Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Union, Celtics, Blatche, Diawara

July 8th, 2014 at 3:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

The players union is worried that teams like the Heat are trying to strong-arm players into making financial sacrifices by triggering hard caps with the use of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe explains. Clubs can’t exceed the tax apron, the line $4MM above the tax threshold, if they use either the larger mid-level or the bi-annual. Ron Klempner, the interim executive director for the union, argues that such teams can eschew those exceptions and find ways that don’t trigger a hard cap to accommodate contracts for the players they want.

“Teams are being exposed for what they are doing,” Klempner told Lowe. “It has been laid bare. They are hiding behind the rules. Teams like the Heat have the ability to bring back all their players, and give them raises, but they are choosing to go in another direction.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The Celtics remain on the lookout for players who will appeal to the Wolves in hopes that Minnesota will agree to a deal that sends Kevin Love to Boston, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe details.
The Raptors will meet Wednesday with free agent Andray Blatche, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
Former NBA swingman Yakhouba Diawara is working out for the Raptors today in hopes of a comeback, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
Sixers second-round pick Vasilije Micic is staying overseas and won’t sign with Philadelphia for this season, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Micic went 52nd overall last month.
Janis Timma, the 60th pick in last year’s draft, will also stay overseas this coming season rather than sign with the Grizzlies, who hold his rights, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes in a subscription-only piece.
The Jazz, Rockets and Warriors all recently auditioned Tyler Honeycutt, but the former Kings small forward has signed a two-year deal with Russia’s Khimki Moscow, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).

Timberwolves Sign Zach LaVine

July 8th, 2014 at 2:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:06pm: The Wolves have officially signed LaVine, the team announced (Twitter link).

11:28am: LaVine indeed signed for the standard 120% of the rookie scale, Wolfson tweets.

11:16am: No. 13 overall pick Zach LaVine has signed his rookie scale contract with the Wolves, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). He’s likely receiving nearly $2.056MM for the coming season, assuming he signed for the standard 120% of the rookie scale, as our table of salaries for this year’s first-round picks shows.

There were conflicting reports that Minnesota had given LaVine a promise that they would select him 13th, though the 6’6″ UCLA shooting guard wound up with the Wolves regardless of whether it was preordained. He was one of three players from his school to go in this year’s first round, as Jordan Adams followed at No. 22 to the Grizzlies and the Spurs spent the 30th pick on Kyle Anderson.

LaVine, 19, averaged 9.4 points and shot 37.5% from three-point range in 24.4 minutes per game during his freshman season with the Bruins this year. He’s a raw prospect who’ll require patience from the Wolves, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors detailed.

Eastern Notes: Love, Rondo, Stephenson

July 8th, 2014 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics and Timberwolves haven’t spoken in more than a week about a Kevin Love trade, two sources tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Three GMs tell Bulpett that if the Celtics changed gears and attempted to trade Rajon Rondo, they would have a hard time finding full value for him on the trade market at present, though it’s unclear precisely why. There’s more on the C’s from Bulpett’s piece amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics have yet to contact Lance Stephenson or agent Alberto Ebanks, according to Bulpett, despite Monday’s report that the C’s had interest.
The Hornets and Wizards are the front-runners for Kris Humphries while the Celtics seem like they’re removing themselves from the pursuit, a source tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).
A source tells Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com that Garrett Temple isn’t weighing any offer from the Heat. A Monday report indicated that the point guard was leaning toward signing with Miami.
The Pistons have jumped into the running for Brian Roberts, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops, who reiterates his earlier report that the Grizzlies are interested, too.
The Heat‘s path to signing Carmelo Anthony would be complex and hard to configure financially, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com details, while Mark Deeks of ShamSports, writing for Hoop365, outlines a much more palatable scenario that lands ‘Melo with the Bulls.
The Knicks have officially named Kurt Rambis as the team’s lead assistant coach, the team announced. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com first reported the deal, and Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that the Knicks offered four years at an annual salary of $1.2MM to lure him from his job as a Lakers assistant coach.

Eastern Notes: Hamilton, Anthony, Deng

July 5th, 2014 at 6:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Justin Hamilton is mulling a guaranteed two-year contract from a team in Zagreb, reports Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Hamilton is signed to a non-guaranteed contract with the Heat for 2014/15. Hamilton has an unusual contract in that he is scheduled to make a base salary of $816,482, and if he is not waived before August 1st $408,241 becomes guaranteed, and if he’s not waived by December 1st, then $612,362 of that contract becomes guaranteed. You can check out our Schedule of Contract Guarantee Dates for more info on Hamilton and non-guaranteed contracts throughout the league.

Free Agent Rumors: Bosh, LeBron, ‘Melo

July 5th, 2014 at 3:32pm CST by Charlie Adams

So far today we’ve heard that Devin Harris struck a deal to remain in Dallas, while the Bucks are trying to find a way to pry one of Eric Bledsoe or Greivis Vasquez away from their respective clubs. Let’s have a look at even more happenings around the free agency front:

Chris Bosh is the key to keeping the Big Three together in Miami, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Unfortunately for the Heat, there are rumblings around the league that Bosh might actually prefer to take a max-salary contract elsewhere rather than stay in Miami for a discount.
At this point, some teams actually believe LeBron James is more likely to leave the Heat than Carmelo Anthony is to depart from the Knicks, passes along Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
A source tells K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that the Bulls would hope to engage the Lakers in sign-and-trade possibilities should they get a verbal commitment from Pau Gasol. The Bulls would dangle the expiring $16.8MM contract of Carlos Boozer and likely would have to include sweeteners, possibly in the form of draft picks.
If ‘Melo re-signs with the Knicks, expect Phil Jackson to make a run at trading for Kevin Love, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Still, Wolfson doesn’t see a good match between the Wolves and Knicks.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Gasol, Knicks, Lakers, Marion

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There won’t be a decision from Pau Gasol anytime soon as to where he will be signing, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com. This is despite the pleas and pitches he has received from Carmelo Anthony and numerous teams, notes Aldridge.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Blake, Humphries

July 3rd, 2014 at 12:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder have jumped into the race for Pau Gasol, and while there’s conflicting information about just how strong their chances are of landing him, it seems Oklahoma City is taking a more aggressive posture than in years past to try to upgrade its team. Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Negotiations between the Jazz and Kent Bazemore have moved beyond the preliminary stage, but the team and the Austin Walton client aren’t close to a deal, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders first reported Utah’s interest.
The Blazers have had preliminary talks about a deal with Steve Blake, who’d love to play in Portland again, sources tell Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The team and the Joel Bell client are expected to continue the talks, Haynes adds.
The Timberwolves were set to speak with the agent for free agent Dante Cunningham on Wednesday, but while the fellow client of Joel Bell has interest in re-signing with the team, the Wolves don’t necessarily feel the same way, observes Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. (Twitter links).
The Wolves have interest in signing Kris Humphries to a one-year deal, according to Wolfson and Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling (Twitter link).
Markel Starks, who went undrafted out of Georgetown last month, will play on the Wolves summer league team, in addition to doing the same with the Pistons, reports Zach Links of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).

Western Rumors: Suns, Love, Miller, Miles

July 2nd, 2014 at 3:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns have spoken with Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, Luol Deng, Spencer Hawes, Danny Granger, Ed Davis, Marvin Williams, Josh McRoberts, Gordon Hayward, Chandler Parsons, Isaiah Thomas and Patrick Patterson, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Still, Coro cautions that they aren’t necessarily interested in all of them. Phoenix also made contact with Eric Bledsoe, P.J. Tucker and Channing Frye on the first day of free agency, Coro adds. Here’s more from the West, including a Kevin Love update:

The Wolves are indeed insisting that the Warriors take back Kevin Martin in any trade involving Love, a source tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Minnesota is also holding firm on its insistence that Klay Thompson be a part of the Warriors’ package, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.
The Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, Thunder and the incumbent Grizzlies are among the teams pursuing Mike Miller, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. He’ll allow the Grizzlies to make a final push before he makes his decision, and while he said on Sports56 radio in Memphis that he’s received at least five offers, he added that his heart is in Memphis, as Tillery notes (Twitter link).
The Thunder and C.J. Miles had mutual interest before he agreed to sign with the Pacers, but Oklahoma City wasn’t willing to have the contract go quite as long as the four years that Indiana gave him, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry tweets. The Thunder are believed to be limiting their new contracts this summer to two years with Kevin Durant‘s potential free agency looming in 2016, Mayberry adds (on Twitter).
The Clippers have reached out to unrestricted free agent Ed Davis, reports Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
The Jazz are among several teams interested in Kent Bazemore, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).

Western Rumors: Nowitzki, Frye, Sefolosha, Love

July 1st, 2014 at 1:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavs have had advanced discussions with Dirk Nowitzki but both sides have agreed to put off sealing a deal until after Wednesday’s meeting with Carmelo Anthony, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears. That’s to let the team keep maximum flexibility, the same desire that also prompted the sides to decide against an extension. The Mavs and Nowitzki engaged in extension talks before he became a free agent, so Dallas has a strong idea of what the perennial All-Star wants, Stein writes. There’s more on the Mavs amid the latest from the Western Conference:

The Mavs have interest in D.J. Augustin, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com details.
The Suns are making a push to re-sign Channing Frye amid interest from the Cavs and Warriors, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Clippers, Mavs and Rockets have scheduled meetings with Thabo Sefolosha, but the Thunder haven’t reached out to him, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
Kevin Love trade talk between the Wolves and Warriors is still stalemated over Minnesota’s request for the inclusion of Klay Thompson and Golden State’s hesitancy to give him up in a deal, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
The Lakers, Rockets and Mavs followed through with their interest in Jordan Hill and made contact over night, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link). Hill, like Pau Gasol, warmed to the idea of a remaining with the Lakers when coach Mike D’Antoni left, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News details.
The Mavs are interested in unrestricted free agent Al-Farouq Aminu, according to MacMahon.
Dallas is making progress toward new deals with Devin Harris and Vince Carter, tweets Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
The Lakers were extremely active in the hours after free agency began, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The Lakers were working the phones “like crazy” and talked to a lot of free agents, Kennedy says.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Wolves Open Extension Talks With Ricky Rubio

July 1st, 2014 at 11:11am CST by Chuck Myron

The Wolves and representatives for Ricky Rubio have begun discussions about a rookie scale extension for the point guard, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The talks figure to be challenging, Wolfson surmises, with Rubio coming off a disappointing season and the specter of a Kevin Love trade hanging over the heads of the Wolves.

Agent Dan Fegan represents Rubio as well as restricted free agent Chandler Parsons, Wolfson notes, and the Wolves are reportedly mulling a sign-and-trade pitch to Parsons and the Rockets as part of a Love deal if other Love trades don’t develop. Parsons’ stock is high but Rubio registered a career-low 9.5 points per game this year as he failed to show progress as a shooter or scorer in his first full NBA season after injuries curtailed his first two NBA campaigns. He nonetheless continued to show deft passing ability, averaging 8.6 assists against 2.7 turnovers per game.

Former Wolves GM David Kahn left the door open for the Wolves to make Rubio their Designated Player when he refused to give a fifth year to Love when he signed his extension in 2012, but the move has backfired. It seems unlikely that Rubio would receive the maximum salary required in a five-year extension offer. Still, Fegan appears likely to ask for a deal close to the max, with average annual salaries around $15.5MM. The sides have until October 31st to strike a deal, or Rubio will be set for restricted free agency next summer.