Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Ingram, Maker, Briscoe

May 23rd, 2016 at 8:52pm CST by ChrisCrouse

One league executive told Chad Ford of ESPN.com that Brandon Ingram’s future in the NBA will be at the shooting guard position. “Back when the Pacers used to play Paul George at the 2, I felt like that was his best position,” the executive told Ford. “I feel the same way about Ingram. That’s where he can be devastating and his lack of strength won’t come back to haunt him. If he becomes a superstar, I think it will be because he developed the ability to play that spot.” Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors profiled Ingram earlier today.

Thon Maker will play the five spot as he develops in the league, one anonymous GM tells Ford, as he writes in the same piece. Ford speculates that the Celtics, Nuggets, Sixers and Suns may look to draft the Australian. All four of those teams have multiple first round picks.
Most scouts aren’t optimistic about Perry Ellis’ chances of hearing his name called on draft night, though some have him going in the second round, Ford adds in the same piece.
Isaiah Briscoe has worked out for the Wolves today, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets. Briscoe will also work out for the Hawks on Tuesday, Zagoria adds.

Wolves Announce Multiple Front Office Changes

May 20th, 2016 at 6:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Timberwolves are under new management in Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden. As is often the case with new regimes, they wish to bring in their own people to surround themselves with. In keeping with that theme, the team has announced via press release that a number of front office personnel have been let go from their respective positions. The franchise did not name any replacements in its official statement:

“Effective immediately, the following individuals will be relieved of their respective duties: previous General Manager Milt Newton, Vice President of Basketball Operations Rob Babcock, Vice President of Sports Performance Arnie Kander, assistant coach Sid Lowe, Director of Sports Performance Koichi Sato, Manager of Team Travel/Facilities Coordinator Bill Hohenecker, Head of Video Department and Manager of Basketball Technology Brice Long and Scouts Milton Barnes and Jason Hervey. We Would like to thank all of these individuals for their contributions to our organization and wish them well in their future endeavors.”

Team owner Glen Taylor had stated back in March that Newton would be in charge of the draft and free agency for the team this summer, but that was well in advance of Thibodeau being hired. Newton wasn’t assured of holding onto his post beyond this season anyway, after he inherited the role this past fall upon the death of president of basketball operations Flip Saunders. One potential landing spot for Newton is in Washington, where he had previously served as vice president of player personnel for the Wizards, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.

Wolves Should Consider Drafting Buddy Hield

May 20th, 2016 at 4:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

New Wolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau has offered Travelle Gaines, who is Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler’s personal trainer, a post as the team’s strength and conditioning coach, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago tweets.

The Timberwolves hold the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft and Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune makes the case for the team to select former Oklahoma shooting guard Buddy Hield. The scribe opines that Hield is the best available combination of talent, maturity and polish available where the team’s pick falls.

Wolves Interviewed Thon Maker

May 19th, 2016 at 9:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wolves interviewed Thon Maker last week in Chicago, reports Darren Wolfson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Latest On 2016 NBA Draft

May 17th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Timberwolves have workouts scheduled on Wednesday for Bryn Forbes (Michigan State), Amida Brimah (UConn), Angel Rodriguez (Miami), Williams and Tonye Jekiri (Miami), Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (Twitter link).

Karl-Anthony Towns Named Rookie Of The Year

May 16th, 2016 at 9:09am CST by Arthur Hill

Karl-Anthony Towns has officially been named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year for the 2015/16 season in a unanimous vote, the Timberwolves announced today (via Twitter). A 20-year-old out of Kentucky, Towns was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month each month this season.

Towns was the top pick in the 2015 draft and immediately moved into Minnesota’s starting lineup. He started all 82 games and averaged a double-double with 18.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per night.

Towns quickly won the respect of Wolves veteran Kevin Garnett, who praised the rookie center for his IQ and understanding of the game. Sometimes [it’s] a little difficult teaching him because he is so smart,” Garnett said. “I guess that’s a young thing. But he gets a lot of things you teach him very quickly.’’

Towns’ Rookie of the Year nod represents the second consecutive time a player from the Timberwolves organization has earned the honor. Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins was named Rookie of the Year in 2015.

ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links) first reported on Sunday that the Wolves were expected to announce that Towns had been named Rookie of the Year at a news conference Monday, adding that it wouldn’t be surprising if the final vote was unanimous.

Here is this year’s full list of vote-getters for the award, along with their point totals:

Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves): 650
Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks): 363
Nikola Jokic (Nuggets): 59
Devin Booker (Suns): 49
Jahlil Okafor (76ers): 34
Justise Winslow (Heat): 7
Emmanuel Mudiay (Nuggets): 4
Myles Turner (Pacers): 3
D’Angelo Russell (Lakers): 1

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Timberwolves Interview Point Guard Jamal Murray

May 15th, 2016 at 12:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kentucky point guard Jamal Murray interviewed with the Timberwolves during the draft combine, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets. Murray is currently rated No. 6 by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and No. 3 on Ford’s Big Board.

Central Notes: Thibodeau, Pacers, Jackson

May 14th, 2016 at 7:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said it was painful to watch the team struggle to a non-playoff season, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago. Now president and coach of the Timberwolves, Thibodeau discussed the Bulls as he returned to Chicago for this week’s draft combine. “I think Derrick [Rose] after the first couple months, played very well and it was great to see him healthy,” Thibodeau said. “He went through four years that were difficult. I think Jimmy [Butler] continues to improve and get better. Pau [Gasol] was terrific. Doug McDermott had a terrific season and Niko [Mirotic] was inconsistent but he finished strong. There were a lot of pluses and one or two games go a different way and if Joakim [Noah] doesn’t get hurt, this is a terrific team. They need their health. For me, just looking from afar, that’s the biggest thing for this team.” Thibodeau also supported the coach who took his place, Fred Hoiberg, and said he expects the Bulls to become contenders again next season.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

The Pacers will hold a workout on Tuesday for Indiana small forward Troy Williams, Maryland point guard Melo Trimble, Oklahoma point guard Isaiah Cousins and others, tweets Jeff Rabjohns of Basketball Times. High schooler Thon Maker will work out for the Pacers on Wednesday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Maryland power forward Robert Carter Jr. had an interview with the Pacers at the draft combine, tweets Scott Agness of VigilantSports.
The Bucks will likely be looking for backcourt help in next month’s draft, according to Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee enters Tuesday’s draft lottery with the No. 10 pick, along with second-rounders at No. 36 and No. 38. GM John Hammond insists the team will employ the “best-player-available” strategy, but Gardner says it’s obvious the Bucks need better guard play. One possibility could be Notre Dame junior point guard Demetrius Jackson, who interviewed with Milwaukee during the draft combine. “[Bucks coach] Jason Kidd is awesome,” Jackson said. “I do my research before I go in there. I’m naming off some of his accomplishments — nine-time all-NBA defender. At the next level I really want to be an elite NBA defender. It’s cool to meet some of these people you see on TV.”

Latest From Draft Combine

May 13th, 2016 at 5:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wolves held a workout earlier this week that included Ben Bentil (Providence), Abdul Malik-Abu (North Carolina State), Abdel Nader (Iowa State), Trevon Bluiett (Xavier) and James Robinson (Pittsburgh), Zgoda tweets.

The Timberwolves interviewed Utah sophomore center Jakob Poeltl and UNLV freshman big man Stephen Zimmerman, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune relays (Twitter links).

Northwest Notes: Leonard, Diallo, Felder, Davis

May 12th, 2016 at 9:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Impending free agent center Meyers Leonard is making progress with his injured shoulder, according to The Oregonian. In a video interview posted on the paper’s website, Leonard discusses the torn labrum in his left shoulder and what he expects out of restricted free agency this summer. “The frustrating thing is I’m not in pain, but it just takes time for things to heal,” said Leonard, who faces a six- to eight-month timetable to return after undergoing surgery last month. He admits feeling jealous while watching his teammates during the playoffs. The injury could limit the offers for Leonard, who declined an extension from the Blazers in October.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

Kansas freshman big man Cheick Diallo will have an interview with the Jazz on Friday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Oakland junior point guard Kay Felder had meetings with the Jazz and Nuggets, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
Freshman big man Deyonta Davis of Michigan State talked with the Jazz, according to Beard (Twitter link).
The Jazz also interviewed Purdue freshman power forward Caleb Swanigan, according to Nathan Baird of The Lafayette Journal & Courier.
The Wolves, who own the league’s fifth-worst record entering the draft lottery, held interviews with Providence sophomore point guard Kris Dunn and California freshman swingman Jaylen Brown, tweets Jerry Zgoda of The Star-Tribune.
Minnesota also interviewed Dunn’s teammate, sophomore power forward Ben Bentil (Twitter link). Bentil joined several other players in a workout for the Wolves last week.
Also meeting with the Wolves was Henry Ellenson, a freshman power forward out of Marquette, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.