Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Lakers, Saunders, Henry

April 4th, 2014 at 7:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers know their fans and Kobe Bryant aren’t sold on Mike D’Antoni, but with the team’s free agency focus on 2015, they’re hesitant to bring on a new coach who might not mesh with the players they target then, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes. They’re also not sure that D’Antoni has performed poorly enough to warrant his dismissal, Ding adds, suggesting assistant Kurt Rambis as a possible replacement if D’Antoni is ousted.

Wolves Waive A.J. Price

April 3rd, 2014 at 11:37am CST by Chuck Myron

The Wolves have waived A.J. Price, the team announced. The point guard was on a minimum-salary contract, which will remain on the team’s books. The timing is unusual, since there are fewer than two weeks remaining before the end of the season. It’s not tied to Dante Cunningham‘s arrest this morning on suspicion of domestic assault, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, who notes that the team made its decision to cut ties with Price prior to the arrest. Price’s release brings the team down to 14 players, and presumably the Wolves will add someone before the season is through.

Price had an appendectomy in early March and hasn’t played since. He saw just 3.5 minutes per game this season in 28 appearances, but the Wolves nonetheless decided to keep him through December 8th, when his contract became fully guaranteed. The Excel Sports Management client inked the deal coming off of a career year with the Wizards, for whom he started 22 games, averaging 9.0 points and 4.7 assists in those starts.

The 27-year-old is ineligible to take part in the postseason this year if he ends up with a team that’s playoff-bound, since Minnesota waived him after March 1st. I imagine the Wolves have their eyes on a free agent prospect whom they’d like to sign to a contract that runs through the end of the season with a non-guaranteed year tacked on for 2014/15, though that’s just my speculation. Zgoda suggests that player would likely be a forward like Cunningham, whose absence, however long it might be, creates a more significant hole than Price’s.

Northwest Notes: Fisher, Garrett, Cunningham

April 2nd, 2014 at 7:16pm CST by Cray Allred

Trail Blazers center Robin Lopez has been surprised at how great a fit the city of Portland has been for him this year, both on and off the court, he told listeners of The Jim Rome Show today. “It’s funny, when I was playing in Phoenix, Channing Frye, who had been in Portland, told me if I visited there, if I went there, I was just going to love it. And I was a little reluctant to believe him just because Channing talks a lot of stuff. But it turns out he’s been 100 percent right. I can’t believe how perfectly the fit has been,” said Lopez (transcription via Sean Meagher of Oregon Live). Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

After going undrafted in 2011, bouncing around Europe and the D-League, and making short-lived stops with the Suns and Thunder, Jazz backup point guard Diante Garrett tells Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune he’s hoping to prove himself and find some permanency in Utah. “You try and not think about it all the time because it will weigh you down,” said Garrett, who has an unguaranteed contract for next season at less than $1MM. “Just go out there and do what you’ve been doing all year and put even more effort into it, because there are going to be a lot of eyes watching, a lot of people watching, a lot of people talking.”
Speculation has tied Thunder guard Derek Fisher to the Knicks head coaching position, but he tells Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman that he hasn’t spoken with Phil Jackson about the gig, and reiterates that he’s not looking to coach next season.
Caron Butler tells Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman he came to the Thunder following his buyout with the Bucks because he wanted a chance to play a significant part in a championship run. “I wanted to play,” Butler said. “I wanted to be effective. I wanted to have my fingerprints even more on the success of the team.” Butler won a championship with the Mavs in 2011, but sat out that postseason with an injury.
Dante Cunningham is the only Timberwolves rotation fixture set to become an unrestricted free agent next year, and Andy Greder of St. Paul Pioneer Press wonders if Minnesota will value the forward’s intangibles enough to re-sign him despite his poor on-the-court statistics.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Livingston, Canales, Dalembert

March 30th, 2014 at 9:07pm CST by Cray Allred

Kings coach Michael Malone tells Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders that he hopes Sacramento can retain both Isaiah Thomas and Rudy Gay beyond this year. Thomas is set to be a restricted free agent, and Gay has a $19.3MM player option on his deal. Here’s more from out west:

Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee looks at the steep price the Kings would have to pay to keep Thomas and Gay, since their deals would coincide with DeMarcus Cousins‘ extension kicking in.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities thinks the Timberwolves should target Nets guard Shaun Livingston in free agency, noting that Brooklyn doesn’t own his Bird Rights and that he shares an agent with Nikola Pekovic (Twitter link).
Jeff Caplan of NBA.com sees parallels between Mavs assistant coach Kaleb Canales and the Heat’s Erik Spoelstra. The 34-year-old Canales was the interim coach for the Trail Blazers in 2012, and a finalist to become the permanent head coach alongside Terry Stotts, who eventually won the job. Caplan believes Canales could get another head coaching opportunity. “Obviously, looking down the road, I would love to have that opportunity again one day,” Canales told Caplan. “But that’s not where my concern is right now. I understand how blessed and fortunate I am, and I don’t take that for granted.”
After some struggles and a benching early in the season, Mavs center Samuel Dalembert has stepped up his play and earned the trust of his coach and teammates, he tells Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “It was a challenge in the beginning,” Dalembert said of the first portion of the season. “But after the All-Star break, I kicked it up a little and really figured out how to contribute before my time is up.”

Lakers Notes: Love, Nash, Kaman

March 29th, 2014 at 9:58am CST by Cray Allred

The Lakers lost in embarrassing fashion to the Timberwolves last night, giving up 143 points on 67.1% overall shooting. The rumors surrounding Los Angeles aren’t very positive, either. Let’s take a look:

Kevin Love downplayed questions about joining the Lakers in the future when speaking with reporters including Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News after he led the Wolves in drubbing the purple and gold. “You know, my parents live there and they had me there. It’s not my fault,” Love said. “So, I don’t really care about that right now. I just go out there and play and don’t think about it.”
Steve Nash told reporters including Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com that how his health will affect the rest of this season and his career is a virtual unknown to the 40-year-old. “Frankly, I don’t know if I’ll play again or if I’ll play every game [the rest] of the year,” Nash said. “I think the bottom line right now is this is a situation where I want to play; that’s the only reason I played tonight. But I also want to go into this summer healthy.” Nash has repeatedly said he wants to play out the final year of his contract and avoid a scenario where the Lakers exercise the stretch provision on his contract.
Chris Kaman admitted to having frustration with his lack of playing time for the Lakers, telling reporters including Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times he doesn’t understand coach Mike D’Antoni‘s explanation. “It’s a frustrating situation all around. Maybe he thought he was going to go with the young guys, but Steve Nash is 40 years old. He stayed with him so I’m not sure that’s par for the course,” said Kaman, who was the subject of trade rumors earlier this year and will become a free agent this summer. “It’s hard for a player to know what to think, know what to do and what to say. I’m just trying to be cool about it and stay positive, but it’s definitely difficult.”

Western Notes: Love, Papanikolaou, Jazz

March 28th, 2014 at 7:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There are rumors circulating that the Lakers will attempt to use this year’s high lottery pick to assemble the sort of trade package that finally convinces the Timberwolves to part with Kevin Love and end the uncertainty that hangs over this franchise even before the 25-year-old enters the final year of his contract, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Many in NBA circles believe that Love will eventually end up in Los Angeles, either via trade or free agency. He grew up in California, attended UCLA and his father, Stan, played for the Lakers, notes Stein.

Wolves Rumors: Love, Adelman, Hoiberg, Rubio

March 28th, 2014 at 2:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s more uncertainty surrounding the Timberwolves than with any other team in the league, Grantland’s Zach Lowe concludes. The future of Kevin Love is at the center of it, and Lowe and Marc Stein of ESPN.com examine that and other issues on which the franchise could pivot in the months ahead. We’ll highlight their pieces here:

The Wolves have already let some teams know that they’re uninterested in trading Love, who’s set for free agency in 2015, and Minnesota has indirectly given that signal to other teams, too, Lowe writes. Owner Glen Taylor is intent on convincing Love to stay and the Wolves are optimistic about their chances of keeping him, Stein reports, adding that Taylor is determined not to trade Love unless the time comes when he feels he must.
There are many close to the Wolves who are convinced Rick Adelman will retire after the season, Stein writes. The Wolves and Adelman each have two weeks to decide whether to exercise the mutual option on his contract, notes Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune suggests via Twitter that even if Adelman doesn’t opt out, the Wolves will.
There have been no signals that president of basketball operations Flip Saunders wants to take over on the bench, but Stein hears the Wolves will make a strong pursuit of Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg if Adelman isn’t coming back.
Ricky Rubio will be up for a rookie scale extension in the offseason, and the sense around the league is that agent Dan Fegan will ask for eight-figure salaries, according to Lowe. The point guard is undeserving of that much money, Lowe argues, noting that teams nonetheless have widely varying opinions of Rubio’s worth.

Coaching Rumors: Jackson, T’Wolves, Adelman

March 27th, 2014 at 8:45pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The topic of Mark Jackson’s job security with the Warriors is riddled with complexity, and ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez and J.A. Adande discuss how this year’s struggles may affect the third-year head coach’s future in Oakland. Gutierrez suggests that Jackson bears some responsibility for Golden State’s frustrating play at times this year, while Adande surmises that Jackson will be in big trouble if the Warriors fail to improve on their six playoff wins from last season. Adande adds that ownership has spent nearly half of a billion dollars to purchase the team and upgrade the arena, and doesn’t think that patience accompanies those types of expenditures.

You can find additional coaching-related links below, including more from the above piece:

Adande believes that a contract extension for Jackson would imply a significant vouch of support from management; however, the fact that there hasn’t been one yet makes him wonder if anyone within the organization’s hierarchy has Jackson’s back.
Gutierrez thinks the Warriors are hastily trying to figure out Jackson’s potential as a head coach, and that Jackson could be heading into the postseason with his future in Golden State on the line.
Timberwolves executive Flip Saunders is close to college coaches Fred Hoiberg and Tom Izzo, both of whom owner Glen Taylor admires, notes Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Walters senses that the chances of Rick Adelman returning to coach the Wolves are “remote” and points to the team’s coaching search from six years ago, when the team was willing to give the job to Izzo. Still, Izzo was strident in saying this week that he has no interest in coaching the Pistons. Saunders will be in New York to watch both Hoiberg and Izzo coach in the NCAA tournament this week, Walters adds via Twitter.
Aside from Mark Jackson, there are many other coaches are in worse situations, notes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Toronto’s Dwane Casey, Washington’s Randy Wittman , Portland’s Terry Stotts, and Utah’s Tyrone Corbin are all finishing up their contracts this year and have yet to receive extensions.
Deveney also groups Knicks coach Mike Woodson with Corbin as two contract-year coaches who are on “ice that is thin as ice can get”, though it’s worth mentioning that Woodson actually had his 2014/15 contract option picked up last September.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Coaching Rumors: Jackson, Adelman, Fisher

March 26th, 2014 at 7:13pm CST by Cray Allred

The drama in Golden State continues to unfold, with more speculation about Warriors coach Mark Jackson reaching the media. Golden State’s All-Star point guard Steph Curry spoke up on behalf of Jackson today, telling reporters including Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group, “I love coach and everything he’s about.” Curry also said he wanted management to consult with him before deciding what to do with Jackson in the future.

Some players have told Thompson that they were dismayed over Jackson’s treatment by management, and think he should be supported considering the team’s success over the last two years.
Players also told Thompson they could see Jackson leaving after the season, either by his own decision or management’s.
One possible source of the reported friction between Jackson and newly re-assigned, former assistant coach Brian Scalabrine was Scalabrine’s willingness to talk too specifically during an in-game interview about the Warriors‘ defensive strategy, opines Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Wolves can expect to have some clarity on coach Rick Adelman within two weeks of the end of the season, since that’s the deadline for both sides on their mutual option for next season, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes.
There’s been speculation that Derek Fisher will be the next head coach of the Knicks, and some of his Thunder teammates say he’d make a fine coach, but the 39-year-old has said he has no interest in coaching, notes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Jackson, Blake, Griffin, Brown

March 25th, 2014 at 10:24pm CST by Charlie Adams

Reports earlier today indicated that there was dysfunction within the Warriors organization, but Mark Jackson downplayed the speculation, reports Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group. “We are excited about what’s taken place up until this point — the culture, the environment with no dysfunction at all,” Jackson said, “That’s comical.” Here’s tonight’s look around the NBA:

Steve Blake was initially disappointed about the deadline deal that sent him to the Warriors, but he’s embraced his role as an important bench piece for a contending playoff team, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is impressed with the job acting GM David Griffin has done in Cleveland, reveals Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Amico specifically mentions the trade that landed the Cavs Spencer Hawes in exchange for a second-round pick.
Although the Cavs are just 29-44, Raptors coach Dwane Casey thinks Mike Brown‘s defense-first coaching style is the best way to run a team, as Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer passes along. Cleveland bested Toronto 102-100 tonight.
Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insider takes a look at the NCAA coaches that appear most likely to jump into an NBA role. Koutroupis notes Fred Hoiberg‘s ties with the Timberwolves might have Minnesota calling his name this offseason if Rick Adelman steps down due to poor health.
League executives aren’t concerned with the perceived notion that some teams around the Association are tanking, says Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “When you’re talking about tanking, you’re intimating teams are losing games on purpose, and that just isn’t true,” said Rod Thorn, the NBA’s president of basketball operations. “Every player, every coach is trying to do everything he can to win as many games as he can and to play as well as he possibly he can, because in both instances, your livelihood depends on how you do.”