Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Notes: Presti, Paxson, Boylen, Markkanen

March 5th, 2020 at 11:04am CST by Arthur Hill

Sam Presti has been mentioned as a possible target in the Bulls‘ front office shakeup, but K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago doesn’t believe the organization is willing to spend heavily on a new executive. He estimates it would take an offer in the neighborhood of $10MM a year to get the attention of Presti, the current president of basketball operations for the Thunder.

Johnson adds that Bulls president Michael Reinsdorf is exploring multiple options, which likely include both Presti and Raptors executive Masai Ujiri. Toronto isn’t expected to let Ujiri leave while he still has a year left on his contract, but because Presti is a close friend with Oklahoma City owner Clay Bennett, the feeling around the league is that Bennett wouldn’t stand in his way if he wanted to leave the organization. Even so, Johnson expects the Bulls to make several hires for the new front office, rather than investing so much in a single executive.

Johnson believes John Paxson will accept whatever role ownership wants him to and speculates that Paxson is actually behind the management restructuring plan. The Bulls also intend to revamp their scouting department, which Paxson originally proposed.

There’s more from Chicago:

Front office candidates will likely be asked to keep an open mind about the future of coach Jim Boylen, Johnson relays in the same piece. Boylen received a contract extension after last season and has kept the support of management despite a poor win-loss record. He recently objected to senior advisor Doug Collins’ presence at coaches meetings, Johnson adds, so Collins’ role in that area has been reduced.
Lauri Markkanen played nearly 21 minutes last night after being sidelined since January 21 with a stress reaction in his pelvis, Johnson writes in a separate story. Markkanen posted 13 points and four rebounds and believes he’s ready for more time once he’s cleared by the medical staff. “I thought he tried. I thought he was active. I thought he was moving pretty good. I thought he showed his whole game — inside, outside,” Boylen said. “… He showed his full game in the minutes he played. I think it was a good first showing for him.”
Last night’s game between the Bulls and Timberwolves matches two franchises that are currently linked by bad decisions, states Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Those include the shared choices to get rid of Jimmy Butler and coach Tom Thibodeau.

Latest On Evan Turner, Wolves

March 3rd, 2020 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves and Evan Turner “came close” to reaching a buyout agreement by Sunday night, but couldn’t finalize a deal, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North. According to Wolfson, Turner would still like to play this season, but that seems unlikely to happen with the Wolves, who are prioritizing the players they expect to be longer-term pieces.

Allen Crabbe Buyout Details

March 2nd, 2020 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Allen Crabbe surrendered $681,544 in his buyout agreement with the Timberwolves, according to reports from Dane Moore of ZoneCoverage.com and Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights (Twitter links). That’s more than the veteran wing would earn if he signs a rest-of-season deal with a new team after clearing waivers, but it wasn’t quite enough to get Minnesota below the luxury-tax threshold, as Moore and Siegel note.

If the Timberwolves are dead-set on getting out of tax territory, buying out Evan Turner remains a possible path, but it appears less likely now that he would no longer retain his playoff eligibility if he’s released.

The Timberwolves’ other option for sneaking below the tax line would be to cut a little-used player who is likely to be claimed on waivers, like Miami did at the end of last season with Rodney McGruder. That’s a risky alternative though, since any player valuable enough to be claimed on waivers probably isn’t someone Minnesota wants to lose.

Rosas Says Wolves Not Tanking; Johnson Emerges As Leader

March 1st, 2020 at 10:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves were hit with a $25K fine by the NBA on Thursday for violating the league’s resting policy when they sat D’Angelo Russell a week ago despite D-Lo being considered a healthy player. Following that decision, the Wolves faced accusations of tanking, but president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas insists that’s not the case, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes.

“I wouldn’t say it gets under my skin, but it’s just disappointing when you don’t have all the facts,” Rosas said of claims that the Timberwolves are tanking. “The reality is if individuals knew what was going on behind the scenes, how hard our coaches are working, our players are working — that’s the disappointing part because I think it’s disrespectful to them and what they’re putting in.

“… The side effects (of the Timberwolves’ midseason roster overhaul) unfortunately for Coach (Ryan Saunders) and his staff is you have nine players from three different programs, three different philosophies that are coming here and learning on the fly what we’re trying to do,” Rosas continued. “When you’re playing good teams like we’re playing, you get exposed. That’s the stage we’re at. But to say we’re not focused day in, day out on winning? That’s false and inaccurate.”

While he was hardly the biggest name of the players acquired by the Timberwolves at the deadline, James Johnson has quickly emerged as a team leader in Minnesota, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “If James told me to jump off a cliff I would do it yesterday,” Josh Okogie said of his new teammate. “He’s been great for us, and we’ve been following his lead.”

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/29/20

February 29th, 2020 at 8:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Thunder assigned Deonte Burton and Isaiah Roby to Oklahoma City Blue, the team announced in a press release. Burton is averaging 15.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 10 G League games, while Roby is putting up 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 12 games.
The Timberwolves assigned Jarred Vanderbilt and Jacob Evans to their Iowa affiliate, according to the G League transactions log.

Wolves Reach Buyout Deal With Allen Crabbe

February 29th, 2020 at 4:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves placed shooting guard Allen Crabbe on waivers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Crabbe agreed to a buyout with the team, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Wolves confirmed the move in a press release.

Crabbe spent about six weeks in Minnesota after being acquired from the Hawks in a January 16 deal. He appeared in nine games, averaging 3.2 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 14.6 minutes per night. Because he was waived before tomorrow’s deadline, he will be eligible for the playoffs if another team picks him up.

Crabbe had been away from the team for several games because of personal reasons, so a buyout wasn’t surprising, notes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The move may be enough to get the Wolves under the luxury tax, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Minnesota was $894K above the tax line before parting with Crabbe. He was still owed about $4.6MM on his $18.5MM contract, while the prorated minimum on a replacement would fall at $516K. The amount Crabbe agreed to give back in the buyout hasn’t been reported.

The Wolves now have a roster opening that they can fill or keep for the rest of the season.

Pelton: Wolves Hold Most Valuable Combo Of 2020 First-Rounders

February 27th, 2020 at 1:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have the most valuable combination of first-round picks for the 2020 draft, according to research by ESPN’s Kevin Pelton (Insider link). Besides their own lottery pick, the Wolves will have Brooklyn’s first-rounder, which will almost certainly fall in the 15-17 range.

The Timberwolves have the most valuable combination of first-round picks for the 2020 draft, according to research by ESPN’s Kevin Pelton (Insider link). Besides their own lottery pick, the Wolves will have Brooklyn’s first-rounder, which will almost certainly fall in the 15-17 range.
D’Angelo Russell had his first great game since joining the Timberwolves on Wednesday night, showing why the team pursued him so aggressively for so long, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Latest On Evan Turner, Wolves Buyout Talks

February 25th, 2020 at 10:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Evan Turner is still weighing the idea of a buyout, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. The wing was reportedly in buyout talks with the Timberwolves earlier this month but it has been quiet on that front until now.

Turner, who was scheduled to work out for the Clippers earlier this month, would be open to a reunion with the Celtics, Deveney hears. The former No. 2 overall pick spent two seasons in Boston, starting in 163 games for the club.

The Hawks traded for Turner during the offseason, hoping to use him as a backup point guard to starter Trae Young. That didn’t exactly work out and the team shipped him to Minnesota in its deal for Clint Capela.

The 31-year-old Chicago native has played for five teams in his career, as he has suited up for the Sixers, Pacers, and Blazers in addition to the Celtics and Hawks.

Timberwolves Going Through Adjustment Period With New Faces

February 25th, 2020 at 8:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Timberwolves have many new parts after a busy trade deadline, bringing in Malik Beasley and D’Angelo Russell, among other pieces. The core of the team looks more promising after the roster acquisitions, though there have been some issues with the players getting used to one another.

“They’ve got to be loud, and it’s uncomfortable,” head coach Ryan Saunders said, as Chris Hine of the Star Tribune relays. “But that’s our biggest thing we have to improve upon at the moment.”

The team isn’t bickering nor are there any sort of chemistry issues — this is not the drama of a year ago. The squad simply doesn’t know each other well and the communication on the court has been off, something evident by Minnesota’s 139-123 loss to the Mavs on Monday.

“That’s what great teams do,” guard Josh Okogie said of learning to communicate better. “And if we want to be a great team, we’re going to have to go through that, being able to hold everybody accountable. I think we do a great job of that on the court. When somebody messes up, we address the issue and then it’s dead after that. We all like each other, so we all know it’s coming from a good place.”

Russell, who came to the team in exchange for Andrew Wiggins and a pair of draft picks, has dealt with various injuries this season and the team is being very cautious with the former No. 2 overall pick. The guard being in and out of the lineup has definitely contributed to the team not meshing. Yet, the franchise’s plan to have Russell healthy heading into the offseason won’t change.

“I trust what they do,” Russell said. “Performance team is great here. Performance team is running professional sports nowadays. They’re way more educated than I am in that aspect.”

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Minnesota Timberwolves

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/24/20

February 24th, 2020 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

The Pistons recalled guard Khyri Thomas from the Grand Rapids Drive, according to a team press release. In two games with the Drive, Thomas averaged 17.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 1.5 APG in 22.0 MPG. Thomas, a second-round pick in 2018, played two early-season games with the Pistons before undergoing foot surgery.
The Warriors assigned big man Alen Smailagic to their Santa Cruz affiliate, the team’s PR department tweets. He has averaged 15.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG in 18 games with the G League club. The rookie has also seen action in 14 Golden State games.
The Timberwolves recalled swingman Jacob Evans III and forward Jarred Vanderbilt from their Iowa affiliate, according to a team press release. Evans was acquired from Golden State and Vanderbilt was acquired from Denver earlier this month.
The Pacers assigned forward Alize Johnson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team’s PR department tweets. The 2018 second-round pick has appeared in 12 games with the NBA club this season.
The Spurs assigned Keldon Johnson and Chimezie Metu to their Austin affiliate, according to the G League transactions log. Johnson, the team’s first-round pick last June, has played five NBA games. Metu, a second-year forward, has appeared in 16 games for San Antonio this season.