Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Fischer’s Latest: Yabusele, Kornet, Lopez, Hornets, Wolves, D. Robinson

June 28th, 2025 at 9:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Spurs weren’t successful in their attempt to trade for Kristaps Porzingis, who was ultimately sent from Boston to Atlanta, but they remain active in their pursuit of another big man, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

Fischer echoes a recent report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that San Antonio is eyeing Guerschon Yabusele. “Multiple well-placed observers” tell Fischer that the Spurs are viewed as the biggest threat to sign Yabusele, but he hears that the Sixers haven’t given up hopes of keeping him. Fischer notes that San Antonio has a powerful recruiting tool in Victor Wembanyama, Yabusele’s teammate on the French Olympic team. Fischer mentions the Bucks as another team that could make a play for Yabusele.

Yabusele outperformed his contract after returning to the NBA on a one-year, minimum-salary deal following last year’s Summer Games. He became a reliable front court anchor during an injury-plagued season for Philadelphia.

Celtics backup center Luke Kornet could be another Spurs target, Fischer adds.

Fischer shares more inside information from around the league:

The Bucks could be losing their starting center, as Brook Lopez returns to free agency after getting strong interest from San Antonio and Houston two years ago. Sources tell Fischer that the Lakers are expected to pursue Lopez to fill their vacancy in the middle, and he adds that even if L.A. winds up with another option such as Clint Capela, there’s a belief that Lopez plans to leave Milwaukee.
Point guards are likely to draw interest on the market beyond teams such as the Kings, Mavericks and Clippers that have obvious needs. Fischer hears that the Hornets are searching for a veteran to back up LaMelo Ball, who has been plagued by injury issues for most of his career and appeared in just 47 games this season. Fischer adds that the Timberwolves are expected to explore trade and free agency options to improve their backcourt, as it appears Nickeil Alexander-Walker is likely to leave in free agency.
The Heat are awaiting Duncan Robinson‘s decision on his early termination option, which is due by Sunday. Robinson is set to make $19.888MM next season, but only $9.9MM of that is guaranteed. If he opts in, Miami will have 48 hours to waive him after the moratorium ends on July 6 to avoid paying the full amount. Fischer points out that Robinson’s name has been mentioned in several trade rumors over the years, including the Heat’s recent pursuit of Kevin Durant.

Pistons, Clippers Eyeing Nickeil Alexander-Walker?

June 28th, 2025 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After the Timberwolves reached a five-year, $125MM contract agreement with big man Naz Reid on Friday, there’s a “growing belief” that they’ll bring back power forward Julius Randle on a new multiyear deal as well, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

That might make Nickeil Alexander-Walker the odd man out in Minnesota, since re-signing the free agent guard to a market-value deal (perhaps in the range of the $14.1MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception) would push the Wolves’ salary well above the second tax apron, unless Randle takes a substantial pay cut.

According to Fischer, with Alexander-Walker’s future in Minnesota seemingly uncertain, the Pistons and Clippers have been continually identified as possible suitors for the veteran free agent guard. The Magic, who were previously identified as a team with potential interest in Alexander-Walker, are still being mentioned too, Fischer says, though their cap situation could complicate their ability to make a viable bid.

As Fischer details, it appears increasingly likely that Sacramento will make an aggressive play in free agency for Pistons free agent guard Dennis Schröder, so Detroit could look elsewhere for backcourt help and Alexander-Walker would make for an appealing target.

The Pistons have a few balls in the air, however. Sources tell Fischer that the club was prepared to make the roster moves necessary to put a competitive offer on the table for Reid before he agreed to re-sign with the Wolves. Detroit remains in the market for a floor-stretching big man, prompting Fischer to wonder if the front office might turn its attention to Santi Aldama, though the Grizzlies‘ power forward will be a restricted free agent.

The Pistons are also expected to work out a new multiyear deal with sharpshooter Malik Beasley, Fischer writes, despite only holding his Non-Bird rights. Given the team’s limited ability to offer a raise with the Non-Bird exception, Detroit would likely have to re-sign Beasley using cap room or its mid-level exception, which would further cut into the team’s spending flexibility.

As for the Clippers, the expectation is that they’ll be in the market for guard depth this summer. In Kris Dunn, L.A. already has one talented defensive stopper in its backcourt, but Alexander-Walker is more of an offensive threat than Dunn, having knocked down 38.6% of his three-point attempts over the past two seasons.

Depending on where a new contract for James Harden comes in, the Clippers should have their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception available this summer.

And-Ones: Achilles Injuries, Draft, Cap Room, Z. Smith

June 27th, 2025 at 8:55pm CST by Eli Cohen

NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the league is looking into the upswing in Achilles tendon injuries, writes Tim Reynolds Of The Associated Press.

This season alone saw Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers), James Wiseman (Pacers), Isaiah Jackson (Pacers), Dejounte Murray (Pelicans), Dru Smith (Heat), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), and Damian Lillard (Bucks) suffers Achilles tears. Nuggets 2024 first-rounder DaRon Holmes also tore his Achilles during Summer League last July.

“We had already convened a panel of experts before Tyrese’s most recent Achilles rupture,” Silver said. “We had seven this year. We had zero last year under the exact same circumstances. The most we’ve ever had in a season is four.”

Some of the factors Silver is considering are how young players and NBA players train in the offseason. He also says the league is employing artificial intelligence to help with this inquiry.

“I’m hopeful that by looking at more data, by looking at patterns, this is one area where A.I. — people are talking about how that’s going to transform so many areas — the ability with A.I. to ingest all video of every game a player’s played in to see if you can detect some pattern that we didn’t realize that leads to an Achilles injury,” he said.

We have more news from around the league:

After trading down from No. 31 on Thursday, Timberwolves president Tim Connelly suggested during a post-draft media session that a number of prospects seemed to have their slots locked in before the second round began. “It was really curious how agent-driven the second round became,” Connelly said, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (via Twitter). “We called players left and right, and there was 20 deals done before the draft started.” The extra day in between the first round and the beginning of the second round seems to have impacted the way agents have maneuvered their clients to the spots they prefer in the second round.
With the 2025 draft in the rear-view mirror, the offseason financial picture is clearer, writes Keith Smith for Spotrac. The Nets remain the only team with cap space, though the Pistons could still choose to be a room team as well. He adds to keep an eye out for the Grizzlies attempting to dump one or two more players to free up the cap space to renegotiate and extend Jaren Jackson Jr.‘s contract, then runs through the cap situations for the other 27 teams too.
Former Sixers guard Zhaire Smith will be working out for teams in Las Vegas on July 11, reports Marc J. Spears for Andscape (via Twitter). Smith’s career got derailed early on due to a broken foot, followed by a life-threatening allergic reaction to sesame that left him forced to use a feeding tube. He has since been trying to get back to the league, including playing 14 games last season with the Mavericks’ G League team, the Texas Legends — he averaged 20.9 points and over a block per game.

Timberwolves, Naz Reid Agree To Five-Year Deal

June 27th, 2025 at 7:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves and Naz Reid are in agreement on a new contract, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports that the reserve forward/center intends to sign a five-year, $125MM contract to remain in Minnesota.

Reid held a player option worth approximately $15MM for the 2025/26 season, but will turn down that option in advance of Sunday’s deadline in order to finalize his new deal with the Wolves in July. According to Charania, the new contract will also feature a player option on the final year.

After winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award in 2023/24, Reid had another strong showing for the Timberwolves in ’24/25, matching or exceeding his stats from the previous season in several key categories. The 25-year-old averaged 14.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 27.5 minutes per game across 80 outings (17 starts).

Reid has knocked down 39.5% of 5.4 three-point attempts per game over the past two seasons, making him a valuable floor-spacer in Minnesota’s frontcourt alongside center Rudy Gobert. Lineups featuring Reid and Gobert outscored opponents by 11.8 points per 100 possessions last season, the best mark of any of the team’s 25 most frequently used duos.

According to Charania, there was a “vibrant market developing” in free agency for Reid, with teams prepared to offer similar money and potentially a starting role. While Brooklyn is the only club currently projected to have enough cap room to have offered Reid a starting salary in the range of $20-25MM, there are other clubs that probably had the ability to get there.

The Pistons, for instance, were known to be interested in adding a stretch big man, and were cited as a team with interest in Reid. Detroit has the ability to create roughly $17MM in cap room and could have attempted to move off one more contract to create additional spending flexibility.

But the Timberwolves spoke both publicly and privately since their season ended about their desire to retain Reid, and showed with their five-year offer that they were serious about holding off rival suitors.

The next orders of business for the Wolves will be figuring out what happens with starting power forward Julius Randle and guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Randle holds a $30.9MM player option that he must decide on by Sunday, while Alexander-Walker will be an unrestricted free agent.

Although Minnesota has expressed a desire to keep all three players, retaining both Randle and Alexander-Walker would almost certainly push team salary well over the second tax apron for a second straight year, as cap expert Yossi Gozlan outlines (via Twitter). That may not appeal to the front office (or team ownership).

There has been some skepticism about the Wolves’ ability to keep all three players, with Alexander-Walker viewed as the most likely odd man out. Accounting for Randle’s option and no new deal for Alexander-Walker, the Wolves currently project to operate just below the second apron, tweets ESPN Bobby Marks.

Las Vegas Summer League Schedule Set

June 27th, 2025 at 12:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA has announced the schedule for the annual Las Vegas Summer League, which will run from July 10-20. All 76 games will be televised either on one of ESPN’s platforms or on NBA TV, the league stated in a press release.

New Orleans and Minnesota will tip things off with a game starting at 2:30 p.m. CT July 10. The Pelicans have a pair of lottery picks in point guard Jeremiah Fears and big man Derik Queen, while the Timberwolves will feature French center Joan Beringer.

The main attraction in Las Vegas will be No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, who will make his debut when the Mavericks face the Lakers at 7 p.m. CT July 10. According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), Flagg is expected to play in Dallas’ first two games, which will include a matchup with No. 2 selection Dylan Harper and the Spurs at 3 p.m. CT July 12.

“I want to put him at point guard,” coach Jason Kidd said. “… I’m excited to give him the ball against the Lakers and see what happens.”

All 30 teams will participate in the Las Vegas tournament, which has become the NBA’s premier summer showcase, both for on-court action and off-court meetings. Established players, agents and team executives gather in the city, and deals often get done during the event.

After each team plays four times, the top four will advance to the playoffs, while the others will be given one more game. ESPN will televise the semifinal doubleheader at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. CT July 19, along with the championship game at 9 p.m. CT July 20.

Lakers To Acquire No. 36 Pick Adou Thiero

June 26th, 2025 at 7:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Lakers have agreed to acquire the No. 36 overall pick in the draft from Minnesota and used it to select Arkansas forward Adou Thiero, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 36th pick has changed hands in multiple deals that aren’t yet official, from the Nets to the Suns to the Timberwolves and now to the Lakers. Minnesota is moving down to No. 45 as part of this deal and acquiring cash from the Lakers as well, according to Charania (Twitter link).

Los Angeles has been rocketing up the second round since the start of the day. The Lakers first traded the No. 55 selection and cash considerations to the Bulls in exchange for the No. 45 pick, which now is being rerouted to the Timberwolves.

After the Lakers sent out cash to Chicago in that initial exchange, L.A. became hard-capped at the NBA’s second luxury tax apron.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst mentioned during the network’s second round broadcast that Los Angeles had serious interest in moving up to select Thiero specifically. The Lakers did not have their own first-round pick this season.

The 6’6″ swingman enjoyed a breakout junior year at Arkansas. He had transferred there for the 2024/25 season, following a modest role at Kentucky from 2022-24. In his 27 contests with the Razorbacks last season, Thiero averaged 15.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.6 SPG and 0.7 BPG.

Suns To Acquire No. 31 Pick Rasheer Fleming From Timberwolves

June 26th, 2025 at 7:20pm CST by Luke Adams

7:20 pm: Fleming has officially been drafted at No. 31, using the pick the Suns agreed to acquire from Minnesota. Charania reported on ESPN’s draft broadcast (Twitter video link) that the Celtics were believed to be eyeing Fleming at No. 32, so Phoenix moved ahead of Boston in order to be able to select him.

6:01 pm: The Suns have reached their third trade agreement of the day, having struck a deal with the Timberwolves for the No. 31 overall pick, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Charania, in exchange for the first pick of the second round, Minnesota will receive No. 36 and a pair of future second-rounders from Phoenix. Those future second-rounders are the least favorable of the Nuggets’ and Warriors’ 2026 picks and the most favorable of the Suns’ and Rockets’ 2032 picks, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Saint Joseph’s forward Rasheer Fleming is the top target for the Suns at No. 31, Charania adds (via Twitter). Fleming is coming off an impressive junior season in which he averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in 35 appearances (31.1 minutes). He posted a shooting slash line of .531/.390/.743 for the Hawks.

According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), Fleming was a top-20 prospect on the Suns’ board entering the draft.

Phoenix came into the day with the 52nd and 59th overall picks in the second round, but was clearly intent on moving up. The Suns initially agreed to acquire No. 36 from Brooklyn for two future second-rounders before trading up from there to No. 31. The club also made a separate deal with the Warriors, sending Golden State No. 52 and No. 59 in exchange for No. 41.

For now then, the Suns appear poised to use the 31st overall pick on Fleming, then would be on the board 10 picks later at No. 41 — if they haven’t traded it before then.

None of these deals will be made official yet, since they involve picks the Suns are acquiring from Kevin Durant trade, which can’t be formally completed until July for salary-cap reasons.

Lakers Trade 55th Pick, Cash To Bulls For 45th Pick

June 26th, 2025 at 11:26am CST by Rory Maher

June 30: The trade is now official, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, who tweets that the Bulls received $2.5MM in cash in the deal, along with the draft rights to No. 55 pick Lachlan Olbrich, in exchange for the rights to No. 45 pick Rocco Zikarsky.

The Lakers subsequently traded up again – using the No. 45 pick and cash – to No. 36, but that trade won’t become official until after the July moratorium.

June 26: The Lakers are trading the 55th pick of the 2025 draft and cash to the Bulls for tonight’s 45th selection, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).

As Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets, the Lakers will now be hard-capped at the second tax apron for the 2025/26 season because they are sending out cash in the deal.

Bulls general manager Marc Eversley said during a Wednesday night press conference that Chicago was open to moving the No. 45 pick, either to move out of the second round or to select a draft-and-stash prospect. In this case the Bulls moved back 10 spots and added cash in the process.

Los Angeles is clearly targeting a player it likes and thinks will be available at No. 45 but may not have been at No. 55. In the past, sending out cash to move up in the draft wasn’t a big deal, but changes in the new CBA mean the Lakers will be unable to surpass the second apron — projected at $207.8MM — for next season.

Although they’ll lose a little bit of roster flexibility as a result of the trade, the Lakers were unlikely to exceed the second apron in ’25/26 anyway, notes Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron (Twitter link).

According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), the Hornets (either No. 33 or No. 34), Raptors (No. 39), Warriors (No. 41) and Thunder (No. 44) are also open to trading their second-round picks. ESPN identified Charlotte this morning as a team to monitor with one of its early second-rounders.

The Timberwolves (No. 31) are also fielding trade inquiries on the first pick of the second round, sources tell Fischer (Twitter link).

Joan Beringer Had A Private Workout With The Timberwolves Over The Weekend

June 26th, 2025 at 10:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Timberwolves general manger Matt Lloyd told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic that several team officials flew to Chicago over the weekend for a private workout with Joan Beringer. After talking to the French center and seeing him in action, the group was convinced that he was perfect for the franchise if he remained on the board at No. 17. “Joan is one of those rare cases where the best player available also had a fit,” Lloyd said. “And we were sweating it. … It was a long night of waiting.”

Draft Notes: Second-Round Mocks, Round-One Winners, Trades

June 26th, 2025 at 7:32am CST by Luke Adams

With round one of the 2025 NBA draft in the books, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo look ahead to what to expect on day two on Thursday, sharing an updated 29-pick mock draft covering the second round.

ESPN’s duo is projecting the Timberwolves to kick off the evening by nabbing Saint Joseph’s forward Rasheer Fleming at No. 31, with Stanford big man Maxime Raynaud going to the Celtics at No. 32, and the Hornets drafting Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner and French forward Noah Penda with their picks at No. 33 and No. 34.

Still, Givony and Woo acknowledge that we’ll likely see plenty of draft-pick movement on Thursday, potentially involving one or more of those first few selections — Givony singles out the Hornets as a team to watch, noting that the club already added a pair of rookies on Wednesday (Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley) and may not want to add two more to their roster at the start of the second round.

Addressing their favorite under-the-radar prospects to keep an eye on during the second round, Givony mentions Penda as an ideal draft-and-stash target for a playoff team drafting in the 30s, though the 20-year-old would likely prefer to come stateside right away. Woo, meanwhile, suggests Florida State wing Jamir Watkins could be a perfect win-now fit for a team in the 30s. ESPN’s mock has him going to the Pacers at No. 38.

Here’s more on the 2025 draft as we prepare for Thursday evening’s second round:

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has also shared an updated mock draft for the second round that starts with Fleming to Minnesota and Raynaud to Boston. Vecenie has the Hornets nabbing Sion James and Kalkbrenner, with Penda going to the Nets at No. 36 and Watkins sliding to the Cavaliers at No. 49.
A panel of ESPN experts, including Givony and Woo, breaks down the biggest winners, most surprising moves, and best picks from day one of the draft. ESPN’s experts liked the Suns taking Khaman Maluach at No. 10, the Spurs getting Carter Bryant at No. 14, and the Heat nabbing Kasparas Jakucionis at No. 20, but questioned the Pelicans‘ decision to give up a valuable unprotected 2026 first-round pick to move up 10 spots to take Derik Queen at No. 13.
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports isn’t as high on the Jakucionis pick for the Heat, giving them a D+, his lowest grade for any of the top 30 picks. The Grizzlies, conversely, earned an A++ grade from O’Connor for moving up to snag Washington State’s Cedric Coward at No. 11.
The price paid by teams like the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Jazz to move up a few spots outside of the top 10 on Wednesday was awfully high, observes John Hollinger of The Athletic. New Orleans and Memphis gave up unprotected future first-round picks to move up 10 and five spots, respectively, with the Grizzlies also surrendering two future second-rounders. The 2026 first-rounder sent from New Orleans to the Hawks is considered a “superfirst” because it’ll be the most favorable of New Orleans’ and Milwaukee’s picks — it’s very possible one of those picks will end up being a pretty high one, Hollinger notes. Utah, meanwhile, didn’t give up a future first, but had to part with three second-round picks to move up just three spots from No. 21 to No. 18.