Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Wiggins, Stockton, Harkless

March 17th, 2018 at 9:05am CST by marksuleymanov

Despite reports of whispers this week that Andrew Wiggins is unhappy as the Timberwolves‘ third option, the Minnesota guard and head coach Tom Thibodeau rejected those reports, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes.

Wiggins, 23, is in his fourth season with the Wolves but his numbers are down from the past two seasons. The former first overall pick is averaging 17.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 69 games. However, Thibodeau denied that the team’s leading shot-taker is unhappy with his role.

“I know Andrew’s character,” Thibodeau said. “There’s no way in the world Andrew is saying any of that, particularly from a guy who’s taken the most shots on our team.”

Earlier this week, Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN (Twitter link) said that Wiggins has “whispered to teammates” that he’s unhappy being a third option behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler — who is sidelined with a torn meniscus. “It’s just someone’s word of mouth. It wasn’t no quote from me,” Wiggins said. “Everyone that knows me knows I don’t talk much, I just go with the flow … I don’t whisper. If I say something, I’m going to say it clearly and loudly.”

Check out more Northwest Division notes below:

David Stockton, the son of Jazz legend John Stockton, agreed to a 10-day contract with Utah on Friday. The elder Stockton played with the Jazz for 19 seasons, becoming the NBA’s all-time assists leader and 2008 Hall of Fame inductee. Brad Rock of The Deseret News writes that John and the rest of the Stockton family are excited for the 26-year-old and his newest NBA opportunity. “I’m glad to stay out of that,” John Stockton said of his comparisons between him and his son. “He’s his own player and it wouldn’t do him any good to try to be me. He can just be the best he can be.”
Having reached 100 three-point attempts on the season, Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless is now eligible to receive a $500K bonus for his three-point shooting percentage, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Harkless will receive the bonus if his percentage is greater than 35%; he’s shooting 37.6% from the beyond the arc.

Butler's Recovery 'Moving Along Pretty Well'

March 14th, 2018 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau said that Jimmy Butler is “moving along pretty well” in his rehabilitation from knee surgery, according to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. Minnesota’s star forward isn’t jumping yet, but has been running on an antigravity treadmill, Zgoda adds. A February report on Butler’s recovery timetable estimated that he’d miss four to six weeks — we’ll reach the three-week mark this Sunday.

Derrick Rose Hopes To Make Impact For Wolves

March 12th, 2018 at 11:21am CST by Luke Adams

The Rose signing drew some criticism from observers who felt that the Timberwolves didn’t need more depth at a point guard spot that already features Jeff Teague, Tyus Jones, and Aaron Brooks. However, Thibodeau and the Wolves’ guards believe that the team’s backcourt depth make sense in today’s NBA, where many teams play more than one point guard at a time, says Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune.

Appearing in his first game for the Timberwolves on Sunday, Derrick Rose played just seven minutes. While Rose says he’s not looking to “take someone’s spot” or step on anybody’s toes in Minnesota, he hopes to earn the opportunity to play a larger role down the stretch, as Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes.

“I want [Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau] to see me and be like, ‘Damn, he’s still got it,'” Rose said. “I want him to count on me. I want to be held accountable. You know what I mean? I don’t just want to be, like, an average guy on the team riding along just to see how far they go. I really want to add.”

The Rose signing drew some criticism from observers who felt that the Timberwolves didn’t need more depth at a point guard spot that already features Jeff Teague, Tyus Jones, and Aaron Brooks. However, Thibodeau and the Wolves’ guards believe that the team’s backcourt depth make sense in today’s NBA, where many teams play more than one point guard at a time, says Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune.

Northwest Notes: Rose, Collison, Lillard

March 10th, 2018 at 3:52pm CST by marksuleymanov

Derrick Rose is officially a member of the Timberwolves and made his first comments since the signing was made official. Injuries have diminished Rose’s skill set and playing time in recent seasons and there are questions about how much he can realistically help Minnesota down the stretch.

Rose told reporters, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, that he does not need validation from anybody about his playing level.

“I mean, this is how I feel about it, the whole perspective on it,” Rose said. “You can have your perspective on me, as far as I’m a bum, I can’t play, I can’t shoot, this and that. All right, cool. I have no hard feeling with that. I’m cool with that. If that’s how you feel, that’s how you feel. But at the same time, I don’t need your validation. Like, I know who I am. I know the type of player I am. You respect that and I respect that and we should be good.”

The 29-year-old never got on track with the Cavaliers this season, averaging 9.8 PPG and 1.8 RPG in just 16 games. However, he did appear in 64 games with the Knicks last year, averaging 18.0 PPG and 4.4 APG. Rose did not play on Thursday against the Celtics but is expected to play against the Warriors on Sunday.

Check out other Northwest Division notes below:

Thunder big man Nick Collison has been with the organization since the 2004/05 season when the organization was still known as the Supersonics. As the current team prepares for the postseason, Collison said to former teammate and NBA Soundsystem host, Brent Barry, that consistency is Oklahoma City’s biggest issue, per Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. “Like you know, the playoffs, every possession counts,” Collison said. “Consistency’s been an issue with us this year. But we do have a veteran group and we’ve played well against the best teams. So for us, just finding that consistency and being able to play possession by possession and being able to grind out some good solid basketball for a long time. If you want to make a run, you gotta play for two months. I think consistency’s huge for us.”
Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard is enjoying another strong season and feels he should be in the conversation for Most Valuable Player, Sean Meagher of OregonLive.com writes. “I don’t see why I wouldn’t be mentioned,” Lillard said. “But obviously James Harden is having a special season and they’re the No. 1 team in the league right now. He’s been runner-up for a few years where I feel like he could have easily won it. What he’s doing individually, and what their team is doing, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the winner.”

Why Glen Taylor Changed Tune On Derrick Rose Signing

March 9th, 2018 at 6:21pm CST by Austin Kent

We wrote last month that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor wasn’t interested in having his team sign Derrick Rose. That line of thinking changed after Jimmy Butler went down with his knee injury, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes.

Derrick Rose Says He Just Wants To Win In Minnesota

March 8th, 2018 at 12:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rose participated in today’s shootaround with the Wolves, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, and may play tonight against the Celtics, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link).

Derrick Rose, who signed with the Timberwolves earlier today, will make $460,468 for the rest of the season, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The move will carry a $290,951 cap hit for Minnesota, which still has one open roster space. The team will save about $100K between the signing of Rose and the buyout of Shabazz Muhammad, Marks adds (Twitter link). Rose still has about $460K remaining on the minimum-salary deal he signed with the Cavaliers last summer.

Wolves Sign Derrick Rose

March 8th, 2018 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

10:57am: The signing is official, the team announced via Twitter.

9:41am: Derrick Rose will sign with the Timberwolves for the rest of the season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The move will reunite Rose with coach/executive Tom Thibodeau, who coached the point guard in Chicago during his MVP season of 2010/11. It also brings another former Bull to Minnesota, which has added Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Jamal Crawford and Aaron Brooks since last summer.

Butler and Rose had a strained relationship in the past, but they worked out their differences two years ago, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Rose delayed his signing because he was waiting for his wife to give birth, adds Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). The baby arrived earlier this week.

Rose had hoped to revive his career in Cleveland when he agreed to a one-year, minimum-salary deal in July. However, he hurt his ankle in the second game of the season and took a leave of absence in November.

He played just 16 games for the Cavaliers, averaging 9.8 points and 1.6 assists, before being traded to Utah four weeks ago. He agreed to a buyout with the Jazz and has been out of the NBA since February 12.

The Wolves have two open roster spots, so no move will be necessary before adding Rose. Because he was waived before March 1, he will be eligible for the playoffs if Minnesota qualifies.

Defense Sags Without Jimmy Butler

March 4th, 2018 at 8:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves are 2-2 in the first four games without Jimmy Butler and their defense, in particular, has suffered without him, as Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune details. Metrics show that the Timberwolves have the 11th-best defensive rating with Butler on the court. When he’s not playing, their defensive rating is the worst in the league. Butler is recovering from knee surgery. “Jimmy always guards the best perimeter player,” veteran guard Jamal Crawford noted to Hine.

Justin Patton Reassigned

March 3rd, 2018 at 9:10pm CST by clarkcrum

The Timberwolves have reassigned rookie big man Justin Patton to the Iowa Wolves, the team announced today. Patton has appeared in 28 games for Iowa this season, averaging 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 21.1 minutes per game.

Corey Brewer Signs With Thunder

March 3rd, 2018 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 3: Brewer’s signing with the Thunder is official, per the NBA’s official transactions log.

MARCH 1, 10:39am: Brewer has committed to sign with the Thunder once he clears waivers, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Brewer talked to Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan and GM Sam Presti and considered three Eastern Conference teams before deciding.

FEBRUARY 28, 6:50pm: Brewer is likely to sign with the Thunder after all, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Lakers officially waived Brewer earlier today, meaning the veteran swingman will be free to sign a contract with Oklahoma City as early as Friday.

3:03pm: One source tells David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link) that while the Thunder are definitely in the mix for Brewer, the veteran is more likely to land with an Eastern Conference team.

10:44am: Amick (via Twitter) adds the Jazz and Pelicans to the list of teams that could also be in the mix for Brewer, noting that several of the teams he has mentioned are also keeping an eye on the Trevor Booker situation in Philadelphia.

10:28am: The Lakers and veteran swingman Corey Brewer have reportedly reached an agreement on a buyout, which means he could become a free agent as soon as Friday. When Brewer does hit the open market, a deal with the Thunder is a “serious possibility,” according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski notes, the ex-Gator is likely to be drawn to Oklahoma City by the presence of his former coach at Florida, Billy Donovan, who is now the Thunder’s head coach. Even aside from the Donovan connection, Brewer would be a logical fit for OKC, since the team has been on the lookout for one more option on the wing since Andre Roberson‘s injury, tweets ESPN’s Royce Young.

While the Thunder may be the frontrunners for Brewer, he’ll talk to other teams too, per Wojnarowski. The 31-year-old is unlikely to rush his decision, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, who tweets that the Cavaliers, Wizards, Trail Blazers, and Bucks have also shown interest. Amick adds that Brewer – averaging a career-low 12.9 minutes per game this season – will be seeking a “legit role,” which figures to impact his decision.

Although several playoff teams have already been linked to Brewer, his mediocre outside shot (.280 career 3PT%) will limit his appeal to some contenders. For instance, he’s not likely to be a fit for the Raptors, notes Josh Lewenberg of TSN (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets that Minnesota has “kicked the tires” on the former Timberwolf, but says not to count on a reunion.