Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Clarkson, Thomas, Wolves

August 9th, 2014 at 9:42pm CST by Cray Allred

With a trade looming that will send Kevin Love to Cleveland, the many Western Conference contenders will have a more daunting team to potentially face in the Finals, and the Bulls are set to improve mightily as well. Still, the West features more proven juggernauts like the Spurs and Thunder at this stage. Here’s a look around the stronger conference:

Jordan Clarkson is expected to sign with the Lakers before training camp, reports Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Clarkson was Los Angeles’ 46th pick in this year’s draft.
It appears DeShaun Thomas will play another year overseas, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports the Spurs 2013 second-round pick is close to signing with an Italian team.
John Zitzler of Basketball Insiders says it’s time for Ricky Rubio to take on a leadership role for the Wolves now that Love is departing. Rubio has dazzled as a distributor, but will have to improve as a shooter to help Minnesota recover from the loss of Love, writes Zitzler.
Meanwhile, expectations will be sky high for Andrew Wiggins, whom the Wolves will acquire in the Love deal. Bill Self, who coached Wiggins at Kansas, tells Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune that the wing will be great, but still needs to be pushed. “He absolutely was too nice [before arriving at Kansas],” said Self. “And he’s still too nice. [Wolves coach Flip Saunders] will have to get more of that dog in him. He’s just young.’’

Windhorst, Stein On LeBron, Love, Cavs

August 8th, 2014 at 11:04pm CST by Alex Lee

It’s still early, but so far our readers remain unswayed by LeBron James‘ assertion that he’s in Cleveland for the long haul, as less than 30 percent of our readers believe that the Cavaliers are the rightful favorites for the 2014/15 NBA season. Of course, we still have more than two weeks until the Kevin Love acquisition becomes official. With the framework of a deal in place, however, we can expect more behind-the-scenes details to trickle out as we wait it out.

Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN, citing a variety of league sources, get us started with their version of the anatomy of this unique deal-to-be:

James had been optimistic of the Cavs’ chances of landing Love, his former teammate with USA basketball, since the moment he signed with Cleveland.
The Wolves granted the Cavs permission to speak to Love in July during trade negotiations. James and Love have also spoken multiple times over the last month about the possibility of playing together long term. As the report points out, offseason conversations between players are not regulated by the league like other anti-tampering measures.
While Love could technically exercise his $16.7MM player option for 2015/16 as part of the trade, the UCLA product remains adamant that he wants to hit free agency next summer to maximize his next contract rather than sign an extension, regardless of the team offering it.
As we noted earlier, Cleveland’s refusal to include Andrew Wiggins in a deal for Love began to evaporate once the team got feedback from discussions between Love and the newly signed James. Ultimately, it was James’ belief that he could convince Love to stay in Cleveland that softened the Cavs’ stance against including Wiggins in the deal.
The framework for the deal was agreed upon shortly after Wiggins was put on the table, with owners Dan Gilbert and Glen Taylor along with front office execs David Griffin and Flip Saunders all involved in the discussions.
It appears Love is steadfast in his desire to receive a free agent payday. But even if he wasn’t, any agreement on an extension made in principal before the deal is official could result in the league blocking the trade and punishing both teams.

How Salary Matching Affects Kevin Love Trade

August 8th, 2014 at 10:56am CST by Chuck Myron

The Kevin Love trade agreement seemed like a straightforward two-team swap Thursday, when Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Wolves would send Love to the Cavs for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a protected 2015 first-round pick. That structure came as something of a surprise, since rumors had indicated that a third team would be involved. There will indeed be a third team in the mix, according Mark Perner of the Philadelphia Daily News, who wrote that Sixers will jump in the deal to send Thaddeus Young to the Wolves and that Bennett will be rerouted to Philadelphia. Still, fellow Daily News scribe Bob Cooney indicates that the Young-Bennett exchange will take place as a separate transaction after the Love deal is official, a report that leaves the precise structure of the Love trade in flux.

Regardless of where Love, Wiggins, Young and the rest end up, all the moves will have to meet the NBA’s salary-matching requirements. The Sixers are unbound by the rules, since they’re under the cap, but the Wolves and Cavs are over the cap, so they must adhere to them. The stipulations germane to the Love-related moves hold that teams under the tax but over the cap, like the Cavs and Wolves, can receive 150% plus 100K of the salary that they trade away, as long as the salary they part with adds up to no more than $9.8MM. Should the Cavs or Wolves trade away more than that, they can receive up to $5MM more than the salaries they give up. A further rule applies if either the Cavs or Wolves relinquish $19.6MM or more. In that case, they’d only be able to take back 125% plus $100K of what they give up, but this limit is unlikely to come into play.

The two-team deal in the form that Wojnarowski originally reported works because the salaries for Wiggins and Bennett add up to $11,074,560. That’s more than $9.8MM, so it triggers the $5MM rule for Cleveland. Love is set to make $15,719,063 this coming season, which is $4,644,503 more than Wiggins and Bennett will make put together. It’s a tight squeeze beneath $5MM, but it still fits.

The addition of the Sixers and Young would add a layer of complexity, but it would still make for a legal trade. The Wolves would be taking back Wiggins and Young, whose salaries add up to $14,921,509, simply moving them closer in line with the salary for Love that they’re relinquishing. The only salaries the Cavs would be giving up would be those of Wiggins and Bennett, and they’d be acquiring only Love. It doesn’t matter that Bennett would be going to a different team in this scenario, as long as it’s all part of the same transaction. The Cavs would still be taking back less than $5MM more than the amount they’re giving up, which exceeds $9.8MM, so it’s kosher. The Sixers would be reducing their salary with this trade structure, dropping them farther beneath the cap.

What wouldn’t work is if the Wolves and Sixers simply swap Young and Bennett after making the Love trade that Wojnarowski originally outlined. Bennett’s $5,563,920 salary is less than $9.8MM, so Minnesota could only trade for 150% plus $100K of what Bennett makes, which would come to $8,445,880. Young’s $9,410,869 salary exceeds that, so the Wolves and Sixers couldn’t make this deal.

Minnesota is hoping to trade J.J. Barea, Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved, as Wojnarowski added when he reported the Love agreement Thursday, and Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune said the Wolves would like to unload Barea and Mbah a Moute in a deal for Young. Still, NBA rules would prohibit the Wolves from packaging Bennett along with Barea, Mbah a Moute, Shved or anyone else on the roster for two months after acquiring Bennett from the Cavs. Capped-out teams like the Wolves can flip a player for whom they just traded, but only if they send the player out by himself. Since trading Bennett alone for Young wouldn’t work, either, the Cavs and Sixers would have to wait until the two months pass for Minnesota to add enough salary to the deal to make it work.

Any trade involving Wiggins can’t be complete until August 23rd because of the 30-day waiting period the Cavs must endure after signing him, as has been much publicized. So, a separate deal that sends Young to Minnesota and Bennett to Philadelphia couldn’t be consummated until late October, weeks after the start of training camp. That wouldn’t make it impossible, of course. But it would be less than ideal.

The Sixers and Wolves could try to split the Bennett-Young deal into parts, so that Bennett would go out on his own for a draft pick. If they attempt that, there’s a decent chance the league would object on the grounds that such a maneuver would be an attempt to circumvent the rules, as Tom Moore of Calkins Media explains.

If the Sixers would consent to taking Barea, Mbah a Moute, Shved or some combination of those players back in a deal that sends out Young and nets them Bennett, Minnesota and Philadelphia could more easily accomplish this as part of the Love trade. It wouldn’t muddy the salary-matching waters for the Wolves or Cavs, and the Sixers have enough room to give up Young and take Bennett and the entire trio of Barea, Mbah a Moute and Shved without going over the cap. The Sixers probably wouldn’t agree to taking all of them, but regardless of how many of them, or even if any of them, were involved, it would be much easier for Young to end up in Minnesota and Bennett to wind up with the Sixers if it happened as part of the Love trade. If the Wolves and Sixers have that aim, expect them to accomplish it at the same time Love heads to Cleveland.

ShamSports and Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.

And-Ones: Durant, Shved, Warriors, Love

August 7th, 2014 at 10:11pm CST by Charlie Adams

Kevin Durant has withdrawn from the USA Men’s National Basketball team, the Thunder announced. There’s no indication that the reigning MVP’s decision to pull his name from summer competition has anything to do with the season-ending injury Paul George sustained in a scrimmage earlier this month, but the move will certainly help Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti sleep easier at night. More from around the Association:

Alexey Shved‘s agent wouldn’t take umbrage if the Wolves struck a deal to move his client, passes along David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter). Reports have indicated that Minnesota has been looking to trade Shved.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr thinks the makeup of his team is by and large set for the upcoming season, as he tells Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
“All indications are that this is the group we’re going forward with, but you never say never,” Kerr said. “You never know what’s going to happen, and ultimately that’s not my job… but there’s no question that we feel very confident and comfortable with the group that we have.”
At least one Eastern Conference executive credits LeBron James as a major catalyst behind the Kevin Love deal, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “They are putting all these pieces around LeBron, saying, ‘We’re trying to win it now,’” the executive said. “And I’m sure that was part of LeBron’s wish for when he went back there. LeBron has juice in Cleveland.”
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com explores why Love’s presence in Cleveland will only further complicate Phil Jackson‘s quest to turn the Knicks into a championship-caliber club.

Reaction To Kevin Love Trade Agreement

August 7th, 2014 at 6:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The big news of the day was the reported agreement between the Cavaliers and the Timberwolves, which would send Kevin Love to Cleveland for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, and a protected 2015 first-round pick. Here’s the latest commentary from around the league regarding the soon-to-be blockbuster trade:

Potential carries no guarantees, writes Bill Livingston of the Plain Dealer, who applauds the Cavs’ decision to turn consecutive No. 1 overall draft picks into Love, a proven veteran.
Love could bolt after one season, just like LeBron James, but odds are he won’t, and one of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s guiding principles in business is to pounce on an opportunity even if it’s not perfect, as fellow Plain Dealer scribe Terry Pluto points out.
The Timberwolves’ 2014/15 season will be about their core of young talent trying to reach their potential, writes Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press.
During his time in Minnesota, Love has been criticized for his poor defense, the perception that he wasn’t a team player, and the Wolves failure to reach the playoffs. Now that he’ll be playing alongside a much more talented cast, Love is officially out of excuses, writes Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report.
The trade cannot become official until August 23rd at the earliest. Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders runs down five things you need to know about the deal.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Fallout From Kevin Love Trade Agreement

August 7th, 2014 at 1:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

The time between now and August 23rd, when the Kevin Love trade agreement can become an official transaction, makes it possible that the deal could fall apart, but the Cavs and Wolves are under “enormous pressure” to honor the pact, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. A source tells Berger that Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders would listen if the Warriors decided to offer Klay Thompson, but Golden State has been steadfastly against doing so. The Warriors haven’t spoken with Minnesota for weeks, according to Berger, and Sam Amick of USA Today hears that Golden State doesn’t intend to jump back into the fray (Twitter link). Here are more aftershocks from the Love deal:

Even if the Warriors did offer up Thompson to Minnesota, it wouldn’t cause the Cavs deal to come apart, as the Wolves prefer what Cleveland is set to send them, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.

Earlier updates:

The Wolves gave the Cavs permission more than two weeks ago to negotiate with Love about a long-term future with the Cavs, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. There are conflicting reports about whether Love has committed to signing a max deal with Cleveland next summer.
Minnesota maintains interest in Thaddeus Young, but the Wolves wouldn’t end up sending Anthony Bennett to Philadelphia if such a deal materializes, Zgoda writes in the same piece. Minnesota hopes instead to ship the 2015 first-rounder it’s acquiring from Cleveland in the Love trade to the Sixers for Young, Zgoda writes. The Wolves would also like to shed J.J. Barea and Luc Mbah a Moute in a deal for Young, according to Zgoda, who speculates that Minnesota might include Shabazz Muhammad, too.
Kevin Martin was in plenty of Love rumors, but there’s no indication that the Wolves are looking to trade him or Corey Brewer, Zgoda tweets.
Most around the league believe that the addition of Love will convince Ray Allen to sign with Cleveland at some point before camp, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com tweets that he heard weeks ago that Allen would come aboard if the Cavs traded for Love. Still, Allen has dismissed similar rumors and his criteria for signing with a team appear to exclude the Cavs, as I explained Wednesday.
The Cavs aren’t looking to trade Dion Waiters, who was one of the first within the Cavs organization to whom LeBron James spoke after he made his decision to return from the Heat, Amico writes in his piece.
Cleveland is targeting big men, but the team has faith that Brendan Haywood can contribute, as Amico also notes.

And-Ones: Prigioni, Wolves, Adams

August 6th, 2014 at 1:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Team USA chairman Jerry Colangelo believes many may have missed the point of Mark Cuban’s tirade against the International Olympic Committee, writes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Still, Colangelo didn’t weigh in on whether or not he agreed with Cuban’s stance, as Price notes, though he emphasized that NBA owners aren’t allowed to dissuade their players from joining their national teams as long as they’re healthy enough to play at the outset.

“I think people need to read between the lines, which is basically he’s not against international competition,” Colangelo said. “He’s against international competition when he believes the beneficiary — being the IOC — is getting the money. So he’s basically saying it’s OK for our players to play internationally if the money goes to the NBA and to the team owners. That’s the difference.”

As Paul George‘s injury shines a spotlight on the relationship between national teams and the NBA, here’s more from around the league:

The Knicks are fond of Pablo Prigioni, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, even though they’re thinking of packaging him in a deal that would send Wayne Ellington away. It simply appears as though the Knicks won’t be able to find a taker for Ellington by himself, as Stein explains.
The Wolves have 15 fully guaranteed deals, as our roster counts show, but they hope to create a spot for Glenn Robinson III, who remains unsigned after Minnesota drafted him 40th overall this summer, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). There’s a chance they’d be able to accomplish that if they offload more players than they receive in a Kevin Love trade.
There are bonuses tied to Jordan Adams‘ body fat percentage in his rookie scale contract with the Grizzlies, reports Mark Deeks of ShamSports. It’s an odd incentive clause for this year’s No. 22 overall pick, though it’s not unprecedented, since Marcus Williams once had body-fat stipulations in his deal, too, as Deeks points out (Twitter links).

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Bledsoe, Sixers, Seattle

August 5th, 2014 at 5:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The relationship between the Suns and Eric Bledsoe continues to sour, and as it does, it’s looking like he’ll end up taking Phoenix’s one-year qualifying offer, worth about $3.7MM, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. That route would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency by next summer, but it would also represent a severe discount, not only on the maximum salary that Bledsoe has been seeking, but also from the four-year, $48MM offer the Suns have reportedly made. It’d be a surprising move if he ends up taking the QO, but it doesn’t seem as though the Rich Paul client is any closer to another deal. There’s more on Bledsoe amid the latest from around the league:

Four NBA executives and two agents who spoke with Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic believe that the four-year, $48MM offer the Suns reportedly made to Bledsoe is fair and don’t think that the 24-year-old point guard has merited the maximum salary. “I’m surprised that they would offer him that much,” one of the executives said. “They don’t need to. It is really fair and, in fact, generous. He is talented, but he has never put it together very long, and he hasn’t been healthy. It’s hard to turn your team over to him.”
The possibility that the Sixers could acquire Anthony Bennett and give up Thaddeus Young as the third team in a Kevin Love trade, one that Brian Windhorst of ESPN raised in a radio interview Monday, would be difficult to comprehend, argues Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com. Philadelphia’s purge of existing talent has been so profound that such a swap would seem like piling on, Lynam posits.
Coming up short in bids for the Bucks and Kings prompted Steve Ballmer to pounce on the chance to strike a deal to buy the Clippers and abandon his dream of bringing the NBA back to Seattle, as he tells Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times. The former Microsoft CEO said he hopes Seattle ends up with a team eventually, though he reiterated that he has no intention of moving the Clippers.

Latest On Kevin Love Talks

August 4th, 2014 at 10:58pm CST by Zachary Links

10:58pm: Earlier today, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst told ESPN Radio New York (audio link) that a “handshake” deal is in place between the Wolves and Cavs.

8:49pm: A deal that would involve Kevin Love being shipped to the Cavs and Andrew Wiggins going to the Wolves has been in play for weeks, but there is no deal in place yet because there are many other smaller parts of the deal that have yet to be agreed upon, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, the other suitors for Love – including the Warriors, Bulls, and Celtics – took a backseat once it was learned that Cleveland was making the No. 1 pick in June’s draft available (link). Still, while it’s clear that the Cavs are far and away the frontrunners for a deal, there’s still lots of work to be done before Love can be routed to Cleveland.

The core package that has been mentioned often would have the Cavs sending Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, and a future first round choice to the Wolves for Love. It has also been said that a third team would likely be brought in to help facilitate the trade and the Sixers appear to be very willing partners. After checking in with a source tonight, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter) believes that Bennett would wind up in Philadelphia if the 76ers are the third team in the transaction. The Wolves instead would prefer to have Thaddeus Young and, apparently, it’s not even close in their minds (link).

Minnesota’s interest in Young was noted late last month, though their interest had apparently been there for quite some time. Young is set to make more than $9.4MM this coming season and has an early termination option he can exercise to hit free agency next summer.

And-Ones: McGrady, Barea, George, Bledsoe

August 4th, 2014 at 10:36pm CST by Zachary Links

Tracy McGrady, 35, is at peace with his decision to retire from professional basketball, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. While he says that he could still play in the NBA or an overseas league, and admits that he sometimes gets the itch, he’s no longer interested in putting in the necessary work. “At times I get…the urge to go back and play. I still can, I’m young enough to still play. My body feels good; I haven’t played in a couple of years so my body feels great. It’s just the mental part of [not] having that drive to get back in that type of shape and to put that type of time and focus into it,” McGrady said. More from around the Association..

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter) gets the sense that J.J Barea wouldn’t be involved in a two-team deal involving Kevin Love and maybe not even in a three-team deal. Because his contract could be difficult to move, Wolfson wonders aloud if the stretch provision could be back in play for the Wolves when it comes to the guard.
None of the 19 players remaining on Team USA’s roster are planning to pull out of international competition following Paul George‘s catastrophic injury, report Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Is Suns restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe a true No. 1 player? David Nurse of HoopsHype looks at both sides of the argument. On one hand, the guard has been the “other guy” everywhere he’s been from Kentucky (John Wall) to the Clippers (Chris Paul) to the Suns (Goran Dragic). On the other hand, Bledsoe has looked like a mini-LeBron at times and is a major impact player on both sides of the court. Ultimately, while a max contract may be tough to swallow, Nurse feels he’s worth it.
Mavs guard Monta Ellis could be the next NBA notable looking for a change of scenery, writes Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM. The 29-year-old has a player option in his contract and could hit free agency next summer. He’ll be looking for one last long-term deal and the Mavs might not want to lock themselves into a core with a number of defensive issues.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.