Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Rumors: Warriors, Asik, Parker, Kings

June 26th, 2014 at 12:35pm CST by Zachary Links

In an interview with SiriusXM, Warriors star Andre Iguodala said that he doesn’t believe teammate Klay Thompson should be traded as part of a deal for Minnesota’s Kevin Love, writes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. “That’s not going to happen,” Iguodala said. “I want to clear that up right now. We should not trade Klay Thompson. I tell Klay this every day. I text Klay and say, ‘Don’t worry. I’m your man. I’m going to make sure you get paid. I’m going to get you the max (contract). You’ll be taken care of. Don’t stress.’” Here’s more out of the West..

More dominoes will fall from the deal that sent Omer Asik to the Pelicans, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. New Orleans may move Austin Rivers to create cap space. One possibility, Windhorst suggests, would be trading him to the Clippers, where Austin’s father holds a trade exception.
The Rockets talked about sending Asik to the Pelicans for Ryan Anderson, but could not get much traction, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
The Jazz remain interested in Jabari Parker, but sources say there’s still a “big concern” about his right foot, which he broke in high school, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. However, Parker is still in the lead over Andrew Wiggins on their wish list if they can pull off a deal for the No. 1 pick (link).
The Kings appear poised to keep the No. 8 pick, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Sponsors continue to be skittish about the Clippers as the team’s ownership situation remains unresolved, as Andrea Chang and Tiffany Hsu of the Los Angeles Times detail.
The Timberwolves received initial criticism for last year’s draft-day trade of Trey Burke to Utah for Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng, but one year later, team president Flip Saunders is happy with the returns, writes Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.

And-Ones: Knicks, Kings, Heat

June 25th, 2014 at 11:57pm CST by Cray Allred

It’s been a busy day around the league, and things could get even crazier tomorrow. Here’s a roundup of the night’s notes:

If Zach Randolph isn’t signed prior to the draft and the Grizzlies select a power forward, it could be an indication that Memphis is preparing to move on from Randolph, writes Ronald Tillery of Commercial Appeal.
A rival executive tells Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) that he could envision the Knicks breaking into the first round by flipping newly acquired Shane Larkin, as we speculated earlier tonight.
Beck tweets that the Knicks hope Jose Calderon‘s presence will help them lure Marc Gasol to New York when the dynamic center hits free agency before the 2015/16 season.
The Kevin Love talks between the Wolves and Warriors were “never off” and remain ongoing, tweets Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
The Kings primary concern is adding perimeter shooting, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I think it’s a very important factor for the draft,” GM Pete D’Alessandro told Jones. “I think it’s something we have to take seriously and take a strong look at, for sure.”
A person with knowledge of restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas‘s situation tells Sam Amick of USA Today that the point guard’s market value is between $4MM and $6MM per year.
Dwyane Wade has yet to make his decision regarding the early termination clause in his contract, but sources tell Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press that he, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh had a positive meeting regarding their offseason (Twitter link).

Latest On Kevin Love

June 25th, 2014 at 7:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:35pm: The talks between Minnesota and Golden State are not dead, Chad Ford of ESPN.com said as a guest on ESPN 710 LA (transcription via Basketball Insiders). A trade built around Love, Lee, and Thompson could still be worked out prior to free agency, since the Warriors would likely see themselves as credible suitors for LeBron James with a Stephen Curry/Love foundation.

3:57pm: The formal structure of a deal was never in place between the Cavs and Wolves, but Cleveland had been “fiercely determined” to trade for Love, Wojnarowski writes. Wojnarowski suggests that the No. 1 pick was a part of the talks, even if there was no offer, per se. Cleveland’s pursuit ended when agent Jeff Schwartz warned that Love wouldn’t re-sign, according to Wojnarowski. Love’s wish list is narrow, and Saunders has put trade discussions involving him “in neutral,” Wojnarowski hears.

2:33pm: Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears that the negotiations between Cleveland and Minnesota have been exploratory and “not yet serious enough to kill” (Twitter link).

2:00pm: The Cavs have yet to offer the top pick for Love, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press hears. Still, Krawczynski suggests there’s a decent chance that Love indeed made it clear he wouldn’t remain in Cleveland if traded there, discouraging the Cavs from making such an offer (Twitter links).

1:06pm: One day out from the draft, and Kevin Love trade discussions appear to be slow-going, at best. The Cavs made a push to deal the No. 1 pick for Love, but he would refuse to re-sign with Cleveland, and that’s halted those talks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). At least one member of the Warriors braintrust wouldn’t be on board with a one-for-one trade of Love for Klay Thompson if it were a possibility, tweets Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. The prevailing logic within the Warriors front office is that an upgrade at power forward over David Lee that would break up the backcourt of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry isn’t worth it, the Bay Area News Group scribe adds.

Minnesota meanwhile has an eye toward waiting to see the offers from teams who miss out on Carmelo Anthony this summer, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders would prefer to try to convince Love to stay rather than take a trade offer that’s less than ideal, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Saunders is optimistic that his team will improve this coming season, but even “strong improvement” wouldn’t be enough to convince Love to stay, Bulpett hears.

The Wolves are wary of Boston’s reported proposal of Kelly Olynyk, picks Nos. 6 and 17 in this year’s draft, and a future first-round pick since it would require the Wolves to take back additional, likely player-friendly, contracts to make the salaries match, Bulpett writes. The Celtics are willing to discuss including the first-round picks the Nets owe them, according to Bulpett.

Wolves Give Zach LaVine Promise At No. 13?

June 25th, 2014 at 7:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:18pm: While the Wolves do have interest in LaVine, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweets that there is no evidence a draft promise has been made.

3:15pm: Sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that they believe the Wolves have given former UCLA guard Zach LaVine a promise to draft him with the 13th overall pick (Twitter link). Such promises aren’t binding, but it does appear to indicate that Minnesota isn’t planning to use the pick in a trade involving Kevin Love.

LaVine is among the players the Wolves have worked out in advance of the draft. He’s No. 13 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 14 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com, so it seems he’s right in line for Minnesota.

Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors suggested that the club that ends up with LaVine wouldn’t be getting a finished product and must show patience, given LaVine’s raw ability. That would seem to conflict with the desire of Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders to compete immediately.

And-Ones: Clippers, Afflalo, Duncan

June 24th, 2014 at 11:27pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The Clippers engaged the Magic in discussions about trading for Arron Afflalo this past spring, but were rebuffed after Orlando didn’t find L.A.’s trade offers enticing enough, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. However, there was some sense that the two clubs could later re-visit talks if they managed to get a third team involved in discussions. The Clips have been eyeing Afflalo for quite some time and came close to landing the former UCLA shooting guard last summer, according to Shelburne, who also mentions that Donald Sterling eventually nixed the negotiations.

You can find more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes below:

Spurs icon Tim Duncan revealed on “The Late Show with David Letterman” that he had briefly considered retirement shortly after winning his fifth NBA championship. “I thought about calling it a career…But I felt I could at least do one more year. I felt I was still effective. I felt I could still play and help the team” (transcription via Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News).
Some NBA executives believe that the Cavaliers’ reported interest in Jabari Parker could just be a smokescreen to get other teams to ante up their trade offers for the No. 1 pick, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Among those teams is the Jazz, who are said to covet Parker if they acquired the top pick.
Both Howard Eisley and Brian Scalabrine are candidates to become assistant coaches for Doc Rivers, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Eisley has been serving as a players skills coach for the Clippers, while Scalabrine spent the latter portion of last season as a coach for the Warriors’ D-League affiliate.
Timberwolves president/head coach Flip Saunders said he’s in contact with other NBA teams on a daily basis, but was coy when specifically asked if those discussions involved Kevin Love, writes Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press. As Greder points out, Saunders said he’s comfortable with the current roster, including Love. “I don’t know about the prospects of us trading anybody by Thursday night…I feel comfortable with the guys that we have. If we can get something that makes our team better, we’ll do it. If we don’t, we’ll stay pat and move forward and enter into free agency on July 1.”

Draft Notes: Payton, Embiid, Knicks

June 24th, 2014 at 11:12pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In Jeff Goodman’s latest mock draft for ESPN (Insiders only), Elfrid Payton gets selected by the Timberwolves at No. 13. In response to that projection, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN said that Minnesota doesn’t have any interest in drafting the former Louisiana Lafayette guard with that pick. It probably won’t matter anyway, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe hears that Payton has been greatly impressive in workouts and won’t slip past the top 10 on draft night (Twitter links).

With that aside, we’ll keep tabs on this evening’s draft-related news here:

Add Sweden’s Viktor Gaddefors to the list of players that Memphis is bringing in for a second workout on Wednesday, notes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal.
The Hornets appear primed to add at least one big man with either the 24th or 45th pick in this year’s draft, and Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer lists Mitch McGary and Johnny O’Bryant as potential targets.
Former Florida big man Patric Young is on Phil Jackson’s draft wish list, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman also points out that the Knicks worked out Jahii Carson recently.
Following up Andy Katz’s earlier ESPN report that the Kings have three deals in place regarding their No. 8 pick, ESPN’s Marc Stein identified the Celtics, Suns, and 76ers as the potential trading partners.

Earlier updates:

The Pelicans are making a concerted effort to acquire a first-round pick, tweets NBA.com’s David Aldridge.
According to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, Joel Embiid is strongly in play for the 76ers at No. 3 and the Magic at No. 4; the worst-case scenario is that Embiid won’t fall past the Kings at No. 8 (Twitter link).
The Knicks remain confident that they’ll land a first-round pick and/or a second-round pick in Thursday’s draft, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
The Pistons are without a first-round pick this year, but team president/head coach Stan Van Gundy says that one team picking between No. 26 and No. 30 is open to shedding their pick for the best offer. “There’s one team that’s saying “give us your best deal for (our) pick” (Twitter link via Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News).
The Bucks made an unsuccessful attempt to bring in Cleanthony Early for a workout, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
In another piece, Woelfel notes that the Spurs, Pacers, and Pistons are among the list of teams that brought second-round hopeful Jamil Wilson in for a workout.
The Grizzlies are trying to put together a last minute workout for Glenn Robinson III, Jordan Adams, Joe Harris, and Geron Johnson tomorrow, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.
Former Duke swingman Rodney Hood participated in a second workout for the Suns, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

Eastern Notes: Allen, Wade, Pistons

June 24th, 2014 at 10:14pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Ray Allen is leaning toward returning for a 19th season in the NBA and has a desire to continue playing alongside LeBron James, sources told Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Back in February, the sharpshooting veteran said that he wouldn’t be retiring this summer, and today’s report echoes a similar sentiment passed along last week. Allen just completed the second of a two-year, $6.32MM deal with the Heat and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

As for Dwyane Wade‘s contract status and whether or not he’ll decide to opt out, the 32-year-old guard didn’t have any updates today. “No news here yet.”

You can find more of tonight’s rumblings out of the Eastern Conference below:

Pistons president/head coach Stan Van Gundy said that he’s open to signing Greg Monroe to a one-year qualifying offer and letting the big man hit unrestricted free agency next summer, according to Larry Lage of the Associated Press. Van Gundy said that Monroe’s contract situation is the “most important thing on (the Pistons’) plate this offseason.”
Van Gundy added that the team would be willing to trade a future second-round pick and cash in order to land a late first round pick, especially if someone they ranked in the teens falls to the end of the first round.
Jim Boeheim – Carmelo Anthony‘s former college coach at Syracuse – believes that Anthony would take less money to sign with a contender this summer, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago.
Chauncey Billups is considering retirement, writes Aaron Matas of 9News.com. When Matas mentioned rumors of the Timberwolves approaching the 37-year-old guard about an assistant coaching job, Billups declined comment; however, Billups did say that he’d generally consider a television or front office position first before dipping into coaching when he does decide to retire from playing.
The Celtics hired Benas Matkevicius – a former scout of CSKA Moscow – to be the team’s international scout, tweets Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (h/t to CSKABasket.com).

Western Notes: Randolph, Sterling, Jazz

June 24th, 2014 at 8:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com explains the odd circumstance concerning Zach Randolph‘s player option with the Grizzlies next season. According to the current CBA, a player cannot earn less money in a player option year relative to how much he made in the previous season. As it currently stands, Randolph will make $16.5MM if he decided to opt in for 2014/15, which is considerably lower than the $17.8MM he made in 2013/14.

Tim Duncan had a similar issue in his contract with the Spurs, as his player option for the upcoming year was initially less than what he made this past season. While Duncan’s contract was ultimately modified to address the error, Randolph’s remains unchanged simply because the contract had been signed too long ago, Deeks hears. Randolph and Memphis reportedly are moving toward a multi-year deal, but if he opts in and the deal winds up coming in the form of an extension, Randolph’s missing money will come into play.

Here are more noteworthy links to pass along tonight:

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge said that the terms of the Sterling family trust may give Donald Sterling little room to challenge the finding that he is mentally incapable of continuing as co-owner of the Clippers, writes James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times. This would appear to give Shelly Sterling the advantage in her case to affirm both her control of the trust and sale of the team.
The Jazz announced the additions of Brad Jones, Antonio Lang, Alex Jensen, Mike Wells, and Johnnie Bryant to Quin Snyder’s coaching staff. Jones will be Snyder’s lead assistant, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link).
Maccabi Tel Aviv has opted out of its contract with Joe Ingles, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Back in March, we passed along that Ingles was considering a move to the NBA this summer. The Grizzlies and Jazz were among the Western Conference teams reported to have interest in the Australian-born forward.

Draft Rumors: Cavs, Wolves, Afflalo, Jazz, Sixers

June 24th, 2014 at 12:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs had been favoring Jabari Parker, but his poor performance in a workout for the team coupled with a stirring audition from Andrew Wiggins has left Cleveland torn with just two days to go before the draft, according to Jeff Goodman and Chad Ford of ESPN.com. The time left before Thursday night’s draft figures to be full of back-and-forth, with uncertainty seemingly surrounding all 60 picks. Here’s the latest:

The Wolves are willing to give up J.J. Barea, Corey Brewer, Alexey Shved and the No. 13 pick in an effort to either land a higher draft pick or a veteran, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. The Bulls have their eyes on the 13th pick, according to Kyler.
The Hornets, who have a longstanding interest in Arron Afflalo, are on board with surrendering the No. 9 pick and a player for the Magic shooting guard, Kyler writes in the same piece.
The Jazz are targeting Wiggins as they attempt to move up rather than Parker, and they’re actively shopping pick No. 23, according to Kyler.
The Sixers‘ reason for seeking a third top-10 pick is so they would still be able to emerge with two top-10 picks from the draft if they package the third and 10th selections to move up, sources tell Kyler.
The Kings have three deals in the works involving the No. 8 pick, according to Andy Katz of ESPN.com.
The Bucks are not actively shopping John Henson, in spite of heavy interest from other teams, but they are open to the idea of trading him for a lottery pick, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
Milwaukee is listening to offers for the No. 2 overall pick, though Bucks GM John Hammond said today that “it would take something very special,” to prompt him to give it up, tweets Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
It’s “highly unlikely” that the Blazers, who are without a pick in either round on Thursday, end up trading for one, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Frye, Thomas, Love, Lue

June 23rd, 2014 at 9:14pm CST by Zachary Links

There’s mutual respect between Channing Frye and Warriors coach Steve Kerr, as TNT’s David Aldridge notes in his latest Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The Warriors are reportedly eyeing the sharpshooting big man who’ll almost certainly opt out of his deal with the Suns.

It would “mean a lot” to Kings restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas to receive an offer sheet from the Lakers, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The guard grew up as a diehard Lakers fan and has idolized Kobe Bryant since he was a child, but he still spoke highly of the Kings and would like to return.
There have been mixed reports on this aspect of the Kevin Love talks, but Sam Amick of USA Today hears that the Warriors are very wary about taking on Kevin Martin‘s contract as a part of a deal. Meanwhile, despite the hangups in talks and the buzz that a deal with the Warriors is dead, Amick believes that things could pick up again between Golden State and the Wolves.
Sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports that Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue has agreed to become the associate head coach of the Cavaliers. Lue was considered a head coaching candidate for Cleveland but the Cavs opted to hire David Blatt instead.
Marquette forward Jamil Wilson worked out for the Mavericks today, according to Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times (on Twitter). Wilson has auditioned for about a dozen teams in total.
The Cavs will bring in Oregon’s Mike Moser and Iowa State’s Melvin Ejim for a workout on Tuesday, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
The Suns worked out center Walter Tavares earlier today, Scotto tweets. The 7’3″ center is rising up draft boards around the league. DraftExpress currently has Tavares going to the Bucks with the No. 31 pick in their mock draft.
The Pistons will bring in DeAndre Daniels and Mike Moser for a workout on Wednesday, tweets Scotto.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.