Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Make Last-Minute Bledsoe-For-Love Offer

August 22nd, 2014 at 3:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:40pm: The Wolves like Bledsoe, but they’re not nearly high enough on him to drop out of their deal to send Love to the Cavs, Krawczynski tweets.

3:20pm: The Suns reached out to the Wolves today to ask about the possibility that they could sign-and-trade Eric Bledsoe for Kevin Love, but Minnesota’s agreement to deal Love to the Cavs remains in place, report Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. The trade that would send Love to Cleveland can become official as early as Saturday. The Suns have been feeling out their options for a Bledsoe sign-and-trade as negotiations with the point guard’s camp have ground to a standstill, and they’ve spoken with teams other than the Wolves, too, according to Windhorst and Shelburne.

Bledsoe has reportedly been holding out for a max deal from the Suns, and he wouldn’t accept any less in a sign-and-trade, sources tell the ESPN.com scribes. The point guard is insisting that either he receives a max deal or he’ll sign his qualifying offer and hit unrestricted free agency next summer, Windhorst and Shelburne write. Signing the qualifying offer would mean Bledsoe would be playing this coming season on a salary worth slightly more than $3.7MM, a drastic discount from the max or even the terms of the four-year, $48MM offer the Suns reportedly put on the table last month.

The Suns were one of the early teams in the mix for Love, and as recently as July 1st, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reported that Phoenix was expected to make a play for the power forward in case No. 1 target LeBron James went elsewhere. James agreed on July 11th to join the Cavs, but there’s been no further connection between the Suns and Love until today.

A dispatch from late last month indicated that the Suns had little interest in signing-and-trading Bledsoe, but that appears to have changed. Owner Robert Sarver said more recently that the team hadn’t heard directly from Bledsoe, a client of agent Rich Paul, in four months.

Western Notes: Love, Pelicans, Marc Gasol

August 22nd, 2014 at 3:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Timberwolves are making out remarkably well in their agreement to trade Kevin Love, as Hoops Rumors readers see it. The majority who voted in Thursday’s poll gave an A to Minnesota president of basketball operations Flip Saunders and his staff for their haul in the trade that can become official Saturday. It’s almost always preferable to retain a superstar, but considering Love’s apparent desire to move on from the Wolves, the team seems to have made the best of its circumstances. Here’s more on Love and the rest of the Western Conference:

Love viewed Minnesota favorably as a potential destination heading into the night he was drafted, and he’s privately maintained throughout his tenure there that he’d rather stay with a contending Wolves team than leave, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck details. Still, chronic losing and the club’s decision to grant Nikola Pekovic a five-year contract after refusing to give Love an extension longer than four years helped convince the star forward to push for his pending trade to the Cavs, according to Beck.
Pelicans GM Dell Demps remarked this week that his team is largely done with its moves for the summer and expressed confidence that Anthony Davis can be the cornerstone of a winning roster, as Demps said to Pelicans radio announcer Sean Kelley (transcription via Pelicans.com).
Marc Gasol isn’t necessarily in line to ink a max contract next summer in free agency, but even the sort of sub-max deals he’d probably command make it unlikely he’d sign an extension, as Chris Herrington of the Commercial Appeal explains in a subscription-only piece. Gasol becomes extension-eligible on December 12th, but there are severe financial constraints on veteran extensions under the collective bargaining agreement.

Atlantic Notes: Bennett, Leiweke, J.R. Smith

August 22nd, 2014 at 9:51am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics are the only Atlantic Division team to make it to the NBA Finals in the past decade, and that will probably continue to be the case for at least another year. All five of the clubs in the division are taking divergent approaches to changing that, from New York’s commitment to building around superstar Carmelo Anthony to Philadelphia’s scorched-earth rebuilding plan. Here’s more on a few of the Atlantic teams trying to climb the ladder:

The Sixers attempted to find a way to end up with Anthony Bennett, but the Wolves were set on keeping him as part of the Kevin Love deal, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. There was never any agreement that would have sent Bennett to Philadelphia, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, in spite of reports from a few weeks ago that indicated the 2013 No. 1 overall pick was on his way to the Sixers.
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri was effusive Thursday in his praise of Tim Leiweke, the departing CEO of the company that controls the team, as the GM spoke to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Leiweke is set to leave his post no later than June 30th, 2015, though Smith presumes the CEO’s exit will happen long before that date.
J.R. Smith‘s disappointing 2013/14 season led to trade rumors that persisted into this summer, but Smith is confident that his improved health will lead to a bounceback performance this year, as he tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Smith spoke of a desire to take on more of a leadership role and seems to fully expect that he’ll continue to be a part of the Knicks roster.

And-Ones: Raptors, Sixers, Wolves, Marion

August 21st, 2014 at 9:18pm CST by Alex Lee

Based upon the initial reaction in the Toronto media, it seems like Raptors CEO Tim Leiweke will be missed after news broke this week that he will eventually leave the organization. Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun partially credits Leiweke with landing current GM Masai Ujiri, who last season built the first Raptors team to make the playoffs in six years. Wolstat also points to the 2016 All Star Game, which Toronto will host, and the team’s new practice facility as coups that have Leiweke’s fingerprints all over them. Meanwhile, Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post lauds the CEO for cultivating the organization’s relationship with hip hop star Drake and also writes that Leiweke played a role in retaining star guard Kyle Lowry.

Let’s see what else is going on around the NBA on Thursday evening:

As Tom Moore of Calkins Media points out (via Twitter), Luc Mbah a Moute is slated to make about $4.4MM for the Sixers in 2014/15 while Alexey Shved will make about $3.2MM. Meanwhile, Thaddeus Young will earn around $9.2MM this season for the Timberwolves and has a $9.7MM player option for 2015/16.
Assuming the trade is finalized as reported, Moore reminds us that Jason Richardson, still recovering from a knee injury, and Arnett Moultrie are now the longest tenured Sixers, appearing in 92 games combined. Hollis Thompson, who has played 77 games in Philly, will have the most time on the court (Twitter link).
Appearing on ESPN 103.3 in Dallas on Thursday, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban discussed Shawn Marion‘s decision to sign with the Cavaliers. “He wanted to go to somebody that he thought, and this was all prior to signing Chandler Parsons and everything, that he thought was closer to a ring particularly in the Eastern Conference. He decided to go that route and we wish him nothing but the best,” Cuban said. (quote via The Dallas Morning News)

Poll: Grade Wolves’ Haul For Love

August 21st, 2014 at 8:18pm CST by Alex Lee

With the pieces of the Kevin Love trade on the verge of becoming official, we can finally begin to think about what this deal means for some of the less-publicized parties involved. We know what it signifies for the Cavaliers, who will acquire their second superstar of the offseason to go with a promising young point guard in Kyrie Irving. I think we can all agree that morphing from the team drafting first in June into the NBA favorite by August is an A-plus offseason any way you slice it.

But how did Minnesota make out in this deal? When all the dust settles on this three-way trade — assuming it’s finalized as is currently being reported — the Timberwolves will have ultimately moved Love, Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and Thaddeus Young. According to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (via Twitter), it’s hard to imagine team president Flip Saunders could have acquired a better package for a star player he was probably a year away from losing for nothing. Do you agree?

History has shown us that trading superstars in their prime is risky business in the NBA. Sometimes the package is led by one prized asset and ancillary pieces with upside, as was the case in the deals for Charles Barkley (Jeff Hornacek), Ray Allen (Jeff Green), Kevin Garnett (Al Jefferson) and Chris Paul (Eric Gordon). Other times we see star-for-star swaps, like Tracy McGrady for Steve Francis or Jason Kidd for Stephon Marbury. And occasionally teams are forced to trade their studs for pennies on the dollar, as we saw with Shaquille O’Neal (traded to the Heat) and Vince Carter (traded to the Nets).

What we don’t usually see is a fair return for a superstar player — if it even exists — which leads us back to Minnesota’s haul for Love. In Wiggins, the Wolves will land the first overall pick in a loaded draft before he plays a minute in a regular season NBA game. In Bennett, they’ll land a guy who is a year removed from also being selected at the top of the draft. And finally, in Young, they’ll land a veteran who seems destined to be a tremendous role player on a contender.

With all of that in consideration, what grade would you assign Saunders and the Timberwolves for the Love deal? Feel free to justify your grade in the comments section.

And-Ones: Bledsoe, Monroe, Raptors, Gray

August 21st, 2014 at 4:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

An NBA GM who spoke with Sean Deveney of The Sporting News said he’d be reluctant to sign-and-trade for either Eric Bledsoe or Greg Monroe in part because of the chance they’ll become available again next summer. The GM also suggested that the Suns and Pistons are overvaluing them, further diminishing the odds of a trade this offseason. While we continue to wait to see what happens to the two top restricted free agents, here’s more from around the league:

When Tim Leiweke spoke about two months ago to the board of the company that controls the Raptors, he declined to promise that he would stay on as CEO past next spring, as Elliotte Friedman writes for CBC.ca. That helped lead to today’s announcement of his planned departure, Friedman explains. The Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment board wanted to take control of the process and end speculation about Leiweke’s future, as Friedman details, adding that Leiweke’s contract carried an escape clause that gave him a way out.
Aaron Gray‘s contract with the Pistons is for two years, with a player option for the final season, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals (Twitter link).
Joel Embiid is tight with Luc Mbah a Moute, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, and that helps explain why the Sixers appear poised to acquire Mbah a Moute as part of the Kevin Love trade (Twitter link). Mbah a Moute has served as a mentor for Embiid, a fellow native of Cameroon, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune points out (on Twitter).

And-Ones: Hawks, Young, International Play

August 20th, 2014 at 10:28pm CST by Cray Allred

The Hawks have added Charles Lee and Ben Sullivan to Mike Budenholzer‘s staff as assistants, the team announced. The Hawks also announced that Jim Thomas will leave his assistant coaching role to become a scout in Atlanta’s front office. Here’s more from around the league:

Tom Moore of Calkins Media suggests that the Sixers could still swap Thaddeus Young for other Wolves players and/or a first-round pick if they are unable to land Anthony Bennett as the third team in a Kevin Love deal, although it’s unclear if Moore is reporting on the team’s plans or is merely hypothesizing.
Commisioner Adam Silver acknowledged to reporters including Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com that international play is “a big risk without enormous financial reward” for NBA players, but still views it as a legitimate endeavor for willing stars. “Ultimately they have to make that very personal decision as to whether they want to play in the summer: whether it makes sense for their bodies, whether it makes sense for their families,” said Silver.
Silver does expect the issue of international play to be debated by the league soon. “I do anticipate it will be a hot topic at the competition meeting and the Board of Governors meeting just because it always has been,” Silver said. “We are always evaluating and re-evaluating everything we do; it is a part of running any business.”
Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post spoke with Otto Porter and Glen Rice Jr., who are both vying to become the Wizards primary small forward off the bench, about their development heading into next season.

Wolves, Dante Cunningham In Talks

August 20th, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The odd that the Wolves will re-sign Dante Cunningham remain long, but the team and Cunningham’s camp have spoken with in the last two days, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Domestic violence charges against Cunningham were dropped Monday, seemingly sparking the renewed dialogue.

The team and agent Joel Bell reportedly spoke at the beginning of free agency in July, but Wolfson characterized the prospect of Cunningham’s return to the Wolves as a long shot when he reported in mid-July that the Rockets had reached out to the power forward. Houston was apparently one of several NBA teams with which Cunningham had talks, but all of them wanted to wait to see how his legal situation played out in the wake of his April arrest, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.

Now that Cunningham’s name has been cleared, the market figures to open for him, as Charlie Adams of Hoops Rumors wrote Thursday when he examined the 27-year-old’s free agent stock. Still, the Wolves have 15 guaranteed deals, and the Rockets are well-stocked at the power forward position. Minnesota’s roster is in flux, as precise details of the impending Kevin Love trade remain elusive, so it’s conceivable that a spot on the Wolves roster will open for Cunningham once that deal takes place.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Dante Cunningham

August 19th, 2014 at 10:06pm CST by Charlie Adams

Dante Cunningham never looked like a player who was going to draw significant attention in free agency this summer, but his arrest for domestic abuse last April seems to have all but eliminated interest from teams around the league. However, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN passed along Monday, the charges filed against the 27-year-old power forward have been dropped, and a report from Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press indicates that Cunningham plans to sue his accuser in an attempt to clear his name. It remains unclear how much the recent development in his legal narrative will influence teams’ perceptions of him, but Cunningham spoke with several clubs this offseason, each of which wanted to wait for the legal process to play out before discussing a contract, as Krawczynski details.

The Joel Bell client just completed a respectable year in which he came off the bench for the Timberwolves, but he still finds himself without a contract heading into the latter part of August. While Cunningham has reportedly been maintaining interest in a return to Minnesota, it doesn’t seem as though the team shares his desire. It could have been the legal issues keeping the Wolves from calling his name, but the more probable road block keeping Cunningham from returning to Minnesota is the club’s likely acquisition of Anthony Bennett and/or Thaddeus Young in the looming Kevin Love trade.

Retaining Cunningham would give the Wolves depth at the power forward position, which would certainly help the team, given that they don’t feature a true four outside of Love as it stands. However, Minnesota is already carrying 15 fully guaranteed contracts, and the team still hasn’t worked out a deal with second-round selection Glenn Robinson III. Unless the pending Love/Andrew Wiggins swap shakes up the Wolves roster more than current reports indicate, Cunningham seems like a long shot to return to the squad with which he’s spent the last two seasons.

As far as we know, the Rockets have been the only team outside of the Wolves who have been in discussions with Cunningham about a possible deal this offseason, as our rumor page for the big man shows. But, like Minnesota, Houston has limited flexibility to bring aboard Cunningham, currently rostering 13 players on fully guaranteed deals and four guys on non-guaranteed pacts. They could waive someone to make room for Cunningham, but they’re already set to open camp with Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Josh Powell, Jeff Adrien, Robert Covington, Joey Dorsey and Clint Capela all under contract, each of whom, like Cunningham, mans the four.

Despite a lack chatter surrounding him, there’s more than likely a team out there willing to offer Cunningham a deal with at least a partial guarantee. He was part of the Wolves’ rotation for the past two years, averaging 6.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists across 20.2 minutes per night this past season, when he appeared in 81 games. His career 12.9 PER is below the league average of 15.0, but he was never expected to put up superstar-caliber numbers when he was drafted 33rd overall out of Villanova.

Now that Cunningham’s legal issues seem to be resolved, it would be especially surprising to see him without a deal when training camps open up in late September. While Cunningham might be hard-pressed to land anything but a deal worth the minimum, his modest production on the hardwood over the past two seasons should at least help him find a home with an NBA club next season, even if it isn’t with the Wolves.

Central Rumors: Monroe, Wiggins

August 19th, 2014 at 5:50pm CST by Cray Allred

The Central Division experienced the most turmoil this offseason by far. The Cavs are set to net Kevin Love alongside LeBron James, the Bulls added Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic alongside the returning Derrick Rose, and the Pacers lost Lance Stephenson to free agency and Paul George to injury. Here’s a rundown from around the division:

The Thunder were among the teams in the mix for a sign-and-trade involving Greg Monroe at one point this summer, a source tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post. It’s not entirely clear if the interest originally came from Oklahoma City, the Pistons, Monroe’s camp, or some combination of the three, nor is it certain how far the pursuit of such a deal proceeded, though Lee indicates that the possibility was one that Monroe and Falk pursued.
Monroe has “nothing against” Stan Van Gundy even though he’s not sold on spending the next several years with the Pistons, as Lee writes in the same piece.
In a separate piece, Lee asserts that being spurned by James and the Cavs could be the motivation Andrew Wiggins needs to become a truly great player with the Wolves.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.