Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Extension Rumors: McDaniels, P. Williams, Bey, Mann, J. Green

October 22nd, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The five-year deal that Devin Vassell signed with San Antonio, which will be worth at least $135MM, plus incentives, threw a “grenade” into some other rookie scale extension negotiations around the NBA, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on the latest episode of his Lowe Post podcast.

However, even before word of Vassell’s extension broke, Lowe had heard that Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels was seeking a “large amount of money” on a potential new deal with Minnesota. Lowe believes that McDaniels is in position to command a significant payday.

“If I’m Jaden McDaniels, I’m saying, ‘That dude (Vassell) got ($135MM+) playing 38 games on a s—t team with no stakes?'” Lowe said. “‘I didn’t average 18-and-a-half (points) per game, but I shot it well from three. I’m already an All-Defense-level player. You guys – Minnesota, all you people I’m negotiating with, the brass – expressed outrage that I didn’t make an All-Defensive team, so you obviously agree that I’m one of the 10 best defensive players in the NBA.

“Yeah, I punched a wall, sorry. (But) I’m essential to your team in a critical two- or three-year period. I’m a winning three-and-D player, and watch me do a little bit more with the ball this year. Pay up. Pay up.'”

While Lowe thinks that McDaniels would be warranted in seeking an annual salary of at least $30MM per year, his ESPN colleague Bobby Marks suggested that an extension worth in the neighborhood of $134MM over five years (just below Vassell’s deal) might make sense for both the player and the team.

Here are a few more notes on possible extension candidates around the NBA:

Bulls forward Patrick Williams, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension, is one player whose asking price may be influenced by Vassell’s new contract, according to Lowe. “I’m hearing Patrick Williams wants big numbers. Like, starts with a two and isn’t two-zero kind of stuff,” Lowe said, expressing skepticism that Chicago will go anywhere near that high for the forward. “… If that ends up being true and the Vassell deal ends up being the comp that his agents go to – which is what I would do if I were them – that’s a lot of cheese. Go to restricted free agency and get it.”
Here’s what Lowe had to say on the Hawks‘ rookie scale extension negotiations with forward Saddiq Bey: “$18 to $20 (million per year) is an interesting conversation with Saddiq Bey, because it’s enough above the mid-level that he’s got to think about it. I’ve heard those negotiations have not been going great. I don’t think Atlanta’s gotten to that level yet.”
Terance Mann, who is in the first season of a two-year, $22MM extension he signed with the Clippers in 2021, will be eligible to sign a new deal up until Monday, but he told reporters on Saturday that a preseason extension is “not happening” (Twitter link via Justin Russo). Mann will be extension-eligible again next offseason, so there’s no rush for either side to get something done now. Of course, it’s also worth noting that the 27-year-old – whose inclusion has been a sticking point in the James Harden trade talks between L.A. and Philadelphia – would be ineligible to be dealt this season if he signs an extension with a raise exceeding 5%.
The Mavericks and wing Josh Green continue to discuss a possible rookie scale extension ahead of Monday’s deadline, league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link).

Northwest Notes: NAW, Reid, Brogdon, Agbaji, Nuggets

October 21st, 2023 at 2:17pm CST by Rory Maher

In his first foray in free agency, former first-round pick Nickeil Alexander-Walker decided to re-sign with the Timberwolves on a two-year, $9MM deal. Alexander-Walker had bounced around the league in his first four seasons, playing for New Orleans and Utah before being traded to Minnesota in February (he was technically on Portland for one day in ’21/22 as well).

The 25-year-old wing had a strong summer, helping Canada win a bronze medal at the World Cup, and he’s ready to show he’s more than just a defensive specialist, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (subscriber link).

“My mentality, now more than ever, has been right,” Alexander-Walker said. “… I’m doing the right things, and I know that these guys are behind me and I’m in a position that I have support and trust and opportunity.”

As Hine writes, Alexander-Walker has been a fill-in starter during preseason with Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels missing time due to injuries. That’s an indication that he’ll be a rotation regular once the 2023/24 season begins, and a “less is more” approach on offense could be the key to staying on the court.

“When he first came into the league … he wanted to always play with the dribble, go somewhere and try to do things, and he got himself in trouble doing that at times,” head coach Chris Finch said. “But now he uses his shooting. He’s a high-level shooter. Has a great high release so he can always get it off on people. Now, he’s using that to set up the rest of his game, which is really smart.”

Here’s more from the Northwest:

The Timberwolves need to find the best way to optimize big man Naz Reid after signing him to a three-year, $42MM extension before he hit free agency. As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic details, Minnesota plans to use Reid primarily at power forward in ’23/24, which is a change — he has mostly played center to this point in his career. However, the early returns have been promising, per Krawczynski. “Right before Naz got hurt (he broke his left wrist at the end of the ’22/23 regular season), I thought he found his groove at the 4, really found out what that looked like,” Finch said. “Now, defensively, he’s got to get better and better there, and we’re going to have to help him with some schemes and stuff like that. I think this is all about trying to get your best players on the floor, and he’s clearly in our top eight players.”
Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon, who was dealt to Portland from Boston in the Jrue Holiday trade, says he has no issues coming off the bench again in ’23/24, tweets Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. “I think it’s honestly important for Scoot (Henderson) to get this experience, starting,” Brogdon said. “He’s going to be the franchise player going forward, so he has to be invested in and given that opportunity.” Brogdon won Sixth Man of the Year last season with the Celtics.
Jazz head coach Will Hardy wants Ochai Agbaji to focus on improving defensively in ’23/24, particularly on the ball, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “I would like to see him take another step forward in terms of his isolation defense,” Hardy said of the second-year wing. “Guarding the ball in a pick-and-roll and navigating those screens is a skill and it takes a certain type of athleticism.” The Jazz have until October 31 to exercise their third-year option on Agbaji’s rookie scale contract.
Bennett Durando of The Denver Post lists five reasons why the Nuggets will repeat as NBA champions this season — and five reasons why they won’t.

Timberwolves Sign, Waive Brian Bowen II, Javonte Cooke

October 21st, 2023 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

12:04pm: As expected, Bowen and Cooke have been waived, the Timberwolves announced (via Twitter).

10:22am: The Timberwolves have added a pair of players to their preseason roster, announcing in a press release that forward Brian Bowen II and guard Javonte Cooke have signed with the team.

The Wolves didn’t specify the terms of the deals, but in all likelihood, they’re Exhibit 10 contracts, designed to get Bowen and Cooke bonuses worth up to $75K if they report to the Iowa Wolves and then spend at least 60 days with Minnesota’s G League team. Barring something unexpected, the two players are good bets to be cut later today.

Bowen, who played for Minnesota’s Summer League team in July, has some NBA experience, having appeared in 12 games for Indiana from 2019-21. The 25-year-old played for Iowa in 2021/22, averaging 14.9 points and 8.6 rebounds in 32.1 minutes per game across 27 appearances, with a shooting line of .452/.280/.785.

Cooke, 24, went undrafted last year out of Winston-Salem State and spent his first professional season playing for Iowa. In 41 games (19.4 MPG) with the Timberwolves’ NBAGL team, he averaged 7.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.6 APG on .424/.319/.650 shooting. His agreement with Minnesota was initially reported in September.

The T-Wolves’ roster consists, for the time being, of 19 players.

And-Ones: Zagars, Media Rights, October Deadlines, More

October 21st, 2023 at 8:11am CST by Tristan Tucker

Latvian guard Arturs Zagars is out for at least five months due to a knee injury, Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews reports (Twitter link). As detailed in a piece from Eurohoops, Zagars suffered the injury on October 14 while playing in Lithuania’s top league.

Zagars received NBA interest through the summer following a standout FIBA World Cup performance for Latvia. The 23-year-old guard averaged 12.4 points, 7.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game and set a tournament record with 17 assists in his team’s final contest. He ultimately wound up signing a three-year deal with Turkey’s Fenerbahce in September and they loaned him to the BC Wolves of Lithuania, with whom he suffered the injury.

As confirmed by Eurohoops and Urbonas, Zagars suffered an MCL injury and will undergo surgery and continue rehab in Istanbul under Fenerbahce’s medical staff.

There are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

ESPN and TNT are considering signing new media rights deals with the NBA that include fewer games per season, according to The Wall Street Journal (hat tip to RealGM). Such an agreement would allow the league’s two main broadcasting partners to continue working together at an affordable amount. It would also put the NBA in position to explore creating a packge of games for one or more streaming services, with both Amazon and Apple already expressing interest.
The NBA’s extension and roster cut-down deadlines are looming, and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (ESPN+ link) broke down every rookie extension and veteran extension candidate, as well as all remaining roster decisions ahead of the season. Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels and Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley are the major rookie extension candidates to watch, Marks notes, though Maxey likely won’t get a new deal. Many of the veterans facing an October 23 deadline for a contract extension, such as the Bucks‘ Giannis Antetokounmpo, are also unlikely to extend because they can earn more money by waiting until the offseason.
In another piece exploring the NBA’s October deadlines, Danny Leroux of The Athletic further breaks down the upcoming dates to note. Leroux points out the deadline for decisions on third- and fourth-year team options on rookie contracts is also approaching on October 31.
With the tip of the NBA season just days away (October 24), Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype provided a team-by-team look at which players are the most likely to earn consideration for the league’s end-of-season awards. Raptors forward Scottie Barnes gunning for Most Improved Player and Kings guard Malik Monk in the running for Sixth Man of the Year are among Gozlan’s most intriguing picks. Interestingly, Gozlan believes the Pelicans‘ best chance at earning end-of-season recognition is if Zion Williamson enters the MVP conversation.

Wolves Release D.J. Carton, Trevor Keels, Tyrese Martin

October 20th, 2023 at 4:39pm CST by Rory Maher

The Timberwolves have released D.J. Carton, Trevor Keels and Tyrese Martin, the team announced in a press release.

Carton, who went undrafted in 2021, was signed to an Exhibit 10 deal that would entitle him to a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate. He spent last season with Iowa, averaging 15.6 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.0 RPG and 1.2 SPG on .529/.365/.813 shooting in 25 regular season contests (31.0 MPG).

Keels also signed a training camp deal that featured an Exhibit 10 clause. The 42nd pick of last year’s draft spent 2022/23 on a two-way deal with the Knicks, appearing in three games with New York. He spent most of his rookie season in the G League with the Westchester Knicks.

The 51st overall pick in the 2022 draft, Martin was waived by Atlanta in July after appearing in just 16 games for the Hawks last season as a rookie. He scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in his 66 total minutes at the NBA level.

Martin saw more frequent playing time for the College Park Skyhawks in the G League, averaging 18.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 1.9 APG on .503/.366/.805 shooting in 23 regular season contests (33.9 MPG) for Atlanta’s G League affiliate. It’s unclear what type of contract he signed with Minnesota.

The Wolves now have 17 players under contract, with 14 players on guaranteed standard deals and all three two-way spots filled.

Wolves Cut Matt Ryan, Convert Daishen Nix To Two-Way Deal

October 20th, 2023 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

1:20pm: The moves are official, per RealGM’s transaction log.

11:16am: The Timberwolves are making a roster change ahead of the regular season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Minnesota will waive sharpshooter Matt Ryan and convert Daishen Nix‘s Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal.

Ryan appeared in 34 total games for the Lakers and T-Wolves in 2022/23, averaging 3.6 points in 9.1 minutes per game while making 38.1% of his three-point attempts.

Ryan’s ability to hit outside shots – he’s a career 40.1% three-point shooter in 37 G League regular season appearances – helped earn him a two-way qualifying offer from Minnesota in June, and he eventually accepted that QO in September. However, he’ll lose his two-way spot just a few days ahead of opening night.

Nix, 21, had a solid preseason for the Wolves after joining the team on a non-guaranteed camp deal, averaging 6.0 points and 3.3 assists in just 10.6 minutes per contest, with a red-hot shooting line of .571/.750/1.000.

The young guard already has 81 games of NBA experience under his belt with the Rockets, having spent the last two seasons in Houston. He averaged 3.7 PPG and 2.3 APG in 16.0 MPG (57 appearances) in 2022/23.

Nix will join Luka Garza and Jaylen Clark as Minnesota’s two-way players, while Ryan will become an unrestricted free agent if he passes through waivers without being claimed.

Timberwolves Sign D.J. Carton

October 19th, 2023 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent guard D.J. Carton has signed with the Timberwolves, the team announced in a press release.

Carton joined the Hornets after going undrafted in 2021, but he was waived before the start of the season. He has been in the G League since then, spending one season with Greensboro and playing for Minnesota’s affiliate in Iowa last year. He averaged 13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 47 combined G League games.

He also played for the Timberwolves during this year’s Summer League, averaging 9.0 points and a team-best 6.8 assists in five games.

Carton received an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. That means he’ll be eligible to earn a bonus of up to $75K if he gets waived by Minnesota and spends at least 60 more days with Iowa.

The Timberwolves created a roster opening by waiving Vit Krejci on Wednesday. They’re now back to the preseason limit of 21 players.

Vit Krejci Waived By Timberwolves

October 18th, 2023 at 10:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves have waived guard/forward Vit Krejci, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

The 23-year-old signed with Minnesota last month after the Hawks released him in August. He appeared in just one of the team’s four preseason games, scoring four points and grabbing two rebounds in a little more than seven minutes of action.

The 37th pick in the 2020 draft, Krejci spent one season with Oklahoma City before being traded to Atlanta. He appeared in 59 combined games with the two teams, averaging 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per night.

Because he had an Exhibit 10 contract with the Wolves, Krejci is eligible for a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate in Iowa. He has previous G League experience with Oklahoma City Blue and the College Park Skyhawks.

The move brings the Wolves’ roster down to 20 players.

Knicks Monitoring Karl-Anthony Towns, Who Says He, Thibodeau Resolved Differences

October 14th, 2023 at 8:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves‘ trip to Madison Square Garden Saturday night carried a lot more intrigue that a normal preseason game. That’s because of a report from Stefan Bondy of The New York Post that the Knicks are monitoring Karl-Anthony Towns‘ situation in Minnesota in case he becomes available on the trade market.

A potential deal with the Wolves would reunite Towns with Tom Thibodeau, who coached him for two-and-a-half seasons in Minnesota. That was early in Towns’ career and their relationship was often tumultuous, but sources tell Bondy that Thibodeau would welcome the chance to coach Towns again.

“Watching the progress he’s made throughout his career, he’s as gifted as they come,” Thibodeau said. “When you look at an offensive player, particularly a big, the skill set that he has, I think we all saw, to win the three-point contest and stuff like that, there’s nothing he can’t do offensively. He has continued to get better, I think. He had some injuries to deal with. I watched him play in FIBA (the World Cup, for the Dominican Republic), he played really well there. He’s really, really gifted.”

Speaking to reporters before Saturday’s game, Towns admitted that he and Thibodeau clashed the last time they worked together, but added that they resolved their differences years ago, Bondy adds in another story. He didn’t go into details of what they talked about, but he expressed a high opinion of Thibodeau’s coaching abilities.

“I got no problems with Thibs. We’ve been squashed that,” Towns said. “I still look at Thibs as one of the best Xs and Os coaches I’ve been able to play for. He breathes winning and I got nothing but respect for him.”

Towns also refused to address any trade speculation, responding to a question by saying, “I don’t really have time to think about that.”

Bondy points out that Towns’ connections to the team and the area make the Knicks a natural destination if the Wolves ever decide to move him. In addition to his familiarity with Thibodeau, Towns is a native of northern New Jersey and team president Leon Rose is his former agent.

Towns is one of the NBA’s best-shooting big men, but his sizable contract and a potential salary crunch in Minnesota could eventually make him available. Towns’ contract extension will kick in next season, paying him roughly $49.7MM, $53.7MM, $57.7MM and $61.6MM over the next four years. Adding that to the extension Anthony Edwards received this summer and the expected new contract for Jaden McDaniels gives the Wolves a very expensive payroll for a team that has been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs the past two years.

Towns has also proven to be an awkward fit alongside Rudy Gobert, who was acquired in a trade last summer. Gobert is owed nearly $85MM over the next two seasons and has a $46.7MM player option for 2025/26, and he’s not likely to bring the return in a trade that Minnesota could get by dealing Towns.

With a roster filled with young talent and a stockpile of draft assets that can rival anyone in the league, the Knicks are well positioned to pursue the next star that becomes available. If that turns out to be Towns, the organization appears ready to consider an offer.

Western Notes: McDaniels, Kleber, Prince, J. Green, Grizzlies

October 14th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels is dealing with a minor left calf strain and hasn’t been able to practice this week, sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Krawcyznski, McDaniels won’t be available for Saturday’s preseason game vs. New York, and the expectation is that he’ll be reevaluated in a week-and-a-half.

That puts McDaniels’ availability for the regular season opener on October 25 in potential jeopardy. It’s also possible the 23-year-old will have signed a new contract extension by the time he sees the floor again. The deadline for rookie scale extensions is Oct. 23, and McDaniels is among the prime remaining candidates to receive one.

Here are a few more items from around the Western Conference:

Mavericks big man Maxi Kleber has missed at least 22 games in each of the last three seasons, including 45 in 2022/23. The focus this offseason for Kleber, who didn’t play for Germany during the World Cup, was ensuring that he felt 100% entering the NBA season. “I wanted to make sure I was healthy,” Kleber said, per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “That was obviously not the case last year and it was very frustrating when you can’t be out there with the team. So the goal (in the summer) was to progressively increase the workouts to be ready for the long NBA season.”
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham isn’t committing to Taurean Prince as his fifth starter to open the season, but the veteran forward has started the team’s last three preseason games – including twice alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, and Austin Reaves – and scored 17 points in 20 minutes vs. Golden State on Friday. “You can just throw him on the floor,” Ham said of Prince, according to Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. “He’s a pro’s pro. He’s the quintessential three-and-D guy. His scrappiness. His activity. His communication with his teammates trying to keep everybody focused on that side of the ball. As well as a guy who doesn’t have to force anything. He knows his spots. He knows where to be. He can finish in the paint, make threes obviously. But just the consummate professional.”
Jeff Green‘s playing career could’ve ended prematurely when he underwent open-heart surgery in 2012, but the Rockets forward is now the NBA’s ninth-oldest player and says he’s trying to “enjoy the little things” as he enters his 17th season, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “I’m really appreciative of all the things that I’ve been through to get to this point,” Green said. “I could have ended at year five. And here I am, going into year 17 and able to still play this game that I love.”
Memphis finished last season third in the NBA in defensive rating. New Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart sees no reason why the team can’t finish first in that category this season, as Teresa M. Walker of The Associated Press details.