Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Edwin, Bjelica, Christopher, Kerr

December 13th, 2014 at 8:44am CST by Eddie Scarito

Through the first eight games of the D-League season Fuquan Edwin has averaged 17 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, and according to a representative for Edwin, these numbers are garnering him interest from the NBA, Chris Reichert of Ridiculous Upside writes. Edwin’s representative told Reichert, “Three teams proactively called in the last three days regarding Fuquan, and several others have inquired with preliminary interest.” Edwin was in training camp with the Spurs this year prior to being waived.

Here’s more from out west:

Serbian forward Nemanja Bjelica, whom the Wolves own the draft rights to, could be looking at making the jump to the NBA either next season, or in 2016/17, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune reports (Twitter link). The 2010 second-rounder had inked a deal with the Wasserman Media group back in September.
Patrick Christopher, who was recently signed by the Jazz, credits his time overseas for allowing him to pursue his dream of making it to the NBA via the D-League, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. “I got some experience over there [Europe]. I was able to put a few coins away and give myself an opportunity,” Christopher said. “Because when you play in the D-League, it’s somewhat of a sacrifice. That’s why you do take that opportunity, and it’s paid off.”
Steve Kerr had a difficult task ahead of him in taking over as coach for Mark Jackson, who was very popular with the Warriors‘ players, Marcus Thompson II of The San Jose Mercury News writes. Kerr’s first move upon being hired was to reach out to the team’s star, Stephen Curry, who was one of Jackson’s most fervent supporters, Thompson notes. When asked how Kerr won him over, Curry said, “How he’s handled the whole situation. He understood the fragileness of that whole transition. He was never arrogant, never saying ‘I’m the best coach in the world, and I’ll take you guys to the promise land.'”
With Wilson Chandler off to a solid start to the season, Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari is finding playing time difficult to come by thus far, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “I think he’d [Gallinari] be the first one to say it’s tough for him because he’s used to playing the role that he’s always played,” coach Brian Shaw said. “The guy was out 19 months. He understands that if Wilson wasn’t playing as well as he is playing at that position, then maybe I’d let him out there and try to play through it a little bit more. But Wilson is playing well, and he’s not, so that’s why Wilson is out there.”

Western Notes: Wolves, Brewer, Lakers, Pelicans

December 11th, 2014 at 11:08am CST by Chuck Myron

Corey Brewer, a trade candidate, admits that he’s not enamored with the idea of going through a youth-focused rebuild with the Timberwolves, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes. Brewer can become a free agent at season’s end if he turns down a $4.703MM player option, and the Cavs, Rockets, Clippers and Heat have reportedly held interest in trading for him this season.

“It’s tough for me, I’m not going to lie,” Brewer said. “When I came back here, I wasn’t expecting this, to rebuild again. It comes with the territory. It’s business. It’s basketball. It’s what I love to do. So I wake up every day and I come to work.”

Still, the Wolves are relying heavily on Brewer for now, as we detail amid the latest from around the Western Conference:

The NBA has granted the Wolves a second 10-day period to keep a 16th roster spot via hardship, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Minnesota is holding on to Jeff Adrien, whom it signed to fill that spot the first time around, even though the team has a need a point guard, too, where Brewer, a swingman, is playing as the backup. “Let’s face the facts: Corey’s not the ideal point guard,” coach/executive Flip Saunders said. “But if something, heaven forbid, happened to Gorgui [Dieng], we have no center on our roster at all.”
The Lakers are still considering the addition of a wing player to the roster, and they’re still keeping a close eye on Roscoe Smith, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Smith, who’s playing for the Lakers D-League affiliate, was one of several players whom the Lakers worked out last month.
The Pelicans have once more assigned Russ Smith to the D-League, the team announced via press release. It’s the second time this season that the team has sent Smith to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. His first assignment was a three-day stint that ended Monday.

Western Notes: Christopher, D-League, Mavs

December 10th, 2014 at 9:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One area that the Jazz are always looking to improve upon is their outside shooting, which is the primary reason that Utah signed Patrick Christopher earlier today, Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. “That’s an area we want to continually upgrade at the guards, wings, bigs,” Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said. “If you can shoot the ball, there’s a good chance we’re going to take a look at you. He’s [Christopher] someone that [coach Quin Snyder] knew from his overseas experience. There was some familiarity there. He made it to our open gym and mini camp so there was some corporate knowledge. And we notched that he’s been shooting the ball very consistently over the last three years.”

Here’s more from out west:

Christopher’s deal with the Jazz is a two-year, non-guaranteed minimum salary arrangement, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The player is scheduled to make $379,010 for this season, and $845,059 during the 2015/16 campaign, Pincus adds.
The Thunder have re-assigned Mitch McGary and Grant Jerrett to the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Jerrett’s fourth trip of the season to the D-League, and McGary’s third.
Tuesday night’s loss to Memphis exposed the Mavs‘ most glaring weakness, which is a lack of interior depth behind Tyson Chandler, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. While no move to add another big man is imminent, Dallas is considering its options, notes Sefko.
If the Wolves change their focus this season from retooling to rebuilding, it would open up permanent playing time for the team’s younger players like Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Anthony Bennett, Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng, which could benefit Minnesota’s outlook for next season, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Bosh, Heat

December 10th, 2014 at 6:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hawks and Philips Arena have named Nzinga Shaw as the organization’s new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO), the team announced. Shaw will be responsible for developing and embedding diversity and inclusion best practices throughout the organization. “I am excited to be a member of the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena organization at such a pivotal time. My goal as the CDIO is to help our organization rebuild trust and partnership in the Atlanta community, emphasizing civility, sportsmanship, and human decency in an effort to ensure that everyone can be a fan of the team, attend home games, and so that we can serve as a model for inclusion in the NBA,” Shaw said. “More specifically, I will lead the charge of creating a strategic framework to help shift the culture so that we can create greater inclusion and engagement with all of our fans and stakeholders.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

In an interview with Grantland’s Zach Lowe, Chris Bosh discussed a number of topics, including the teams that were courting him before he decided to re-sign with the Heat. When Bosh was asked if the offers he received from the Rockets, Suns, Lakers, and Nuggets had interested him, Bosh said, “It was just interesting to be wanted, after all that time of bashing, bashing, bashing. You kind of bask in it just a little bit. Like, ‘Hey, I’m still valuable. I can still play this game.'”
When Bosh was asked by Lowe about whether any other team besides Houston truly tempted him to sign with them, Bosh replied, “Yeah. They make you think for a minute. But I was interested in staying put. But at the time, it’s like, OK, wow. I never imagined this. You just think about it. But for the most part, I was focused on staying with Miami.”
With the Heat now third-worst in the NBA in field-goal percentage defense, some outsiders have questioned coach Erik Spoelstra’s defensive philosophy, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. But one Miami player said privately that a huge problem is the inability of the team’s wing players (guards especially) to consistently prevent penetration, which then exposes the team’s lack of size on the interior. This defensive weakness on the wing is the primary reason that the Heat have been mentioned as being interested in acquiring Corey Brewer from the Wolves, who is known as a strong perimeter defender.

Northwest Notes: Faried, Pekovic, Nuggets

December 9th, 2014 at 5:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kenneth Faried has had a rough start to the season, something that Nuggets coach Brian Shaw chalks up to inconsistent energy and play on the part of the forward, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “It’s really hard to say,” Shaw said. “Obviously, he’s disappointed in the way he’s played up to this point. There hasn’t been a level of consistency. One of the things that I try to remind him all the time is what made him, got him to this level, got him paid recently, is the fact that he’s always brought energy and always rebounded the ball. When you look at his stats up to this point, is the energy always there? I wouldn’t say that it consistently has been. But even before that, is he rebounding the ball the way he is known for rebounding the ball? He’s not doing that either. So no matter what happens, you get back to the basics of what got you here. And I think that’s what he has to do.”

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Shaw also relayed that Faried’s four-year, $50MM extension that the player signed back in October may also be a factor in Faried’s struggles, Dempsey adds. “He’s [Faried] been a little bit beat-up and a little bit sore,” Shaw said. “But what comes when you have the kind of summer that he had, and you get paid for that, there’s a certain responsibility and expectation that go along with that, too. And there’s an adjustment period. Now there’s other guys around the league that maybe think that ‘If I was playing maybe he wouldn’t be on the US team’ or ‘If he’s making this much money, let me show him what I’m worth.’ And that’s all part of it, too. Now, you become the hunted instead of the hunter, and you have to adjust for that and brace for that.“
Wolves center Nikola Pekovic aggravated his injured ankle while running as a part of his rehab and will most likely be out another month, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune reports (Twitter link). Injured point guard Ricky Rubio is also unlikely to make his return to action until January, Zgoda adds.
Pekovic’s coach Flip Saunders hinted at the possibility that the big man could see a stint in the NBA D-League prior to returning to action for the Wolves, Andy Greder of The Saint Paul Pioneer Press reports (Twitter link).

Clippers, Heat Showed Interest In Corey Brewer

December 9th, 2014 at 3:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers and Heat were among the teams that expressed interest in Corey Brewer when the Wolves were reportedly in active discussions last month about trading the swingman, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt tweets. It’s unclear whether those teams continue to eye Brewer. The Rockets and Cavs were apparently the most serious suitors, and Houston emerged as the team most likely to acquire the 28-year-old former No. 7 overall pick before talks appeared to die down.

Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders suggested last month that Brewer was too valuable for his injury-wracked team to trade, and Brewer rumors largely ceased from that point on. Saunders hinted today that the team has gone into rebuilding mode because of the injuries, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter links), though it’s unclear if that changes the dynamic involving Brewer. The Happy Walters client makes $4.703MM this season and has a player option worth $4.703MM for next season that teams interested in trading for him would strongly prefer him to waive, as Zillgitt reported last month.

The Clippers, who also apparently have some level of interest in Andrei Kirilenko, would have to be careful to match salaries with the Wolves, since they’re perilously close to their hard cap. The Heat have greater flexibility, though they’re roughly $4MM shy of the luxury tax line. Brewer’s numbers have been off this season, as I examined Monday when I looked at his trade candidacy, though I urged Saunders to move quickly toward a deal if interest remains strong.

Trade Candidate: Corey Brewer

December 8th, 2014 at 3:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

The chatter surrounding Corey Brewer has quieted down over the past few weeks, but the 28-year-old swingman remains one of the most intriguing trade candidates in the league. It would be no surprise if talk picks back up after a week from today, when most offseason signees become eligible for inclusion in trades. Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders insisted recently that Brewer is too valuable for his team to give up for now, a statement that largely prompted rumors surrounding Brewer to cease. But as the injury-wracked Timberwolves slowly return to health in the weeks ahead, the specter of a trade will grow. Still, unless Brewer begins to play better, it would be in spite of the performance the former seventh overall pick has displayed this season, and not because of it.

Brewer has made his reputation on defense over the course of his career, but his numbers this season haven’t backed it up. His defensive box plus/minus, a Basketball-Reference metric, is negative 0.2, well off from his career high of 1.2 last year. The Timberwolves give up an egregious 113.7 points per 100 possessions when Brewer is on the floor this season, and only 107.1 when he’s not, according to NBA.com. Of course, those points per possession numbers have as much, if not more, to do with the four other players on the floor with Brewer, and it’s obvious that the Timberwolves, at 4-15 this season, don’t have much with which to surround him. Such analytics have given greater insight into just how well players are performing on defense, but defense remains tricky to measure. Ill-advised gambling too often shows up in a positive light in a traditional metric like steals per game, but by that measure, Brewer is matching what he did last season, when he recorded a career high 1.9 SPG, and he’s creating those turnovers in fewer minutes this time around.

There’s little debating that Brewer’s shot has been off so far this year, however. He’s just 5 for 31 from three-point range, though the long ball has never been a strength for the career 29.1% three-point shooter. Wisely, he’s taken fewer three-pointers this year, but he appears to have replaced them mostly with long twos, as Basketball-Reference shooting data shows. He’s shooting just 15.2% from between 16 feet from the basket and the three-point line, according to that data. Brewer is never going to help an offense with its spacing, but his outside shooting so far this year has been an hindrance to his team. Brewer’s made up for it in some measure with a career-high 1.4 offensive rebounds per game, but many teams place little value in offensive rebounding, preferring instead that their players hustle back and set up defensively.

It was somewhat odd to see Houston emerge as a more likely destination for Brewer than Cleveland at one point late last month. The Rockets trail only the Grizzlies in stinginess when it comes to points allowed per possession, according to NBA.com, so Brewer’s defense, assuming it perks up, would only add to a strength. His poor outside shooting would also run counter to Houston’s organizational emphasis on the three-pointer, and his choice to shoot more long two-pointers so far this season would certainly meet with resistance were he to don red.

Still, the Rockets had reportedly been anxious to make a move to bolster their depth after a summer of moves that depleted it, and it seems as though they’ve held aspirations of acquiring a rotation-caliber player whom they can package in another trade at the deadline. It’s not impossible to package players together in a trade without aggregating their salaries, but aggregation makes it a lot simpler, and it’s a tool the Rockets would only be able to use with Brewer if they acquire him by December 19th, two months before the trade deadline. So, in that regard, it makes more sense for Houston to trade for Brewer, though the team would still risk getting stuck with a player who doesn’t fit if GM Daryl Morey can’t find a deadline deal to his liking that involves Brewer. Even so, Minnesota’s need for healthy players in the short term might not lapse in time to meet that December 19th timeframe, and Morey seemed to back off an aggressive pursuit of a similar swap that would have sent out Omer Asik two months before last year’s trade deadline.

Cleveland seems a more natural home for Brewer. Reports have indicated that the Cavs have shown interest in Tayshaun Prince and Andrei Kirilenko in addition to Brewer, signaling Cleveland’s apparent interest in a wing defender. The presence of Kevin Love and Mike Miller would help offset Brewer’s lack of outside shooting, and Kyrie Irving is hitting treys at a sizzling 42.2% clip in 90 attempts so far this season. Still, it seems Cleveland’s primary focus is on finding a rim-protector, making Brewer a secondary target.

The Rockets and Cavs have trade exceptions they can use to absorb Brewer’s nearly $4.703MM salary for this season, but the Kings and Celtics are the only other teams with trade exceptions large enough to use on him. The Lakers and Pacers have disabled player exceptions sizable enough to accommodate his salary, but the presence of his $4.905MM player option would nix that, since disabled player exceptions may only be used to acquire players on expiring contracts. Teams would reportedly like Brewer to waive that player option, but that seems a long shot unless he were to have the chance to head to a contending team.

The Mavs give up the most points per possession among teams with reasonable title chances this year, followed closely by the Raptors and then the Cavs, so perhaps Brewer would be attractive to Dallas and Toronto, assuming his defensive slip isn’t a long-term phenomenon. Brewer has been with Dallas once before, as a largely forgotten presence on the 2011 title team, and the Mavs lack a swingman who has provided consistent minutes at both the shooting guard and small forward positions so far this season. The Raptors would receive the immediate benefit of plugging Brewer in for the injured DeMar DeRozan, but he might prove too much of a drain on minutes for Louis Williams and James Johnson. Of course, there haven’t been reports linking Brewer to either the Raptors or the Mavs, so they’re merely speculative suitors.

The Wolves seem destined for the lottery this season, and while Brewer is indeed valuable as a stopgap for now who can can provide Andrew Wiggins with a veteran presence and mentor him on the finer parts of NBA defense, he doesn’t appear to be a long-term asset for the team. Brewer’s statistical declines might already be dampening interest from around the league, but it seems that he’s nonetheless a wanted commodity. It would behoove Saunders to strike upon this prior to the deadline if he can net a return capable of accelerating the rebuilding process in Minnesota.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacific Notes: Clarkson, Thompson, Warriors

December 7th, 2014 at 4:51pm CST by Zachary Links

Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports learned that Kings star DeMarcus Cousins has been out for the last five games with a case of viral meningitis. Cousins continues to recover but he’ll be out for at least another seven to 10 days. More from the Pacific Division..

The L.A. D-Fenders announced (via Twitter) that Jordan Clarkson has been recalled by the Lakers in time for tonight’s tilt against the Pelicans. Clarkson’s weekend stint with the D-Fenders was his third of the season.
Over the summer, Mychal Thompson said he’d have to talk his son Klay Thompson “down off the ledge” if a rumored deal sending him to the Timberwolves came to fruition. Earlier today, the younger Thompson said that his dad was kind of overstating things. “He exaggerates things. I’m sure you guys know that,” the Warriors star said, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).
Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob made some interesting comments about ex-coach Mark Jackson last week but he took the time to publicly apologize for them today, as Leung writes. Lacob believes that Jackson will “succeed again in this business.”

Northwest Notes: Jackson, Nuggets, LaVine

December 7th, 2014 at 11:56am CST by Arthur Hill

The Thunder’s Reggie Jackson will be a restricted free agent next summer, but he tells Marc Narducci of HoopsHype that he is trying not to look ahead. “My faith in God is that I try not to think about tomorrow and all I try to do is focus on today,” Jackson said. “Do as much today as possible. Tomorrow there is no guarantee so I am not worried about it.” Jackson, who figures to be highly sought after on the free agent market, said he enjoys playing with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Thunder recalled Mitch McGary from the D-League, the team announced in a press release. McGary is averaging 16.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in four games with the Oklahoma City Blue.
The Nuggets are playing much better after their 1-6 start, but they need more improvement before they can think about the playoffs, opines Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Dempsey estimates it might take 50 wins to ensure a playoff spot in the Western Conference, something that could be out of reach for the 9-10 Nuggets.
Denver’s depth isn’t all positive, according to Adi Joseph of USA Today. With 12 players all in their primes and with a history of being starters, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw faces difficult decisions regarding playing time. “It’s not a bad thing to have a deep team, but sometimes it kind of leaves things up in the air for players,” said Kenneth Faried. “You really don’t have time to feel the game out. You got to get going right away or someone else will take your place.”
Learning through mistakes is part of life for any NBA rookie, including the Timberwolves‘ Zach LaVine, writes Kent Youngblood of The Star-Tribune, LaVine had a crucial defensive lapse Friday that allowed the Rockets’ Nick Johnson to score a game-winning layup. “You gain a lot of experience about what not to do down the stretch,” LaVine said. “It was a tough one, that loss. But we have to keep battling.”

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Durant, Thunder

November 29th, 2014 at 5:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the Nuggets seemingly on the upswing, the Wolves have become the team most likely to shake things up through multiple trades this season, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. If Wolves president Flip Saunders acknowledges his preseason hope of competing for a playoff spot is no longer realistic, Minnesota could look to trade Thaddeus Young, Corey Brewer, or Kevin Martin, once he returns from his wrist injury, Pelton opines.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Many teams around the league are rooting for the Thunder to miss out on the playoffs this season, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. Similar to how many believed that the odds of LeBron James leaving the Heat as a free agent last summer would increase if Miami fell to the Spurs in the NBA Finals, the widely-held belief around the league now is that the odds of Kevin Durant leaving Oklahoma City will spike if he doesn’t win a title [or two] in the next two seasons, notes Amick.
Knicks head coach Derek Fisher credits Scott Brooks and the Thunder‘s coaching staff for preparing him for the jump from player to coach, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman writes. “They were just very open to relationships with the players, being in close contact and engaged with their players,” Fisher said. “It really opened my eyes as to how impactful coaches can be in this league. For a long time, coaching wasn’t really something that people thought professional players really needed.”
Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders runs down a number of potential trade candidates in the Western Conference, including Kenneth Faried, JaVale McGee, and Danilo Gallinari of the Nuggets, the Clippers’ Reggie Bullock and Matt Barnes, and Jordan Hill and Steve Nash of the Lakers.