Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Tyus Jones Officially Joins Grizzlies After Wolves Decline To Match Offer Sheet

July 11th, 2019 at 7:27pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 11: Jones’ contract with the Grizzlies is now official, per a press release from the team.

JULY 9: The Timberwolves have opted not to match Tyus Jones‘ three-year offer sheet with the Grizzlies, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The decision, which was due by midnight eastern time, will pave the way for the restricted free agent to finalize his deal with Memphis and become the newest member of the Grizzlies’ backcourt.

Gersson Rosas, the Wolves’ new president of basketball operations, has issued a statement confirming that the Wolves will let Jones join the Grizzlies, as Darren Wolfson of SKOR North relays (via Twitter).

“We sincerely thank Tyus for his contributions on the court and Tyus and the entire Jones family for their genuine impact on the Twin Cities community,” Rosas said. “We wish them nothing but the best in Memphis.”

Jones became the first restricted free agent of the 2019 offseason to sign an offer sheet on Sunday. It’s the second consecutive year that the Grizzlies have used their mid-level exception to poach an RFA from a Western Conference rival — they did so with Spurs forward Kyle Anderson a year ago.

Jones, 23, averaged 6.9 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 1.2 SPG last year in 68 games (22.9 MPG) for Minnesota. While his numbers don’t jump off the page, he’s a solid defender who grades out well analytically. He’ll join a Grizzlies point guard rotation that figures to feature a heavy dose of No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant, along with newly-acquired youngster De’Anthony Melton. Memphis sent longtime point guard Mike Conley to Utah and signed-and-traded Delon Wright to Dallas earlier this offseason.

According to Bobby Marks of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Jones’ three-year deal has a first-year base value of $8.4MM with $850K in likely bonuses. It has a descending structure but can be worth close to $27MM in total. The former Duke Blue Devil told Sean Deveney this week that he’s “excited” to join the Grizzlies, and hopes to help establish a winning culture in Memphis (Twitter link).

As Marks notes, the Timberwolves – having just claimed Tyrone Wallace on waivers – would have been slightly over the tax line if they had matched Jones’ offer sheet. Additionally, the Wolves are pursuing maximum-salary cap room in 2020 and adding Jones’ multiyear deal to their books would’ve complicated that goal, tweets Wojnarowski.

With Jones and departed free agent Derrick Rose out of the picture, Minnesota has Jeff Teague, Shabazz Napier, and Wallace in the mix at point guard. The team may continue to explore its options to fortify the position.

Now that Jones is off the board, only one restricted free agent – Kelly Oubre of the Suns – remains on the market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Trade Details: Napier, Graham, Warriors, Pacers, More

July 10th, 2019 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has provided some additional details on one of the most interesting trade sequences of the offseason, filling in the blanks on the deals that sent Shabazz Napier and Treveon Graham from Brooklyn to Golden State to Minnesota.

As previously outlined by cap guru Albert Nahmad (Twitter link), in order to match salaries in their sign-and-trade deal for Kevin Durant ($38,199,000), the Nets had to send out $30,479,200 in salaries of their own, but D’Angelo Russell‘s maximum salary was only worth $27,285,000.

Brooklyn included Napier’s ($1,845,301) and Graham’s ($1,645,357) non-guaranteed contracts to make up that $3,194,200 difference, but had to partially guarantee those salaries in order for them to count for salary-matching purposes. According to Pincus (via Twitter), the Nets did so by giving each player a guarantee worth $1,597,100.

The hard-capped Warriors, who only took on the duo in order to acquire Russell, didn’t want those contracts on their books, so they flipped them to the Timberwolves in a separate trade. According to Pincus (via Twitter), Golden State paid $3.6MM in cash to Minnesota in that deal, more than enough to cover both players’ full salaries and make it worth the Wolves’ while (Napier’s and Graham’s combined salaries total $3.5MM for 2019/20).

[RELATED: 2019 NBA Offseason Trades]

Interestingly, teams are limited to sending out a total of $5,617,000 in cash in trades during the 2019/20 league year, and the Warriors have now sent out $3.6MM to Minnesota and $2MM to Memphis (in the Andre Iguodala deal). In other words, Golden State won’t have the ability to send out additional cash later in the season in another trade.

Here are more details on recent trades:

In the three-way trade that landed them T.J. Warren from Phoenix and three future second-round picks from Miami, the Pacers sent $1.1MM in cash to the Suns, per Pincus (Twitter link).
The Clippers sent $110K to the Heat in the four-team Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade deal, says Pincus (Twitter link). That small amount of cash – the minimum allowable in a trade – was the only outgoing piece for the Clips in a swap that landed them Maurice Harkless, the Heat’s lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick (later included in the Paul George package), and the draft rights to 2017 second-rounder Mathias Lessort.
In addition to getting $1.1MM from the Wizards in their three-team Anthony Davis trade, the Pelicans also received $1MM in cash from the Lakers, tweets Pincus. Pincus also notes that Washington used its trade exception from February’s Markieff Morris trade to take on Bonga’s $1.42MM salary. That exception was originally worth $8.6MM and was also used to acquire Davis Bertans ($7MM), so it has essentially been all used up.

Warriors Trade Graham, Napier To Timberwolves

July 8th, 2019 at 11:12pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8: The trade is official, with the Warriors receiving the draft rights to Lior Eliyahu in the swap, according to a press release from the team.

Because they had to be used for salary-matching purposes in the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade, Graham and Napier both received significant partial guarantees. Graham had about 90% of his $1.65MM salary guaranteed, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North.

JULY 1: Treveon Graham and Shabazz Napier, two of the three players the Warriors are acquiring from the Nets in their sign-and-trade deal for D’Angelo Russell, will be re-routed to the Timberwolves, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Minnesota will also receive cash in the deal, Woj notes.

As part of the agreement, Napier and Graham – who are both on non-guaranteed contracts – will receive partial guarantees, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Both players will have their minimum salaries for 2019/20 becomes guaranteed if they’re not waived by July 10, Marks adds (via Twitter).

It’s a cap-conscious move for the Warriors, for whom every dollar will count, since they face a hard cap of $138.9MM for this season. According to Marks (via Twitter), flipping Graham and Napier will save the team about $250K.

There’s a chance that one or both of Napier and Graham could stick in Minnesota for the season, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, that’s far from a certainty.

Gates Hired As Assistant Coach

July 8th, 2019 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves have brought back Bryan Gates as an assistant coach under Ryan Saunders, according to an Associated Press report. Gates has been on the Kings’ staff the last three seasons but spent the 2015/16 season with Minnesota.

Wolves Acquire Blazers RFA Jake Layman In Sign-And-Trade

July 8th, 2019 at 7:14pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8: The Timberwolves and Blazers have issued press releases to confirm that the trade is official. Portland will generate a small trade exception in the deal.

JULY 3: The Timberwolves have reached a deal to sign forward Jake Layman to a three-year, $11.5MM contract, agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Layman is a restricted free agent whose rights are held by the Trail Blazers, but he won’t be signing an offer sheet. Instead, Minnesota will acquire him from Portland via a sign-and-trade arrangement, according to Wojnarowski.

“We’re extremely appreciative of how hard (Blazers president of basketball operations) Neil Olshey worked with us to accommodate what we were trying to accomplish in this sign and trade,” Bartelstein told Wojnarowski (Twitter links). “The deal couldn’t have happened without the Blazers looking out for Jake’s best interests.”

The Blazers will receive the draft rights to 2013 second-rounder Bojan Dubljevic in the deal, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North.

Layman, 25, has spent the first three seasons of his NBA career in Portland after being selected with the 47th pick of the 2016 draft. He played a limited role in his first two seasons, but claimed a regular spot in the Blazers’ rotation in 2018/19, averaging 7.6 PPG and 3.1 RPG with a .509/.326/.704 shooting line in 71 games (18.7 MPG).

Minnesota lost some shooting in its frontcourt by agreeing to trade Dario Saric to Phoenix and watching Anthony Tolliver sign with the Blazers. The Wolves will presumably look to replace those departed players with Layman and Noah Vonleh, who agreed to a deal with Minnesota earlier this week.

Speaking of Saric, the trade sending him to the Suns will need to be completed before the Wolves’ deal with the Blazers, since Layman will slot into the trade exception created by Saric’s departure, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). That exception will be worth $3.48MM, so Layman’s starting salary is permitted to start at $3.58MM (trade exceptions have an extra $100K cushion).

The Wolves, whose interest in Layman was first reported by Darren Wolfson on Tuesday, will be hard-capped at $138.9MM for the 2019/20 league year as a result of acquiring a player via sign-and-trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Noah Vonleh Signs One-Year Deal With Timberwolves

July 8th, 2019 at 7:11pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8, 7:11pm: The signing is official, the team’s PR deparment tweets.

JULY 2, 8:23pm: Vonleh’s $2MM deal is worth slightly more than the league minimum, so the Wolves will have to use part of the mid-level or bi-annual exception to sign him, Krawczynski writes in his full story on the deal. According to Krawcznyski, the Wolves offered Vonleh a deal worth more money that would have had a team option in year two, but he wanted the opportunity to reach the open market again next year.

5:09pm: The Timberwolves and free agent forward Noah Vonleh have agreed to terms on a contract, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that it will be a one-year deal.

Krawczynski adds (via Twitter) that the agreement will be worth $2MM. Vonleh’s minimum salary for 2019/20 will be $1,882,867, so that figure may be rounded up. Otherwise, the capped-out Wolves would have to use part of another exception to sign him.

Vonleh, who was the ninth overall pick in the 2014 draft, will be joining his fifth NBA team and hasn’t developed into the sort of impact player that his draft spot might suggest. However, he had a very solid year in New York in 2018/19, averaging 8.4 PPG and 7.8 RPG with a shooting line of .470/.336/.712 in 68 games (25.3 MPG) for the Knicks.

Vonleh will slot into a Timberwolves frontcourt rotation that is expected to feature another newcomer in Jordan Bell alongside incumbents like Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng. Vonleh will help shore up the power forward spot with Dario Saric and Taj Gibson not returning.

Timberwolves Claim Tyrone Wallace Off Waivers

July 8th, 2019 at 4:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Two days after being released by the Clippers, guard Tyrone Wallace has a new NBA home. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter), the Timberwolves have claimed Wallace off waivers before he could reach the open market.

Wallace made a strong impression as a rookie on a two-way contract in 2017/18, when he posted 9.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 30 games (28.1 MPG) for the Clippers. His performance earned him an offer sheet from the Pelicans as a restricted free agent.

However, after L.A. matched that offer sheet and brought him back, the 25-year-old struggled this past season, recording just 3.5 PPG, 1.6 RPG, and 0.7 APG in 62 games (10.1 MPG). His shooting percentages also dipped across the board. He became expendable within the last week as the Clippers cleared cap room for bigger moves.

Wallace is on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract that will become partially guaranteed for $300K in September, then fully guaranteed in January, so the Wolves have some time to evaluate whether he’ll be part of their plans for the 2019/20 season.

The Timberwolves’ point guard situation is in flux at the moment behind presumed starter Jeff Teague. Minnesota will acquire Shabazz Napier in a trade, but it’s not clear if the team intends to hang onto him or if it’s just accommodating a salary dump. Additionally, it remains to be seen if the Wolves will match Tyus Jones‘ three-year, $24MM+ offer sheet with the Grizzlies.

Free Agency Notes: Raptors, Stephenson, Kyrie, Sefolosha

July 8th, 2019 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The defending-champion Raptors will be a different team in 2019/20, with Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and starting shooting guard Danny Green off to Los Angeles. In the wake of Leonard agreeing to join the Clippers and Green committing to the Lakers, Toronto president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri issued a statement thanking the two former Spurs for their contributions to this year’s title team.

“We are very thankful for the year that Kawhi and Danny played with us here in Toronto, and I know the city and the entire country of Canada are grateful for everything they did to help us to win our first NBA Championship,” Ujiri said. “On behalf of the Raptors, I say a very heartfelt thank you to Kawhi and to Danny, and we send them and their families nothing but good wishes. As an organization, the Raptors will focus on the future and continue our pursuit of a second championship.”

After losing two All-NBA caliber defenders in Leonard and Green, the Raptors seem to be seeking out a certain archetype as they peruse the free agent market, writes Blake Murphy of The Athletic. As Murphy points out, new additions Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson are both versatile forwards with size who should help Toronto maintain its identity as a strong defensive club.

Here’s more on free agency:

It doesn’t appear there’s anything brewing at the moment for free agent guard Lance Stephenson, tweets Scott Agness of The Athletic. According to Agness, Stephenson continues to seek a new contract and may have to settle for a minimum-salary deal.
While we already know that Kawhi Leonard reached out to Kevin Durant and Paul George before making his free agency decision, ESPN’s Zach Lowe adds Kyrie Irving to the list of players Leonard explored recruiting. Durant and Irving were set on heading to Brooklyn, so those discussions likely didn’t go far.
The Jazz haven’t completed closed the door on the idea of a reunion with free agent wing Thabo Sefolosha, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic.
Speaking to Mark Medina of The Mercury News about his decision to join the Timberwolves, Jordan Bell said he was looking for a team that would give him playing time, rather than seeking out the most lucrative offer available. “An opportunity just to play,” Bell said when asked what he prioritized. “Money wasn’t really the issue.” The former second-round pick is getting a one-year, minimum-salary deal from Minnesota.

Wolves Sign Jarrett Culver To Rookie Contract

July 8th, 2019 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

After having to wait a couple weeks to officially acquire him, the Timberwolves have officially signed Jarrett Culver to his rookie contract, tweets Darren Wolfson of SKOR North. The team tweeted out photos of Culver putting pen to paper.

Minnesota agreed to acquire Culver in a draft-night trade with the Suns, parting with Dario Saric to move up from No. 11 to No. 6 for the Texas Tech swingman. Because Phoenix required cap room to absorb Saric’s salary, the two teams had to wait until after the July moratorium to finalize the deal.

Culver, who declared for the draft after his sophomore season, averaged 18.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 1.5 SPG with a .461/.304/.707 shooting line in 38 contests last season for the Red Raiders, leading the team to an appearance in the national championship game.

On his first NBA contract, Culver is projected to earn about $5.8MM in his rookie season and $26.4MM if he plays out the full four-year deal.

As our list of draft pick signings show, 24 of 30 first-rounders have now officially signed their rookie contracts, including every player selected in the top 12.

Grizzlies Sign Tyus Jones To Offer Sheet

July 7th, 2019 at 11:59pm CST by Luke Adams

11:59pm: Jones officially signed the offer sheet on Sunday, according to RealGM’s transactions log. Minnesota will have two days to match it.

10:51pm: The Grizzlies have agreed to terms on an offer sheet with restricted free agent point guard Tyus Jones, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Once Jones formally signs the Grizzlies’ offer sheet and it’s presented to the Timberwolves, Minnesota will have two days to match it.

According to Charnia (via Twitter), the 23-year-old’s offer sheet is worth $24MM over three years. Malika Andrews of ESPN (via Twitter) pegs the value at $28MM, with agent Kevin Bradbury confirming to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link) that $28MM is the deal’s maximum value via incentives. Bradbury also tells Krawczynski that he and Jones looked elsewhere on the free agent market after they couldn’t find common ground with the Wolves.

“We negotiated in good faith with Minnesota, but did not receive an offer I felt was fair so we had to look elsewhere,” Bradbury said.

The Grizzlies lost a restricted free agent point guard of their own today, having reached an agreement with the Mavericks to send Delon Wright to Dallas in a sign-and-trade in exchange for a pair of second-round picks. That deal left Memphis with little point guard depth beyond Ja Morant and De’Anthony Melton, so it looks like the team will try to add a replacement for Wright on a similar contract after acquiring a couple draft picks in the process.

The Grizzlies will use their mid-level exception to sign Jones, who averaged 6.9 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 1.2 SPG last year in 68 games (22.9 MPG) for Minnesota. The club used a similar tactic a year ago, using its full mid-level exception to sign Spurs RFA Kyle Anderson to an offer sheet.

It remains to be seen whether the Timberwolves will match Memphis’ offer. The Wolves entered the offseason reportedly in the market for a point guard, but selected Jarrett Culver in the draft, then missed out on top target D’Angelo Russell. As a result, Shabazz Napier is currently the only point guard on the depth chart behind Jeff Teague, and it’s not clear if Minnesota even plans to keep Napier for the regular season.

The Wolves’ lack of depth would seemingly make them inclined to match Jones’ offer sheet, but as ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (via Twitter), doing so would only leave them about $1MM below the luxury tax line, reducing their flexibility for the rest of the offseason (and regular season).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.