Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rosas Vows To Stay Aggressive During Season

October 24th, 2019 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

In his first offseason as the Timberwolves‘ president of basketball operations, Gersson Rosas wasn’t in position to significantly reshape the roster.

While the Timberwolves reportedly made a run at D’Angelo Russell, their roster and cap limitations made it difficult to make a splash. However, that doesn’t mean the team’s front office won’t be looking for opportunities to shake things up during the 2019/20 season, writes Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune.

“We’re at a stage where we’re going to continue to be aggressive,” Rosas said of the Timberwolves. “We don’t have our championship team yet. When you’re at that stage, you want to do less because you want to have that continuity. We’re at the opposite end right now, where we’re establishing our core group and moving forward. A lot of teams aren’t like that. … But we can’t be waiting for the phone to ring. We have to make those calls to make sure that any opportunity that we can improve ourselves, we’re taking advantage of that.”

According to Rosas, there were a few potential opportunities for the Timberwolves to make a move leading up to Monday’s roster deadline, but nothing ultimately lined up and the team simply waived Tyrone Wallace to set its roster. Still, Rosas says that are looking “every day” for “opportunities to add.”

Hawks Claim Tyrone Wallace Off Waivers

October 23rd, 2019 at 4:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks submitted a successful waiver claim for former Timberwolves point guard Tyrone Wallace, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Wallace was Minnesota’s final cut on Monday as the Wolves trimmed their roster to the league limit.

Atlanta will inherit his $1.6MM non-guaranteed contract, which comes with a daily cap hit of $8,973, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The Hawks are now up to 15 players and will have $3.7MM in remaining cap room as long as Wallace stays on their roster. His contract will become fully guaranteed on January 7, which is the league-wide guarantee date.

Wallace, 25, spent the past two seasons with the Clippers, averaging a 5.5 PPG in 92 combined games. He had a promising rookie season, but fell out of the rotation last year and saw his playing time cut to 10.1 minutes per night. The Wolves claimed him in July after he was waived by L.A.

Wolves Talked To Pacers About Sabonis Early In Offseason

October 22nd, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis isn’t going anywhere for the time being after signing a new four-year extension, but Darren Wolfson of SKOR North notes (via Twitter) that the Timberwolves talked to Indiana about Sabonis in June. It’s unclear if the Wolves attempted to re-engage last week when the Pacers briefly explored the market for Sabonis.

Timberwolves point guard Jeff Teague, who was bothered by a nagging left ankle injury for much of last season, underwent a procedure in April to address that injury. Asked whether he feels fully healthy heading into the season, Teague offered the following assessment, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune: “I feel OK. I don’t think I’ll ever be 100 percent, but I feel OK.”
Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis isn’t going anywhere for the time being after signing a new four-year extension, but Darren Wolfson of SKOR North notes (via Twitter) that the Timberwolves talked to Indiana about Sabonis in June. It’s unclear if the Wolves attempted to re-engage last week when the Pacers briefly explored the market for Sabonis.

Timberwolves Waive Tyrone Wallace

October 21st, 2019 at 1:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have waived point guard Tyrone Wallace in advance of the regular season roster deadline, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The move reduces Minnesota’s roster count to 15 players, plus a pair on two-way contracts.

Wallace, 25, broke into the NBA in 2017/18, averaging 9.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 30 games (28.4 MPG) for the Clippers. He appeared in 62 more games for Los Angeles last season, but played limited minutes and saw his shooting percentages dip to .424/.211/.526. He was released by the Clips in July and was claimed off waivers by Minnesota.

Considering they took their roster decision down to the wire today, it appears the Wolves either considered keeping Wallace or tried to find a trade for him. However, Minnesota has 15 players with guaranteed salaries and Wallace is on a non-guaranteed contract, which made him the odd man out.

Wallace is now on track to clear waivers on Wednesday, though he’s a candidate to be claimed. Because he’s earning the minimum, any team would be eligible to place a claim and take on his non-guaranteed contract. If he makes it to free agency, the Wolves will be on the hook for two days’ worth of his salary, which works out to approximately $18K.

Minnesota’s roster is now ready for the regular season.

Lakers, Pistons Among Teams With Roster Moves Still To Make

October 21st, 2019 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams have until 5:00pm eastern time today to set their rosters for the 2019/20 regular season. Clubs can continue to make roster moves after that deadline, but when the clock strikes five, no team will be permitted to have more than 15 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.

[RELATED: 2019/20 NBA Roster Counts]

Currently, there are seven teams that haven’t yet reached that regular-season limit. One of those seven teams, the Rockets, will reportedly convert Chris Clemons‘ standard contract to a two-way deal today, making official a move that was reported last Thursday.

Two other clubs will make similar moves — the Raptors and Wizards are each carrying 16 players on standard contracts but have open two-way contract slots. Toronto is expected to convert Oshae Brissett to a two-way deal, while Washington will likely do the same for Chris Chiozza.

That leaves just four teams with actual cuts to make. Here’s a breakdown of those four clubs:

Detroit Pistons (16 standard contracts, 2 two-way contracts): The Pistons have 14 players with fully guaranteed salaries and intend to retain Christian Wood, who is on a non-guaranteed contract. That means they’ll have to either waive Joe Johnson – their other non-guaranteed player – or find a trade that allows them to create room on the regular-season roster for Johnson.
Los Angeles Lakers (17 standard contracts, 2 two-way contracts): In addition to their 14 players with guaranteed salaries, the Lakers are also carrying Dwight Howard, Devontae Cacok, and Demetrius Jackson. I’d be shocked if anyone but Howard claims the 15th roster spot, but we’ll see what the team’s plans are for Cacok and Jackson. Theoretically, each of them could be converted to a two-way contract, but current two-way players Zach Norvell Jr. and/or Kostas Antetokounmpo would have to be waived in that scenario.
Minnesota Timberwolves (16 standard contracts, 2 two-way contracts): The Timberwolves have 15 players with guaranteed salaries, leaving Tyrone Wallace and his non-guaranteed contract as the most likely odd man out. If Minnesota decides to keep Wallace, it would need to trade or release a player with a guaranteed deal.
Utah Jazz (16 standard contracts, 2 two-way contracts): The Jazz have four players without fully guaranteed salaries, but two of those players – Royce O’Neale and Georges Niang – are presumably locks to stick around. Utah’s decision figures to come down to Stanton Kidd vs. William Howard. Kidd $250K partial guarantee is more substantial than Howard’s $50K, which may help give him the upper hand.

It’s possible that a few more teams will make roster changes today, but the league’s other 23 clubs are currently at or below the regular-season maximum.

Happier Version Of Andrew Wiggins Could Impact Wolves' Season

October 20th, 2019 at 9:52pm CST by JD Shaw

A happier version of Andrew Wiggins could lead to a different player for the Timberwolves this season, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune writes. “I would say I’m enjoying it more than I did last year,” Wiggins said. “Last year it was kind of on the rough side. But the joy has always been there. I’ve never been on the court not wanting to play.”

Wolves Waive Tyus Battle, Barry Brown

October 20th, 2019 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves have waived guards Tyus Battle and Barry Brown, according to NBA.com’s Transactions Log. Both appear headed to the organization’s G League team in Iowa.

Battle and Brown agreed to Exhibit 10 contracts with Minnesota after going undrafted in June. They played for the Wolves’ Summer League team, but didn’t officially sign until Monday, so neither saw any preseason action.

With 16 players left on the roster (15 guaranteed contracts) and both two-way slots filled, Minnesota still has one more move to make before tomorrow’s deadline.

Eastern Notes: Oladipo, McCaw, Richardson, Prince

October 18th, 2019 at 9:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Victor Oladipo will begin participating in some full-contact 5-on-5 half-court scrimmages in the coming days but he still has more hurdles to clear before he’ll return to action, Tyler Kraft and Nathan Brown of the Indianapolis Star report. The Pacers have yet to announce a target date for the star guard, who suffered a ruptured quad tendon last season.

“He’s been doing some things 1-on-1,” Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. “But this is a good sign. They’re going slowly to try to work him into being able to go every day, but it’s good news to know he’ll be able to participate in that first part of practice.”

We have more Eastern Conference news:

Raptors swingman Patrick McCaw had an MRI on his left knee which revealed no structural damage, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. McCaw suffered the injury during a preseason game last weekend. The Raptors re-signed McCaw to a two-year deal in July.
The Sixers were interested in acquiring Josh Richardson last season from the Heat before they traded for Jimmy Butler, Michael Lee of The Athletic reports. The Sixers were open to being a third party when the Heat were in trade talks with the Timberwolves for Butler with Philadelphia targeting Richardson. When those talks collapsed, the Sixers eventually worked out a trade for Butler. Those two swingmen were the main components of the sign-and-trade this summer when Butler agreed to join Miami.
Forward Taurean Prince is hopeful that he can reached an extension agreement with the Nets prior to Monday’s deadline, as he told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. He’ll be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension. “I want to be here as long as I can. And whatever happens, happens, but I’m just happy to play good basketball,” Prince said. “One hundred percent, yeah. For sure. This is the best organization I’ve been in.”

Wolves Reportedly Inquired On Kyle Lowry

October 18th, 2019 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Before Kyle Lowry signed an extension with Toronto, the Timberwolves looked into his availability, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North. There has been no indication that the Raptors were considering moving their All-Star point guard, so it may have been as simple as an inquiry that went nowhere. Still, as Wolfson points out, it shows that new president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas will kick the tires on every potentially available impact player — even those that don’t necessarily fit Minnesota’s timeline.

Covington Working On Rhythm And Conditioning

October 16th, 2019 at 10:02pm CST by clarkcrum

Coming off a knee injury and resulting surgery that limited him to 35 games last year, Timberwolves forward Robert Covington says he is fully healthy and will look to work on improving his rhythm and conditioning, per Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune.