Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Hummel, Garnett

July 12th, 2015 at 10:12am CST by Dana Gauruder

Damian Lillard said there was no way to prevent LaMarcus Aldridge from bolting the Trail Blazers for the Spurs, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports. Lillard told Spears that Aldridge wanted a change and was seeking a franchise that was closer to winning a championship. Lillard added that Aldridge had no issues with him. “We basically exchanged texts about how much admiration we have for each other,” Lillard told Spears. “That change wasn’t about me. I did express that I wanted him to be back. I told him I respected his decision. I respected that he told me before the news broke and I saw it on TV.”

In other news around the Northwest Division:

The Trail Blazers and Nuggets are among the teams interested in signing Robbie Hummel, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets. The Kings and Cavaliers are also in the mix, Wolfson adds, but the two Northwest teams are the ones with the greater interest. Hummel became an unrestricted free agent when the Timberwolves pulled their $1.147MM qualifying offer.
Kevin Garnett has a full no-trade clause in his new contract, thanks to his service time during his first stint with the Timberwolves, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Players can only get full no-trades in a new contract, not extensions, and must have at least eight years service time and four with the same team, Stein adds in a separate tweet. Garnett agreed to a two-year, $16.5MM deal.
The Timberwolves should receive a trade exception for all of Chase Budinger‘s $5MM salary, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Minnesota agreed to deal Budinger to the Pacers on Saturday.
The Nuggets didn’t waive Randy Foye by the end of Saturday, so his non-guaranteed salary of $3.135MM is now fully guaranteed (hat tip to former Nets executive Bobby Marks; Twitter link).

Timberwolves Re-Sign Kevin Garnett

July 10th, 2015 at 5:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 5:57pm: The signing is official, the Wolves announced.

5:03pm: Wolfson pegs the value of the deal at $16.5MM. Garnett, an Andy Miller client, negotiated it himself, Wolfson adds (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 4:43pm: Garnett’s deal is for two years and $16MM, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweets, confirming Zgoda’s estimate.

10:00am: It is indeed a two-year deal for Garnett, Wolfson tweets. It contains no options or non-guaranteed money, Wolfson adds (on Twitter).

NBA: Los Angeles Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

TUESDAY, 8:28am: The Timberwolves and Kevin Garnett have reached a deal, as long expected, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The numbers aren’t yet clear, but the team had reportedly planned to make him a two-year offer, and Garnett was likewise expected to take it. The 39-year-old will be coming back for his record-tying 21st season this year.

“I’m incredibly excited and rejuvenated to be a part of this talented, committed team,” Garnett said, according to Wolfson (Twitter link).

Injuries limited Garnett to just five games after the midseason trade that brought him back to Minnesota, the team that had originally drafted him, but coach/executive Flip Saunders has no regrets based on the veteran’s locker room presence for the young Timberwolves. He’ll rejoin a team that’s set to feature at least three rookies in No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns, No. 24 pick Tyus Jones, and draft-and-stash prospect Nemanja Bjelica, who reportedly agreed to a deal Monday.

Garnett made $12MM last season, though his declining production would suggest a pay cut is in order. Minnesota has his Bird Rights and thus the ability to pay him whatever is necessary, though Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune has estimated a deal would be worth about $8MM a year. That would fall roughly in line with what fellow venerable power forward Dirk Nowitzki agreed to take from the Mavericks last year, when he signed a three-year deal worth about $8.3MM a season.

Western Notes: Cuban, Stoudemire, Aldridge

July 7th, 2015 at 9:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA has fined Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban $25k for publicly confirming the team’s pending free-agent deals with DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. Under league rules teams and players are allowed to strike verbal agreements on new contracts during July’s moratorium period, but team officials are not allowed to openly discuss those deals until July 9th, when the moratorium concludes, Stein adds. Cuban has accumulated over $2MM in league fines since becoming the Mavs’ owner back in 2000.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Unrestricted free agent Amar’e Stoudemire is talking with the Clippers regarding a deal, but Los Angeles’ difficult salary cap situation is complicating matters, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times relays (on Twitter). The Clippers are also floating the idea of signing free agent center Cole Aldrich, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register tweets.
Ed Pinckney will serve as the lead assistant on coach Michael Malone‘s staff with the Nuggets, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets.
LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t officially inform the Trail Blazers that he was leaving Portland until last Friday, though the team likely knew the forward wouldn’t be returning, Jason Quick of The Oregonian notes (via Twitter). The big man agreed to a four-year, and approximately $80MM deal with the Spurs.
Veteran Kevin Garnett may end up transitioning into a front office position during the second season of his new deal with the Wolves if he isn’t healthy enough to play in 2016/17, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes (on Twitter). KG agreed to a two-year pact with the team earlier today.
Despite all of the roster additions the Mavericks have made this offseason, the team still may have lost ground to the other teams in the West who have also improved, especially the Spurs, who landed Aldridge, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. But even if the team does regress in 2015/16, the additions of DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews give the franchise two important building blocks for the future, Sefko adds.

Timberwolves Sign Karl-Anthony Towns

July 7th, 2015 at 9:06am CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The Timberwolves have officially signed No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns, the team announced (Twitter link). He’ll almost certainly make close to $5.704MM this season, the first of his four-year rookie scale contract, on the standard 120% of the rookie scale, as our table of likely salaries for first-round picks shows. The formal signing represents one of the few types of transactions that can take place before Thursday, when the July Moratorium will be over.

Towns emerged as the top contender to become the No. 1 pick during the NCAA Tournament, even though his star-studded Kentucky team fell short of the national title that Jahlil Okafor, previously the leading prospect, came away with as a part of Duke’s team. Timberwolves coach/president of basketball operations Flip Saunders seemed like a late convert, but he ultimately came on board. Towns’ superior all-court game sets him apart, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors examined in his prospect profile.

The timing of the move, coming along with the team’s signing of No. 24 overall pick Tyus Jones and shortly after reports of agreements with Kevin Garnett and Nemanja Bjelica, likely signals an end to the major business of the summer for Minnesota, outside of trades. The team will almost certainly operate above the cap, though it will have a roughly $1.7MM portion of its mid-level left to make additions after likely having committed part of it to Bjelica.

Wolves Sign Tyus Jones

July 7th, 2015 at 9:04am CST by Will Joseph

TUESDAY, 9:04am: The deal is official, the team announced (on Twitter).

SUNDAY, 11:17pm: The Wolves signed No. 24 pick Tyus Jones, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link). The team hasn’t made any formal announcement, but Jones put pen to paper days ago, according to Wolfson.

Judging from the standard 120% of the rookie scale, Jones can expect to earn $1,282,080 the first year, $1,339,680 in year two, $1,397,400 the third year, and $2,444,053 during the final season.

The Wolves acquired Jones, a Minnesota native, from the Cavaliers. Jones, who has solid floor vision and leadership skills, was the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four this year at Duke. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors profiled Jones and described him as “quite possibly the best pure point guard in this year’s draft.”

Wolves Pull Qualifying Offer To Robbie Hummel

July 6th, 2015 at 2:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Timberwolves have taken back the qualifying offer of more than $1.147MM that they had extended to Robbie Hummel, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press hears (Twitter link). The client of the Priority Sports agency thus becomes an unrestricted free agent, and the team forfeits its right to match competing bids for him. The timing of the move suggests that it’s tied to Minnesota’s deal with Nemanja Bjelica, at least in terms of roster space. Hummel is still eligible to re-sign with the Wolves, and the sides remain in talks, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).

Minnesota officially has 11 players on its roster, but that doesn’t include first-round picks Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyus Jones, or Bjelica. It also doesn’t factor in a new deal for Kevin Garnett, who’s expected to re-sign. Lorenzo Brown‘s salary is non-guaranteed, but if Hummel had accepted the qualifying offer, which he had been free to do at any point, it would have created a logjam.

The team is poised to be over the cap when the July Moratorium is over on Thursday, given its more than $56MM in guaranteed salary, plus cap holds for Garnett, Towns and Jones. Thus, the withdrawal of the qualifying offer probably isn’t a move designed to create more cap room for Bjelica, who can instead go into the team’s $5.464MM mid-level exception. The Wolves don’t appear to be renouncing Hummel’s Early Bird rights, so they can still exceed the cap to re-sign him for up to the average salary, likely around $6MM, if they want. Still, a deal at or close to the minimum salary would be a more realistic outcome if Hummel is to remain with Minnesota.

And-Ones: Drummond, Farmar, Mekel

July 6th, 2015 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons could reap greater cap flexibility for next summer if they wait until then to sign Andre Drummond as a restricted free agent instead of giving him an extension this summer, but the team will leave that choice to the Jeff Schwartz client, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Drummond reportedly wants an extension, so it would seem it’s a strong bet he’ll end up with one before the October 31st rookie scale extension deadline. Here’s more from around the NBA and related circles:

Jordan Farmar has signed with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, the team announced (hat tip to David Pick of Eurobasket.com). Agent Tony Dutt searched for NBA deals for the point guard who spent part of last season with the Clippers, but found nothing, as Pick hears (Twitter link).
Maccabi Tel Aviv management pushed for the deal with Farmar, while the coaches were higher on former Mavs and Pelicans point guard Gal Mekel, according to Pick, who earlier reported that Mekel and the team had a verbal agreement on a three-year deal with NBA out clauses (Twitter links). However, fellow Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem is still pursuing Mekel, who remains in talks with teams from the NBA and Europe, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss clarified in a radio appearance on KPCC-FM last week that this past year was the first on brother Jim Buss‘ three-year window to guide the team to at least the Western Conference Finals, as Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com details. Jim Buss would resign his job as executive VP of basketball operations if the Lakers aren’t back to that point by the end of the 2016/17 season, his sister said.
The Lakers, Heat, Knicks, Suns and Pelicans have expressed interest in Justin Hamilton, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The Timberwolves elected not to retain the right to match offers for him when they decided against making a qualifying offer.
Serge Ibaka failed to meet an incentive worth $100K this past season, so his cap hit for the Thunder for this coming season shrinks by that amount, to $12.25MM, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). That’s unlikely to matter for the Thunder, who are expected to be well above the cap and exceed the tax line. Ibaka’s salary for tax purposes will be determined based on the bonuses that he either triggers or doesn’t trigger this coming season, whereas last season’s figures only affect his cap number.
The Nuggets are hiring German national team coach Chris Fleming, former Magic assistant Wes Unseld Jr., and Kings assistants Ryan Bowen and Micah Nori as assistants to new head coach Michael Malone, reports Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. They’ll join Bulls assistant Ed Pinckney, who’s also reportedly joining the Denver coaching staff.

2015/16 Roster Counts: Minnesota Timberwolves

July 2nd, 2015 at 11:44pm CST by Eddie Scarito

During the offseason it’s OK for teams to carry as many as 20 players, but clubs must trim their rosters down to a maximum of 15 by opening night. In the meantime, some teams will hang around that 15-man line, while others will max out their roster counts. Some clubs may actually have more than 15 contracts that are at least partially guaranteed on the books. That means they’ll end up paying players who won’t be on the regular season roster, unless they can find trade partners.

With plenty more movement still to come, here’s the latest look at the Wolves’ roster size, the contract guarantee status of each player, and how each player came to be on Minnesota’s roster.

(Last Updated 3-23-16, 4:00pm)

Fully Guaranteed (14)

Nemanja Bjelica (F) — 6’10″/27 years old. Draft rights acquired via Wizards.
Gorgui Dieng (C) — 6’11″/25 years old. Draft rights acquired via Jazz.
Kevin Garnett (F) — 6’11″/39 years old. Acquired via trade with Nets.
Tyus Jones (G) — 6’1″/19 years old. Drafted rights acquired via Cavaliers.
Zach LaVine (G) — 6’5″/20 years old. Drafted with No. 13 overall pick in 2014.
Shabazz Muhammad (F) — 6’6″/22 years old. Draft rights acquired via Jazz.
Adreian Payne (F) — 6’10″/24 years old. Acquired via trade from Hawks.
Nikola Pekovic (C) — 6’11″/29 years old. Drafted with No. 31 overall pick in 2008.
Tayshaun Prince (F) — 6’9″/35 years old. Free agent signing.
Ricky Rubio (G) — 6’4″/24 years old. Drafted with No. 5 overall pick in 2009.
Damjan Rudez (F) — 6’10″/28 years old. Acquired via trade from Pacers.
Greg Smith (F/C) — 6’10″/25 years old. Free agent signing.
Karl-Anthony Towns (F/C) — 6’11″/19 years old. Drafted with No. 1 overall pick in 2015.
Andrew Wiggins (F) — 6’8″/20 years old. Acquired via trade from Cavaliers.

10-Day Contracts (0)

None

TOTAL ROSTER COUNT (14)

Wolves Close To Deal With Nemanja Bjelica

July 1st, 2015 at 4:34am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 4:34am: Bjelica has officially opted out of his deal with Fenerbahce Ulker, Pick reports (Twitter link).

SUNDAY, 7:44pm: Saunders said the Wolves will bring Bjelica over in time for next season, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein tweets.

SATURDAY, 10:05am: Bjelica is in serious discussions with the Timberwolves on a three-year, $12MM-plus deal, but the two sides have been exploring all options, Shams Charania of RealGM.com reports. There is active trade interest around the NBA for the Serbian forward as well, Charania adds.

FRIDAY, 11:53am: The Timberwolves are close to an agreement with draft-and-stash prospect Nemanja Bjelica, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Minnesota couldn’t formally sign the Euroleague MVP until after the July Moratorium, as long as he’s signing for more than the minimum, which will presumably be the case.

Bjelica has sought a “serious offer” of between $5MM and $7MM per season, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com reported this spring. The Timberwolves are unlikely to have the capacity to give him more than the $5.434MM mid-level exception, though speculation has suggested that Minnesota wouldn’t be willing to go that high. Still, the sides have seemingly held mutual interest in a deal.

The Wolves acquired the power forward’s NBA rights from the Wizards in 2010 one year after Washington drafted him 35th overall. Bjelica, already 27, averaged 11.5 points and 8.2 rebounds in 26.1 minutes per game this season for Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker. He has one more season left on his contract for that team, as Mark Porcaro shows on our Draft Rights Held Players database. He can escape with a buyout reportedly of 1.2 million euros, the equivalent of about $1.339MM, though the Timberwolves could foot up to $625K of that amount.

Demetris Nichols Drawing Interest

June 30th, 2015 at 9:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Demetris Nichols has had discussions with teams about a potential NBA return, a league source told Shams Charania of RealGM. The Grizzlies are among the interested clubs and the T’Wolves and Pelicans have also inquired on him. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter) says that Nichols’ agent has cast a wide net and the T’Wolves haven’t gone much further than a basic inquiry yet.

Nichols, the Euroleague’s reigning leader in three-point shooting percentage, played two seasons in the NBA between 2007 and 2009 without a great deal of success. However, Nichols is coming off a season in which he shot 57.5 percent from three-point range with CSKA Moscow, albeit in limited playing time. The 6’6″ guard has played for the Cavaliers, Bulls, Knicks, in the D-League, and several overseas clubs. In the D-League, Nichols was a former First Team All-D-League selection.