Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nuggets, Wizards In Serious Andre Miller Talks

February 20th, 2014 at 11:35am CST by Chuck Myron

11:35am: The Wizards and Nuggets are close to a deal involving Miller, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

11:15am: The Nuggets and Wizards are engaged in “serious talks” about a deal that would send Andre Miller to Washington for Eric Maynor and Jan Vesely, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Wolves have fallen off the pace in the Miller sweepstakes, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities notes that they want to trade J.J. Barea to another team before taking on Miller (Twitter link).

There would probably need to be a third team involved, since the Nuggets don’t want to take Maynor, according to Marc J. Spears and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).

The veteran guard left the club earlier this year and apparently has no interest in returning to them this season. The 37-year-old isn’t the player he once was, but he has proven to be one of the most durable players in the league. The guard is probably a bit overpaid at a $5MM salary and makes $4.625MM next year in the final year of his deal, but that’s only partially guaranteed for $2MM as long as he’s waived before July.

Bobcats, Bucks Close To Gary Neal Swap

February 20th, 2014 at 11:28am CST by Charlie Adams

11:28am: Caron Butler and Ben Gordon could also be involved, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.

11:10am: Charlotte is trying to sell Milwaukee on the idea that acquiring Sessions makes it easier for them to trade Luke Ridnour, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

10:59am: The proposed deal would send Sessions to the Bucks, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Sessions, making $5MM, earns more money than Neal’s $3.25MM, so apparently Kohl would have to get involved.

10:56am: The Bobcats and Bucks are nearing an agreement that would send Neal to Charlotte, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Still, Milwaukee owner Herb Kohl would have to sign off on an increase in team salary as part of the deal, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 6:45am: The Bobcats are trying to convince the Bucks to take on Ramon Sessions in return for Neal.

11:06pm: While they may be looking for a shooter, the Thunder’s interest in Neal could be overstated, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Amick also confirms interest in Neal from the Bobcats.

4:39pm: Woelfel adds the Suns, Wolves and Kings to the list of suitors for Neal (via Twitter).

1:15pm: The Bucks have progressed with several teams on the Neal front, but they’re still holding off on agreeing to a deal, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 12:29pm: The pursuit of Neal is the only active discussion the Bobcats are engaged in, with talks for Evan Turner having flamed out early, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

TUESDAY, 8:24pm: The Bobcats and Thunder are both interested in acquiring sharpshooting Bucks guard Gary Neal, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com and Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter links). Stein reports that Neal has been being openly shopped by Milwaukee since January, and we heard on Friday that the fourth year guard is unhappy with the Bucks. A recent Woelfel piece labeled Brandon Knight, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton as the only untouchable assets on the Bucks roster, so it’s not a surprise the club is open to moving Neal.

After a solid postseason performance with Spurs en route to finals loss versus Miami, Neal signed with Milwaukee on a two-year, $6.25MM deal. While he hasn’t put up extraordinary numbers so far this season, he’s proven throughout the course of his career that he can be a good shooter capable of putting up solid numbers on some nights.

Charlotte has been very active so far this deadline. News broke earlier today that they were close to a deal with the Bucks that would’ve brought in Neal and Caron Butler, but the alleged move fell through at the last minute. It’s unclear if a new deal would involve Butler, but reports have indicated the Bobcats are willing to give up a draft pick for the right price.

Neal’s other potential suitor, the Thunder, are said to be looking for a shooter. Neal would certainly welcome a move to Oklahoma City since we’ve heard reports suggesting he wants to play for a contender. The Thunder would have to send some salary out in return however, since trading for Neal would put the team over the tax line.

Wolves, Wizards In Lead For Andre Miller

February 20th, 2014 at 8:39am CST by Chuck Myron

The Wolves and Wizards are the favorites to land Andre Miller, though there’s nothing close yet, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. The Wolves would be Miller’s top choice, though that might not be a factor in Denver’s decision-making. The Nuggets have received mostly low-ball offers, given their clear desire to unload the veteran point guard, as Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post explains.

The Wizards have made no secret of their search for a backup point guard, and are reportedly offering Eric Maynor, Chris Singleton and Trevor Booker, among others. Denver would be short on point guards without Miller, and Washington appears to be competing with Denver for Beno Udrih. The Nuggets are in talks with the Knicks about a swap of Jordan Hamilton for Udrih, but that deal could depend on whether Denver can unload Miller.

The Timberwolves have been working multiple fronts as well, having engaged in talks with Memphis that appear to have reached a dead end. A report yesterday indicated that Minnesota preferred Jameer Nelson to Miller, but only if the Wolves could work a deal with the Grizzlies.

Wizards Show Interest In Udrih, Miller

February 20th, 2014 at 8:20am CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY. 8:20am: The Wizards have offered Maynor, Singleton and Trevor Booker, among others, in their search for a backup point guard, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Their interest in Udrih makes sense, since they offered him the same deal they wound up giving Maynor this past summer, Kennedy observes (Twitter links). Washington also made an identical offer to Mo Williams, Kennedy says, but he’s clearly not in the trade conversation.

FEBRUARY 19TH: The Wizards maintain their interest in Miller, tweets Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report, who suggests Chris Singleton and Eric Maynor as possible trade bait for the Nuggets. It’s not clear whether the Wizards are thinking of including those guys in a deal, or if Zwerling is merely speculating.

FEBRUARY 11TH: Multiple reports in the past few days have indicated Washington’s interest in acquiring a backup point guard, and one of their primary targets is Beno Udrih, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Washington also covets Andre Miller, Stein tweets, but the Wizards have been unable to find a workable deal with the Nuggets.

Udrih quickly backed away last month from a report that he asked the Knicks to trade him. Still, New York didn’t seem averse to the idea at the time, and apparently the Knicks wouldn’t have minded receiving a second-rounder in return for Udrih, whom they believed was siphoning playing time from Toure’ Murry. Udrih hasn’t played since January 24th, while Murry has made five appearances in that span.

Though Nuggets GM Tim Connelly says the team has nothing “definitive” in the works for Miller, the Timberwolves still have an eye on the point guard, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Similarly, the Kings continue to express interest in Miller, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. I predicted that offers for Miller would improve closer to the deadline when I examined his trade candidacy last month.

Washington has been going with minimum-salary signee Garrett Temple as the backup to John Wall instead of Eric Maynor, whom the club used its biannual exception to sign this past summer.

Northwest Notes: Love, Budinger, Nuggets, Miller

February 19th, 2014 at 6:59pm CST by Alex Lee

Teams have begun assembling trade offers for Kevin Love amid speculation that he’ll leave the Wolves in free agency next summer, most likely for the Lakers. The All-Star dispelled the idea that it’s unlikely that he’ll re-sign with Minnesota in an interview with Steve March of GQ. Love says the Wolves have a better team and better foundation than the Lakers.

That must be music to the ears of Wolves’ owner Glen Taylor, who told 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson on Wednesday that Team President Flip Saunders “doesn’t even bring [the proposals for Love] to me.” A deal involving Love seems improbable. In fact, Taylor said any move is unlikely, but conceded that Minnesota is engaged in other talks and that the team might take back money in the right deal (Twitter links).

Here’s the rest of what’s going on in the Northwest division:

Corroborating a report from earlier today, Minnesota’s Chase Budinger indicated that things are quiet in his camp at the moment, tweets Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “[My agent] said he will call me if he finds anything serious out and there hasn’t been anything in the last two days,” he said.
Grantland’s Zach Lowe is hearing from multiple teams that, save for Ty Lawson, everyone on the Nuggets roster is available (via Twitter).
Andre Miller is one of those available guys, but indications are that the Nuggets are nowhere close on a deal to move the veteran, tweets Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. Dempsey also opines, via Twitter, that Denver’s efforts have been hampered by trying to deal from a “disadvantageous” position.

Multiple Teams Pursue Shabazz Muhammad

February 19th, 2014 at 4:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wolves have received calls from multiple teams about rookie Shabazz Muhammad, reports Christopher Reina of RealGM.com. The 14th overall pick in the 2013 draft has yet to make a significant impact in Minnesota, and spent about a week in the D-League last month. The Wolves acquired him in a draft-night deal that sent Rookie of the Year candidate Trey Burke to the Jazz.

Muhammad was once a top-tier prospect, but he had a disappointing one-year stint at UCLA last season and dropped on many team’s draft boards. He’s only seen 81 total minutes of action in the NBA so far.

He makes a shade more than $1.887MM this year on his rookie deal, and that figure rises to about $1.972MM next season. The final two years of rookie scale contracts are team options, and the deadline to decide on the first one is October 31st this year. That means Muhammad is running out of chances to make an impression before the Wolves, or another team, might decide to end his contract early.

Latest On Pau Gasol

February 19th, 2014 at 2:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:10pm: The Gasol-to-Suns deal is “dying on the vine,” according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who hears the Suns are moving on to other talks (Twitter link).

8:50am: The Lakers, with an eye on Kevin Love, gauged the Wolves’ interest in a deal that would send Pau Gasol to Minnesota, but those talks didn’t go anywhere, a source tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. There’s a growing sentiment within the Lakers that it’s more worthwhile to retain Gasol and his Bird Rights heading into the offseason than unload him by tomorrow’s trade deadline, Shelburne writes. The Lakers remain in contact with the Suns and Cavs about potential deals, but there’s been no significant progress with either team, as Shelburne notes.

The Bobcats and Lakers have reportedly been in talks about Gasol, though such a deal is unlikely, and Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who broke the story, wonders if the Lakers leaked the news to prompt the Suns into more serious conversations (Twitter link). The Suns and Lakers are expected to engage once more in negotations about Gasol before the deadline.

The Lakers have been active, canvassing the market for Gasol, Jordan Hill, Steve Blake and Chris Kaman, Shelburne writes. A groin injury has kept Gasol out of action for the past six games, perhaps slowing trade chatter surrounding him, but he’s listed as questionable for tonight.

Gasol is eligible for an extension, so the Lakers could lock him up, as they’ve done with Kobe Bryant. The big man says he’s had no conversations with the team about an extension, but that doesn’t bother him, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

“Actually, it makes it easier for me,” Gasol said. “[I can] wait until that moment comes and then see what I got.”

Wolves, Grizzlies Discussing Budinger, Barea

February 19th, 2014 at 12:26pm CST by Zachary Links

12:26pm: A source involved in the talks tells Berger that the proposal is “dead,” though others are holding out hope for revival. Some members of the Memphis camp suspect the Timberwolves are using these discussions to further their chances for a different deal, according to Amick (Twitter links).

12:13pm: The Grizzlies are “very unlikely” to yield on Allen, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

11:12am: The Wolves are eager to swap Barea, but they’re somewhat reluctant to move Budinger, Wolfson adds (on Twitter).

11:01am: There’s no way Wolves executive Flip Saunders will make the trade without Allen as part of it, Wolfson tweets.

10:50am: The teams are “nowhere close to a deal,” according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who seconds what Wojnarowski is hearing about the Grizzlies’ reluctance to include Allen (Twitter link). Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities nonetheless hears the clubs are making progress, as he notes on Twitter.

10:45am: The Wolves are insisting that Allen be included along with Prince in a deal for Budinger and Barea, but the Grizzlies are resisting at the moment, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

WEDNESDAY, 10:23am: The Grizzlies and Wolves have gained momentum toward a deal involving Prince and Allen, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Presumably, Budinger and Barea are also still a part of the talks.

MONDAY, 7:04pm: The Grizzlies are discussing a deal with the Timberwolves centered on forward Chase Budinger and guard J.J. Barea, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Memphis wants to include forward Tayshaun Prince into the package and the deal could be expanded to include guard Tony Allen, though components of a proposed deal are still fluid.

Memphis has been trying to unload Prince and his cumbersome contract, sources tell Wojnarowski. The forward is earning $7.2MM this season and will make $7.7MM in 2014/15. on his contract. Meanwhile, Wolves GM Flip Saunders is believed to want to add defensive toughness to his roster, and that would make Allen a natural fit.

Budinger, 25, missed much of the early season recovering from knee surgery, and has averaged 6.0 PPG in 17.7 minutes per game this season. Barea, 29, is averaging 8.7 PPG in 18 minutes per contest this season. The Wolves badly want to make the playoffs this season with Kevin Love’s free agency on the horizon and they have reportedly been open to moving the diminutive guard in order to help make that happen.

Allen has been sidelined since early January with a fracture in his left hand. In his 27 games this season, Allen has averaged 10.2 PPG off of 49.3% shooting from the floor.

Ford’s Latest: Knicks, Rockets, W’s, Pelicans

February 19th, 2014 at 11:32am CST by Chuck Myron

Chad Ford of ESPN.com takes an Insider-only look at the trade market for a handful of teams with little more than 24 hours remaining before Thursday’s 2:00pm Central trade deadline. We’ll round up the highlights here:

The Knicks are shopping Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert and Beno Udrih as they seek to upgrade their point guard spot. Ford mentions Jeremy Lin as a long shot possibility for New York, but Houston is adamant it doesn’t want to give him up. Trading for Lin or Kyle Lowry would require the Knicks to relinquish Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Warriors have been listening to offers for Harrison Barnes, and they’ve gone as far as to counter a few of them, Ford hears. Greg Monroe, Thaddeus Young, Tristan Thompson, Kenneth Faried, John Henson and Amir Johnson all intrigue the W’s as possible targets in exchange for Barnes, Ford writes. Golden State is also enamored with Kevin Love, as most teams around the league are.
Ford describes David Lee as available, too, but he notes there isn’t much of a market for him, which makes sense, given his bloated contract.
Part of the Pelicans‘ motivation for exploring trades for Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans is the feeling that they could fall back into position to snag a top-five pick in this year’s draft if both guys are off the roster, according to Ford. Their first-rounder goes to the Sixers if it’s No. 6 or worse. Chris Mannix of SI.com wrote earlier this morning that New Orleans was looking to move either Gordon or Evans, but not both.

Wolves To Target Jameer Nelson?

February 19th, 2014 at 10:54am CST by Chuck Myron

There’s a chance the Wolves would prefer to trade for Jameer Nelson rather than Andre Miller if Minnesota pulls off its rumored trade with the Grizzlies, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Monday that the Wolves would only trade for Miller if they shipped out J.J. Barea, who’s a part of the Grizzlies proposal, but perhaps Minnesota now sees Nelson as a superior option. Nelson, along with Glen Davis, appears to be the focus of Orlando’s trade efforts, although the Magic have made little progress with either.

Nelson says the Magic haven’t given him any indication that they’re trading him, and he’s eager to stay in Orlando. He’s making $8.6MM this season as the Magic’s highest-paid player, but only $2MM of his $8MM for next year is guaranteed. Miller is cheaper for this season, making $5MM, but he’s likewise only partially guaranteed for $2MM next season.

Nelson, 32, has been markedly more productive than the 37-year-old Miller this season. Nelson has notched 12.9 points and 6.7 assists per game as Orlando’s starter. Miller put up just 5.9 PPG and 3.3 APG in a backup role before the Nuggets sent him home around New Year’s Day following a public spat with coach Brian Shaw. Either of them would figure to back up Ricky Rubio in Minnesota.