Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Timberwolves Rumors

Ford’s Latest: Raptors, Kings, Cavs, Bucks

November 18th, 2013 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Before fielding questions on the NCAA and the 2014 draft, ESPN.com’s Chad Ford addressed a number of NBA inquiries in his latest chat. Let’s dive in and round up a few of the highlights from ESPN’s draft guru….

  • Rival general managers tell Ford that Raptors president Masai Ujiri has been active on the phones. However, Ford has heard “mixed responses” from those GMs on whether Ujiri is looking to blow up his roster or trying to improve in the short term.
  • The Kings have “a lot of interest” in Derrick Williams, and could be a logical trade partner for the Timberwolves. Ford cites Chuck Hayes and “Jason Williams” as possible trade candidates, though presumably he means Jason Thompson.
  • There are “rumblings” that Dion Waiters has been a source of chemistry issues in the Cavs‘ locker room. Still, even if Cleveland were to shop the second-year guard, Ford isn’t convinced the return would be great.
  • In Ford’s view, the Cavs will likely need to make a roster move soon to either attempt a playoff push or a run at another high lottery pick.
  • When the Rockets explore Omer Asik trades, they’ll likely be targeting a player such as Ryan Anderson or Ersan Ilyasova. says Ford, adding that both of those guys might be available. Asik may not be the right fit for either the Pelicans or Bucks though, according to Ford, so a third team might have to get involved.
  • Even though Bucks owner Herb Kohl is known to be anti-tanking, Ford suggests John Hammond should be sending Kohl video of Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, and Jabari Parker every day until he reconsiders. The insinuation there, of course, is that a poor finish this season will be the Bucks’ best chance to land a star.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Jefferson, Mavs, Asik, George

November 17th, 2013 at 10:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Over his ten years in the league, Bobcats center Al Jefferson has been through a number of rebuilding projects with multiple teams, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.  “I have been playing [a pivotal] role since I left Boston,” Jefferson said. “Minnesota was rough. Utah, I had a little success and that’s what got me here. I like my team. We’ve got a great group of guys, guys who have been going through some trials and tribulations themselves the last couple of years. I want to help turn this thing around and I think the coaching staff is amazing and I think we have a chance to do that.”  Here’s tonight’s look around the Association..

  • One draft-conscious observer told Bob Finnan of the News-Herald there could have been as many as 13 first-round picks playing in the Champions Classic (featuring Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan St., and Duke) in Chicago on Tuesday.  Kentucky power forward Julius Randle and guards James Young and Andrew Harrison could be lottery picks along with Michigan State combo guard Gary Harris.  The second game was Duke vs. Kansas, which could have  three more lottery picks in Jayhawks small forward Andrew Wiggins, center Joel Embiid, and Duke small forward Jabari Parker.
  • Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki is glad that the club went out and signed free agents to multi-year pacts rather than last summer where they inked nine one-year deals, writes Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld.  This offseason saw Dallas sign Monta Ellis to a three-year deal and Jose Calderon to a four-year contract.
  • More from Ingram, who writes that a trade of Omer Asik would be a bad move for both the Rockets and the center.  A trade demand makes it seem as though everyone hasn’t bought in to Houston’s philosophy, a bad sign for a team with championship aspirations.  Meanwhile, the trade request makes Asik look selfish since he appears to be putting himself above winning.
  • Pacers star Paul George can earn a pay hike by earning an MVP selection or making an All-NBA team, but he won’t get the maximum deal allowed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, explains HoopsWorld’s Eric Pincus.
  • Former player’s union official Joseph Lombardo faces 20 years in prison over fraud charges, according to the Associated Press.  Authorities say Lombardo used a stamp to forge the signature of a deceased general counsel for the National Basketball Players Association and another employee, a move that directed $3MM to his firm over five years.
  • The Knicks have fallen apart, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com.  Even if the Knicks could deal Shumpert for a big who plays with effort like a Kenneth Faried, it’s not going to solve all the Knicks’ problems, Youngmisuk opines.
  • Former NBA standout Grant Hill says that he’s proud of his career in retrospect and the way that he navigated through its ups-and-downs.  “I’m proud of coming back and my last [five] years in Phoenix, finding great joy and fulfillment in sort of reinventing yourself,” Hill told Michael Lee of the Washington Post. “I know, in retrospect, that’s not an easy thing to do, either.”
  • Wolves president of basketball ops Flip Saunders is drawing upon his time as coaching adviser for the Celtics in 2012 as he finds his way through his new job, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.  “One of the things I really noticed is the way things worked between Danny (Ainge) and management and the coaching staff,” said Saunders. “I think it helped that Danny had been a coach, but I really like the way people there worked together.“
  • Jared Jeffries fits in well with the Nuggets front office, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.  The forward says that he’s glad to not be dealing with physical pain every day and seems content with his decision to retire and move on to a new chapter.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Jennings, Rondo, Shumpert

November 15th, 2013 at 11:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings admits basketball wasn’t his primary focus during the first four years of his career, but the free agent process this summer jolted him out of complacency, as he tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

“I just wanted a new start,” Jennings said. “Seeing a bunch of my teammates leave, Monta (Ellis), J.J. (Redick), Mike Dunleavy, everybody, the coaching staff I’d been around for four years, everything was different. I felt like they were going in a different direction and I felt like I had do the same.”

Jennings considered signing his one-year qualifying offer from the Bucks to get to unrestricted free agency in 2014, but Milwaukee’s hiring of an unfamiliar coach in Larry Drew dissuaded him from that idea, Jennings says. Still, at least one beat writer doesn’t see him as Detroit’s point guard of the future, as we detail in our league-wide roundup:

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Offseason In Review: Minnesota Timberwolves

November 15th, 2013 at 10:32am CST by Zachary Links

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Trades

  • Acquired the No. 14 pick and the No. 21 pick in 2013 from the Jazz in exchange for the No. 9 pick in 2013.
  • Acquired a 2014 second-round pick and $1.6MM in cash from the Warriors in exchange for Malcolm Lee and the No. 26 pick in 2013.
  • Acquired Kevin Martin and cash from the Thunder in exchange for Luke Ridnour (sent to Bucks) and the Lakers’ 2014 second-round pick (sent to Bucks). Martin was signed-and-traded for four years, $27.76MM (fourth year is player option).

Draft Picks

  • Shabazz Muhammad (Round 1, 14th overall). Signed via rookie exception.
  • Gorgui Dieng (Round 1, 21st overall). Signed via rookie exception.
  • Lorenzo Brown (Round 2, 52nd overall). Signed a non-guaranteed contract and was subsequently waived.
  • Bojan Dubljevic (Round 2, 59th overall). Playing overseas.

Camp Invitees

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

In late March, it was reported that Wolves fans would be subjected to the Wrath of Kahn for at least one more season.  Owner Glen Taylor was allegedly set to exercise the GM’s option for 2013/14, but there was apparently a change of heart along the way.  Former coach Flip Saunders came back into the picture as the face of an ownership group looking to buy the T’Wolves and when that venture didn’t pan out, Taylor broached him with the idea of taking over the club’s basketball operations.  Saunders took the opportunity in May, ousting one of the less popular GMs in the league and kickstarting a new era in Minnesota.

The biggest storyline of the T’Wolves offseason, once Saunders was installed as President of Basketball Operations, was the future of restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic.  Even though the Wolves had the opportunity to match any offer, there was some concern that Pekovic could be pulled away by a club willing to overpay for a promising center on the right side of 30.  The talks with Pekovic dragged on for quite some time, putting his return into further question, but the Wolves finally shook hands on a five-year, $60MM deal in mid-August that will allow the big man to earn another $8MM through incentives.  The two sides were at something of an impasse, but the compromise made sense.  The Wolves offered a four-year, $48MM contract and wouldn’t go beyond $12MM per season while Pekovic’s camp wanted a five-year agreement.  Pekovic and the T’Wolves met in the middle, agreeing to a five-year deal with an average annual value of $12MM.  That may sound like a lofty number on the outside, but Pekovic offers bruising physical play on the inside and gives the Wolves an edge that most teams lack in today’s NBA.  He’s not Hakeem Olajuwon in the post, but he has shown that he can be a very efficient scorer.  Pekovic gave the Wolves a career-high 16.3 PPG and 8.8 RPG last season and if he can build on that, he’ll be one of the league’s best centers in due time.

While they were busy exchanging emails with Pekovic’s agent, they swung a three-way deal to land a signed-and-traded Kevin Martin from the Thunder.  Martin, a heavy scorer in a thin body, gives point guard Ricky Rubio a deep threat who can keep up in transition.  So far, so good for Martin and the T’Wolves as the 30-year-old has been looking extremely sharp over the first few weeks of the season.  While opposing coaches devise plans to contain Kevin Love, they leave Martin less-than-blanketed on the outside, making the Wolves offense highly potent.  They paid a hefty price for Martin – probably more than we all expected – but the T’Wolves couldn’t afford to shoot 30.5% from beyond the arc again in 2013/14 and expect to continue their season into late April.

The Wolves also wrapped up their other big free agent, Chase Budinger.  Budinger had a number of interested suitors, but he says that his heart was in Minnesota all along.  “It was a fairly easy decision.” Budinger said of re-signing with the Wolves. “I just fit perfectly in Rick Adelman‘s system. He trusts me. I know the coaching staff. I know what they expect of me. Just all in all, I was very comfortable here, and that was the main reason why I came back.”  Now, Minnesota just wants to see the Arizona product back on the hardwood.  Budinger underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee over the offseason, a procedure that still has him sidelined.  The Wolves announced that he’s finally back in the state of Minnesota to continue his rehab, but he has yet to resume basketball activities.

There are only so many shots to go around with this bunch and new bench addition Corey Brewer is a good fit since he won’t be calling for the rock on every play.  Brewer offers a decidedly different skillset from Andrei Kirilenko, but he does help fill a need for this Minnesota team.  If the Wolves had a choice in the matter, they most definitely would have liked AK47 to return on a $3.18MM deal (that’s what he signed for in Brooklyn) rather than give a three-year, $14MM deal to the offensively-deficient Brewer, but that obviously wasn’t in the cards for them.  The only real way to keep Kirilenko probably would have been through his $10MM+ player option and Saunders is probably glad that he got the chance to spend that cash elsewhere.

Joining Brewer on the bench is No. 14 overall pick Shabazz Muhammad, one of the most polarizing players to come out of the 2013 draft.  At one point in time, Muhammad was regarded as the top prospect in the class.  However, Muhammad couldn’t stay out of trouble during his freshman campaign at UCLA and was pretty flat on the hardwood, falling well short of the hype that accompanied him to the Westwood campus.  It certainly didn’t help matters when the Los Angeles Times revealed that he had been shaving a year off of his real age and was actually 20 at the time of the draft, not 19.  Despite the numerous question marks, Saunders decided to roll the dice on a player who many would have estimated to be the No. 1 overall pick this time a year ago.  Saunders & Co. must be real believers – they gave up the No. 9 selection to trade down and snag Muhammad at 14 and Gorgui Dieng at No. 21. Muhammad has yet to see real burn with the T’Wolves early on in the 2013/14 campaign and his best bet for seasoning may be a stint or two in the D-League.

The Wolves spent a ton – about $117MM – to upgrade their roster in an effort to end a nine-year playoff drought.  Frankly, all four of their major signings feel inflated when evaluated on the surface.  However, the Wolves organization desperately needs to turn their fortunes around and we all know that there are more challenges in building a winner in Minnesota than New York or Los Angeles.  While the Wolves will need sharp shooting from Martin and another step or two forward from Pekovic, they need good health more than anything else.  Having Rubio and Love at full-strength can be the difference between a significant playoff run and a tenth-straight trip to the lottery.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Nets, McHale, Felix

November 14th, 2013 at 11:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Shortly after the Nets’ 21-point loss in Sacramento on Wednesday night, Brooklyn GM Billy King had a closed-door meeting with head coach Jason Kidd and Kevin Garnett to presumably discuss (as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News surmises) why almost nothing seems to be going according to plan in Brooklyn right now. In another Nets-related piece, Lenn Robbins of NBA.com writes that the current roster hasn’t shown they deserve a player’s coach like Kidd.

Here’s more of the miscellaneous links to pass along tonight:

  • When asked further about why Omer Asik didn’t play during tonight’s game in New York, Rockets coach Kevin McHale said that Asik told him that he wasn’t feeling well earlier (Sean Deveney of the Sporting News via Twitter). It should be noted that this was Asik’s first DNP-CD of his NBA career.
  • Cavaliers shooting guard Carrick Felix recently returned to the practice floor after being out with a sports hernia, but head coach Mike Brown made it clear that the 23-year-old rookie would find his minutes in the D-League once he’s ready to play (Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal).
  • Zach Harper of CBS Sports details why Andre Iguodala may be the ultimate role player.
  • Although Michael Beasley may be a ways away from being a contributor with consistent playing time on the Heat, NBA.com’s Couper Moorhead tells us how the former second-overall pick continues to work hard and has taken a significant step forward to improve his overall game.
  • Joseph Lombardo, who founded the investment firm Prim Capital (which previously handled the investments and finances of the NBPA), has been charged with fraud, according to the Associated Press. Authorities say that Lombardo used a signature stamp to forge the signature of a deceased general counsel for the NBPA and another employee that awarded Prim Capital a $3MM fee over five years.
  • Nate Duncan of Hoopsworld goes in depth about what to make out of the Timberwolves’ and Pacers’ hot starts this season.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Western Notes: Budinger, Blair, Lakers, Liggins, Eliyahu

November 14th, 2013 at 3:56pm CST by Zachary Links

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports got T’Wolves fans excited today when he passed along news that Chase Budinger will return to Minnesota and has been cleared to resume basketball activity.  However, the T’Wolves seem to be saying (via Twitter) that he may not start practicing right away.  Here’s this afternoon’s look at the Western Conference..

  • Offseason acquisition DeJuan Blair could earn a regular the Mavericks‘ rotation, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.  When Brandan Wright returns from his right shoulder injury, Dallas will be saddled with a wonderful problem: two talented big men off of the bench who are hungry for playing time.
  • Ten games is enough to start evaluating the Lakers, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.  The Kobe Bryant-less Lakers are 4-6, though offseason pickup Wesley Johnson has been among the team’s bright spots.
  • Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside wonders if DeAndre Liggins will be a candidate for D-League MVP this season.  Schlosser believes that the former Thunder guard could rise up as this season’s Andrew Goudelock.
  • Israeli guard Lior Eliyahu, whose NBA draft rights are owned by the T’Wolves, has signed a three-year deal with Hapoel Jerusalem, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.  It’s not clear if the deal includes an NBA out-clause.  Minnesota acquired Eliyahu’s draft rights in the 2012 Chase Budinger trade with Houston.  To keep track of everyone’s whereabouts from around the world, check out the Hoops Rumors International Tracker.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Wizards, Pelicans, Nash

November 12th, 2013 at 11:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis has said he expects his club to be a “playoff-caliber team” this year, but today he backtracked from the notion that the Wizards face an ultimatum of making the postseason, observes Joseph White of The Associated Press.

“Playoffs or bust, what does that mean?” Leonsis said in an interview that also touched on his ownership of the NHL’s Capitals. “Shut the team down if we don’t make the playoffs for the Wizards? We would certainly, if we don’t make the playoffs, for both teams we would do our due diligence in a more hypersensitive manner, right? Because we didn’t meet our expectations. But the team’s not going bust. The fan base isn’t going bust. It would just heighten the scrutiny that we have to do.”

The Wizards, with GM Ernie Grunfeld and coach Randy Wittman on expiring contracts, fell to 2-5 with tonight’s loss to the Mavericks. Here’s more from around the NBA:

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Wolves Make Williams, Shved Available?

November 12th, 2013 at 10:46pm CST by Luke Adams

10:46pm: Wolves president of basketball ops Flip Saunders called Wojnarowski’s report “untrue” and told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune that he’d prefer to wait until the team is at least 20 games into the season to make a major move. Saunders added that the team hasn’t pursued any free agents and that he’ll talk personnel matters with coach Rick Adelman this week before evaluating the roster again next week.

9:46am: The Timberwolves are off to a solid 5-3 start this season, but it sounds as if the team won’t necessarily be content to play out the season with its current roster. League executives tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that both Derrick Williams and Alexey Shved are available in trades that would help the T-Wolves add veteran contributors.

Wojnarowski’s note on the Wolves duo comes within a larger piece on the Knicks, which we covered earlier today. According to the Yahoo! scribe, with Kevin Love eligible for free agency two years from now, the Wolves are “determined to make deals” that would help the club make a deep playoff run this season or next. That could mean trading a talented but inconsistent young player like Williams or Shved for a veteran more capable of helping Minnesota win in the short term.

Williams, the No. 2 overall pick in 2011, has been considered a potential trade candidate for some time, since he has never quite fit in Minnesota. Within his latest piece for Grantland, Zach Lowe notes that other teams have been keeping an eye on Williams “for a while,” sensing an opportunity to buy low on the third-year forward. However, the 22-year-old hasn’t improved his stock much with his subpar play in the Wolves’ first eight contests (5.8 PPG, 8.5 PER).

Shved, 24, had a solid rookie season in Minnesota last year, averaging 8.6 PPG and 3.7 APG. Like Williams though, he has struggled out of the gates this season. If a rival team were to make a run at either player, that suitor would be investing in upside rather than recent performance, meaning the Wolves may not be able to extract as much value as they’d like.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Poll: Should Wolves Trade Derrick Williams Now?

November 12th, 2013 at 7:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

One of the NBA’s most frequently mentioned trade candidates over the past couple of years appears to be on the block again. Team executives from around the league tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that the Timberwolves are making Derrick Williams available in trade talks, as we passed along earlier today.  The Wolves are also shopping Alexey Shved, according to the report, but Williams is the much more intriguing name.

The news comes just two and a half weeks after the Timberwolves committed to Williams through 2014/15, picking up the former No. 2 overall pick’s option for more than $6.3MM next season. That could make Williams either more difficult or easier to trade, depending on how rival clubs view him. Timberwolves president Flip Saunders and GM Milt Newton surely hope they can find a team that still believes in the potential that made Williams such a high draft selection and sees his $6.3MM+ salary next season as a potential bargain. The option pickup also allows Williams to remain on track for restricted free agency, furthering his value to a team that has faith in him.

Conversely, Williams no longer has value as an expiring deal, and teams that feel as though his career lows of 5.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 17.3 minutes this season are more reflective of his worth than his draft status might not be willing to commit for two years. The Timberwolves appear ready to improve their roster now to demonstrate to potential 2015 free agent Kevin Love that they’re serious about winning, but that could be tough to accomplish with Williams off to such a slow start.

There are teams that see Williams as an intriguing buy-low candidate, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. Of course, that would make Williams a “sell-low” proposition for the Wolves, so perhaps now isn’t the right time for a trade. Still, if Williams continues to languish on Minnesota’s bench and gets farther removed from his days as a promising college prospect, his value may only decrease.

Let us know if you think it’s time for the Wolves to pull the trigger on a Williams deal, and elaborate on your thoughts in the comments.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Knicks Rumors: Love, Carmelo, Chris Smith

November 12th, 2013 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks are the latest team to be featured in our Offseason in Review series, with Zach Links recapping the club’s summer moves last night. So far though, New York’s offseason additions haven’t been paying dividends, as the Knicks have struggled out of the gate, losing four of their first six games. They’ll have a chance to climb closer to .500 tomorrow night in Atlanta, in a game James Dolan guaranteed his team would win. As the Knicks prepare for that contest, let’s round up a few interesting tidbits on the club from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports:

  • The Knicks are already looking ahead and planning their strategy for the summer of 2015, when big contracts for Amar’e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, and Andrea Bargnani all come off the books. According to Wojnarowski, the club is eyeing Kevin Love, and has already begun to devise a strategy to lure him to New York when the time comes.
  • Of course, it’s possible Carmelo Anthony will no longer be a Knick by that point. However, the Lakers are considered the most credible threat for Carmelo, and one source rhetorically asks Wojnarowski: “Do you think ‘Melo wants to be known for not winning titles in New York and L.A.?”
  • Referring to the signings of J.R. Smith and younger brother Chris Smith as a package deal, Wojnarowski cites a source who says former GM Glen Grunwald “never wanted” to sign Chris, and that the call came down from above him.
  • Wojnarowski writes that some Knicks coaches don’t believe Chris Smith is a D-League player, let alone an NBA player. One GM called the younger Smith “maybe the worst player in the history of the Summer League,” according to Wojnarowski.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts