Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jamal Crawford Wanted To Play With Isaiah Thomas

January 8th, 2018 at 8:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Veteran shooting guard Jamal Crawford would have signed with the Cavaliers if their blockbuster trade with the Celtics had happened sooner, he revealed to Joe Vardon of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Crawford is close friends with Isaiah Thomas and that would have played a pivotal role in deciding where to go as a free agent last summer.

“That’s my brother,” Crawford told Vardon and other media members. “We’re past like friends or basketball relationship. … Like, we go on vacation, like it’s his family and my family. … so that would’ve had to change things.”

Cleveland wanted to sign Crawford for the veteran’s minimum but the Timberwolves offered their $4.3MM room mid-level exception. Crawford has a player option worth $4.6MM for next season.

Crawford also considered signing with the Warriors after the Clippers traded him to the Hawks. Atlanta had no intention of keeping Crawford after acquiring him in a three-team deal in July and the two sides reached a buyout agreement.

Crawford also liked the idea of joining a team on the upswing, instead of one of the reigning conference champions, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“If I would go there and we would win a championship, I’d be like ‘OK, what’s next Jamal?’ You want to embrace that journey and I wanted to go through it with these guys,” said Crawford, referring to the Timberwolves. “There’s nothing against , like, I have the ultimate respect for the Cavs and the Warriors and all those teams. But they’re already there. I wanted to go somewhere where they can kind of build up.”

Crawford is averaging 9.7 PPG and 2.3 APG in 18.8 MPG as one of Minnesota’s key reserves.

Wolves Hitting Stride; "Everyone Likes Each Other"

January 3rd, 2018 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The positive energy surrounding the Timberwolves as of late has been noticeable, as the new-look roster is hitting its stride. “I feel like everyone’s comfortable,” Andrew Wiggins said, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Everyone’s together. Everyone’s playing together. Everyone likes each other. We’re in a good flow right now.”

MacMullan’s Latest: Irving, LeBron, Cavs, Suns

January 3rd, 2018 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

With Isaiah Thomas having returned to the Cavaliers on Tuesday, and the Cavs now poised to square off against the Celtics on Wednesday, it only makes sense to revisit one of the 2017 offseason’s biggest trades. ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan has done just that, taking a deep dive into the factors that led to Kyrie Irving heading from Cleveland to Boston.

Along the way, MacMullan passes along several noteworthy tidbits — while the whole piece is worth checking out, especially for Cavs and Celtics fans, we’ve rounded up some of the most interesting details below:

While Irving made his trade request in July, the Cavaliers explored the possibility of moving the point guard in June, which MacMullan suggests contributed to Irving’s decision to ask out of Cleveland. “They didn’t want me there,” Irving said of the Cavs. Former teammate LeBron James disputes that notion, which he says “makes absolutely no sense.”
One deal the Cavs explored in June would have sent Irving and Channing Frye to the Suns and resulted in both Paul George and Eric Bledsoe landing in Cleveland. However, Phoenix balked at that deal, since the club was unwilling to give up the No. 4 overall pick, says MacMullan. A few days later, the Pacers dealt George to the Thunder instead.
Although no formal offer was made during those negotiations, Irving caught wind of the talks and believed they were orchestrated by James’ camp, since LeBron shares an agent with Bledsoe. Team and league sources suggest otherwise, telling MacMullan that former Cavs GM David Griffin sensed that an Irving trade request may be coming and initiated talks with the Suns.
When Irving and his agent met with the Cavaliers on July 9, they pressed owner Dan Gilbert about the team’s direction, and mentioned the Spurs, Knicks, and Timberwolves as preferred landing spots for Irving. Boston didn’t come up during that meeting, but Gilbert coveted the Nets‘ 2018 first-round pick that was held by the Celtics, and Irving’s camp didn’t oppose a deal to the C’s.
When the Celtics emerged as a viable trade partner for Irving and the Cavs, Gilbert went to James and attempted to secure a promise that he’d stay in Cleveland beyond the 2017/18 season, but LeBron declined to commit, sources tell MacMullan.

Northwest Notes: Westbrook, Huestis, Abrines, Jones, Jazz

December 30th, 2017 at 10:27am CST by marksuleymanov

In the middle of the Thunder’s resurgence and winning streak has been reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, Russell Westbrook. As Oklahoma City has tried to create a balance for Westbrook and two other All-Stars, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George, the team has struggled to find consistency. Playing behind Westbrook’s lead and not with him trying to lead is how the Thunder will find success, ESPN’s Royce Young writes.

After a slow start, OKC is in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 20-16 record. Anthony believes that Westbrook’s hot streak and the team’s improved play are no coincidence.

“I think the fact that Russ is just playing — not trying to defer to anybody, to any one of us — just playing his game and letting us play off him … I think he’s much more effective by doing that rather than deferring to myself or Paul,” Anthony said. “We know what we bring to the game. We understand it. We accept it. And by that, he’s able to just play his game, relax and do what he does best. We need that. We need that Russ out there. Not the one who defers to us. Let us figure it out.”

Check out other Northwest Division news below:

After the Thunder lost to the Bucks on Friday, head coach Billy Donovan said the team needs Alex Abrines to play better, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes. Abrines, 24, got the start on Friday but OKC was down 24 points after one quarter and he never returned. “My feeling is that Alex needs to help our team, and trying to find ways to get him going would be positive for our team,” Donovan said. “That’s why I kind of started him.”
Following Abrines’ removal, Josh Huestis got the chance to play the rest of the game and showed some defensive promise against the Bucks, Dawson writes in a separate story.
With Jeff Teague sidelined 2 to 4 weeks with a left knee sprain, Tyus Jones will take over the Wolves‘ starting point guard role for the second time this season and he feels prepared, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes. “Just because it’s not the first time now,” Jones said. “It’s something I’ve done, something we’ve gone through as a team. I’m just ready to go. My first-time experience, I learned it was still just basketball. You’re in the game to start rather than coming in a few minutes into the game, but it’s just basketball at the end of the day.”
The month of December has not been kind to the Jazz as the team searches for an identity, Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News writes.

Jeff Teague Out Indefinitely With Sprained Left Knee

December 28th, 2017 at 5:40pm CST by marksuleymanov

5:40pm: The team is hopeful that Teague will return in 2-4 weeks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

DECEMBER 28th, 1:38pm: Timberwolves point guard Jeff Teague injured his left knee chasing a loose ball in Wednesday’s win over the Nuggets and will be out indefinitely, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Teague underwent an MRI that revealed no structural damage but he was diagnosed with a sprained left knee, per Wojnarowski.

Teague, 29, has been solid for Minnesota in the first season of a three-year, $55MM pact he signed in the offseason. Through 31 games, Teague has averaged 13.4 PPG and 7.8 APG. In Teague’s absence, the Wolves are likely to rely on backup Tyus Jones to fill in a point guard, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune writes.

“As always, it’s whatever the team needs me to do,’’ Jones said on Wednesday after Minnesota’s overtime victory. “I’m hoping Jeff is all right. You never want to see anyone go out with an injury. But it’s the next man up. I’m ready to help this team in any way.’’

Jones, 21, filled in for Teague earlier this season and has played well in 35 games, averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.6 APG. The Wolves also figure to rely more on Aaron Brooks, Jamal Crawford, and Jimmy Butler to handle guard responsibilities in Teague’s absence.

Butler, Gibson Transforming Franchise

December 27th, 2017 at 9:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

The acquisitions of Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson have transformed the Timberwolves, as coach Tom Thibodeau told Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and other reporters. “Just the toughness,” Thibodeau said. “You’re talking about two elite defenders and knowing how important defense is and making the right plays offensively. … You can ask (Butler) to guard any player on the floor and he does it. They don’t take any possessions off and they understand how hard you have to play on every possession. With young guys, sometimes they don’t understand that. You can’t take plays off and you can’t pick and choose when you’re going to play defense.”

Spend Christmas With Us

December 25th, 2017 at 11:10am CST by Arthur Hill

One of the many great things about Christmas is a full slate of NBA games that begins at 11am Central and stretches throughout the day. We at Hoops Rumors welcome our readers to use this post to comment on all of today’s action.

The games tip off with a showcase of some of the league’s brightest young stars as the Knicks host the Sixers. Philadelphia center Joel Embiid has been medically cleared to play, joining teammate Ben Simmons and New York’s Kristaps Porzingis and Frank Ntilikina in a look at the NBA’s future.

The spotlight game of the day comes next as the Warriors host the Cavaliers in a rematch of the past three NBA Finals. Both teams come into the contest near the top of their conferences and a fourth straight Finals clash seems likely, if not inevitable. Even though Stephen Curry will be sidelined and Isaiah Thomas isn’t quite ready to return, Cleveland-Golden State games are always special.

The Wizards and Celtics are next in a rematch of their thrilling series in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals. It’s a battle of two of the league’s best point guards as John Wall faces Kyrie Irving in Boston’s first home Christmas Day game in 69 years.

Following that, last year’s top two vote-getters in the MVP race will be on display as Russell Westbrook and the Thunder host James Harden and the Rockets. The addition of Chris Paul has helped Houston post the league’s best record at 25-6. The additions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony were supposed to do the same for Oklahoma City, which may be coming together with four straight wins after a slow start.

The night will end at Staples Center as the Lakers host the Northwest Division-leading Timberwolves. Lonzo Ball will miss the game with a sprained left shoulder, but Rookie of the Year candidate Kyle Kuzma is still worth watching as L.A. faces Jimmy Butler and the new-look Wolves.

The staff of Hoops Rumors extends Merry Christmas wishes to all our readers. Thank you for your loyalty throughout the year and please consider spending part of your holiday with us.

Jamal Crawford Still A Difference Maker For Wolves

December 24th, 2017 at 4:32pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Timberwolves signed three-time Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford to be instant offense off the bench and to be a veteran presence on a young, promising team. While his minutes and production were down through the first third of the season, he is still capable of putting up points in a hurry for Minnesota, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune writes.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/24/17

December 24th, 2017 at 3:05pm CST by marksuleymanov

Here are the G-League transactions from around the NBA today:

The Hawks have recalled guard Tyler Dorsey and big man Mike Muscala from the organization’s G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, the team announced in a press release. Dorsey has appeared in 10 games for the Hawks this season while Muscala has played in nine contests.
The Wolves announced that the 18th overall pick from this year’s NBA Draft, Justin Patton, has been recalled from the team’s G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves (via Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune). Patton had been sidelined with a broken left foot to start a season before starting a G League assignment earlier this month. Patton, 20, appeared in six games with Iowa.
The Magic have recalled center Khem Birch from their G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, the team announced (via Twitter). Birch, 25, has appeared briefly in four games for Orlando this season.

Jamal Crawford Didn't Expect To Play So Little

December 17th, 2017 at 11:08pm CST by Austin Kent

Veteran guard Jamal Crawford has found adjusting to his role with the Timberwolves challenging, Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune writes, noting that he didn’t expect to play the fewest minutes per game since his rookie campaign in 2000/01. “You want to actually do it the right way, and play within the framework of the game. But then, if you’re not out there that much, you kind of have to make something happen. So it’s a balance I’m trying to figure out,” Crawford said.