Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Westbrook, Kobe, Carney, Rosas

October 29th, 2013 at 8:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s some auspicious news for the Thunder on opening night, as it appears Russell Westbrook could be back as early as two weeks from now, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Thunder originally projected he’d miss at least the first month of the season. Here’s more from the West:

Kobe Bryant addressed extension talks with the Lakers during a Q-and-A session with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, indicating that discussions have yet to begin but will soon. Lakers co-owner Jim Buss said last week that negotiations had already begun.
Bryant also told Spears that he hasn’t spoken to Carmelo Anthony about free agency next summer. A recent report suggested Anthony would be open to a recruiting pitch.
Rodney Carney, fresh off a camp stint with the Pelicans, has signed to play in Puerto Rico with Capitanes de Arecibo, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports.
It appears philosophical differences were at the root of Gersson Rosas‘ decision to resign as Mavs GM today, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, while Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hears the Mavs shared the concerns Rosas had about the fit.
Jazz CEO Greg Miller says he’s OK with the front office’s plan to endure a rough season this year as long as it helps move the team toward a title down the road, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune examines.
Wolves camp invitee Othyus Jeffers is set to join the team’s D-League affiliate, while second-round pick Lorenzo Brown, whom the team also cut last week, will not, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).

Odds & Ends: Gasol, Jazz, Brown, Bucks

October 28th, 2013 at 11:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni says the way he emphasized Dwight Howard over Pau Gasol in his offense last season “wasn’t fair” to the Spaniard, admitting that “if nobody had names on their jerseys,” the situation would have been different, as USA Today’s Sam Amick observes.

“It was hard to be in that position,” said Gasol, a free agent at season’s end. “I understood the politics of it, and why things were a certain way, but it didn’t make it any easier during the process. But you learn and move on and you grow, and you go to the next chapter. I’m excited about my new position. It’s a different situation, a different team. I’m happy and proud to continue to be here, despite everything. I’m ready to play and have a great year.”

That year is just about to start, with the first games of the 2013/14 season just hours away. Here’s the latest from around the Association:

Jazz CEO Greg Miller, coach Tyrone Corbin, and Derrick Favors all conveyed hopes today that Gordon Hayward remains in Utah long-term, a sentiment Hayward himself echoes. Jody Genessy of The Deseret News has the details as Thursday’s deadline for Hayward to sign an extension looms.
The Timberwolves aren’t among the teams interested in Shannon Brown, whom the Wizards waived today, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
The Wolves announced a deal for renovations to the Target Center today, but Bucks owner Herb Kohl says the NBA prefers there be a new arena in Milwaukee rather than a renovation to the Bucks’ existing home, notes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel.
Former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins has changed agents, signing with Steve Kauffman of Kauffman Sports Management Group, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Warren LeGarie had previously represented Hollins.
The Bulls signed Kalin Lucas and Patrick Christopher in September and waived them on the second day of training camp. The maneuver allowed Chicago to sign their other camp invitees to summer contracts that gave the team an out in case they suffered an injury, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports explains in a piece for HoopsWorld.

Northwest Notes: T-Wolves, Thunder, Jazz

October 28th, 2013 at 2:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves officially extended their relationship with Minnesota’s Target Center today, announcing that the team’s lease will now run through 2032. As Jerry Zgoda writes in his Star Tribune report, the agreement announced today will include $97MM in renovations to the area, set to begin next summer and be completed 18-24 months later.

Here are a few more notes from around the Northwest Division:

One year after the Thunder traded away James Harden, Darnell Mayberry and Anthony Slater defend the move in a pair of pieces for the Oklahoman, explaining why it was the right move for OKC and why it had to happen. Meanwhile, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle looks back at the deal from Harden’s perspective.
At the press conference to formally announce Derrick Favors‘ contract extension, Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey told reporters, including Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link) that Favors’ agent’s first question in negotiations wasn’t about money. It was about whether Utah intended to keep its current core together, which is very much in the team’s plans (Twitter link).
Jazz CEO Greg Miller on contract talks with Gordon Hayward (Twitter link via Genessy): “The sooner we can get all that worked out, the sooner it’s not going to be a distraction.”
Lindsey also revealed earlier today that the Jazz would pick up their 2014/15 options on Enes Kanter and Alec Burks by Thursday.

Timberwolves Waive Chris Johnson

October 26th, 2013 at 2:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:40pm: The Wolves have officially announced the moves, according to the team’s Twitter account.

1:19pm: The Timberwolves have waived big man Chris Johnson, a source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The former LSU Tiger is not to be confused with the Chris Johnson from Dayton whom the Nets waived earlier today. The Wolves will be on the hook for Johnson’s guaranteed $916,099 salary this season. The move likely means Robbie Hummel and A.J. Price, both of whom are on non-guaranteed deals, have made the opening-night roster, since the subtraction of Johnson leaves Minnesota with 15 players.

Multiple reports this month indicated Johnson’s spot on the team was vulnerable in spite of the guaranteed money on the contract he signed with the team last season after a pair of 10-day deals. He appeared in just two games for a total of nine minutes during preseason action. He averaged 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game across 30 contests for the Wolves last year.

Wolves Pick Up Options On Rubio, Williams

October 26th, 2013 at 2:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 2:38pm: The team has officially announced, via Twitter, that it’s exercising the options on Rubio and Williams.

TUESDAY, 1:16pm: The Wolves will exercise their team option on Ricky Rubio for 2014/15, a source tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, and it’s a move that comes as no surprise. The source also confirms that the team will exercise its option on Derrick Williams, as owner Glen Taylor told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities last night. Rubio’s option adds another $5,070,686 to the team’s payroll for next season, as our rookie contract option tracker shows.

I listed Rubio among the “no brainers” last month when I examined rookie option decisions, and there was never any doubt that Minnesota would ensure team control over the former No. 5 overall pick through his fourth season. A trickier decision involving Rubio looms next offseason, when the Wolves must decide whether to grant him a lucrative extension.

Picking up the options on Rubio and Williams will push the team’s commitments for 2014/15 to $68,403,149, ensuring the Wolves will be well over the cap unless they can move some salary via trade. Once these option pickups become official, Minnesota will trail only the Nets for the most amount of guaranteed money on the books for 2014/15.

T-Wolves Cut Othyus Jeffers, Lorenzo Brown

October 25th, 2013 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have made a pair of roster cuts, releasing Othyus Jeffers and Lorenzo Brown, according to the club (via Twitter). Minnesota will still need to make at least one more move, as the team is now carrying 16 players.

Jeffers, who appeared in 31 total games for the Jazz, Spurs, and Wizards from 2010 to 2011, averaged 14.7 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 33 contests for the D-League’s Iowa Energy last season before inking a camp deal with the T-Wolves this fall. Brown, a point guard out of North Carolina State, was selected 52nd overall this past June by the Wolves. Minnesota will no longer hold his NBA rights, but could protect his D-League rights for the Energy. Both players were believed to be on fully non-guaranteed contracts.

As Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets, A.J. Price, Robbie Hummel, and Chris Johnson remain on the roster bubble. Price looks like a good bet to earn a regular season roster spot, so the decision may come down to Hummel and his non-guaranteed contract vs. Johnson’s guaranteed minimum salary deal.

Odds & Ends: Oden, Celtics, Turner, 76ers

October 23rd, 2013 at 11:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

Greg Oden stepped on an NBA court for the first time in nearly four years tonight, throwing down a dunk and grabbing a pair of rebounds in four minutes of preseason action for the Heat tonight. It still doesn’t constitute an official return the way a regular season appearance would, but it’s a positive sign for the Heat as they attempt to turn Oden from a minimum-salary gamble into a bargain of an inside presence. Here’s more from around the Association:

The Celtics don’t plan to keep any of their four players on non-guaranteed deals into the regular season, preferring instead to carry a 14-man roster in a money-saving effort, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
The Timberwolves front office is reportedly high on Evan Turner, but there’s no talk of a deal that would send the former No. 2 overall pick to Minnesota, according to Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter link).
James Anderson and Daniel Orton have fully non-guaranteed deals, but they’ve all “all but wrapped up” spots on the Sixers opening-night roster, writes Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks at Orton’s efforts to make the team, which includes losing nine pounds since the Sixers signed him a week ago.
The Blazers cut three players yesterday, but coach Terry Stotts was effusive in his praise of E.J. Singler, as Mike Tokito of The Oregonian details.
Kings lead assistant coach Brendan Malone resigned today, the team announced, with GM Pete D’Alessandro citing “factors associated with the rigors of coaching in the NBA” for why Malone is stepping down after 27 years in the NBA. Malone is the father of head coach Michael Malone. Chris Jent will slide up the bench and replace the elder Malone as lead assistant, according to the team (Twitter link).
David Stern characterized as “relatively upbeat” a report that the Bucks gave to the league’s owners on the status of the team’s quest to fund a new arena, as Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel reports.

David Stern Talks CBA, Nets, Kings, Wolves

October 23rd, 2013 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA owners voted unanimously today to change the NBA Finals to a 2-2-1-1-1 format, after nearly three decades of using a 2-3-2 format. As Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes, commissioner David Stern called it an “easy sell,” since it helps improve competitive balance and aligns the Finals schedule with the rest of the postseason. In addition to announcing the change, Stern provided a few more notable updates following his last owners’ meeting as commissioner. Here are the highlights from Windhorst:

According to Stern, the league’s new revenue sharing system, which includes more punitive tax penalties, is working, with the league expecting about 24 or 25 franchises to be profitable by the end of the 2014/15 season. Of the teams not projected to be profitable, most are doing so of their own volition, by carrying high team payrolls.
Stern, on the Nets, a team that figures to pay significant tax penalties going forward: “I haven’t looked at the Nets’ balance sheet but my guess is they’re not necessarily going to be profitable.”
Stern indicated that plans for a new Kings arena in Sacramento are “going swimmingly,” adding that he expects it to open on time for the 2016/17 season.
Additionally, the Timberwolves are in final negotiations on the terms of a plan to overhaul and upgrade the Target Center, according to the commissioner.

Northwest Rumors: Favors, Williams, James

October 22nd, 2013 at 3:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The base salary for Derrick Favors‘ new four-year extension with the Jazz is a little lower than the $49MM+ that was originally reported, according to HoopsWorld’s Eric Pincus (Twitter link). It’s a $48MM deal, with likely incentives that would take it up to $48.733MM, and unlikely incentives that could lift the value to $53.133MM, according to Pincus. There’s that and plenty more coming out of the Northwest Division today, where we’ve also heard the Nuggets may be shopping Kenneth Faried, the Jazz are still interested in signing Jamaal Tinsley, and the Wolves will exercise their 2014/15 option on Ricky Rubio. Here’s the latest:

The Wolves will pick up their 2014/15 option on Derrick Williams, just as they will with Rubio, and Williams expressed relief today in comments to reporters, including Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune. “It helps, (having) the security.” Williams said. “You’re guaranteed at least one more year in the NBA. As long as you have that, I think everything is good.”
Damion James is the last player without any sort of guarantee on his contract who still remains on the Nuggets roster, and it doesn’t look like he’ll entice the Nuggets into cutting one of their guaranteed deals, as Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post examines. His best shot to make the team would have been if Quincy Miller struggled in camp, but Miller has impressed new coach Brian Shaw. James has played Jordan Hamilton to a draw this month, but Hamilton’s $1,169,880 guaranteed salary gives him the edge.
Hamilton will likely make it to opening night, but the decision on whether to pick up his $2,109,294 team option for 2014/15 is not as clear, given the Nuggets‘ depth at small forward, Dempsey observes in the same piece.
Favors and Enes Kanter have only started one game together in the NBA, but that total figures to grow much larger, especially now that the Jazz have locked up Favors’ for the long term. Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune looks at how Favors and Kanter will fit together, noting that coach Tyrone Corbin sees them as interchangeable parts at center and power forward.

Wolves To Exercise Derrick Williams’ Option

October 21st, 2013 at 9:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The Wolves will exercise Derrick Williams‘ option for the 2014/15 season, owner Glen Taylor tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). Minnesota technically has until October 31st to trigger the option.

The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 draft struggled in his rookie year but took a step forward in 2012/13, averaging 12 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 24.6 minutes per contest. For his part, the 22-year-old has been confident that the option would be picked up. Now, it’s all but certain that Williams will earn $6.33MM in the fourth and final year of his rookie deal.

The Arizona product has been linked to trade talk seemingly since the day he was drafted, but president Flip Saunders put that talk to rest over the summer.