties between the Spurs and Hawks make it no surprise that San Antonio is apparently showing interest. The Timberwolves called on Jenkins, too, but they didn’t express any interest for the time being, Wolfson adds.

Jenkins struggled for playing time in each of his three seasons in Atlanta, never averaging more than the 14.8 minutes per game he saw as a rookie in 2012/13. The Hawks declined their fourth-year option on his rookie scale contract this past fall, setting him up for unrestricted free agency this summer. He’s nonetheless shown proficiency from behind the arc, nailing 37.5% of his 208 career attempts.

San Antonio appears to be limited to the minimum salary, with the room exception earmarked for Manu Ginobili, but the Spurs probably wouldn’t need more than the minimum to sign Jenkins. Still, several teams, including the Knicks, have reportedly expressed interest in the 24-year-old.

Wolves Notes: Garnett, Rudez, Bjelica

July 12th, 2015 at 3:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Even at age 39, Kevin Garnett is looking toward the future, writes Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders. The veteran forward signed a two-year, $16.5MM with the Wolves this week, but he may be more valuable as a mentor than as a player. He is expected to help mold No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns, who joins a talented young core that includes Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng, Tyus Jones, Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins. “I’m excited to be part of this process for the future,” Garnett said. “I can’t wait to build something special with this group of guys. Hopefully, I can help, teach, and also continue to grow and learn from the young guys. It should be great. I’m looking forward to it all. The process to greatness starts now!”

There’s more out of Minnesota this afternoon:

Minnesota coach/executive Flip Saunders said he expects Garnett to be the team’s starting power forward and play in some back-to-back games, according to Jerry Zgoda of The Star-Tribune. Garnett played just five games for the Wolves after being acquired from the Nets in a February deal.
The Wolves have no immediate plans to part ways with Damjan Rudez, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Additionally, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweets Saunders said he likes Rudez’s shooting range and that Rudez will be brought to camp to compete for playing time.
Nemanja Bjelica is expected to sign his deal with the Wolves soon, according to Wolfson (Twitter link).

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

Wolves Deal Chase Budinger To Pacers

July 12th, 2015 at 10:40am CST by Arthur Hill

SUNDAY, 10:40am: The trade is official, both the Wolves and Pacers have announced.

“We’re very glad to have Chase,” Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said. “He’s a guy we think will fit in our rotation. He can shoot and drive to the basket, which works with how we want to play. Damjan was a special guy. He was great to have as part of our team. He will be missed by all.”

SATURDAY, 3:24pm: The Wolves will send Chase Budinger to the Pacers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Minnesota will receive 6’10” foward Damjan Rudez in exchange.

Budinger, 27, has been with the Wolves since being acquired from the Rockets in a 2012 trade. He averaged 6.8 points and 3 rebounds per game this year while playing about 19 minutes off Minnesota’s bench. In April, Budinger exercised a $5MM option for next season.

The 29-year-old Rudez, a member of the Croatian national team, averaged 4.8 points in 68 games with the Pacers last season. He signed a three-year contract with Indiana last summer and is due to make more than $1.149MM next season, with a team option for 2016/17 at $1.199MM.

The salaries aren’t a match, but each team can accommodate the deal via trade exceptions, as former Nets exec Bobby Marks points out (on Twitter). The Pacers can either use the giant, but temporary, $15.5MM-plus trade exception they reaped from the Roy Hibbert deal, or they can renounce their cap holds and use cap space, a move they’ll eventually have to make to sign Monta Ellis. The Timberwolves can use one of three trade exceptions large enough for Rudez.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Hummel, Garnett

July 12th, 2015 at 10:12am CST by Dana Gauruder

Damian Lillard said there was no way to prevent LaMarcus Aldridge from bolting the Trail Blazers for the Spurs, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports. Lillard told Spears that Aldridge wanted a change and was seeking a franchise that was closer to winning a championship. Lillard added that Aldridge had no issues with him. “We basically exchanged texts about how much admiration we have for each other,” Lillard told Spears. “That change wasn’t about me. I did express that I wanted him to be back. I told him I respected his decision. I respected that he told me before the news broke and I saw it on TV.”

In other news around the Northwest Division:

The Trail Blazers and Nuggets are among the teams interested in signing Robbie Hummel, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets. The Kings and Cavaliers are also in the mix, Wolfson adds, but the two Northwest teams are the ones with the greater interest. Hummel became an unrestricted free agent when the Timberwolves pulled their $1.147MM qualifying offer.
Kevin Garnett has a full no-trade clause in his new contract, thanks to his service time during his first stint with the Timberwolves, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Players can only get full no-trades in a new contract, not extensions, and must have at least eight years service time and four with the same team, Stein adds in a separate tweet. Garnett agreed to a two-year, $16.5MM deal.
The Timberwolves should receive a trade exception for all of Chase Budinger‘s $5MM salary, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Minnesota agreed to deal Budinger to the Pacers on Saturday.
The Nuggets didn’t waive Randy Foye by the end of Saturday, so his non-guaranteed salary of $3.135MM is now fully guaranteed (hat tip to former Nets executive Bobby Marks; Twitter link).

Timberwolves Re-Sign Kevin Garnett

July 10th, 2015 at 5:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 5:57pm: The signing is official, the Wolves announced.

5:03pm: Wolfson pegs the value of the deal at $16.5MM. Garnett, an Andy Miller client, negotiated it himself, Wolfson adds (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 4:43pm: Garnett’s deal is for two years and $16MM, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweets, confirming Zgoda’s estimate.

10:00am: It is indeed a two-year deal for Garnett, Wolfson tweets. It contains no options or non-guaranteed money, Wolfson adds (on Twitter).

NBA: Los Angeles Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

TUESDAY, 8:28am: The Timberwolves and Kevin Garnett have reached a deal, as long expected, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The numbers aren’t yet clear, but the team had reportedly planned to make him a two-year offer, and Garnett was likewise expected to take it. The 39-year-old will be coming back for his record-tying 21st season this year.

“I’m incredibly excited and rejuvenated to be a part of this talented, committed team,” Garnett said, according to Wolfson (Twitter link).

Injuries limited Garnett to just five games after the midseason trade that brought him back to Minnesota, the team that had originally drafted him, but coach/executive Flip Saunders has no regrets based on the veteran’s locker room presence for the young Timberwolves. He’ll rejoin a team that’s set to feature at least three rookies in No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns, No. 24 pick Tyus Jones, and draft-and-stash prospect Nemanja Bjelica, who reportedly agreed to a deal Monday.

Garnett made $12MM last season, though his declining production would suggest a pay cut is in order. Minnesota has his Bird Rights and thus the ability to pay him whatever is necessary, though Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune has estimated a deal would be worth about $8MM a year. That would fall roughly in line with what fellow venerable power forward Dirk Nowitzki agreed to take from the Mavericks last year, when he signed a three-year deal worth about $8.3MM a season.

Western Notes: Cuban, Stoudemire, Aldridge

July 7th, 2015 at 9:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA has fined Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban $25k for publicly confirming the team’s pending free-agent deals with DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. Under league rules teams and players are allowed to strike verbal agreements on new contracts during July’s moratorium period, but team officials are not allowed to openly discuss those deals until July 9th, when the moratorium concludes, Stein adds. Cuban has accumulated over $2MM in league fines since becoming the Mavs’ owner back in 2000.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Unrestricted free agent Amar’e Stoudemire is talking with the Clippers regarding a deal, but Los Angeles’ difficult salary cap situation is complicating matters, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times relays (on Twitter). The Clippers are also floating the idea of signing free agent center Cole Aldrich, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register tweets.
Ed Pinckney will serve as the lead assistant on coach Michael Malone‘s staff with the Nuggets, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets.
LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t officially inform the Trail Blazers that he was leaving Portland until last Friday, though the team likely knew the forward wouldn’t be returning, Jason Quick of The Oregonian notes (via Twitter). The big man agreed to a four-year, and approximately $80MM deal with the Spurs.
Veteran Kevin Garnett may end up transitioning into a front office position during the second season of his new deal with the Wolves if he isn’t healthy enough to play in 2016/17, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes (on Twitter). KG agreed to a two-year pact with the team earlier today.
Despite all of the roster additions the Mavericks have made this offseason, the team still may have lost ground to the other teams in the West who have also improved, especially the Spurs, who landed Aldridge, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. But even if the team does regress in 2015/16, the additions of DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews give the franchise two important building blocks for the future, Sefko adds.