Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Eye Kevin Martin

December 17th, 2015 at 3:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings are high on Timberwolves shooting guard Kevin Martin, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports (Twitter link). This comes on the heels of the overnight report from Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press that Minnesota has made Martin available in trade discussions. The Wolves are reportedly looking to free up more minutes to aid in the development of Andrew Wiggins, Shabazz Muhammad and Zach LaVine, according to Krawczynski.

This isn’t the first time that Sacramento has shown interest in the 32-year-old shooting guard. Last winter the Kings were mentioned as part of a series of reports identifying them along with the Mavericks, Wizards, Bulls and Rockets as interested parties for Martin’s services. No deal was struck, obviously, due to late Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders‘ apparent unwillingness to trade Martin or arrange for a buyout at the time. Martin played for the Kings from 2004-2010, though his time in Sacramento ended years before owner Vivek Ranadive bought the team and later installed Vlade Divac atop the basketball operations department.

Sacramento could certainly use some help at shooting guard, with neither former lottery pick Ben McLemore nor offseason signee Marco Belinelli playing particularly well thus far in 2015/16. The Kings are currently over the salary cap and without a trade exception, so Sacramento would need to send back matching salary to Minnesota in any deal. Martin is making $7.085MM this season with a player option for nearly $7.378MM next year.

Timberwolves Make Kevin Martin Available

December 17th, 2015 at 7:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Timberwolves have made Kevin Martin available in discussions about potential trades, a source told Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. Minnesota wants to find more time for younger perimeter players Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, according to Krawczynski. The potential that LaVine has shown to become a scorer and the increased amount of time Wiggins is seeing at shooting guard, plus the eight losses in nine games that the team has suffered, have helped prompt GM Milt Newton and company to put the 32-year-old Martin on the block and focus on Wiggins, LaVine and Shabazz Muhammad, Krawczynski explains.

Minnesota spoke with two teams about Martin early this season but was reluctant to move him amid a promising 8-8 start, Krawczynski writes. He began the season on the bench but the team made him a starter in late November to help him break out of a shooting slump, according to Krawczynski. The 12th-year veteran is nailing only 36.7% of his field goal attempts, a career low. Martin didn’t play in the team’s loss to the Knicks because of a sprained right (shooting) wrist, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, and he’s questionable for Friday’s game against the Kings.

Martin was a part of trade talk last winter, when a series of reports identified the Mavericks, Wizards, Bulls, Kings and Rockets as interested parties, though late Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders didn’t appear willing to trade him or work a buyout. The Mavs, who signed Wesley Matthews in the offseason, were no longer interested as of October, according to a report at that time from Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, and it’s unclear if any of the other teams linked to him almost a year ago are still eyeing him.

Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca speculates the Raptors might have interest, citing Martin’s track record as a scorer and an asset to team chemistry as well as his relationship with a few of Toronto’s players, though he suggests his contract could be a stumbling block (Twitter links). Martin is making $7.085MM this season with a player option for nearly $7.378MM next year.

What team do you think would make sense for Martin? Leave a comment to let us know.

Kaplan Moving Toward Deal For Stake In Wolves

December 16th, 2015 at 9:28am CST by Chuck Myron

Private equity investor and Grizzlies minority owner Steve Kaplan is progressing toward a deal with Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor that would see him purchase a 30% share of the Wolves and eventually take over a controlling interest from Taylor, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. The sides have reached agreement on the 30% stake and the purchase price for it, Zgoda writes, but Taylor cautioned to Zgoda that the deal is not yet done. Kaplan’s side must complete its vetting process, and the sides still need legal documentation and NBA approval, Taylor said to Zgoda. Kaplan must also sell his portion of the Grizzlies, Zgoda adds.

The 30% share is larger than the approximately 20% that the sides were talking about last month, when Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports first reported the discussion, though that’s no surprise, since the idea of a higher percentage came up in the conversations around that time, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Taylor said shortly thereafter that he was also speaking to other prospective buyers, but he’s negotiating solely with Kaplan and his group now, Zgoda reports. Taylor has said that anyone who would take controlling interest from him must agree to keep the team in Minnesota, as Zgoda points out. It’s unclear when Kaplan would take over controlling interest as part of any would-be deal.

Kaplan had interest in buying the Hawks earlier this year before Antony Ressler purchased the franchise, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Forbes magazine pegged the value of the Wolves at $625MM, second lowest in the NBA, in January, though that number has likely changed since then.

And-Ones: Grant, LaVine, D-League

December 15th, 2015 at 10:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said during a live chat on Lakers.com (h/t to Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times) that the team has no immediate plans to make any trades. “The trade deadline’s not for a couple of months. We’ll sit and monitor our team — make calls, take calls, see where where we are a month from now,” Kupchak said. “If something comes up that we think will help us down the road, we’ll look at it.” Here’s more from around the league:

Knicks coach Derek Fisher doesn’t want rookie point guard Jerian Grant to take his first game not in the Knicks lineup to heart, and says that learning to deal with adversity will be good for the young player, Fred Kerber of The New York Post writes. “For your entire career there are going to be [these] ups and downs that can break you or make you,” Fisher said. “When the opportunity comes back around, you capitalize, and that shows a level of professionalism and sustainability that as a young player you have to develop. So there isn’t anything he’s doing wrong, it’s just night to night I’m going with what fits best.”
Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell wants to get Zach LaVine more minutes but he is finding it difficult because of the team’s depth at the position, Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune writes. “We have Kevin Martin, who has to play,” Mitchell said regarding the calls for LaVine to have an increased role. “We have Shabazz Muhammad, who has to play. And so, I understand when everybody is sitting there and tweeting and blogging about it. But come put my shoes on. It doesn’t work like that. We have a team. We have a cohesive locker room. And we have to keep it that way. Eventually, all this stuff gets worked out. Until it gets worked out, it’s my job to manage the minutes, manage the egos and keep everyone playing at as high a level as possible.”
The Thunder have assigned Josh Huestis and Cameron Payne to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Huestis’ sixth stint with the Blue on the season and Payne’s second.

Western Notes: Howard, Rondo, Kaman, Payne

December 15th, 2015 at 4:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dwight Howard is “extremely unhappy” as a secondary option to James Harden on the Rockets, league sources tell Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops, but a source tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com that “everybody is unhappy” (Twitter link), with everybody presumably a reference to all of the Rockets. Houston has played better since last month’s coaching change, but the team is still just 12-13. Howard and Harden have never truly meshed, as Fran Blinebury of NBA.com wrote last month, adding that members of each other’s camp went into the 2014 offseason “whispering” about their desire to get rid of the other. Sheridan speculates about trade scenarios involving Howard, but no indication exists that the Rockets would indeed entertain any deals for the 30-year-old who has a player option worth more than $23.282MM for next season. Howard is No. 6 in our latest 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings. See more from the Western Conference:

Rajon Rondo apologized to referee Bill Kennedy today in the point guard’s second statement in response to the controversy surrounding the homophobic slur he used during a game earlier this month as an insult to Kennedy, who is gay. Some took issue with his first statement, which he issued Monday via two tweets, for its lack of a direct apology, and executives who spoke with Ken Berger of CBSSports.com offered split opinions on whether the matter would affect Rondo’s free agency this summer.
The Trail Blazers are making Chris Kaman available for trades, league sources told Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops. Kaman is pulling down $5.016MM this season, the last one on his contract. A sprained right ankle has helped limit him to just three appearances so far in 2015/16.
Timberwolves power forward Adreian Payne is also available, league sources said to Scotto for the same report. Payne, who’s earning almost $1.939MM in the second season of his rookie scale contract, was the 15th overall pick of the 2014 draft, but he’s played sparingly since. He’s averaging 3.5 points in 10.3 minutes per game across 15 appearances for Minnesota so far this season, though the team committed to him financially less than two months ago when it picked up his 2016/17 team option.

Western Notes: Lakers, Pelicans, Blazers

December 14th, 2015 at 9:05pm CST by Will Joseph

Despite a slow start for Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell, GM Mitch Kupchak has a lot of confidence in the shooting guard, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times relays. Russell has scored in double-figures in eight of the Lakers’ nine games this month. Kupchak attributed Russell’s success lately to figuring out the pace of the game and believes the young player will develop into a triple-double threat, Pincus adds.

“There’s never a doubt, when we scouted him last year and when we drafted him and worked him out, that he was going to be a very, very, very, very good player in this league,” Kupchak said in a live chat on Lakers.com, transcribed by Pincus. “That’s our feeling all along. He did not have a very good summer league and I think that was a wake-up call for him.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Pelicans re-signed Omer Asik to a five-year, $58MM contract in the summer, but the center’s performance has been underwhelming so far, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. Only the first four years of the deal are guaranteed, as Reid notes. The total value of guaranteed money is close to $45MM and Asik will be able to get entire value of the contract if he meets a certain amount of performance-based incentives, according to Reid, but his play indicates that’s not likely to happen.
C.J. McCollum is in the midst of a breakout season for the Blazers and there is a strong possibility he could be the league’s most improved player, Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group details. Portland exercised its rookie scale team option for the 2016/17 season with McCollum in September.
The Wolves were a perfect fit for rookie Karl-Anthony Towns in comparison to the Sixers and Lakers because in Minnesota he has veteran mentors like Kevin Garnett, Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press writes.

And-Ones: ‘Outperformers,’ Bryant, Dinwiddie

December 12th, 2015 at 10:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Four Western Conference players join Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis on an “Outperform” Team compiled by Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. The columnist honors the players who have most exceeded expectations during the first quarter of the season. The other team members are the Kings‘ Rajon Rondo, the Warriors‘ Stephen Curry, the Mavericks‘ Dirk Nowitzki and Wolves rookie Karl-Anthony Towns.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

The Lakers‘ Kobe Bryant addressed his relationship with former teammate Dwight Howard after tonight’s loss in Houston, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. “My responsibility when Dwight and I played together was to get him to play his best basketball,” Bryant said. “That involves pushing buttons.” Their rocky relationship was believed to be part of the reason Howard left Los Angeles for the Rockets in 2013.
Pistons guard Spencer Dinwiddie may be headed to the team’s D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids on Sunday, according to Terry Foster of The Detroit News. A slump and injuries have reduced Dinwiddie’s playing time, and he has dropped behind Steve Blake in the point guard mix. Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy suggested that Dinwiddie might benefit from increased minutes in Grand Rapids. “We have tried to use the D-League a little bit so he gets some game time,” Van Gundy said. “I think he has to take advantage of every opportunity he’s got to work and get better.”
The Thunder assigned Josh Huestis to the Oklahoma City Blue of the D-League, the team announced via press release. Huestis has played in seven games for the Blue this season, averaging 10.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.57 blocks.

Clippers Interested In Shabazz Muhammad

December 11th, 2015 at 12:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers are among the teams fond of Shabazz Muhammad, though the Timberwolves remain entrenched against moving him, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Wolfson also identified the Lakers and Nets as teams fond of the swingman despite the lack of playing time he’s seen thus far in his NBA career. Muhammad has averaged 8.6 points in 15.9 minutes per game since becoming the last pick of the 2013 lottery.

Muhammad, 23, would give the aging Clippers a much-needed injection of youthful talent if they were somehow able to convince the Timberwolves to budge. C.J. Wilcox is the only Clippers player on a rookie scale contract. Muhammad is in year three of his rookie scale deal and eligible for an extension in the offseason.

Trade rumors have swirled around the Clippers of late, with the team reportedly having gauged interest in Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith last month and recently having done the same with Jamal Crawford, who was also a subject of chatter over the summer. Still, Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers denied that he’s had any talks about Stephenson and Smith, and after the offseason stories surrounding Crawford, Rivers said in September that he intended to hold on to the veteran swingman through the season.

2016/17 Salary Cap Projection: Timberwolves

December 10th, 2015 at 9:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 has been set at $70MM, which is an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. The last cap projection from the league prior to the official numbers being announced had been $67.1MM, and the projection for the tax line had been $81.6MM. Many league executives and agents believe that the salary cap will escalate to a whopping $95MM for 2016/17, a higher figure than the league’s last projection of $89MM. This significant bump is a result of the league’s new $24 billion TV deal that kicks in just in time for next season.

The increase in the salary cap will almost assuredly set off a flurry of activity in the free agent market next summer, and it will also make it easier than ever for teams to deal away their higher-priced stars. Prudent executives are acutely aware of exactly how much cap room they have to play with, not just for the current campaign, but for next season and beyond as well. While the exact amount of 2016/17’s salary cap won’t be announced until next summer, it always pays to know just how much salary is on the books for each franchise. With this in mind, we at Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the projected 2016/17 financial commitments for each franchise, and we’ll continue onward with a look at the Minnesota Timberwolves:

Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $68,841,142*
Partially Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
Non Guaranteed Salary Commitments: $0
Total Projected Salary Cap Commitments: $68,841,142

*Note: This amount includes Kevin Martin‘s player option worth $7,377,500, as well as the team option for Damjan Rudez worth $1,199,000.

If the salary cap were to fall in line with the projection of $89MM, Minnesota would have approximately $20,158,858 in cap space, or $26,158,858 if the cap were to be set at the higher mark of $95MM. Again, these are merely predictions until the exact cap amounts are announced, and they are not meant to illustrate the exact amount that the team will have available to spend this coming offseason.

Trades and long-term free agent signings made during the season will also have a significant impact on the figures above, and we’ll be updating these posts to reflect the new numbers after any signings and trades have been made official.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 12/9/15

December 9th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

A number of teams have inquired about acquiring swingman Shabazz Muhammad from the Timberwolves, according to a report made by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The Nets and the Lakers are fond of Muhammad, according to a report by Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, though both reporters heard from sources who informed them that Minnesota, despite having depth at Muhammad’s position, is unwilling to trade the 23-year-old.

Muhammad’s NBA career didn’t begin to take off until his second season, when he averaged 13.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game, though it should be noted that was over just 38 appearances, including 13 starts. He’s appeared in all 20 contests for the Wolves thus far this season, averaging 8.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per night. The 23-year-old is under contract through the 2016/17 campaign after the team exercised his fourth year option in October.

This brings me to the topic for today: Should Minnesota look to trade Shabazz Muhammad, or is he a player whom the team should retain and continue to develop?

The Wolves currently have ample depth at the wing, and despite Muhammad’s level of talent, he’s stuck behind Andrew Wiggins, Tayshaun Prince, and Zach LaVine on Minnesota’s depth chart. Would it be wise for the team to deal him away if it could obtain a useful rotation piece, or would the Wolves be foolish to trade away an up-and-coming young player who is still on his rookie scale contract? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.