Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Notes: Afflalo, No. 1 Pick, Trades

September 9th, 2020 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

A month-and-a-half after we first learned that former NBA player Arron Afflalo was part of an investment group exploring a bid for the Timberwolves, Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic report that Afflalo’s group has now engaged in talks with the Raine Group (the search firm working with team owner Glen Taylor) about buying the franchise.

According to The Athletic’s duo, the group – which includes entrepreneur Jay Bloom – hasn’t yet met with Taylor for advanced discussions, but is hopeful of getting to that point.

Although Afflalo didn’t spend time with the Timberwolves as a player, he’s close with the Saunders family, according to Charania and Krawczynski, who note that the late Flip Saunders was Afflalo’s first coach in the NBA. The former guard has strong relationships with current Wolves coach Ryan Saunders and president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, per The Athletic.

Taylor, who wants a commitment from any buyer to keep the franchise in Minnesota, has sought local buyers, but hasn’t had any success on that front so far, Charania and Krawczynski report. Still, Afflalo’s group doesn’t sound like it has any interest in relocating the Wolves. If the group buys the team, there “would be a desire to become pillars in the Twin Cities community,” according to The Athletic.

Here’s more on the Wolves:

While the Timberwolves will explore what the No. 1 overall pick can get them in a trade, the idea that the selection will net them an established star such as Devin Booker or Ben Simmons is probably unrealistic, says Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Pointing out that this year’s top pick isn’t as valuable as a typical No. 1 overall selection given the lack of a clear-cut No. 1 prospect, Hine suggests that players such as Victor Oladipo, Caris LeVert, and Aaron Gordon may be more viable targets in any major deal.
Timberwolves executive VP of basketball operations Sachin Gupta, who created ESPN’s Trade Machine, said there will be “no stone unturned” when it comes to exploring the Wolves’ draft and trade options this offseason, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic details. “If you’re not being proactive in trade you’re missing out on one of the most significant ways to impact your roster,” Gupta said. “We are not bashful at all. We try to be creative and generate ideas. We’re not afraid to throw it out there.”
Gupta added that the Timberwolves aren’t focusing on any specific objective as they consider trade options, but are simply looking to maximize the value of their assets. “We’ve been having a lot of fun just thinking of all of the different possibilities that getting the No. 1 pick has presented us,” Gupta said. “Trading back, trading out, trading for future with the quality of the upcoming drafts and the possibility of, at some point, the double draft. There’s just so much available to us.”
In case you missed it, Gupta was identified on Tuesday as one of several candidates for the Kings’ head of basketball operations job.

Pacers Identify 14 Head Coaching Candidates

September 9th, 2020 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers are set to begin a wide-ranging search for a head coach that will include more than a dozen candidates, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. As Wojnarowski details, Indiana is looking to interview the following candidates as the team seeks a replacement for Nate McMillan:

Former Kings and Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger
Timberwolves associate head coach David Vanterpool
Nets associate head coach Jacque Vaughn
Trail Blazers associate head coach Nate Tibbetts
Spurs assistants Becky Hammon and Will Hardy
Heat assistants Dan Craig and Chris Quinn
Mavericks assistants Jamahl Mosley and Stephen Silas
Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee
Sixers assistant Ime Udoka
Magic assistant Pat Delany

It remains to be seen whether the Pacers will be granted permission to speak with all of their potential targets. If they do, the team’s first round of virtual meetings would feature at least 14 interviews.

Many of the Pacers’ coaching candidates identified by Wojnarowski have been linked to other vacancies around the league. Vanterpool, Craig, Mosley, Silas, Ham, and Udoka, for example, are all believed to be interviewing for the Bulls’ job. Udoka and Ham have also been mentioned as potential 76ers candidates, as has Joerger. Vaughn was seriously considered for the Nets job before the team hired Steve Nash, while Hardy and Delany interviewed with the Knicks before they hired Tom Thibodeau.

Others on Indiana’s list, such as Tibbetts and Hammon, have interviewed in past years for various NBA head coaching openings. Only a couple candidates – Quinn and Lee – haven’t received head coaching consideration in the past, as far as I can tell. Meanwhile, Joerger and Vaughn are the only names on the list with previous head coaching experience.

Mike D’Antoni has also been mentioned as a potential target for the Pacers, but he remains active in the postseason with the Rockets and there’s no guarantee he’ll leave Houston when his contract expires.

Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has spoken about wanting to hire a head coach who takes a “modern approach” to the game and has the ability to connect with younger players. McMillan’s old-school approach to offense was believed to be one reason why Indiana made a change.

Kings Set To Begin Interviews In GM Search

September 8th, 2020 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Having parted ways with longtime general manager Vlade Divac last month, the Kings have now formally launched their search for a new head of basketball operations, according to Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic. Sources tell The Athletic duo that Sacramento is expected to begin interviews as soon as this week.

The Kings have requested permission to speak to Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth, Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon, Timberwolves executive VP Sachin Gupta, Heat assistant GM Adam Simon, and Rockets assistant GM Monte McNair, according to Charania and Amick, who report that the club will also talk to former Hawks GM Wes Wilcox.

It’s not clear if all those teams have granted Sacramento permission to talk to their executives, but none of the candidates identified by The Athletic are heads of basketball operations for their current clubs. If the Kings truly offering decision-making power in their front office, that would represent a promotion for everyone on their list, so I wouldn’t expect any teams to stand in the way.

As we noted on Monday when we previewed the Kings’ offseason, the organization’s plan for its front office has been a little hard to follow. Multiple reports suggested that Divac’s ouster occurred as a result of team owner Vivek Ranadive asking him to surrender control of basketball decisions to Dumars, and Dumars has since been named Sacramento’s interim executive VP of basketball operations.

However, a subsequent report suggested that Dumars won’t be a candidate for the Kings’ permanent general manager job. That report indicated that Dumars would be involved in the hiring process and would interview candidates along with Ranadive. However, it sounds like the plan is for the newly-hired GM to gain full control of roster moves and report directly to Ranadive.

At the time of Divac’s dismissal, there were reports that the Kings’ search for a new GM could take a while, perhaps extending beyond the draft and free agency and into next season. With interviews set to begin soon, perhaps the franchise has decided to accelerate the process.

The Kings have some major roster decisions to make this offseason, including potentially re-signing Bogdan Bogdanovic, extending De’Aaron Fox, making a lottery pick, and considering the possibility of trading Buddy Hield. Any GM candidate seriously considering taking the reins in Sacramento’s front office would likely want to have a voice in those decisions and may also seek clarity on Dumars’ role going forward.

Jimmy Haslam Purchasing Wolves Would Be Redundant

September 6th, 2020 at 6:45pm CST by JD Shaw

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam purchasing the Timberwolves would be redundant, Zach Harper of The Athletic opines. A recent report from Sportico indicated that Haslam was considering an offer for the Wolves, a team that’s attracted multiple interested bidders to date.

Rosas Keeping Open Mind With Top Pick

September 4th, 2020 at 7:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves will stay open-minded as they mull what to do with the No. 1 overall pick, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. President of basketball operations Gersson Rosas says all options are on the table, since there’s no surefire star in this year’s draft class. “We’re going to do incredible due diligence, whether it’s a point guard, whether it’s a big,” he said. “I’m 100 percent in the camp of ‘find the best player with the best upside.’ That’s the path we’re going to take.”

Latest Rumors On Wolves' Plans At No. 1

September 3rd, 2020 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Most league insiders expect the Timberwolves to draft Anthony Edwards first overall, according to Bontemps. However, in Sam Vecenie’s latest mock draft for The Athletic, he has changed the Wolves’ pick from Edwards to LaMelo Ball, operating under the belief that Gersson Rosas would favor Ball’s potential star power. Both Bontemps and Vecenie note that Minnesota seems like a good bet to gauge the value of the pick on the trade market. Vecenie points out that the Wolves could also draft a player and consider moving him down the road if he doesn’t fit in well with Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell.

Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam Exploring Bid For Timberwolves

September 3rd, 2020 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

Jimmy Haslam, the owner of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, is the latest potential buyer to explore a bid for the Timberwolves, according to Scott Soshnick of Sportico.

When we last checked in on the possibility of a Timberwolves sale, former Grizzlies minority shareholder Daniel Straus was said to be in advanced discussions about a potential purchase. However, while The Straus Group did enter into exclusive talks to buy the Wolves, no agreement was reached by the time that window expired, according to Soshnick.

That doesn’t mean that Straus is out of the mix as a potential buyer — Soshnick hears that he remains in talks to potentially purchase the franchise. However, it does open the door for other bidders, such as Haslam, to enter the picture.

Haslam is the CEO of truck stop company Pilot Flying J. Multiple top executives of the company committed multi-million dollar fraud and were sentenced to jail time, but Haslam wasn’t charged as a result of that investigation and has denied any wrongdoing, Soshnick notes. Forbes estimates that the Browns owner is worth about $2.9 billion.

Haslam’s résumé as an NFL team owner likely won’t inspire much enthusiasm among Timberwolves fans — in seven full seasons since he assumed control of the Browns, the team has an overall record of 28-83-1, with no winning seasons and an 0-16 campaign (in 2017).

At least one previous report has indicated that current Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is seeking an amount in the $1.2 billion range for the franchise. His WNBA club, the Minnesota Lynx, is expected to be part of any sale as well.

Rosas Expected To Explore All Options With No. 1 Pick

September 1st, 2020 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Within a deep dive into the Timberwolves‘ draft decisions and offseason plans, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic says sources around the NBA expect president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas to “work the phones” to gauge the value of the No. 1 pick on the trade market. As Vecenie explains, that doesn’t mean the Wolves will move the pick, but the expectation is that Rosas doesn’t have a set timeline in mind for the club’s rebuild and will look to get as much value as possible out of the selection, whether that means trading it or selecting a player.

Bulls Begin Interviewing Head Coaching Candidates

September 1st, 2020 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls‘ search for a new head coach is underway, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that the team has received permission to speak to a number of candidates and has begun conducting interviews.

Several candidates identified by Wojnarowski have been previously reported as potential targets for Chicago. That group includes former Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, Sixers assistant Ime Udoka, Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr., Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Mavericks assistant Stephen Silas, and Timberwolves associate head coach David Vanterpool.

In addition to those candidates, Wojnarowski reports that the Bulls have also been granted permission to talk to Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley and Heat assistant Dan Craig.

Finally, current Bulls assistants Chris Fleming and Roy Rogers – holdovers from Jim Boylen‘s staff who remain under contract – may receive consideration for the top job, according to Wojnarowski. K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago indicates that Fleming could have a role on the new staff if he isn’t promoted, since he has previously worked with Bulls executive VP Arturas Karnisovas in Denver and there’s a “trust factor” between the two men.

Following Boylen’s dismissal, Karnisovas suggested that Chicago is seeking a head coach who “puts the relationship with players first” and is “a good communicator.” The Bulls, who appear to be conducting a wide-ranging search, could be competing with the Pacers, Sixers, Nets, and Pelicans for certain candidates, since all of those clubs are also in the market for new head coaches.

While Karnisovas has said there’s no set timeline for finalizing a new hire, it will be interesting to see whether Chicago tries to have a new head coach in place for its organized offseason team activities, which are scheduled to take place from September 14 to October 6.

Community Shootaround: Timberwolves’ Pick

August 28th, 2020 at 8:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It’s been an emotional and gut-wrenching week in the NBA. That makes the draft lottery seem like a distant memory but in fact that annual event was conducted a little over a week ago.

The Timberwolves snared the top prize, though there’s no consensus on which player should go off the board first.

As we noted this week, Georgia freshman shooting guard Anthony Edwards would seem like a natural fit alongside D’Angelo Russell. He’s got the ability to be a prolific scorer and defender.

However, it’s not out of the question that the Timberwolves could go with point guard LaMelo Ball. The Thunder successfully juggled three point guards in their backcourt this season and the team they’re facing, the Rockets, has two ball-dominant guards in James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

Big man James Wiseman, who had a brief and controversial stint at Memphis, is generally considered the best big man on the board. Naturally, the Timberwolves’ best player is Karl-Anthony Towns and big man duos are increasingly being phased out in favor of small ball. Wiseman, though, might be too talented to pass up.

Minnesota could try to move down if another lottery team covets a certain player but that scenario seems less likely than in previous years. The Timberwolves could get bold and take a wild card such as Israeli forward Deni Avdija or Dayton’s Obi Toppin. Those reaches rarely pan out, with the 2013 draft a prime example (Anthony Bennett).

That brings us to our question of the day: If the Timberwolves hold onto the No. 1 pick, should they take Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball or James Wiseman? Or is there another prospect that should leapfrog that trio?

Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.