Timberwolves Sign Alexey Shved

JULY 25TH: The Timberwolves have officially signed Shved, the team announced today (Twitter link).

JULY 23RD: Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press passes along an interview conducted by Russia's R-Sport, in which the terms of Shved's deal with the Timberwolves are said to be three years and $10MM. That was reported to be Shved's asking price back in May.

While the Timberwolves have yet to officially finalize the signing, CSKA Moscow formally announced Shved's departure for the NBA earlier today.

JULY 10TH: The Timberwolves have reached an agreement to sign Russian guard Alexey Shved, according to an Associated Press report (via the Washington Post). Sports.ru first reported earlier today that Shved had left CSKA Moscow to sign a deal with the T-Wolves (Twitter link).

For the T-Wolves, it's yet another salary commitment in a July that has been full of them so far. When I examined the contract agreements the team has made with Brandon Roy and Nicolas Batum, I noted that there must be at least one or two more moves coming to clear the necessary cap space. With Shved heading to Minnesota as well, the club will need even more flexibility. As John Hollinger of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter), the Wolves must be "pretty confident in something," whether it's the Blazers matching on Batum, a separate trade or two, or something else.

Shved, 23, reportedly drew interest this offseason from the Wolves, Cavs, and Grizzlies, among other teams. The 6'5" guard went undrafted in 2010 and has played for CSKA Moscow since then. In 21 Euroleague games this season, he averaged 10.6 points in 21.6 minutes per game and shot 49.3% on three-pointers, according to DraftExpress.