Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Rumors: Wiggins, Thibodeau, FAs

August 4th, 2017 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves’ trade offer for Kyrie Irving doesn’t include Andrew Wiggins, and that appears unlikely to change. According to Sid Hartman of The Star Tribune, team owner Glen Taylor has “made it clear” that the club intends to lock up Wiggins to a five-year, max extension in the near future. Hartman adds that the former top pick “is not available to anybody in a trade.”

While that news doesn’t come as a huge surprise, it’s hard to imagine the Wolves being putting together a viable package for Irving without including Wiggins, so Minnesota looks to be a long shot to acquire the Cavaliers’ star point guard.

Here’s more from out of Minnesota:

Taylor owns about 70% of the Timberwolves, and while a pair of minority stakeholders are looking to sell their shares in the franchise, that’s not the case for Taylor, as Hartman details. “We have a couple of my limited [owners] that have indicated that they’re going to sell, and we have another limited [owner] that is going to buy them,” Taylor said. “I won’t be selling any of my stock. Whatever I have, I’m keeping.”
Although Taylor would have liked to see the Timberwolves play better in 2016/17, he remains confident in Tom Thibodeau‘s long-term vision for the team, per Hartman. “I brought him in here for the long run,” Taylor said of Thibodeau. “We tried it with the young players, and it appears that we need more experience on the team to get where we want to get. [Thibodeau] is flexible and he’s trying his best to bring in the quality guys we need to get to the championship, so I’m happy.”
Taylor’s sights for 2017/18 are set higher, according to Hartman. “Well, of course we have to get into the playoffs,” Taylor said. “And where we get into … the playoffs is probably very important for us. To get into fourth place so you have home-court advantage would really be the super position.”
The Wolves expect to sign three more players to veteran minimum contracts, according to Taylor, via Hartman. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News indicated earlier this week (via Twitter) that the club had a contract offer out to a shooter.

Several Teams Eyeing Alan Anderson

August 3rd, 2017 at 9:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Alan Anderson is drawing interest from several teams, according to Darren Wolfson of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Timberwolves, Nets, Raptors, and Knicks are among the teams to check in on the 34-year-old.

Anderson played for the Clippers last season after signing a one-year deal with the club. He didn’t play much for Doc Rivers, appearing in only 30 games. He scored 2.9 points in 10.3 minutes per contest.

Prior to arriving in Los Angeles, Anderson played for the Wizards, Nets, Raptors, and Bobcats. He also spent time abroad playing for teams in Italy, Russia, Croatia, and Israel.

Kyler’s Latest: Irving, Suns, Wolves, Melo, Rockets

August 3rd, 2017 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

As we enter the dog days of the NBA offseason, two All-Star trade candidates remain on the block — the Cavaliers and Knicks continue to explore trades involving Kyrie Irving and Carmelo Anthony, respectively. Nothing appears imminent on either front, but Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders checks in on both situations to see where they stand, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights from Kyler…

The Cavaliers aren’t operating with a sense of urgency to find an Irving deal. One source from a team interested in Irving tells Kyler that Cleveland doesn’t seem to be operating with a deadline when it comes to getting something done. The source described the Cavs as still being in “fact-finding mode” at this point.
The Suns and Timberwolves are viewed as two strong candidates for Irving, but they’ve been reluctant to include Josh Jackson and Andrew Wiggins, respectively, and are unlikely to win out unless they relent on that stance. While Phoenix doesn’t want to move Jackson or Devin Booker, there’s a sense that anyone else on the roster could be had, says Kyler. That may not be enough for the Cavaliers, however.
The “prevailing thought in NBA circles” is that the long-rumored Anthony deal between the Knicks and Rockets isn’t going to happen unless Houston finds a way to improve its offer. As Kyler details, the idea of the Knicks accepting a package made up entirely of players they don’t view as long-term pieces isn’t “appealing or agreeable” to the team’s front office.
The Knicks seem as if they’re willing to bring Anthony to training camp if he doesn’t expand his list of preferred landing spots or if the Rockets don’t improve their offer, according to Kyler, who describes the Carmelo situation as “more like a standoff” than the Cavaliers‘ situation with Irving.

Community Shootaround: Andrew Wiggins’ Future

August 2nd, 2017 at 11:21am CST by Luke Adams

With all of this year’s top free agents off the board, the focus of the NBA rumor mill has shifted to trade candidates and extension candidates. Former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins certainly falls under the latter category, and it’s not unreasonable to include him in the former category as well.

As a former first-round pick entering the final season of his four-year rookie contract, Wiggins is eligible to sign a contract extension, and the Timberwolves have reportedly been discussing the prospect of a five-year, maximum salary deal. At the same time, the new-look Wolves have been linked to Kyrie Irving, who has asked the Cavaliers to trade him, and Wiggins appears to be the most logical trade chip Minnesota could include in an offer for Irving. However, the Wolves have thus far been unwilling to make Wiggins available in any Irving proposal.

As I discussed at length when I profiled Wiggins as an extension candidate last month, the 22-year-old can score at an elite level, but has yet to round out his game in other areas — he was a below-average defender, rebounder, and distributor last season. He’s young enough and talented enough on offense that it’s easy to make a case for a maximum-salary investment, but it’d still be a bit of a gamble.

In an in-depth piece of his own, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com makes the case today that the Wolves should be in no rush to lock up Wiggins to a max extension. In Ziller’s view, it makes sense for the club to be patient, giving Wiggins another year to develop and perhaps even allowing for more potential trade opportunities to arise. If the young forward takes another step forward, the Wolves could still sign him to a max deal next summer as a restricted free agent.

That argument is a fair one, though waiting on a new deal for Wiggins isn’t without potential downside either. This year’s top free agent, Gordon Hayward, is case study in the risks of letting a potential star reach restricted free agency after his rookie contract. The Jazz could have locked up Hayward with a five-year extension entering the final year of his rookie deal, but the club instead let him reach restricted free agency, where the Hornets signed him to a four-year offer sheet that included an opt-out after year three.

The Jazz matched that offer sheet and retained Hayward, but instead of having him locked up for five years, the team only had him for three, plus an option year. That allowed Hayward to opt out after three seasons and reach the open market this summer, at which point he signed with a new team. If the Jazz had signed him to a five-year extension when they had a chance, he’d still be under contract with Utah for two more years. The Wolves will have to consider that scenario if they decide to let Wiggins reach free agency.

What do you think? Should Wiggins and the Timberwolves get an extension done as soon as possible? Is he worth a maximum-salary investment? Should Minnesota wait until he becomes a restricted free agent to act? Or is trading him in a deal for Irving the most logical move for the Wolves?

Jump into the comments section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Wolves Not Offering Wiggins For Kyrie, Focused On Extension

August 1st, 2017 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Details of the Timberwolves’ reported offer for Kyrie Irving aren’t known, but Andrew Wiggins isn’t part of Minnesota’s proposal, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). Wolfson adds that for the Wolves to have a real shot at acquiring Irving, their offer would need to include Wiggins “and more.”

The No. 1 overall pick in 2014, Wiggins was initially drafted by the Cavaliers before being sent to Minnesota for Kevin Love, and Sam Amico of Amico Hoops hears that the fourth-year forward wouldn’t be opposed to a return to Cleveland.

However, according to Wolfson (Twitter link), the Cavs would want “something of substance” in addition to Wiggins if they were to send Irving to the Wolves. A deal between the two sides isn’t at all close, and given Minnesota’s reluctance to offer Wiggins – let alone additional pieces – it looks like a long shot at this point.

Assuming Wiggins remains in Minnesota, as expected, there’s a good chance he and the Wolves end up working out a contract extension this offseason. Owner Glen Taylor confirmed over the weekend that the team is discussing a five-year max deal with its young forward, and Wolfson has another update today from Taylor.

According to the Wolves’ owner (Twitter link), Minnesota has formally put an extension offer on the table for Wiggins, whose agent is due to be in town later this month. In the case of a five-year, maximum salary deal, not a lot of negotiating is required, so it sounds as if the two sides have a chance to get something done within the next few weeks.

Wolves Sign Anthony Brown To Two-Way Deal

August 1st, 2017 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 1: The Timberwolves have officially announced their two-way deal with Brown, issuing a press release to confirm the signing.

JULY 25: The Timberwolves have reached an agreement on a two-way contract with free agent guard Anthony Brown, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). As our two-way tracker shows, it’s the first deal of its kind for Minnesota.

Brown, 24, was selected 34th overall in the 2015 draft by the Lakers and spent the 2015/16 campaign in L.A. However, Brown was a surprise cut last fall before the start of the regular season, failing to earn a spot on the Lakers’ 15-man roster when the team opted to keep a couple non-guaranteed players instead.

Brown had subsequent stints with the Pelicans and Magic, but spent most of the 2016/17 season with the G League’s Erie BayHawks, averaging 20.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 3.1 APG. He also posted an impressive .467 3PT%, making a greater percentage of three-pointers than two-point shots.

For more details on what two-way contracts are and how they work, be sure to check out our FAQ.

Wolves, Andrew Wiggins Discussing Five-Year, Max Extension

July 29th, 2017 at 5:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wolves are working on signing Andrew Wiggins to a five-year, maximum salary extension, Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune reports. However, Hartman cautions that those talks are in the early stages at this point.

“First of all, I think he likes it here, we like him, he can get the very best contract from me, better than he can get from anyone else,” Owner Glen Taylor said. “I don’t think we have any trouble of offering him the max anyway.”

Taylor added that the team plans on extending Wiggins this offseason and doing the same with Karl-Anthony Towns next summer.

“We are talking to [Wiggins’] agent right now about extending him out another five years, so we can do that,” Taylor said. “Karl, we won’t do that until next year. Wiggins, we want to sign him to a long-term contract, we want to keep him here, and we’re negotiating with his agent. But we just started that negotiation, and we have quite some time to get that done.”

Taylor believes the negotiations should be harmonious since Wiggins will get the maximum amount possible under the new CBA. “We’re not really negotiating anything like that [money],” Taylor said. “There shouldn’t be any problem.”

The exact monetary amount of the extension won’t be known until next offseason when the 2018/19 salary cap details are calculated. Based on projections, a five-year, max extension for Wiggins would net him slightly under $148MM, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors recently shared.

At Least Six Teams Have Made Kyrie Trade Offers

July 28th, 2017 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

10:37am: The Heat have made no offer to the Cavs for Irving, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Wojnarowski is as reliable as NBA reporters come, so this may simply be a question of semantics — perhaps the Heat conveyed to Cleveland what they’d be willing to give up for Kyrie without officially putting an offer on the table. Either way, Miami looks like a long shot.

8:37am: The Spurs, Clippers, Heat, Knicks, Suns, and Timberwolves are among the teams that have made trade offers to the Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

According to Wojnarowski, about 20 teams have inquired with the Cavs about Irving, but far fewer have made legit proposals — some clubs are just monitoring the proceedings, while others don’t have the assets necessary to make a deal happen.

As Wojnarowski explains, there’s a discrepancy between the sort of package the Cavaliers are seeking and what Irving’s potential suitors are currently willing to offer. New GM Koby Altman is looking at the package Denver received in 2011 for Carmelo Anthony as a point of reference. The Nuggets acquired young players, win-now veterans, and draft picks in that swap. However, Cleveland’s potential trade partners prefer a “scaled-down” version of that structure, with fewer players and picks, like what the Bulls received for Jimmy Butler.

Here’s more from Woj:

According to Wojnarowski, the Cavaliers haven’t ruled out the possibility of bringing Irving to training camp, or even extending the process beyond December 15, when most free agent signees become trade-eligible. However, other clubs are skeptical that the Cavs will let the Irving saga continue well into the fall.
Teams around the league view the Suns and Celtics as the teams best equipped to make a deal for Irving. However, Phoenix hasn’t been willing to include Josh Jackson, and it’s not clear how aggressive Boston would be with its assets.
The Heat are open to parting with Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow in an offer for Irving, sources tell Wojnarowski. Still, Miami would likely have to make an “overwhelming” offer to get something done, given the history between the two franchises, Woj adds.
The Pacers had Irving as the No. 1 target on their trade board when they were shopping Paul George, and would have done a one-for-one deal, but the Cavaliers declined that option multiple times, sources tell Woj. The ESPN scribe also notes that a separate deal for George – involving Kevin Love instead of Irving – fell apart when the Cavs insisted on including lottery protection on a first-round pick they’d send to the Pacers. Indiana wanted the pick unprotected.
Team executives around the NBA are doing a ton of homework on Irving, and have been encouraged by what they’ve found — there’s a consensus that Irving has a history of late nights and partying, but it never affected his play and he has curbed those tendencies into his mid-20s, says Wojnarowski.

Andrew Wiggins Seeking Max Extension

July 28th, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

As expected, Andrew Wiggins is seeking a maximum salary contract extension in negotiations with the Timberwolves. Speaking to Ben Golliver of SI.com, Wiggins said he’s taking a “day by day” approach to contract talks. Asked if he believes he’s worth the max though, the former No. 1 overall pick replied, “I definitely do. Nothing less.”

Based on current salary cap projections for the 2018/19 season, Wiggins would be eligible to earn up to nearly $148MM on a five-year extension that would run through the 2022/23 campaign. The two sides are reportedly engaged in discussions on a potential deal, though as I noted last Friday when I examined Wiggins’ case for a new deal, it’s not clear if the Wolves have been willing to put that five-year max on the table.

Wiggins’ case for a max extension is an interesting one. He’s still just 22 years old, and is coming off a season in which he averaged a career-high 23.6 PPG. However, the fourth-year forward has been somewhat one-dimensional so far in his career — his defense has been uninspiring, and he doesn’t rebound or distribute the ball particularly well. He was also an unreliable outside shooter before upping his 3PT% to a more impressive .356 in 2016/17.

Nonetheless, given his scoring ability and his overall potential, Wiggins would almost certainly attract at least one maximum offer in restricted free agency in 2018. If he’s not willing to accept less than the max, the Wolves may have to decide whether it’s worth rolling the dice on the 22-year-old’s upside sooner rather than later, locking him up for as long as possible rather than risking another team giving him an offer sheet in 2018 that allows him to reach unrestricted free agency early.

Amidst Wiggins’ extension discussions, rumors of the Timberwolves’ interest in Kyrie Irving continue to swirl, and there’s a belief that it would be difficult for Minnesota to get a deal done without including Wiggins in its package. So far though, there has been no indication whether the Wolves are willing to include him in their offer, or how that would affect extension talks.

Northwest Notes: Westbrook, Wiggins, Irving, Nuggets

July 27th, 2017 at 3:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nearly a month has passed since the Thunder offered an extension to Russell Westbrook, writes Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript. Oklahoma City is hoping the reigning MVP will agree to extend his current contract by five years in a deal that would start with the 2018/19 season. Westbrook is eligible to receive 35% of the salary cap — currently projected at $102MM for that season — along with 8% raises each year. The deadline to accept the offer is October 16, the day before the regular season begins. Katz says the organization remains “cautiously optimistic” that Westbrook will agree to the extension.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

Extension talks continued this morning between the Timberwolves and Andrew Wiggins, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Wolfson doesn’t believe Minnesota would include Wiggins in a trade offer for Kyrie Irving.
Former Nuggets forward Mike Miller thinks Irving would be a good fit in Denver, relays Ashish Mathur of Amicohoops. In an appearance Wednesday on Altitude Radio, Miller, who spent a year with Irving in Cleveland, said the point guard is “definitely interested” in being traded to the Nuggets. “I’ve already asked that question,” Miller said. “… I think he will. I really do. Like anything else, when people look at cities, Denver’s an unbelievable city we all know that. And with what the organization has built there, he would be crazy not to and he’s definitely, definitely interested in it and I told him by putting this thing out there he has no choice.” Mathur speculates that Denver would have to offer Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Wilson Chandler and a draft pick to make the deal work.
Unless they can pull off a trade, the Nuggets are looking at only “minor tweaks” before the season starts, writes Christopher Dempsey of NBA.com. Denver’s roster is virtually filled with not much cap space remaining. Dempsey adds that the team achieved its top offseason priority of signing Paul Millsap.