Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Timberwolves Rumors

Northwest Notes: Mozgov, Iggy, Splitter, Wolves

July 12th, 2013 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

With the Thunder and Nuggets still looking strong, and the Timberwolves and Trail Blazers adding reinforcements, the Northwest could have four playoff contenders in 2013/14. Here's the latest out of the division:

  • The Nuggets are getting "increasingly close" to an agreement with restricted free agent big man Timofey Mozgov, according to GM Tim Connelly (link via Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post).
  • The Nuggets' failure to re-sign Andre Iguodala wasn't for lack of trying. Within a piece about the Warriors' newest acquisition, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle says Iguodala passed on a front-loaded five-year, $60MM offer from the Nuggets, and nearly agreed to sign a lucrative deal with the Mavericks just an hour before reaching a deal with the Warriors.
  • According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Trail Blazers reached an agreement with Tiago Splitter on a four-year, $36MM offer sheet. However, the team backed off when it became apparent that the Spurs would match.
  • Now that the Timberwolves have traded Luke Ridnour, agents for free agent point guards will begin reaching out to the team, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Nate Robinson's camp figures to be among those in contact with the Wolves, though Wolfson doesn't see a fit there.
  • The Jazz hope to use their remaining cap space to take on another contract and pick up another draft pick, as they did in their deal with the Warriors, tweets Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Wolves To Sign-And-Trade For Kevin Martin

July 11th, 2013 at 9:13pm CST by Zachary Links

JULY 11TH 9:13pm: The Timberwolves have officially announced, via the team's Twitter feed, that they've acquired Martin and cash from the Thunder and will send Ridnour and a 2014 second-round pick to the Bucks.  The Wolves own the Lakers 2014 second rounder, which is the selection that will go to Milwaukee.  Regarding the addition of Martin, Wolves president Flip Saunders said, "He is familiar with Coach Adelman's style of play and had success playing for him in Sacramento and Houston. We expect that to continue in Minnesota." (Twitter link)

The Bucks will send the draft rights to 2003 second round pick Szymon Szewczyk to Oklahoma City in the deal and get cash back from the Thunder, the team tweeted.  The Thunder will have until July 11 of next year to acquire a player via the trade exception they picked up in the deal, tweets Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.

JULY 11TH 10:18am: The Thunder will send cash to the T-Wolves as part of the sign-and-trade for Martin, and create a $7MM TPE, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). It's still not entirely clear what the Wolves are sending out in the trade — either that missing piece has yet to be reported, or the team intends to fold its Luke Ridnour deal into this one.

JULY 10TH: Marc Stein of ESPN.com pegs the deal in the $30MM range, noting that the Wolves and Thunder will roll the agreement into a sign-and-trade that will net Oklahoma City a trade exception. It's unclear exactly what the Thunder are getting in the trade, but presumably, draft picks and/or cash will be headed OKC's way.

JULY 2ND: Kevin Martin has reached agreement with the Wolves on a four-year, $28MM deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).  Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter) reported earlier tonight that Minnesota offered Kevin Martin a four-year deal in that vicinity.  Martin is represented by Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

Martin, of course, spent last season with the Thunder after coming over from Houston in the James Harden trade.  The guard averaged 14.0 PPG while shooting 45% from the floor in 27.7 minutes per contest last season.  Martin was a hot commodity this summer and the Blazers and Grizzlies were said to have serious interest in signing him.

It has been a busy day for the Timberwolves, who re-signed Chase Budinger just hours ago.  The forward will get a $16MM, three-year deal from Flip Saunders & Co.  Martin will pair with Ricky Rubio in the Wolves' backcourt, giving the club one of the more intriguing guard combos in the league.

The Thunder were said to be seeking a sign-and-trade for Martin if they could not retain him, but they'll now watch the guard leave without anything in return.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Western Notes: Pekovic, Warriors, Blazers, Mavs

July 11th, 2013 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams

As teams continue to finalize trade and free agent agreements, and peruse the market for hidden value, let's round up a few links related to Western Conference clubs….

  • Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link) still fully expects Nikola Pekovic to be back with the Timberwolves, and hears the big man isn't in contact with the Mavericks.
  • The Warriors never called the Lakers to discuss a sign-and-trade for Dwight Howard, since they were never told they were a real contender, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. That aligns with comments owner Joe Lacob made to Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News earlier today.
  • Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey indicated today to media, including Mike Tokito of the Oregonian (Twitter link), that he prefers to keep an open roster spot during the season, so the team could waive Terrel Harris before November.
  • According to Sam Amick of USA Today, the Grizzlies considered Brad Stevens before he was hired by the Celtics, and a third unknown team was interested in the former Butler coach as well (Twitter links).
  • Having lost last season's D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, to a single-affiliation partnership with the Kings, the Jazz will now align with the Bakersfield Jam, tweets Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune.
  • Jose Calderon doesn't believe the Mavericks necessarily need a star center to compete, as he told 103.3 FM in Dallas (link via Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com).
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Wolves, Turiaf, Williams, Webster

July 11th, 2013 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves appear ready to finalize deals bringing Kevin Martin and Corey Brewer on board, but those aren't the only outside free agents the team targeted. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), Minnesota has emerged as the frontrunner to sign Ronny Turiaf. I can't imagine Turiaf will earn more than the veteran's minimum, so he shouldn't affect the Wolves' cap outlook if a deal is reached. Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

  • Martin, who trains with Brewer in Florida, was very involved in lobbying Brewer to sign with the Timberwolves, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (via Twitter).
  • Several teams are courting Mo Williams, so there's no guarantee he lands with the Hawks if Atlanta declines to match Jeff Teague's offer sheet, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
  • According to Martell Webster, he received interest from the Cavaliers, Bucks, Knicks, Clippers, Blazers, and Pelicans ("big-time") before re-signing with the Wizards (Twitter link via Michael Lee of the Washington Post).
  • Grantland's Zach Lowe examines seven teams that could use their amnesty provision within the next few days.
  • Brandon Bass brushed off questions about a potentially uncertain future with the Celtics, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Wolves Moving Toward $50MM Deal With Pekovic?

July 10th, 2013 at 7:51pm CST by Luke Adams

7:51pm: A source tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune that the two sides are no closer to a deal, despite Wojnarowski's report. The Wolves are still waiting to hear back on an offer they made this past Friday, Zgoda writes.

2:33pm: Pekovic isn't close to signing anything yet, agent Misko Raznatovic tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

12:59pm: The Timberwolves and Nikola Pekovic are "getting closer" on a four-year, $50MM agreement, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

Heading into the offseason, Pekovic was considered perhaps the top restricted free agent on the market, but he hasn't drawn the sort of interest that last year's top restricted options did. The perception all along has been that the Wolves and Pekovic would work something out, and no potential rival suitors, such as the Mavericks, Hawks, or Cavs, appear poised to extend an offer sheet to the big man that would make him think twice.

In addition to nearing a deal with Pekovic, the Timberwolves are closing in on Corey Brewer, and have already reached agreements with Chase Budinger and Kevin Martin. No matter what order those moves happen in, the Wolves wouldn't be able to fit all those players into their cap space, so at least one sign-and-trade will be needed if Minnesota hopes to bring all four players aboard.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Bucks Exploring Luke Ridnour Trade

July 10th, 2013 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Timberwolves continue to explore ways to create enough room to bring aboard Corey Brewer, the Bucks have emerged as a potential destination for trade candidate Luke Ridnour, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Stein reports that the Bucks are prepared to acquire Ridnour from the Wolves, which would allow Minnesota to sign Brewer and acquire Kevin Martin via sign-and-trade (Twitter links).

If the T-Wolves were to send Ridnour to the Bucks, Minnesota would have $47,420,858 in team salary on its books, by my estimation. That figure includes cap holds for Chase Budinger, Nikola Pekovic, Shabazz Muhammad, and Gorgui Dieng. With a cap line of $58,679,000 in play, the Wolves would have about $11.26MM in space to fit in Brewer and Martin.

$11.26MM in cap room would seem to be close to enough to sign both players outright, but Stein's indication that a sign-and-trade deal for Martin is in the works suggests that maybe Minnesota would have to clear a tiny bit more salary. According to Stein (Twitter link), the Thunder are willing to participate in a Martin sign-and-trade in order to acquire a trade exception, but perhaps they'll acquire a small-salary player like Chris Johnson from the Wolves in the proposed deal as well.

From the Bucks' perspective, it's not clear how the potential acquisition of Ridnour would affect their pursuit of Jeff Teague, or the possibility that they bring back Brandon Jennings.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Wolves Closing In On Deal With Corey Brewer

July 10th, 2013 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves are closing in on a three-year deal with Corey Brewer worth something in the $15MM range, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). The details of whether the Wolves would be able to sign Brewer outright or negotiate a sign-and-trade are still being worked out, according to Stein (via Twitter).

Meanwhile, there are no doubts that Kevin Martin remains on track to join the Timberwolves, according to Stein, who tweets that Martin has agreed to delay his signing to allow Minnesota the chance to obtain Brewer. We heard earlier today that the Thunder and Nuggets were resisting accommodating sign-and-trade deals for Martin and Brewer, respectively, but "rumbles persist" that Luke Ridnour could go to OKC as part of a possible sign-and-trade for Martin, according to Stein (via Twitter).

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reported today (via Twitter) that sign-and-trade talks involving Martin and Brewer are being pushed by Relativity Sports, the agency for both players.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Spurs Made Run At Andrei Kirilenko

July 10th, 2013 at 8:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs explored the possibility of acquiring Andrei Kirilenko from the Timberwolves via a sign-and-trade deal, but talks between the two sides appear to have ended without an agreement, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Although San Antonio seriously considered a multiyear offer for Kirilenko, the club doesn't have the cap space or exception room to add the Russian forward without a sign-and-trade. So far though, Timberwolves president Flip Saunders has shown little, if any, inclination to assist Kirilenko in securing a significant financial commitment from another club, sources tell Wojnarowski.

Kirilenko and the Spurs had been discussing an annual salary worth about $8-9MM, and Minnesota was unwilling to take back the salary necessary to complete a sign-and-trade for that amount, says Wojnarowski. Doing so would have compromised the Wolves' ability to add free agents Kevin Martin and Chase Budinger, and would have affected their continued pursuit of Corey Brewer.

According to Wojnarowski, the Thunder have resisted the idea of accommodating a sign-and-trade for Martin, while the Nuggets have been similarly reluctant to work out a sign-and-trade involving Brewer. Denver isn't interested in acquiring Luke Ridnour or J.J. Barea, which would likely be necessary for Brewer to earn a $5MM annual salary with the Wolves, notes Wojnarowski.

Although the Nuggets were also very interested in re-signing their own free agent swingman, the team has been unwilling to go as high as the Wolves on an offer for Brewer. With other teams also in the mix, it now appears unlikely that Brewer will return to Denver, according to Woj.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Stiemsma, Brewer, Bucks

July 9th, 2013 at 9:11pm CST by Michael Pina

A few random notes from around the league on this busy Tuesday evening.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Assistants, SVG, Brewer, Lakers

July 9th, 2013 at 3:47pm CST by Luke Adams

As teams continue to finalize their coaching staffs for the 2013/14 season, a pair of clubs made official announcements today. The Kings have formally hired Dee Brown and Micah Nori, who spent the last four seasons as an assistant in Toronto, while the Raptors have made a hire of their own, announcing that Nick Nurse, coming off a D-League championship, will join Dwane Casey's staff.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the Association:

  • Former Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida that it's "very possible" he won't return to an NBA bench for the 2014/15 season, adding that there's no guarantee he'll ever coach again. Tomasson's piece includes plenty of interesting tidbits and quotes from Van Gundy, including word that four teams contacted him in the spring about coaching vacancies.
  • We passed along reports today indicating that the Timberwolves are eyeing Corey Brewer, and Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune adds another detail, writing that Minnesota is exploring its options for a potential sign-and-trade deal with the Nuggets.
  • Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com hears that Raja Bell, Kenyon Martin, and Bobby Brown are among the free agents with interest in the Lakers, though it's not clear if that interest is mutual (Twitter link).
  • In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel addresses whether or not it makes sense for the Heat to save their amnesty clause until next year.
  • Before they decide whether or not to use their amnesty provision this year, the Raptors will wait to see exactly what the luxury tax threshold is, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
  • Grantland's Zach Lowe takes an extended and interesting look at how the Pelicans' offseason moves will shape the team going forward.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0