Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Aldridge, Timberwolves, Billups

October 15th, 2014 at 10:04am CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder have won the Northwest Division each of the past four seasons, but it’s conceivable that the team will receive a stiff challenge from the Blazers this year if Kevin Durant is slow to recover from the fracture in his foot. While we wait to see if there’s a competitive race in the Northwest, here’s the latest from the division:

Portland’s improvement last year was crucial to LaMarcus Aldridge‘s desire to continue playing for the Blazers, as he admitted in appearance with Justin Termine and Mike Dunleavy Sr. of Sirius XM NBA Radio, as Casey Holdahl of NBA.com’s Forward/Center blog transcribes. Aldridge added that was hoping to cash in on the NBA’s windfall of TV money when he passed on an extension to set up free agency next summer, but he suggests that he won’t try to sign a one-year deal this summer to become a free agent again in 2016, when the new TV deal starts. That jibes with a report from The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman, who heard earlier this month that the TV deal won’t affect Aldridge’s plan to sign a new long-term deal with the Blazers in 2015.
Timberwolves backup guard Mo Williams isn’t a fan of the NBA’s experiment with shorter games, as he tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, who hears similar disdain for the idea from Corey Brewer and J.J. Barea. “I come off the bench, man,” Williams said. “They need to put 50 minutes on that so my minutes would be up. I need more minutes, not less.”
Despite fielding interest from the several different teams, including the Nuggets, about taking on a coaching or front office role, Chauncey Billups has decided to join the ESPN crew as an analyst, reveals Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated. Billups cited a long-term commitment to broadcasting and said he’s not thinking of becoming a coach or executive.

Northwest Notes: Billups, Williams, Matthews

October 14th, 2014 at 6:31pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The start of the regular season is just two weeks away and franchises are still trying to finalize their regular season rosters. Teams can carry up to 20 players during the preseason but need to pare that number down to 15 by October 27th. In the Northwest Division the current preseason roster counts are Jazz (17); Wolves (18); Thunder (18); Blazers (17); and Nuggets (18). A number of tough decisions still need to be made by GMs, and a number of the players who get waived may end up in the NBA D-League hoping for a shot at some NBA action later in the season.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Nuggets would love to bring Chauncey Billups into their front office, but it is unlikely to happen this season, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post in his weekly mailbag. Billups made his preference to join a front office in some capacity known when he retired this summer.
Mo Williams is focused on contributing to a young Wolves team for the time being, but he admits that he has aspirations of coaching an NBA club one day, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. “I’ve got some years left in me,” said Williams. “But absolutely, they know that, a lot of coaches know it just because of my personality. It’s something when my legs say I can’t do it no more and guys like [Zach LaVine] and [Andrew Wiggins] keep coming into the league, I’ll probably have to start coaching.”
Wesley Matthews doesn’t believe the end of his contract this summer will bring an end to his time with the Blazers, as he indicated to Erik Gundersen of The Columbian. “Every year is a contract year,” Matthews said when asked if he’d feel added pressure to perform this year.

Charlie Adams and Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Warriors, Klay Thompson At Odds On Extension

October 9th, 2014 at 11:51am CST by Chuck Myron

11:51am: Thompson is unwilling to accept a discounted extension, as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News group hears (Twitter link). It’s not entirely clear whether that means he’s unwilling to drop beneath a $15MM average annual value or if he won’t take any deal for less than the max.

11:12am: The Warriors and Klay Thompson haven’t made progress toward an extension in the past few weeks, and the sides are $2-3MM apart in the average annual value of their proposals, sources tell Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com. Still, it doesn’t appear as though agent Bill Duffy has lost optimism that the sides will strike agreement, Poole adds.

Thompson wants at least $15MM a year, while Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob isn’t sold on the idea of paying Thompson as much as the approximately $15MM that David Lee will make this season, according to Poole, who indicates that the team is hovering around $13MM in its offers. A July report indicated that Thompson was seeking the max. It won’t be clear until next July just how much Thompson could make in a max extension, since the cap figures won’t be set until then, but such a deal would yield about $85MM over five years based on this year’s max, or $66MM over four seasons. Next year’s maximum salaries will likely rise above those figures, given the projected increase to the salary cap.

The Timberwolves were prepared to give Thompson a max extension if they had acquired him in a trade for Kevin Love, sources tell Poole, but the Warriors steadfastly held Thompson out of those talks. The Warriors have appeared high on Thompson, and GM Bob Myers last month expressed a desire to strike a deal to keep him around, echoing the vow that Lacob made in the spring. Thompson wants to come to an agreement and his teammates do, too, Poole writes.

Lacob has hinted at a willingness to exceed the luxury tax in the past, but he doesn’t want to do so at this point, Poole hears. The Warriors already have about $56MM in commitments for 2015/16, so an extension would bring the team relatively close to the tax threshold for that season, though it’s unknown just where the tax line will be. Still, the league’s $24 billion TV deal figures to soon bring about a sharp rise in the salary cap, and the tax line along with it, so even a max extension for Thompson probably wouldn’t put the Warriors in too much danger of repeatedly becoming a taxpayer in the years ahead.

The Warriors have apparently budgeted for a Thompson extension, though it’s unclear just how much they’ve set aside. It’s uncommon for the team to strike an extension deal ahead of the deadline to do so, notes Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). So the lack of progress at this point doesn’t necessarily mean that talks won’t gain momentum closer to October 31st, the final day that the sides can put pen to paper on an extension.

Latest On Ricky Rubio

October 6th, 2014 at 4:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wolves appear to have upped their offer to Ricky Rubio, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News hears their best proposal involved four years at around $48MM. The sides are still far apart, and Minnesota has no intention to pay the max, Deveney writes. Rubio’s agent, Dan Fegan, has reportedly asked for a five-year max deal, which would likely come in at around $85MM, while the team had apparently been seeking a four-year arrangement for around $43MM. Rubio, who turns 24 this month, and Wolves owner Glen Taylor reportedly spoke several times the week before camp and expressed mutual interest in reaching a deal on an extension, but it seems there’s still much ground to cover.

One of the primary points of debate has involved the length of the deal, as the Timberwolves seem to be insistent on a four-year arrangement. That would allow the club to save the Designated Player title for Andrew Wiggins, while five years for Rubio would mean the club would be unable to sign Wiggins to a five-year extension when he becomes eligible in 2017 if Rubio is still on the team.

The Wolves have until October 31st to strike a deal and keep Rubio out of restricted free agency next summer, and the decision is critical for the team, as Charlie Adams of Hoops Rumors examined when he looked at the former fifth overall pick as an extension candidate. Still, the Wolves would have the power to match offers next summer if they decline to do an extension. Depending on whether others ink extensions, Rajon Rondo, Kemba Walker, Reggie Jackson and Brandon Knight loom as ample competition on the market for free agent point guards in 2015.

Western Notes: Mavs, Grizzlies, Aldridge, Barea

October 6th, 2014 at 3:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Charlie Villanueva has impressed Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, who insists Villanueva’s lack of guaranteed money won’t prevent the team from keeping him for opening night, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com chronicles.

“It’s going to come down to who plays the best, who fills needs,” Carlisle said. “And we’ll go from there. Mark [Cuban]’s the kind of owner, he’s not going to let a few dollars get in the way of keeping the right team together.”

Still, it’d cost the Mavs, who have 15 guaranteed contracts plus partial guarantees with Eric Griffin and Ivan Johnson, at least $991,482 in dead money to waive the players necessary for them to keep Villanueva, unless they can work out some sort of trade. While we wait to see just how much Cuban is willing to sacrifice, here’s more from the Western Conference:

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace told Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal that he wasn’t explicitly told not to perform his duties while former CEO Jason Levien was in charge of the team, as Tillery writes in a subscription-only piece. Wallace clarified that he made his own choice to remove himself from player personnel, Tillery notes. Wallace also made a run at openings with the Kings last year and Cavs earlier this year, according to Tillery.
The new TV deal won’t affect LaMarcus Aldridge‘s plan to sign a long-term deal with the Blazers this summer, a source tells The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman, pointing out that the maximum salary goes up as the salary cap does. Still, it’s worth noting that cap figures only affect the amount of a max contract for the first season of the deal, and since it appears unlikely the cap will rise dramatically until the summer of 2016, there’s still plenty of incentive for Aldridge to sign a short-term deal instead.
Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders didn’t seem merely to be trying to up J.J. Barea‘s trade value when he said the guard was one of the team’s best performers in camp again this year, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
The NBA’s national TV deal isn’t the only one due for a sharp increase, as some predictions have the Clippers local TV rights fees increasing to $80MM annually from the $20MM the team receives each year under the current arrangement, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The existing deal is up after the 2015/16 season, Kennedy notes (on Twitter).

Western Notes: Barea, Warriors, Wallace

October 4th, 2014 at 9:15pm CST by Cray Allred

Timberwolves coach and president of basketball ops Flip Saunders continues to praise point guard J.J. Barea‘s play in training camp, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Barea has been on the block for a trade or release, but sees himself as a team fixture. Whether Saunders is leaning toward keeping Barea around, or merely trying to inflate his trade value, remains to be seen. Here’s a look at the rest of tonight’s Western notes:

Andrew Bogut‘s primary backup, Festus Ezeli is hurt, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters including Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group that he is content with bigs Marreese Speights and Ognjen Kuzmic when asked if Golden State is in need of another center (Twitter link). Kerr’s outlook will need to change for camp invite Mitchell Watt to secure one of the two open regular season roster spots in Golden State.
Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace came out on top of some front-office turmoil in Memphis this summer, and he tells Ronald Tillery of Commercial Appeal [subscription-only] that his commitment to the game has routinely paid off. “My staying power is pretty simplistic. This is as good a job as I can get,” said Wallace. “I do not have a college degree, there’s a limitation on what I can do. I’m not going to Wall Street. I’m not walking across the street for executive training. I’m realistic. For someone who loves basketball, it’s light years better than anything else I can do. And change is a norm in the NBA, especially in the front office and coaching ranks.”
Wallace also revealed that he has less autonomy than he did in his previous tenure as GM in Memphis. “The reality of NBA front offices in 2014 is they are highly collaborative. You have very few czars in the league,” Wallace said. “Having said all of that, the misconception is that you arrive at a consensus. Most times, somebody in the organization drives a decision. The better organizations probably have more consistent decision making. I’m in contact and they know my opinion on things. The good thing right now and when I was brought back is we’re rolling as a team and how the team is perceived. It’s not a reclamation project.”

Northwest Notes: Arthur, Blazers, Wolves

October 4th, 2014 at 2:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

When asked if he’d like to remain with the Nuggets past this season, Darrell Arthur said, “Oh yeah, for sure. My family loves it here. My mom was just up here for a couple of weeks and she just loves it – loves the atmosphere, loves the people here. I love the organization, everything. It’s a family organization, they welcome you with open arms. I definitely would like this to be home,” Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post relays. Arthur is in the final season of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Here’s more from the west:

NBA TV’s Steve Smith was in Portland covering the Blazers training camp and discussed the contract situations of LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, and Robin Lopez. All three players are in the final year of their respective deals and Smith was asked if it would become a distraction and he said, “LaMarcus being the main one. I can’t speak for him, but I think he’ll be the easiest one to figure out. He’ll be all right. I think Wesley Matthews and Robin Lopez, financially — I’m not saying they’re not set, we all are, we play in the NBA — but LaMarcus is going to get the max. Now with those other two guys, you have to balance sacrificing for the team and making as much money possible in your career. I think this contract is … the big one for those guys.”
Smith also discussed the offseason additions of Steve Blake and Chris Kaman, saying, “It’s funny. Sometimes you look at moves — and, like you said, they’re not huge as far as names that go across the entire association — but Steve Blake is one of those veterans that just fits well with this team. You can tell just by watching practice. And he makes home here in Portland. So you have a guy who’s comfortable. He’s played here, what, three times? Chris Kaman, if you want to draw up a Portland Trail Blazer, it’s Chris Kaman. He just looks like he belongs. (laughs) And also, I think the pressure is off him. He can come in and be himself.“
Ricky Rubio believes that the departure of Kevin Love to the Cavs will be good for both Love and the Wolves, Jeff Caplan of NBA.com writes. “Of course we had a lot going on last year and the media was talking, they were wondering if Kevin wanted to be here, blah, blah, blah, and that hurt the team and hurt himself,” Rubio said. “Now that he’s not here, the media’s not going to talk about that anymore. I think that’s going to be good for him and for us.”

And-Ones: Barea, White, Johnson, Walker

October 4th, 2014 at 12:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

J.J. Barea has been the odd man out in Minnesota, especially after the Wolves signed Mo Williams back in July. But the veteran guard believes there is a roster spot for him on the team, Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press writes. “I see the players and know this team could use me,” Barea said. “I could help them a lot.” Barea is in the final year of his contract and there has been speculation that Minnesota would attempt to deal or reach a buyout arrangement with him.

Here’s what else is happening around the league:

Also from Greder’s article, Williams said that he would like to try his hand at coaching once his career is over, though he did say that he still has a few more years left in him as a player.
Former NBA player DJ White has inked a one-month deal with Baskonia of the ACB, the team announced via their website (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 6’9″ power forward spent the last two seasons playing in China, but did appear in two games for the Hornets in 2013/14 after signing a 10-day contract. In six NBA seasons White’s numbers are 5.9 PPG and 3.2 RPG.
The Reno Bighorns, the D-League affiliate of the Kings, are hiring former NBA player Darrell Walker as head coach, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has prioritized continuity on his roster, but the team’s plans for Amir Johnson aren’t clear, Eric Koreen of The National Post writes. With Patrick Patterson under contract for three more years, Ujiri might decide against giving long-term contracts to both players since their games are so similar, opines Koreen.

Western Notes: Young, Mavs, McHale, Fesenko

October 3rd, 2014 at 7:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers guard Nick Young has a torn ligament in his right thumb and will miss approximately six to eight weeks, Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). Young injured the thumb during practice when attempting a steal on Kobe Bryant. He’s scheduled to have surgery this Monday, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. With Young expected to be the Lakers sixth man and provide an offensive boost this isn’t a great start to the season, especially after the team missed a total of 319 games due to injuries last year, which was a major factor in Los Angeles’ rough 2013/14 campaign.

Here’s more from the wild west:

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said that just because a player has a total or partially guaranteed contract doesn’t mean he’ll make the final roster, Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (Twitter link). Dallas has a total of 19 players on their preseason roster, with 15 of them carrying full guarantees and two with partially guaranteed deals.
Kyrylo Fesenko is especially motivated to win an uphill battle for a spot on the Wolves regular season roster because of his desire to move his family out of war-torn Ukraine, as he details to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Fesenko is on a non-guaranteed contract, but the Wolves have their hands full with 15 fully guaranteed deals plus a partial guarantee for Glenn Robinson III, as Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron detailed.
Rockets head coach Kevin McHale isn’t concerned that he’s in the final year of his contract despite Houston owner Leslie Alexander’s track record of not handing out second deals to previous coaches like Jeff Van Gundy and Rick Adelman, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. McHale said, “That has no bearing on me. I never believed that. If you’re going to play better in the last year of your contract because it’s the last year of your contract, I question who you are. If you are going to coach better because you’re in the last year of your contract, I question that guy. I’m going to do the same thing I’ve always done. I’m going to work as hard as I possibly can with these guys, try to get these guys to be the best possible team we can be and you know what, like as a player, you do the best job you can. If it’s not good enough, it’s not good enough.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Josh Howard Attempting NBA Comeback

October 3rd, 2014 at 5:53pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former NBA All-Star Josh Howard is working out in Las Vegas with hope of being picked up for an NBA training camp, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Howard also indicated that he would be open to returning to the NBA D-League, notes Spears. Howard played for the Pelicans’ entry in the summer league this year, but was unable to secure an invite to New Orleans’ training camp. He only saw the court in three of the team’s five contests, and after scoring 14 points in the opening game, he managed just six points combined over his next two appearances.

His last action in the league came during the 2012/13 campaign when he appeared in just 11 games for the Timberwolves. During his ten year career, Howard has appeared in 507 games and averaged 14.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.6 APG. His career slash line is .448/.332/.770.

Last season was spent with the Austin Toros, the Spurs’ D-League affiliate, where Howard made 24 appearances, averaging 14.7 PPG and 5.8 RPG while playing 29.5 minutes per night. Howard’s season came to an end when the Toros released him following an injury, which was another in a string of knee maladies that derailed the now 34-year-old’s career at its peak.

At this juncture it’s unlikely that he’ll be picked up by a team for training camp unless there are a run of injuries. Howard’s best opportunity may in fact be to return to the D-League, prove that he’s healthy enough to contribute, and possibly snag a 10-day contract later in the season and hope he can turn that opportunity into a long-term deal.