Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Gee, Cavs, Suns, Batum, Bobcats

July 26th, 2012 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

A report yesterday suggested that Alonzo Gee and the Cavaliers are still far apart in negotiations on a new contract, but Gee continues to say he wants to re-sign with the club.

"I want to be in Cleveland," he told Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "This is where I want to be. I love the coaches and my teammtes. This is where I want to be.''

It was expected that the Cavs would match an offer sheet for Gee, but so far he hasn't found a deal with another club, — perhaps any team interested in the 25-year-old knows it could be a waste of time to seriously pursue him, with Cleveland poised to match any offer. While Gee waits to sign his next contract, here are a few more Thursday odds and ends from around the NBA:

In previewing the Cavaliers' 2012/13 roster, Bob Finnan of the News-Herald assumes that either Gee or unrestricted free agent C.J. Miles will be starting at small forward for Cleveland.
Shannon Brown's new deal with the Suns will provide some continuity for both the player and the team, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Rick Adelman was surprised by the lengthy back-and-forth between the Timberwolves and Trail Blazers over Nicolas Batum, as he told Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune. "All that stuff surprised me," said the T-Wolves' coach. "We were just trying to get a player who fit in our system. Unfortunately, it went on and on and on, and I have no control over that."
Bobcats GM Rich Cho spoke to Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld about Charlotte's offseason moves and the process of improving a team that won a record-low seven games in 2011/12.

Bobcats Still Pursuing Carl Landry

July 26th, 2012 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bobcats are still exploring ways to acquire or sign Carl Landry, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). According to Bonnell, there's a chance the Bobcats join the trade discussions involving the Hornets, Suns, and Timberwolves, entering the deal as a fourth team.

While the Bobcats have interest in Landry and probably have the means to offer him more money than most of his other suitors, a sign-and-trade deal has proved difficult, with Bonnell reporting earlier this week than Charlotte was unlikely to work something out. In order to finalize other roster moves, the Hornets reportedly renounced Landry's Bird Rights, meaning the "sign" half of a sign-and-trade would be challenging. The team would need to recreate cap space in order to be able to give Landry a competitive salary before dealing him to the Bobcats.

The Warriors are also pursuing Landry, and while the veteran forward is said to be interested, Golden State can only offer him a portion of their mid-level exception. Signing him to the full $5MM MLE would put the club over the tax line, and ownership is looking to avoid becoming a taxpayer.

Odds & Ends: Howard, Nets, Blazers

July 25th, 2012 at 11:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

It was yet another night of fevered Dwight Howard rumors, as he reiterated his trade demands in a meeting with Magic GM Rob Hennigan and assistant GM Scott Perry. One of the bombshells amidst a flurry of reports was that the Mavericks are the "overwhelming favorite" to sign Howard if he becomes a free agent next summer. That makes a trade more difficult, as Wojnarowski writes, since other teams now know Howard has a soft spot for Dallas. Chris Mannix of SI.com says Howard would re-sign with the Lakers or Nets if traded there, but otherwise plans to become a Maverick (Twitter link). Zach Lowe of SI.com points out, with an assist from Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com, that the Mavs would have to clear some cap room for 2013/14 in order to make a maximum offer for Howard (All four Twitter links). Here's more from the Association this evening:

Nets GM Billy King doesn't consider signing a backup center a priority after missing out on Nazr Mohammed, reports Fred Kerber of the New York Post, who adds that the team's offseason work is likely done.
Jason Quick of The Oregonian takes an in-depth look at the finalists for the Blazers head coaching job.
Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com does the math and determines the Magic own a pair of trade exceptions: $2.75MM left over from the Brandon Bass trade expiring December 12th, and $4.35MM from the trade that sent Ryan Anderson away, expiring next summer.
Michael Lee of The Washington Post spoke with Cartier Martin, who recently re-signed with the Wizards. Martin is the only Wizard left on the roster from before Washington took John Wall with the No. 1 pick 2011, as Lee notes.
A veteran NBA doctor tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork that 75% of players require some kind of procedure on their knees at the end of the season, and many of them keep it a secret (Twitter link).
Obrad Fimic, the agent for Russian guard Alexey Shved, said the Nets showed no interest in his client despite being owned by fellow Russian Mikhail Prokhorov, tweets Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Shved finalized his three year, $10MM deal with the Wolves today.
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star argues retaining assistant coach Brian Shaw is the best move the Pacers have made this offseason.

Northwest Rumors: Blazers, Lillard, Stiemsma

July 25th, 2012 at 9:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

It's been a busy day for the Timberwolves, who finalized their deal with Alexey Shved, and agreed to a three-team deal that appears to clear the way for an agreement with Andrei Kirilenko. They're also likely to put the finishing touches on contracts for Brandon Roy and Greg Stiemsma by next week, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). Wednesday was active for the Trail Blazers, too, as we heard they've narrowed their list of head coaching candidates. We've got more on both Northwest Division teams right here:

Suns coach Alvin Gentry did some campaigning for assistant Elston Turner, a finalist for the Blazers head coaching job, complimenting his work with young players and his acumen both offensively and defensively, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. "After watching that kid (Damian) Lillard run the screen-and-roll, what better guy to have around than a guy who coached Steve Nash?'' Gentry said (All four Twitter links).
Gentry also had high praise for Lillard, the sixth overall pick by the Blazers in last month's draft, saying, "That kid is going to be great,'' as Quick tweets.
Greg Stiemsma reflected on his time in Boston, telling the Boston Herald he would have liked to return, but felt compelled to get the best financial deal for he and his family. The Celtics didn't have the cap space or exceptions needed to come close to the $3MM offer he agreed to with the Wolves.

Timberwolves Sign Alexey Shved

July 25th, 2012 at 9:58am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 25TH: The Timberwolves have officially signed Shved, the team announced today (Twitter link).

JULY 23RD: Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press passes along an interview conducted by Russia's R-Sport, in which the terms of Shved's deal with the Timberwolves are said to be three years and $10MM. That was reported to be Shved's asking price back in May.

While the Timberwolves have yet to officially finalize the signing, CSKA Moscow formally announced Shved's departure for the NBA earlier today.

JULY 10TH: The Timberwolves have reached an agreement to sign Russian guard Alexey Shved, according to an Associated Press report (via the Washington Post). Sports.ru first reported earlier today that Shved had left CSKA Moscow to sign a deal with the T-Wolves (Twitter link).

For the T-Wolves, it's yet another salary commitment in a July that has been full of them so far. When I examined the contract agreements the team has made with Brandon Roy and Nicolas Batum, I noted that there must be at least one or two more moves coming to clear the necessary cap space. With Shved heading to Minnesota as well, the club will need even more flexibility. As John Hollinger of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter), the Wolves must be "pretty confident in something," whether it's the Blazers matching on Batum, a separate trade or two, or something else.

Shved, 23, reportedly drew interest this offseason from the Wolves, Cavs, and Grizzlies, among other teams. The 6'5" guard went undrafted in 2010 and has played for CSKA Moscow since then. In 21 Euroleague games this season, he averaged 10.6 points in 21.6 minutes per game and shot 49.3% on three-pointers, according to DraftExpress.

Timberwolves Targeting Andrei Kirilenko

July 25th, 2012 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

As we learned last night, having lost out on Nicolas Batum last week, the Timberwolves have shifted their focus to trying to land Russian forward Andrei Kirilenko. The T-Wolves have entered three-way trade talks with the Suns and Hornets in an effort to clear cap space. While that trade has yet to be finalized, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that centerpiece Robin Lopez could be returning soon from a vacation to take a physical for the Hornets.

If the proposed deal goes through, the T-Wolves would be parting ways with former fourth overall pick Wesley Johnson and a future lottery-protected first-round pick. While the move is more about cap space for Minnesota, the team would also acquire a pair of second-round picks from the Hornets, according to Wojnarowski.

With the Timberwolves' deals for Greg Stiemsma, Alexey Shved and Brandon Roy yet to be finalized, it's unclear exactly how much cap space the team currently owns. Based on reported salaries for those three players, I'm guessing the team would have about $3-4MM left over after signing those deals. Removing Johnson's $4.29MM salary from the books as well would allow the T-Wolves to make a competitive offer for Kirilenko, who isn't interested in signing for the veteran's minimum in Brooklyn, according to Wojnarowski.

According to Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Wolves are willing to pay as much as $9MM per season over two years for Kirilenko. While we're not sure if they can go quite that high in year one, any agreement would figure to be in that ballpark — Wojnarowski says Kirilenko is seeking a contract that would pay him "in the vicinity" of $8MM annually.

For his part, Kirilenko has said he wants to decide on his new team before the Olympics begin, so we should get some resolution on the 31-year-old's contract situation in the near future.

Grizzlies, T-Wolves Swap Cunningham, Ellington

July 24th, 2012 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies and Timberwolves have agreed to swap Dante Cunningham and Wayne Ellington, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). There had been rumblings over the last couple weeks that the trade would be consummated soon, but the T-Wolves needed to work through cap issues before making the deal official.

Financially, the deal works out almost perfectly, as the Grizzlies take on Ellington's $2,083,042 salary, while Cunningham and his $2,090,000 salary head to Minnesota. Ellington is in the final year of his rookie deal, while Cunningham has one more team option for 2013/14. From an on-court perspective, Ellington joins a Grizzlies' backcourt that has also added Jerryd Bayless and was in need of a shooter. Cunningham will add size to a T-Wolves' frontcourt that includes Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic, Derrick Williams, and Greg Stiemsma.

Having moved Cunningham, the Grizzlies will look to re-sign Hamed Haddadi for something close to the minimum, tweets Tillery. The Wolves, meanwhile, still need to officially finalize deals for Stiemsma, Alexey Shved, and Brandon Roy.

CSKA Moscow Announces Shved’s Departure

July 23rd, 2012 at 8:29am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have yet to officially finalize the deal they reached with Alexey Shved nearly two weeks ago, but an announcement today from Shved's former team in Russia suggested that could happen in the very near future. CSKA Moscow released a statement to say that Shved has exercised his NBA opt-out to join the Timberwolves, wishing him luck in his NBA career (English link via Sportando).

In the statement, CSKA president Andrey Vatutin indicated that he anticipates Shved will comfortably make the tradition to life in the NBA, adding that he fully expects the 23-year-old to proudly represent Russia and CSKA basketball. For his part, Shved thanked Vatutin and CSKA for the opportunity, and said he was looking forward to challenging himself at the highest level with the Timberwolves.

Shved, a 6'5" guard, will provide backcourt help and outside shooting in Minnesota. Terms of his contract aren't yet known, but the Wolves regained a good deal of cap space when Nicolas Batum's offer sheet was matched by the Trail Blazers, so there's room for Shved to receive a decent salary, even as the club finalizes deals with Brandon Roy and Greg Stiemsma.

Odds & Ends: Beal, Williams, Cavs, Morrison

July 22nd, 2012 at 10:05pm CST by Zachary Links

Bradley Beal specifically asked that the Wizards’ take him with the third-overall pick and so far he is justifying the club's decision to oblige, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. While summer league results aren't a perfect barometer for future success, the shooting guard impressed as he averaged 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per contest. Here's more from around the Association..

One scout told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter) that Derrick Williams, who went No. 2 in the 2011 draft, would not have have gone in the top eight in 2012. It's an interesting take as some observers seemed to be down on what the 2012 class had to offer beyond the top few selections.
Cavaliers coach Byron Scott believes that the club's future looks bright even if they don't make a significant trade, writes Joel Brigham of USA Today. "I'm looking at a nice young core of guys," Scott said. "If we add some guys to that core, more power to us, and if we don't, we'll go with what we got because I think right now the future of our team is pretty bright."
Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter) opines that Adam Morrison has played his way onto an NBA roster this season. The forward is averaging about 20 points and five boards per game for the Clippers' summer league team.

Greg Stiemsma Still Waiting For Offer From Wolves

July 21st, 2012 at 2:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

Greg Stiemsma and agent Mike Naiditch have been patiently awaiting an offer from the Timberwolves while the team deals with other priorities, but that's about to change, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Naiditch said Stiemsma's willing to give the Wolves a discount, but suggested that won't be the case unless an offer is made today (Twitter link).

Stiemsma would like to play near his native Wisconsin, as Zgoda notes, and with the Bucks never a serious contender for him, Minnesota represents his closest option (Twitter link). Last night Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reported that an unidentified team has made a significant offer, noting that it's not the Wolves. It's not the Celtics, either, since they're limited to offering the biannual exception of $1.957MM and appear likely to withdraw their qualifying offer, making Stiemsma an unrestricted free agent.

Stiemsma seems likely to sign for more than $2MM per year, and could fit into a team's $3MM mini mid-level exception or the $2.5MM room exception. A team with cap room could sign him, too, of course. He could wind up with the Cavs, who might be after frontcourt help following the loss of free agent Antawn Jamison and their unsuccessful amnesty waiver claim of Luis Scola, but that's just my speculation. If the Wolves don't sign him, Zgoda suggests Ronny Turiaf might be next in line for the team (Twitter link).