Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Latest On Grizzlies, Wolves, Dave Joerger

May 22nd, 2014 at 10:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:41pm: Mitchell has indeed interviewed for the T’Wolves head coaching job, notes Wojnarowski, though Joerger is still on track to sit down with Taylor this weekend in what could be a precursor to his hiring.

6:08pm: Sam Mitchell will be in the mix to join Joerger’s coaching staff if the latter becomes Minnesota’s next head coach, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, who also points out that Joerger and Mitchell are both represented by Warren Legarie (Twitter links).

5:30pm: Joerger’s meeting with Taylor could ultimately clear the way for him to become Minnesota’s next head coach, and the Grizzlies are likely to ask for a second-round pick in exchange for letting Joerger out of his contract, reports Wojnarowski.

3:22pm: Joerger met with Saunders today and will see Taylor this weekend, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

3:09pm: The Grizzlies have made no formal contact with any potential replacement for Joerger, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal in a subscription-only piece. Tillery seconds Vernon’s report about the team’s interest in Karl, Van Gundy and Gentry, and writes that while the team hasn’t completely ruled out a reunion with Hollins, it’s still unlikely. A report this week indicated that the team would pursue Tom Thibodeau, but that’s off-base, according to Tillery.

2:50pm: Taylor likes Mitchell, but the Wolves owner won’t stand in the way if Saunders decides to hire Joerger, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who hears that a formal announcement about Minnesota’s coaching vacancy isn’t likely to come today.

2:16pm: The Wolves are prepared to wait and see if the Grizzlies fire Joerger rather than give up too much in compensation while he’s still under contract with Memphis, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).

11:23am: The Grizzlies haven’t spoken with Hollins about a return to Memphis, USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets.

11:07am: Spears clarifies that Hollins and Mitchell remain in the mix for the Minnesota job, but it appears the Wolves don’t necessarily have interviews scheduled for them, as they reportedly do with Joerger (Twitter link).

10:59am: The Wolves are likely to interview Mitchell and Lionel Hollins in addition to Joerger, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

10:47am: The Wolves have made “significant progress” toward hiring Joerger, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

THURSDAY, 8:36am: It is believed the Timberwolves will offer their head coaching job to Joerger, according to Tillery, even though The Commercial Appeal scribe notes Taylor’s reported preference for Mitchell (subscription-only link).

WEDNESDAY, 3:32pm: The Grizzlies would consider George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy and Alvin Gentry if they part ways with Joerger, reports Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM ESPN in Memphis, who seconds an earlier report that the team will not pursue Eric Musselman (Twitter links).

3:21pm: The Wolves are set to interview Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger for their coaching vacancy Thursday, but Minnesota owner Glen Taylor prefers Sam Mitchell to Joerger, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who writes in a subscription-only piece. Joerger, a Minnesota native, is close with Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders, who wants to hire a young coach, Tillery says.

The Grizzlies will allow Joerger to continue as their coach if he fails to land the Wolves job provided he can repair his relationships with the Memphis players, Tillery adds. Grizzlies brass views Joerger as a “Jason Levien guy,” as Tillery puts it, referring to the ousted Memphis CEO. Levien denied Minnesota’s request to interview Joerger last week, but Grizzlies owner Robert Pera gave the Wolves the OK to meet with the coach after firing Levien on Monday.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace remarked to Tillery that the matter of Joerger’s interview with Minnesota is a “very unique situation” that’s in a “preliminary stage.” Still, a source suggests to Tillery that where the coach ends up will ultimately hinge on how much Memphis demands from the Wolves in compensation for letting Joerger out of his contract, which still has two seasons left on it. Earlier reports indicated that the compensation wouldn’t be a stumbling block and that the Grizzlies are prepared to facilitate a deal, but it sounds like Memphis won’t let the Wolves off too easy if they decide on Joerger instead of Mitchell.

And-Ones: LeBron, Love, Garnett, Donovan

May 22nd, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

People around the league told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal that didn’t think the Cavs had any shot at re-signing LeBron James going into Tuesday’s draft lottery, but Cleveland’s third lottery victory in four years casts the idea in a new light, Lloyd figures. The Cavs have long believed that acquiring Kevin Love would be central to the team’s pursuit of the four-time MVP, and they thought all season that the Wolves would eventually trade their power forward. Still, Lloyd has heard from no one who believes that Love would stay in Cleveland long-term if the team can’t land James, so trading for Love before knowing what James wants to do would be a supreme gamble. There’s more on the Love sweepstakes amid the latest from around the NBA:

The Warriors are confident they can wind up with Love, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle hears. Love is reportedly high on Golden State, and the team has been resourceful in acquiring players in spite of a lack of cap flexibility, Simmons notes.
Next season’s $12MM salary and a productive stretch run lead Tim Bontemps of the New York Post to believe that Kevin Garnett will return next season for the Nets, even though he hasn’t dismissed talk of retirement.
Billy Donovan admitted contact with a couple of NBA teams, but he said he’s content as the coach at the University of Florida and “all but guaranteed” he’ll remain there for next season, observes Mark Long of The Associated Press (Twitter links; hat tip to Marc Stein of ESPN.com). The Wolves reportedly sought him for their vacancy earlier this spring.
The Warriors were one of five teams that reached out to Steve Kerr about their coaching vacancies, as Kerr said on ESPN Radio’s The Dan Le Batard show, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. The Knicks and Jazz were his other known suitors.
Draft hopeful Andre Dawkins will work out for the Bulls, Suns, Hornets, Pacers, Pistons and Mavericks, his agent tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Dawkins is No. 92 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com doesn’t have him among his top prospects.

Michael Carter-Williams Leads All-Rookie Team

May 22nd, 2014 at 1:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams headlines the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team, which also features Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke, Mason Plumlee and Tim Hardaway Jr. The Second Team is composed of Kelly Olynyk, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gorgui Dieng, Cody Zeller and Steven Adams. Carter-Williams was a unanimous first-team selection among the media members who voted for the award. Had Kevin Calabro of ESPN Radio not left Oladipo off his ballot entirely, the Magic guard would have been a unanimous first-teamer, too.

Still, the first team is made up of the only five players who received first-place votes for Rookie of the Year. Ben McLemore was the player with the most All-Rookie votes not to make either the first or the second team, and 29 players received at least one vote for one of the teams. That includes 2013 No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, who drew a single second-team vote.

Only three of the top 10 picks from the 2013 draft appear on either All-Rookie Team. Still, all 10 players selected to the team were first-round picks, with Hardaway, the 24th overall selection, the last to come off the board on draft night a year ago.

Western Notes: Wolves, Fournier, Warriors

May 21st, 2014 at 9:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor says the team doesn’t intend to trade Kevin Love, reports Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “Actually, I haven’t had any offers. I’m waiting!” GM Milt Newton joked. According to the article, Newton also said that now that the draft lottery was completed it would accelerate the team’s search for a new head coach.

Cavs Rumors: Draft, Love, Coaches

May 21st, 2014 at 2:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs have Joel Embiid atop their wish list as long as they can determine his back is healthy, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Agent Arn Tellem is still deciding whether to let Cleveland’s doctors examine his client, a source tells fellow ESPN.com scribe Andy Katz, as Goodman notes in his piece. Still, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reported Tuesday night that the Cavs liked Jabari Parker best before hearing that Andrew Wiggins was the team’s most likely choice. There’s little clarity on whom the Cavs want to draft, or even if they intend to keep their pick, as we detail amid the latest on the lottery winners:

The Cavs have legitimate interest in trading for Kevin Love, just as they did last season, but the Timberwolves don’t think that Cleveland is willing to include the top pick, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Cleveland is nonetheless likely to gauge what they can get for the No. 1 overall pick, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com notes amid the latest on LeBron James, and GM David Griffin is already getting inquiries about the pick from other teams, as Griffin told ESPN Cleveland. The GM expressed a willingness to trade the top draft choice, but he’s far more likely to retain it, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
Deveney casts Mark Jackson, George Karl and Lionel Hollins as the leading contenders for the Cavs coaching job, though the team will also look at Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue among other previously reported candidates, as Deveney writes in the same piece. The Cavs are strongly considering college coaches as they conduct their search, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, but the idea that they’ll hire Kentucky’s John Calipari is “almost pure imagination,” Deveney writes.
The vast majority of the scouts who’ve spoken with Sam Smith of Bulls.com say the top pick will be either Embiid or Parker. Smith runs down Cleveland’s trade options with the No. 1 overall choice.

Grizzlies OK Wolves To Interview Dave Joerger

May 21st, 2014 at 1:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:45pm: The Grizzlies will probably seek compensation if the Wolves decide to hire Joerger, but it wouldn’t be a first-round draft pick, Zgoda tweets, and Memphis isn’t looking to stand in the way, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

12:59pm: The Timberwolves spoke with Izzo last night, but there’s no chance now that he’ll take the Minnesota job, according to Dan Barreiro of KFAN (Twitter link; hat tip to Zgoda).

12:53pm: The Wolves made their request for permission to speak with Joerger prior to this week’s front office chaos in Memphis, though it’s unclear if the Grizzlies gave Minnesota the green light before the turmoil began, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter links). Joerger is set to interview with the Wolves on Thursday, Amick adds.

12:19pm: Joerger is scheduled to interview with the Wolves within the next 24 hours, Wojnarowski tweets.

11:23am: It appears Joerger is at odds with Grizzlies scouting director David Mincberg, as they share mutual “hate,” tweets Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal.

10:27am: Joerger appears to be the favorite at this point, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link), and his affection for the state of Minnesota runs deep, Stein tweets.

9:59am: The Grizzlies have granted the Wolves permission to interview coach Dave Joerger for their coaching vacancy, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Joerger is eager to leave Memphis and Grizzlies ownership wants him out, too, but neither side wants to vacate his multiyear contract, according to Zgoda. Joerger has two years left on a three-year deal with Memphis that’s worth approximately $6MM. Joerger apparently received assurances from the attorney for Grizzlies owner Robert Pera that he would remain as coach of the team in the wake of the front office turmoil in Memphis, but it seems there’s mutual interest in a parting of ways. Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders has a longstanding relationship with Joerger, who grew up in Minnesota, and the interview will probably take place later this week, Zgoda hears.

Joerger just finished his first season as Grizzlies coach, overcoming concerns about his readiness for the job early in the season and an injury to Marc Gasol to complete a late run at 50 wins. Memphis pushed the Thunder to seven games in the opening round of the playoffs, but the success masked turmoil within the organization that’s come to light this week.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com first suggested earlier this week that Joerger would become a coaching candidate for the Wolves if the Grizzlies let him go. The club had reportedly been waiting on Tuesday’s draft lottery for clarity, and with the No. 13 picked locked in, it seems Saunders and company are ready to move forward. The same weekend report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that noted openness toward trading Kevin Love identified Sam Mitchell as a coaching candidate. Saunders interviewed Lionel Hollins several weeks ago, and though a report two weeks ago indicated that the team was waiting on an answer from Michigan State coach Tom Izzo before proceeding, the team isn’t holding back from looking at others.

Cavs Unlikely To Land LeBron Without Upgrades

May 21st, 2014 at 11:54am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James won’t consider signing with any team that isn’t ready to seriously contend for a title in 2014/15, and he’s unwilling to play for an inexperienced coach, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Windhorst casts doubt on the notion that landing a third No. 1 overall pick in four years will be enough to convince James to opt out of his contract with the Heat and sign with the Cavs this summer, unless Cleveland packages the pick or other assets in a trade for a star. To that end, the Cavs will most likely inquire with the Timberwolves about Kevin Love, according to Windhorst.

It would take a “dream scenario” to entice James to leave the Heat, Windhorst writes, and doing so would be virtually impossible if Miami were to win the title this year and set up a run at a fourth straight title next season, the ESPN.com scribe also says. Windhorst raises the idea that the Heat may also inquire about Love this summer in an effort to further enhance their odds of keeping the four-time MVP, but it’s unclear whether that’s truly in team president Pat Riley‘s plans or mere speculation.

Windhorst’s report seems to suggest that the Cavs must hire an experienced coach if they’re to have any chance at bringing James back to the franchise. Cavs GM David Griffin has indicated a desire to pivot from the team’s strategy of collecting high draft picks into a pursuit of veterans, so perhaps that philosophy will extend to the team’s coaching search, too.

The pressure is also seemingly on other would-be suitors for James to target additional stars in an effort to surround James with as strong a team as possible, just as the Heat added Chris Bosh to a team that already had Dwyane Wade when they signed James in 2010.

Celts Willing To Trade For Star Without Extension

May 21st, 2014 at 11:16am CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has expressed a willingness to trade for a marquee player entering the final season of his contract with no assurances he would sign an extension with the team. Ainge made his comments to Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb on 98.5 The Sports Hub radio in Boston (Twitter link), and while he didn’t mention anyone in specific, it would appear he was referring to Kevin Love, who’s set to become a free agent in 2015, when he can exercise an early termination option in his contract.

Love reportedly sees the Celtics as an intriguing destination as he pressures the Wolves, through his agents at Excel Sports Management, to trade him by the draft. Ainge’s choice of words is key, as it’s unlikely Love signs an extension with any team, given that he’d be able to sign a much more lucrative deal as a free agent. Love isn’t even eligible to sign an extension until January 25th, 2015, the three-year anniversary of the date he signed his most recent extension with the Timberwolves. Teams aren’t allowed to sign players to extensions for six months after they acquire them via trade, unless they pull off an extend-and-trade transaction, which would further limit Love’s earning power. Ainge may be more concerned with receiving promises that Love would re-sign with the team in free agency in 2015 if he were to trade for him.

The Celtics would have plenty of competition for Love, as the Warriors, Lakers, Suns and Knicks are also in the mix for the All-Star power forward. They also have to make decisions concerning Rajon Rondo, who like Love is set to hit free agency after next season.

Magic To Pursue David Lee?

May 21st, 2014 at 9:12am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic are a team “to watch out for” with the Warriors becoming more open to trading David Lee, reports Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. New Warriors coach Steve Kerr has expressed a desire for a stretch power forward, and GM Bob Myers is also eyeing additional shooting, signaling a willingness to shed Lee, largely a traditional power forward.

Thompson suggests the Magic’s failure to land a top-three pick in the draft lottery will make the team more willing to take on Lee to solidify a frontcourt that lacks a marquee power forward. That rests largely on the supposition that the Magic don’t end up with a big man like Julius Randle or Noah Vonleh with the No. 4 overall pick next month, of course. Thompson casts doubt on Golden State’s ability to land Kevin Love, even in the wake of a report identifying the Warriors as a prime contender him, but Thompson asserts that Arron Afflalo, who like Love went to UCLA, would help attract the Timberwolves star.

It’s nonetheless unclear whether the Warriors are indeed interested in Afflalo or anyone in particular as they ponder a trade for Lee, who’s due more than $30.5MM over the next two seasons. The Magic are one of the few teams with the cap flexibility and the organizational patience to absorb that sort of contract attached to a player who’s not a superstar, so they make sense as a destination for Lee if Orlando has assets that intrigue the Warriors enough to motivate them into a move. The only real pressure on the Warriors to make a drastic change this summer would be self-created, as I wrote last week when I looked ahead at Golden State’s offseason.

And-Ones: Love, Celts, Cavs, Blatche, Clips, Grizz

May 20th, 2014 at 9:02pm CST by Alex Lee

Some thought tonight’s NBA Draft Lottery results could have major Kevin Love implications, though salary cap guru Larry Coon of ESPN doesn’t believe the Timberwolves star can be moved before the draft. According to Coon, such a deal would require cap room that teams will not have before July (Twitter links here).

The Celtics, who pick sixth, are a “sleeper” team in the Love sweepstakes, but owner Wyc Grousbeck says he isn’t hurrying the rebuilding effort, as he tells Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe. “That KG deal might be once in a lifetime, but I think over the next four or five years, we will get back to being contenders, if not three years,” he said. “I think we can get back there. I think this summer, one way or another, we’ll take positive steps, whether we just draft two players and continue to build, or whether we make a blockbuster deal.”

Here is what else is going on around the Association tonight, as the Heat and Pacers battle it out in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals:

ESPN’s Chad Ford considers Andrew Wiggins the favorite to land in Cleveland after the Cavaliers won Tuesday night’s lottery (via Twitter). Ford tweeted before the results were in that the Cavs preferred Jabari Parker, however he indicated afterwards (also on Twitter) that he was a corrected by a trusted source in Cleveland.
The admirable play of Andray Blatche down the stretch and into the postseason for the Nets could set him up for a decent pay day, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Blatche has said he will opt out of his one-year player option for next season, though Brooklyn controls his Early Bird Rights according to Bontemps.
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News provides the transcript of today’s post-television interview session with new Warriors coach Steve Kerr, which is a bit juicier than what we relayed earlier on. Per Kawakami, Kerr covets a big man that can shoot. Meanwhile, Golden State GM Bob Myers also indicated the team will pursue shooting this summer, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
Speaking before the lottery proceedings, commissioner Adam Silver detailed the process that comes with a forced sale of the Clippers. However, Silver did indicate that he will continue to urge owner Donald Sterling to sell the team on his own, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Though he hasn’t been assured that his role is permanent by Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, GM Chris Wallace said at a Thursday afternoon press conference that he believes Memphis can win the NBA title next season, writes Zack McMillin of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “We’re a very formidable team. We just have to find a way to make that next step. Is it easy? No, but it’s attainable and we’re not going to rest until we hang that championship banner and have this parage this town deserves,” Wallace said.