Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jimmy Butler To Discuss His Future With Wolves

September 15th, 2018 at 4:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jimmy Butler has a meeting set for Monday with Timberwolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau and GM Scott Layden to “have honest conversations about the All-Star’s future with the team,” a source tells Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Butler can opt out of his contract next summer, and Krawczynski suggests he may have reached “a fork in the road” after one season in Minnesota. Butler has said repeatedly that he wants the chance to compete for a title and he may not believe that’s possible with the Wolves, who claimed the No. 8 seed last season and were ousted in five games in the first round.

Butler remains close with Thibodeau, who also coached him in Chicago, Krawczynski adds, and wants to hear his coach’s road map for the future before deciding on his next move.

Butler had a strong first year in Minnesota, posting a 22.2/5.3/4.9 line and making the All-Star team for the fourth time. He brought star power to an inexperienced team that hadn’t reached the postseason since 2004.

However, there have been reports that Butler often clashed with the Wolves’ younger players, especially Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Thibodeau has downplayed those rumors, but they haven’t gone away.

Butler is considered a virtual lock to opt out of a $19.84MM salary for 2019/20 and become a free agent. He will be eligible to receive a five-year, $188MM contract from the Wolves or a four-year, $139MM deal from anyone else. There has been talk that Butler and Kyrie Irving, who both turned down extensions this summer, are interested in joining forces.

If Minnesota officials don’t come out of Monday’s meeting with the feeling that Butler is likely to re-sign, a trade becomes more likely before the February deadline. Plenty of offers would surely be coming for one of the league’s most talented and most competitive players, who just turned 29 yesterday.

Northwest Notes: Westbrook, Mitchell, Plumlee, Roth

September 15th, 2018 at 11:08am CST by marksuleymanov

Thunder guard and former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee earlier this week. The procedure was described as “maintenance” and he will be re-evaluated in four weeks. Westbrook is expected to miss the preseason but his status for Oklahoma City’s season opener on October 17 is to be determined.

Westbrook is coming off another outstanding season for the Thunder as he averaged a triple-double for the second consecutive season. As The Oklahoman details, Westbrook’s injury already has had ripple effects on the Thunder roster and will continue to do so until his impending return.

Check out more Northwest Division notes below:

Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell had an outstanding rookie season for Utah, a season that would’ve earned him Rookie of the Year honors in nearly any other season. Frank Urbina of HoopsHype examines Mitchell skillset and projects how and when Mitchell could make the jump into superstar status.
Nuggets‘ big man Mason Plumlee needed offseason surgery after playing another season of at least 70 games. NBA.com previewed Plumlee’s upcoming 2018/19 campaign as he prepares to be Denver’s primary backup at center.
Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune looks at the Timberwolves‘ strategy for trying out players for the G League team. “Everybody’s just looking for the diamond in the rough,” Iowa Wolves coach and former Timberwolves player Scott Roth said. “Everybody wants the next Jonathan Simmons to walk into their building.

Thibodeau Shrugs Off Criticism Of Player Moves

September 13th, 2018 at 7:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau defended the signing of forward Luol Deng, saying the veteran forward can help his team in a number of ways, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com reports. “He’s only 33,” the Wolves coach said. “He takes great care of himself. He knows how to prepare for the season. For us, the fact that he can play [multiple spots] and he’s a veteran, it’s a long season, you like to have players like that. And he’s familiar with what we want to do.” Deng signed a one-year, $2.4MM contract with the Timberwolves after reaching a buyout agreement with the Lakers and clearing waivers. Thibodeau has taken criticism for being too partial to ex-Bulls players but he shrugs it off, as told Aschburner. “Whether a guy has played for me before or in a system where (GM) Scott (Layden) had been before or maybe where one of our assistants had been, if you feel like you know a player well and he fits into your system, then why not do it?,” Thibodeau said. “To me, I don’t really care what other people think. I care about what we think.”

Deng gave up $7.5MM over the next two seasons in his buyout with Lakers, including $3.6MM that was allocated to the upcoming season, salary cap expert Albert Nahmad tweets. He’ll recoup two-thirds of the latter giveback with his Wolves contract, meaning he’ll receive a total of $16.7MM for the season, Nahmad adds.

Deng Adel To Sign With Raptors

September 13th, 2018 at 9:45am CST by Arthur Hill

Deng Adel has decided not to sign a training camp contract with the Timberwolves and will accept a partially guaranteed deal from the Raptors instead, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Adel was probably ticketed for the Wolves’ G League affiliate and liked the opportunity and money better with Toronto.

Adel went undrafted out of Louisville after averaging 15.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 2.8 APG during his junior season. He played for the Rockets’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League.

The addition of Adel will give Toronto 19 players heading into training camp. The team has 13 players with fully guaranteed contracts.

Community Shootaround: Timberwolves’ Playoff Chances

September 12th, 2018 at 9:46pm CST by clarkcrum

The Timberwolves entered the 2017/18 campaign with dreams of making the playoffs for the first time in thirteen years after acquiring Jimmy Butler in a draft day trade. The team made the playoffs with the help of Butler and youngsters Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, but were eliminated by the Western Conference Champion Rockets in the First Round.

This offseason, Minnesota drafted rookies Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop to help sure up the team’s bench for the upcoming season. The team also recently signed veteran Luol Deng, but there has been no promise of playing time for the former Bull and Laker.

The Wolves also re-signed Derrick Rose and replaced Nemanja Bjelica with Anthony Tolliver in free agency, but lost bench stalwart Jamal Crawford. All that said, the biggest impediment to the Wolves making the playoffs for a second straight year will likely be the increased power of the Western Conference, with the Lakers adding LeBron James and the Nuggets a trendy pick to nab a playoff spot this season.

Additionally, the Wolves have been rumored to have some off-the-court chemistry issues, with Butler reportedly frustrated with some of the younger players perceived nonchalance and lack of toughness and Towns yet to sign a maximum contract extension offer.

ESPN’s Power Rankings currently put the Wolves’ as only the 10th strongest team in the Western Conference behind the aforementioned Lakers and Nuggets and other 7 playoff teams from last season.

So today we’re asking you, will the Minnesota Timberwolves make the 2018/19 NBA Playoffs? If so, who won’t? If not, who is going to take their place?

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!

Wolves Reportedly Not Interested In Joakim Noah

September 12th, 2018 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

Even though they’ve assembled a collection of former Bulls, the Timberwolves don’t plan to pursue Joakim Noah if he becomes a free agent, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Minnesota signed ex-Laker Luol Deng this week, adding him to Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson as players who were with Chicago under current Wolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau.

The Knicks are reportedly planning to use the stretch provision to unload Noah if they can’t work out a trade or buyout. With this year’s $18.53MM salary already locked in, New York can turn the $19.295MM it owes Noah for the 2019/20 season into three payments of roughly $6.4MM a year. That would open about $12.9MM in cap room for next summer when the Knicks hope to make a splash on the free agent market.

Noah has been a major disappointment since coming to New York on a four-year, $72MM contract in 2016. Suspensions, injuries and coaching decisions limited him to seven games last season, and he never rejoined the team after an altercation in practice with former coach Jeff Hornacek in January.

While a reunion with Thibodeau may seem like the logical next step for Noah, there’s no guarantee he would have more playing time in Minnesota than he did in New York. Karl-Anthony Towns is entrenched as the Wolves’ starting center with Gorgui Dieng in place as the backup.

Timberwolves Work Out Paul, Rush, Johnson-Odom

September 10th, 2018 at 6:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Brandon Paul, Brandon Rush and Darius Johnson-Odom are among the free agent veteran guards the Timberwolves brought in for a workout on Monday, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Monta Ellis is also on the list of players Minnesota is looking at, according to Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Paul, a 27-year-old shooting guard, made his NBA debut last season and appeared in 64 total games for the Spurs, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.1 RPG in 9.0 minutes per contest. He was waived on July 31.

Rush, a 33-year-old shooting guard, played with the Timberwolves in 2016/17, appearing in 47 games, including 33 starts. Rush signed a 10-day contract with the Blazers last season but did not appear in a game and the team declined to give him a second 10-day deal.

Johnson-Odom hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2013/14 season. Johnson-Odom, 28, played in Italy last season.

Ellis, 32, was out of the league last season after the Pacers waived him in July 2017.

With the addition of forward Luol Deng, the Timberwolves have 13 players with guaranteed deals and James Nunnally‘s partially guaranteed pact and are holding open auditions for last spot or two if they don’t retain Nunnally. They brought in wing players Nick Young, Arron Afflalo, and Corey Brewer last week.

They also reportedly would have interest in Joakim Noah should the center hit the open market. Like Deng, Noah previously played under coach Tom Thibodeau when he was coaching in Chicago.

Luol Deng Signs With Wolves

September 10th, 2018 at 4:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

3:23pm: The signing is official, the team’s PR department tweets.

1:37pm: Minnesota has reached a one-year, $2.4MM agreement with free agent forward Luol Deng, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Deng becomes the latest member of a group that has been dubbed the “Timber-Bulls,” made up of coach/executive Tom Thibodeau and former Chicago players Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson. Deng reached his career peak playing for the Bulls under Thibodeau with a pair of All-Star appearances.

The low point of Deng’s career came last season with the Lakers, when he played 13 minutes on opening night and was benched for the rest of the year. Deng didn’t have any physical problems that kept him off the court, but he didn’t fit in with the youth movement launched by team president Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka.

Deng agreed to a buyout last week that affects the final two seasons of the four-year, $72MM contract he signed in 2016. To get his freedom from the Lakers, Deng agreed to give back $7.5MM of the $36.8MM remaining, with 48.9% coming from this year’s salary and the rest from the 2019/20 figure.

Before being sidelined last year, Deng was coming off a disappointing debut season with the Lakers, posting a 7.6/5.3/1.3 line in 56 games while shooting 39% from the field. His last good season came with Miami in 2015/16 when averaged 12.3 PPG and 6.0 PPG in 74 games.

Minnesota has just 12 guaranteed contracts, so finding space for Deng won’t be an issue. The Wolves had their full $3.382MM bi-annual exception available, but Deng agreed to sign for the veteran’s minimum. The agreement doesn’t come with any guarantee of playing time, Wojnarowski adds.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Wolves Expected To Sign Luol Deng This Week

September 10th, 2018 at 11:19am CST by Arthur Hill

Other teams have expressed interest in free agent forward Luol Deng, but he will likely sign with the Timberwolves this week, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Deng, who reached a buyout agreement with the Lakers on September 1, would rejoin his former coach, Tom Thibodeau, in Minnesota, along with several ex-Bulls teammates. The Wolves already have Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose, who all played with Deng in Chicago.

Deng met with Thibodeau on Sunday to discuss the possibility of a reunion. He had his best seasons with the Bulls, making a pair of All-Star appearances in 2011/12 and 2012/13.

The 33-year-old received one of the richest contracts of the 2016 offseason, signing with the Lakers for $72MM over four years. However, he had a mediocre first season in L.A., averaging 7.6 PPG in 56 games, then fell completely out of favor last year with just 13 minutes of playing time, all on opening night.

The Wolves have used most of their mid-level exception, but still have the full $3.382MM bi-annual exception if they want to offer Deng more than the veteran’s minimum. With just 12 guaranteed contracts, Minnesota has room on its roster for a couple of additions.

Lack Of KAT Contract Extension 'Eyebrow Raising'

September 9th, 2018 at 8:31pm CST by Austin Kent

The fact that Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns hasn’t signed a five-year max rookie scale extension is “eyebrow raising,” Brian Windhorst of ESPN says (h/t Dan Feldman of NBC Sports). Per Windhorst, there has never been a player that hasn’t signed such an offer.
It’s never too early to start talking about next year’s free agent crop. Our 2019 NBA free agent rankings are now live. Two of the four most valuable potential acquisitions? Timberwolves stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler.