Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Gasol, Knicks, Lakers, Marion

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There won’t be a decision from Pau Gasol anytime soon as to where he will be signing, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com. This is despite the pleas and pitches he has received from Carmelo Anthony and numerous teams, notes Aldridge.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Blake, Humphries

July 3rd, 2014 at 12:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder have jumped into the race for Pau Gasol, and while there’s conflicting information about just how strong their chances are of landing him, it seems Oklahoma City is taking a more aggressive posture than in years past to try to upgrade its team. Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Negotiations between the Jazz and Kent Bazemore have moved beyond the preliminary stage, but the team and the Austin Walton client aren’t close to a deal, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders first reported Utah’s interest.
The Blazers have had preliminary talks about a deal with Steve Blake, who’d love to play in Portland again, sources tell Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The team and the Joel Bell client are expected to continue the talks, Haynes adds.
The Timberwolves were set to speak with the agent for free agent Dante Cunningham on Wednesday, but while the fellow client of Joel Bell has interest in re-signing with the team, the Wolves don’t necessarily feel the same way, observes Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. (Twitter links).
The Wolves have interest in signing Kris Humphries to a one-year deal, according to Wolfson and Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling (Twitter link).
Markel Starks, who went undrafted out of Georgetown last month, will play on the Wolves summer league team, in addition to doing the same with the Pistons, reports Zach Links of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).

Western Rumors: Suns, Love, Miller, Miles

July 2nd, 2014 at 3:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns have spoken with Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, Luol Deng, Spencer Hawes, Danny Granger, Ed Davis, Marvin Williams, Josh McRoberts, Gordon Hayward, Chandler Parsons, Isaiah Thomas and Patrick Patterson, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Still, Coro cautions that they aren’t necessarily interested in all of them. Phoenix also made contact with Eric Bledsoe, P.J. Tucker and Channing Frye on the first day of free agency, Coro adds. Here’s more from the West, including a Kevin Love update:

The Wolves are indeed insisting that the Warriors take back Kevin Martin in any trade involving Love, a source tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Minnesota is also holding firm on its insistence that Klay Thompson be a part of the Warriors’ package, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.
The Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, Thunder and the incumbent Grizzlies are among the teams pursuing Mike Miller, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. He’ll allow the Grizzlies to make a final push before he makes his decision, and while he said on Sports56 radio in Memphis that he’s received at least five offers, he added that his heart is in Memphis, as Tillery notes (Twitter link).
The Thunder and C.J. Miles had mutual interest before he agreed to sign with the Pacers, but Oklahoma City wasn’t willing to have the contract go quite as long as the four years that Indiana gave him, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry tweets. The Thunder are believed to be limiting their new contracts this summer to two years with Kevin Durant‘s potential free agency looming in 2016, Mayberry adds (on Twitter).
The Clippers have reached out to unrestricted free agent Ed Davis, reports Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
The Jazz are among several teams interested in Kent Bazemore, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).

Western Rumors: Nowitzki, Frye, Sefolosha, Love

July 1st, 2014 at 1:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavs have had advanced discussions with Dirk Nowitzki but both sides have agreed to put off sealing a deal until after Wednesday’s meeting with Carmelo Anthony, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears. That’s to let the team keep maximum flexibility, the same desire that also prompted the sides to decide against an extension. The Mavs and Nowitzki engaged in extension talks before he became a free agent, so Dallas has a strong idea of what the perennial All-Star wants, Stein writes. There’s more on the Mavs amid the latest from the Western Conference:

The Mavs have interest in D.J. Augustin, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com details.
The Suns are making a push to re-sign Channing Frye amid interest from the Cavs and Warriors, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Clippers, Mavs and Rockets have scheduled meetings with Thabo Sefolosha, but the Thunder haven’t reached out to him, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
Kevin Love trade talk between the Wolves and Warriors is still stalemated over Minnesota’s request for the inclusion of Klay Thompson and Golden State’s hesitancy to give him up in a deal, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
The Lakers, Rockets and Mavs followed through with their interest in Jordan Hill and made contact over night, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link). Hill, like Pau Gasol, warmed to the idea of a remaining with the Lakers when coach Mike D’Antoni left, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News details.
The Mavs are interested in unrestricted free agent Al-Farouq Aminu, according to MacMahon.
Dallas is making progress toward new deals with Devin Harris and Vince Carter, tweets Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
The Lakers were extremely active in the hours after free agency began, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The Lakers were working the phones “like crazy” and talked to a lot of free agents, Kennedy says.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Wolves Open Extension Talks With Ricky Rubio

July 1st, 2014 at 11:11am CST by Chuck Myron

The Wolves and representatives for Ricky Rubio have begun discussions about a rookie scale extension for the point guard, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The talks figure to be challenging, Wolfson surmises, with Rubio coming off a disappointing season and the specter of a Kevin Love trade hanging over the heads of the Wolves.

Agent Dan Fegan represents Rubio as well as restricted free agent Chandler Parsons, Wolfson notes, and the Wolves are reportedly mulling a sign-and-trade pitch to Parsons and the Rockets as part of a Love deal if other Love trades don’t develop. Parsons’ stock is high but Rubio registered a career-low 9.5 points per game this year as he failed to show progress as a shooter or scorer in his first full NBA season after injuries curtailed his first two NBA campaigns. He nonetheless continued to show deft passing ability, averaging 8.6 assists against 2.7 turnovers per game.

Former Wolves GM David Kahn left the door open for the Wolves to make Rubio their Designated Player when he refused to give a fifth year to Love when he signed his extension in 2012, but the move has backfired. It seems unlikely that Rubio would receive the maximum salary required in a five-year extension offer. Still, Fegan appears likely to ask for a deal close to the max, with average annual salaries around $15.5MM. The sides have until October 31st to strike a deal, or Rubio will be set for restricted free agency next summer.

And-Ones: Sterling, Parker, Crawford

July 1st, 2014 at 9:44am CST by Chuck Myron

Attorneys for Donald Sterling will argue that wife Shelly Sterling exerted undue influence on one of the two doctors who examined Donald and declared him mentally incompetent, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com details. Donald’s mental competency is no longer on trial. Instead, the probate trial between the Sterlings will center on whether Shelly followed the rules of the Sterling family trust, according to Shelburne. Those rules required that two mental health experts submit letters to the effect that Donald was mentally incompetent before allowing Shelly to take full control of the trust, Shelburne writes. Shelly agreed to sell the Clippers in May to Steve Ballmer, claiming that she fully controlled the trust, but Donald is fighting the sale. Here’s more from around the league:

The Spurs kept Tony Parker through Monday, unsurprisingly, but doing so means his $3.5MM partial guarantee is now a fully guaranteed $12.5MM salary for 2014/15.
Jamal Crawford of the Clippers had his $1.5MM partial guarantee bumped to a full guarantee of $5.45MM when he remained on the roster through Monday.
Kosta Koufos remains on the Grizzlies, so his $500K partial guarantee is now a $3MM full guarantee.
Parker’s teammate Austin Daye is also still with the Spurs, so his $250K partial guarantee is a fully guaranteed minimum salary.
The Hornets kept Jeffery Taylor around, so his minimum salary went from non-guaranteed to fully guaranteed.
It appears as though the Magic are officially under the cap, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That means Orlando loses access to a $6,077,280 trade exception it could have reaped from last week’s Arron Afflalo deal.
The Hawks didn’t give big man Gustavo Ayon a qualifying offer by Monday’s deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). There weren’t reports of qualifying offers to James Southerland of the Pelicans, Adonis Thomas of the Sixers and Bernard James of the Mavs, so presumably they’re all unrestricted free agents as well.
The Wolves hired Ryan Saunders as an assistant coach, the team announced (on Twitter). Saunders, the son of Wolves head coach/executive Flip Saunders, had served the last five seasons as a Wizards assistant.

Spurs, Wolves, Kings, Calling On Livingston

July 1st, 2014 at 1:35am CST by Zachary Links

The Spurs, Wolves, Kings, Hornets, and Magic are among the teams that called on Shaun Livingston after the official start of free agency, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. At this point, it appears that it will be a challenge for the Nets to keep the point guard.

The Nets are already extremely limited in the contract they can offer Livingston thanks to their luxury tax situation. Now, with a wide range of suitors, the odds get even slimmer for Brooklyn. The departure of coach Jason Kidd reportedly doesn’t bode well for the Nets’ chances to retain Livingston either.

Southeast Rumors: Ariza, Gortat, Ferry, Lewis

July 1st, 2014 at 12:24am CST by Zachary Links

The latest out of the Southeast Division..

Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears that Trevor Ariza is after a deal in the $8-11MM per year range and likes the idea of playing in a warm-weather city. Still, staying with the Wizards is an intriguing option for him.
The Wizards spent the evening reaching out to their own free agents, Marcin Gortat, Ariza, and Drew Gooden, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
Ariza has significant interest from clubs, including the Cavs, and Wizards coach Randy Wittman will be in Los Angeles tomorrow morning to meet with him, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. A league source close to Ariza tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) that his potential destinations include the Suns, Clippers, Lakers, Heat, Mavs, Jazz, Cavs, and Wizards.
Hawks‘ GM Danny Ferry plans to be “very aggressive” in free agency, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
Heat free agent forward Rashard Lewis is expecting interest from the Heat, Pacers, Thunder, Raptors, and Spurs, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
So far the Hornets have not expressed interest in Luol Deng, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter).
The Hawks were the first team to call unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore after midnight, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). The Hawks are really high on the Lakers free agent.
Unrestricted free agent Trevor Booker has attracted interest from several teams, including the Heat, Wolves, Jazz, Nets, Knicks, Magic, and Wizards, sources tell Michael Lee of the Washington Post (on Twitter).

Bulls, Mavs, Wolves Eyeing Chandler Parsons

June 30th, 2014 at 11:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bulls and Mavs are among the teams to register interest tonight in Rockets’ restricted free agent Chandler Parsons, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The general rule of thumb, Stein says, is that any team interested in Carmelo Anthony also seems to be interested in Parsons. Meanwhile, Stein adds that the Wolves continue to monitor the forward in the event that the Rockets decide to make a run at Kevin Love. So far, Anthony has been the Rockets’ focus.

We heard earlier tonight that the Cavs are also eyeing Parsons. In the last three years with the Rockets, Parsons has averaged 14.1 points per night and shot 47.3% from the floor. The former second round pick played more minutes than any member of the Rockets last season. The Rockets presumably want to keep Parsons, but they also have their eye on bigger fish – like Melo – this summer.

Qualifying Offers: Monday

June 30th, 2014 at 11:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Teams must decide today whether to tender qualifying offers to their players eligible for restricted free agency or lose the right to match offers from other teams. We’ll round up all of today’s qualifying offer decisions here:

The Pacers declined to tender a qualifying offer to Lavoy Allen, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). Still, there’s mutual interest in a new deal, Buckner adds (on Twitter).
The Hawks extended a qualifying offer to Mike Scott, notes Mark Deeks of ShamSports (on Twitter).
No surprise here: Chandler Parsons got his QO from the Rockets, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.
The Pacers won’t extend a QO to Evan Turner, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
Kevin Seraphin officially got his qualifying offer from the Wizards, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com.
As expected, the Warriors won’t extend a QO to Jordan Crawford, according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
The Hawks have extended a qualifying offer to Shelvin Mack, a source tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
The Bucks have told forward-center Ekpe Udoh he will not be tendered an offer thus making him an unrestricted free agent, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (on Twitter).
The Grizzlies have passed on making a qualifying offer to Ed Davis, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Davis was reportedly a favorite of former CEO Jason Levien, but with Zach Randolph having agreed to an extension, it appears that Davis isn’t quite as highly valued in Memphis as he once was. His qualifying offer would have been worth $4,268,609, a slightly smaller amount than he was originally in line for, as I explained.
No shock here, but the Pistons extended a qualifying offer to Greg Monroe, tweets Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, preserving their right to match offers for the fifth-rated player in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings. The qualifying offer is worth nearly $5.5MM, but he’ll command much more than that.
The Pelicans will not give Darius Miller a qualifying offer, reports John Reid of The Times Picayune. The offer would have been worth more than $1.115MM.
The Spurs have tendered a qualifying offer to Aron Baynes, notes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (on Twitter). It’s worth more than $1.115MM, the same amount as Miller’s would have been.
The Knicks have elected not to make a qualifying offer to Toure’ Murry, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). They’d like to re-sign him nonetheless, Stein adds in a second tweet, but other teams have interest, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt says (on Twitter). The offer would have been worth more than $1.016MM.
Othyus Jeffers and Robbie Hummel won’t receive qualifying offers from the Wolves, the team announced (on Twitter). The offers would have been for amounts slightly greater than $1.148MM and $1.016MM, respectively.