Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Rumors: Cavs, Williams, Ridnour, Varejao

August 11th, 2012 at 4:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

The four-team trade that sent Andrew Bynum to the Sixers ensures he won't wind up with the Cavs this year, as one of last month's rumors suggested he might. We passed along word from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that Cleveland was asked to give up much more for Bynum than the Sixers, who sent out Andre Iguodala, Maurice Harkless, Nikola Vucevic and a protected first-round pick to snag the ex-Lakers center. We've got more on the Cavs and their Central Division rivals here:

Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer says she's seen rumors indicating the Timberwolves are offering Derrick Williams, Luke Ridnour and draft picks for Anderson Varejao, but she isn't sure if there's any merit to them, despite the Cavs' affinity for stockpiling picks. Such a move would give the Cavs the top two selections from the 2011 draft, with Williams and No. 1 pick Kyrie Irving.
Former Pacers guard Leandro Barbosa appears out of the picture for the Cavs, with the team having signed C.J. Miles and zeroing in on Alonzo Gee, Boyer writes in the same piece. We heard before that Barbosa, who's seeking a multiyear deal, had interest in Cleveland, but it was unclear whether the feeling was mutual.
Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf insists the team will not rush Derrick Rose back from knee surgery, Scott Powers of ESPNChicago reports.

Najera Drawing Interest, Considering Retirement?

August 9th, 2012 at 8:15am CST by Zachary Links

THURSDAY, 8:15am: Peter Vecsey of the New York Post (Twitter link) hears that Najera is planning on retiring to become an assistant coach in the D-League, so it's unclear at the moment exactly what the 36-year-old's future holds.

WEDNESDAY, 7:02pm: The Rockets, Timberwolves, and Nets are among the teams interested in free agent forward Eduardo Najera, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Najera is now fully recovered from a fractured forehead frontal bone and is back to playing.

Najera, 36, spent the last two seasons with the Bobcats, where he averaged 2.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 12.1 minutes per contest. The veteran also spent a season-and-a-half with the Nets before being traded to the Mavericks for Kris Humphries and Shawne Williams in January 2010. In eleven NBA seasons, Najera has averaged 4.9 PPG and 3.7 RPG with his most productive seasons in Dallas and Denver.

Odds & Ends: Green, Hummel, Bynum, Prospects

August 8th, 2012 at 3:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's check in on a few links from around the league on a Wednesday afternoon, as Argentina and Brazil battle for a spot in the Olympic semi-finals….

Jeff Green spoke to Josh Zavadil of CelticsBlog about his heart surgery, having to sit out the 2011/12 season, and returning to the Celtics this summer. Green also praised Celts president of basketball operations Danny Ainge for the team's roster moves this summer.
Purdue forward Robbie Hummel has signed with Spanish team Obradoiro, the club announced (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Hummel was drafted 58th overall by the Timberwolves in June, so Minnesota will hold his rights if he hopes to play in the NBA in the future.
Kevin Ding of the Orange Country Register suggests that the Lakers' public courting of Dwight Howard is only giving Andrew Bynum reason to leave Los Angeles. Earlier today, I looked at a few scenarios for Howard's and Bynum's next contracts.
In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Chad Ford takes an early look at the rising and falling stocks of some of 2013's top prospects.

Odds & Ends: Bulls, Josh Howard, Deng, Heat

August 7th, 2012 at 9:06pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com (via Twitter) points out that the Bulls are specifically $758,642 below the luxury tax apron and that the league minimum salary for sophomore players is $762,195. This definitely factors into the situation of Malcolm Thomas, who put on a standout performance as a member of their summer league roster and more importantly is entering his second year in the league. Deeks still doesn't think that Chicago is willing pay the tax, adding that the team isn't in any rush to make moves that would incidentally put them over the apron. Here are more of tonight's links from around the NBA…

Matt Moore of CBS Sports gives the Bobcats a grade of "C" for their work this offseason.
Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com talks about the plenty of backcourt options that the Mavericks have for the upcoming season.
Australia's David Andersen hopes that Wednesday's game against Team USA is enough to make an impression as he hopes for an opportunity to return to the NBA, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. The 6'11 forward/center played in Italy last year and was a member of the Hornets during the 2010-11 season. Andersen says he will continue to play in Europe if he doesn't receive an offer from an NBA team.
Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops examines the top 20 remaining free agents and groups them by position.
Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets that the Jazz are expected to re-engage in talks with free agent Josh Howard soon.
Brian Kamenetzky of ESPN LA clarifies that although the Lakers are interested in Jodie Meeks, the shooting guard isn't quite open to signing for the veteran's minimum. Also, Kamenetzky notes that while the team has placed a priority on adding a backcourt or wing player, they won't use their mini-mid level exception to overpay for a player they feel isn't worth that much. Earlier today, Brian joined his brother Andy to discuss some names in free agency that are worth considering, including Carlos Delfino, Tracy McGrady, and Terrence Williams in addition to Meeks.

Odds & Ends: Pacers, Stoudemire, Williams

August 5th, 2012 at 12:29pm CST by Daniel Seco

Happy birthday to Knicks legend Patrick Ewing as he turns 50 today. New York has won exactly one playoff game (2012 against the Heat) since the Hoya Destroya's 38th birthday. Here's the latest news and headlines from around the league…

With an eye on building stronger team chemistry, the Pacers will be getting together for a workout later this month in Los Angeles, tweets Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star. They'll meet up again three weeks before training camp to do the same thing.
Amare Stoudemire begins training today in Houston with Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon to work on his game, says Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). The value of working with Olajuwon can be seen in the play of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, who have had the opportunity to work with the big man in the past.
Timberwolves forward Derrick Williams has done all the right things this summer by losing 15 pounds and playing relatively well during the NBA Summer League, but Minnesota isn't convinced that the former Arizona star can effectively play small forward this season, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov believes his investment in the organization has at least doubled since he purchased a majority stake in the team in 2010, writes Daniel Massey of Crain's New York.

Odds & Ends: Suns, Sixers, T-Wolves, Wizards

August 2nd, 2012 at 10:18pm CST by Michael Pina

Let's check in on a Thursday evening odds and ends from around the Association….

Wesley Johnson believes a fresh start with the Suns could do wonders for his NBA career, writes AZCentral.com's Bob Young.
CSNPhilly.com's Nick Menta asks if the Sixers will be undergoing a youth movement and giving their rookies significant playing time this season.
Timberwolves general manager David Kahn says he thinks his team will make the playoffs next season if they can stay healthy, writes TwinCities.com's Bob Sansevere. Kahn also wouldn't say whether or not his team was finished making moves.
ESPN.com's John Hollinger lists his offseason winners and losers.
SI.com's Zach Lowe profiles his winners of the offseason.
Hoopsworld.com's Lang Greene and Joel Brigham wonder if maybe the NBA would be better if players weren't allowed to demand trades in public.
The Wizards have two empty roster spots, and will probably keep it that way to preserve flexibility heading into training camp, writes the Washington Post's Michael Lee. As far as the recently amnestied Andray Blatche goes, so far there has been no significant interest in his services.

Anthony Tolliver Weighing Free Agent Options

August 2nd, 2012 at 2:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 2:54pm: The Pacers are also displaying interest in Tolliver, according to Tomasson (via Twitter). Nothing is imminent yet, however.

WEDNESDAY, 7:45pm: Free agent forward Anthony Tolliver said the Wizards have been calling him daily, making them a potential front-runner for the four-year veteran, Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida reports. Tolliver says the Bobcats have reached out to him recently as well, Tomasson writes, and the Timberwolves, who renounced his rights earlier this summer to clear cap space, remain in the running, too. Tolliver is seeking a deal that would give him close to the $2MM he made last year in Minnesota (All Sulia links).

Last month reports suggested the Timberwolves and Cavs were in the lead for Tolliver, but the Cavs have faded from consideration. Tolliver told Tomasson he could still envision a return to the Wolves despite the addition of Andrei Kirilenko, who can play both forward positions just as Tolliver does (Sulia link).

Tolliver's points per game regressed for the second season in a row last year, as he averaged 4.1 PPG in 17.3 minutes a night. His three-point shooting, a strength at 40.9% in 2010/11, dipped to 24.8% this past season. A team willing to give the 27-year-old more than a minimum deal would be banking on a repeat of his production in 2009/10, when he averaged career highs of 11.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 31.0 MPG.

Timberwolves Sign Greg Stiemsma

August 2nd, 2012 at 2:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:10pm: Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that Stiemsma's deal with the Wolves includes a non-guaranteed second year. It will be worth the $2.575MM room exception, says Zgoda (Twitter link).

AUGUST 2ND, 1:35pm: Stiemsma has officially signed with the Timberwolves, according to the team's official PR Twitter feed.

JULY 24TH, 8:00am: The Celtics have withdrawn their qualifying offer to Stiemsma, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. This clears the way for the Timberwolves to sign the big man outright.

JULY 22ND, 4:26pm: The deal is for one year and about $3MM, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

3:59pm: The Timberwolves and Greg Stiemsma have agreed to terms on a contract, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune reports (Twitter link). The deal will be for an amount greater than the $1.957MM biannual exception the Celtics were limited to giving him, Zgoda tweets, and comes after Stiemsma's agent Mike Naiditch set today as the deadline for Minnesota to sign Stiemsma at a rate cheaper than he could get elsewhere. Stiemsma reportedly received a significant offer from another team. A report earlier in the week suggested the Wolves would offer him a deal close to $3MM a year.

Though the Celtics were said to be likely to rescind his qualifying offer as of last night, they haven't done so, meaning he's technically still a restricted free agent. Since the Celtics, who are over the cap, only have non-Bird rights on Stiemsma and can't exceed the value of the biannual exception to keep him, they'll be unable to match the Wolves' offer.

Stiemsma averaged 2.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a first-year minimum-salary player for the Celtics last season. He went undrafted out of Wisconsin in 2008 and played in the D-League before getting his shot in Boston.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Howard, Ferry, Teague

August 1st, 2012 at 6:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

In a piece that calls upon Dwight Howard to act professionally as he seeks to move on from the Magic, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com revisits the big man's decision to waive his early termination option this past March. Broussard says Howard wanted to give the team a chance to improve the roster and was open to staying, but when former coach Stan Van Gundy told the media a team executive had let him know Howard wanted him fired, Howard lost all trust and confidence in the Magic. There are a few other items concerning the Magic's Southeast Division rivals this evening:

Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune expects former Wolves assistant coach Jerry Sichting to wind up in that same role for the Wizards (Twitter link). That appears to be the "tweak" to his staff Wizards head coach Randy Wittman was referring to (link below).

Earlier updates:

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio applauds Hawks GM Danny Ferry, hired barely a month ago, for assembling a competitive team for the upcoming season while freeing cap space to make a major move next summer.
This coming season will be the last of Jeff Teague's rookie contract, and with all the new faces on the Hawks this year, including fellow point guard Devin Harris, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution takes a look at how Teague can make the most of 2012/13.
Roger Mason, who agreed to sign with the Hornets today, thought when last season ended that he'd be back with the Wizards, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes. With the team drafting Bradley Beal at his position and adding other veterans who can assume his leadership role, the eight-year veteran decided to turn elsewhere.
Wizards coach Randy Wittman held forth on a number of topics, and Lee has the details. Wittman hinted that the team may keep a roster spot or two open heading into training camp, and said he's still considering another "tweak" to the coaching staff after hiring former Spurs assistant Don Newman earlier this summer.
In the same piece, Wittman addressed the team's decision to use the amnesty clause to waive Andray Blatche, saying, "I hope and wish the best for Dray. And maybe this can be the best thing for him in turning his career back around and being the player I think we all think he can be."
Wittman expressed a preference for having three point guards on the roster, and said that's one reason the Wizards signed A.J. Price.

Odds & Ends: Blazers, Timberwolves, McGrady

July 31st, 2012 at 9:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The NBA does not make a profit by sending its stars to play at the Olympics, and a move to re-direct their headline players into a rebranded World Cup of Basketball would certainly change that. While Ken Berger of CBS Sports understands the idea of pulling NBA stars out of the Olympic games in the future, he says that it should be based on the premise that "Dream Teams" have run their course, and not because it is driven by an opportunity for David Stern and NBA owners to try to make money elsewhere. With that aside, here are some of tonight's miscellaneous links…

Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld mentions that Jeremy Lamb, Royce White, and Terrence Jones cannot be included in a potential Dwight Howard trade until the end of August, specifically 30 days after each of them signed their rookie deals with the Rockets on July 26 (Sulia link).
In a series of tweets, Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports that Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey has concluded the second round of interviews and will "move on to the next phase" of the process once all four finalists are given due consideration. Although team owner Paul Allen was not involved in the interviews with Terry Stotts, Steve Clifford, Kaleb Canales, and Elston Turner, Quick assumes that Olshey will ultimately present a recommendation for hire to Allen after deliberation. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter) pointed out that Turner's interview lasted for four-and-a-half hours today.
When asked if the Timberwolves had more changes to make after the Olympics, GM David Kahn replied, "Maybe it’s a tweak here and there, maybe even something big, to make us even better still" (according to a tweet by Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune). In a separate piece, Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press documented Kahn's thoughts on the team's new additions this offseason.
HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy says that although the Bulls and Tracy McGrady have flirted in the past, it doesn't sound like a deal is close (Twitter link).