Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Nowitzki, Collison, Humphries, Hill

July 20th, 2012 at 11:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA superstars are often reluctant to take a back seat to anyone, but that's just what Mavs coach Rick Carlisle wants to see Dirk Nowitzki do. For the Mavs to contend for a championship again, someone other than Nowitzki must be the best player on the team, Carlisle told radio station 1070 the Fan in Indianapolis (via the Dallas Morning News). Of course, after missing out on Deron Williams, it doesn't appear like Nowitzki will have to relinquish his status as the team's alpha dog any time soon, unless Dallas somehow jumps to the forefront of Dwight Howard trade talk. We've got more news and analysis from around the league here:

Mark Bartelstein, the agent for Warriors free agents Brandon Rush and Dominic McGuire, will speak with Wolves GM David Kahn this weekend, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

Earlier updates:

Carlisle, in the same interview, also said he's excited to see what the extra motivation of a contract year will do for the play of point guard Darren Collison, acquired in a trade with the Pacers.
Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com looks at the effect re-signing Jordan Hill will have on the Lakers. He also notes that the team doesn't have any money committed beyond 2013/14, except for the final season of Steve Nash's contract.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News examines how agent Dan Fegan patiently waited for the market to turn in favor of client Kris Humphries, who re-signed with the Nets on a two-year, $24MM deal, taking advantage of the team's inability to acquire Dwight Howard.
With Humphries, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez, the Nets are believed to be first team with five players making at least $10MM a year, writes Chris Bernucca of SheridanHoops.com.
The Spurs are high on 6'9" free agent Eric Dawson, who signed a pair of ten-day contracts with the team last season, and he's a candidate to return, says Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. It might be tough for him to make the team right out of camp, though, since the team already has five big men under contract, as McDonald notes (Twitter links).
The offseason is only a few weeks old, but Ben Golliver already has a list of free agency winners and losers on CBSSports.com. The Heat, Nets, Pacers, Lakers, Mavs and Nuggets have come out on top, Golliver says, while the Magic, Knicks, Bulls, Suns, Rockets and Trail Blazers didn't fare so well.

Cavs Claim Jon Leuer Off Waivers

July 20th, 2012 at 10:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:03pm: The Cavs confirmed their successful waiver claim on the team website.

6:35pm: Zgoda tweets that the Timberwolves didn't put in a claim for Leuer, correcting what he said earlier.

6:02pm: Jon Leuer is headed to Cleveland after being waived by the Rockets earlier this week, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). Zach Lowe of SI.com says the Cavs will simply sign him (Twitter link), but Either way, it appears the 6'10" Leuer will suit up for the Cavs next season, likely on a minimum-salary deal. Zgoda says the Timberwolves also put in a claim, but since the Cavs had an inferior record last season, Cleveland's bid wins out.

The 6'10" power forward averaged 4.7 points and 2.6 rebounds with a 15.3 PER in 12.1 minutes a game as a rookie last season for the Bucks, who traded him to the Rockets as part of a deal for Samuel Dalembert. He was the 40th overall pick of the 2011 draft.

Celtics Likely To Withdraw Offer To Stiemsma

July 20th, 2012 at 9:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

9:57pm: Forsberg says the team making the offer is not the Timberwolves, though he doesn't identify which team it is.

9:17pm: The Celtics have been outbid for Greg Stiemsma and are likely to withdraw their qualifying offer for the 6'11" big man, making him an unrestricted free agent, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com hears that a team has made an offer to Stiemsma that exceeds the $1.054MM qualifying offer from the Celtics, and Zgoda hears the same via Stiemsma's agent (Twitter links).

I'd guess the team making the offer to Stiemsma is the Timberwolves, since a report earlier this week from A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com indicated Minnesota was prepared to offer him an annual salary of nearly $3MM. That would be about $1MM more than the Celtics could offer with their biannual exception. Boston, which has only had Stiemsma under contract for a year, has non-Bird rights on Stiemsma, allowing for a 120% raise or the amount of his qualifying offer, whichever is greater — and in Stiemsma's case, the qualifying offer is greater. The biannual exception amount of $1.957MM would be the most the Celtics could pay him, but it appears that still won't be enough to bring Stiemsma back.

Stiemsma and agent Mike Naiditch have expressed a willingness to be patient while the Wolves work on other priorities, but with Nicolas Batum, Courtney Lee and Jordan Hill eluding the team's grasp, it appears Stiemsma is finally the priority atop Wolves GM David Kahn's desk. Stiemsma was a revelation for the Celtics last season after spending most of his career overseas and in the D-League after going undrafted out of the University of Wisconsin in 2008. The 13.9 minutes per game he saw in 55 contests for the Celtics were more than he averaged in any of his four collegiate seasons, He put up 2.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks a night in the regular season before an aching left foot limited his playing time and effectiveness in the playoffs.

Blazers Rumors: Aldridge, Batum, Hibbert, Canales

July 20th, 2012 at 8:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

It was a busy day for the Blazers, who officially welcomed Nicolas Batum back after matching his offer sheet from the Timberwolves. They also were involved in a three-team trade, picking up Sasha Pavlovic, the cash to cover his salary, and two second-round picks in exchange for 2011 second-round pick Jon Diebler. There's also encouraging news from LaMarcus Aldridge, who says he's "98 percent" healed from hip surgery and expects to be playing five-on-five again in a week, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. There's plenty more going on in the Rose City, and we've got it here:

Batum addressed some of the comments he and others made during his contentious restricted free agency. In a video on CSNNW.com and transcribed by Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Batum said it was true that he wanted to go to Minnesota, but never ruled the Blazers out. "Minnesota was a good situation for me, but I never said it was better than Portland," he said. "I told Portland, 'If you really want me, match. If you don't want me, I'll go.'"
Aldridge told reporters, including Chris B. Haynes of CSNNW.com, that he was communicating with Roy Hibbert throughout the Blazers' courtship of the restricted free agent center who ultimately chose to re-sign with the Pacers (Twitter links). "I was disappointed," Aldridge said of Hibbert's decision. "I definitely felt like he would put us over that hump of being on the next level."
Aldridge said he hasn't been paying attention to the team's head coaching search, but reiterated his endorsement of interim coach Kaleb Canales, as Freeman notes, via Twitter.

Warriors Interested In Andrei Kirilenko

July 20th, 2012 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors are seeking a backup forward and have been linked to Carl Landry, Kenyon Martin, Shelden Williams, and others. Today, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group adds another name to the team's wish list, reporting that Golden State is interested in Andrei Kirilenko, though Thompson cautions the Russian forward would be a long shot for the Warriors.

Earlier today, we passed along comments Kirilenko yesterday in which he suggested he could end up on the Nets or back in Russia with CSKA Moscow. As I wrote at the time, the Nets could only offer the veteran's minimum. The Warriors have the flexibility to offer at least double that amount, but it's not clear if that would be enough or if Kirilenko would have interest in the Warriors.

Based on Kirilenko's comments about potentially returning to the NBA, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link) wonders if the Timberwolves, another team that could offer more than the Nets, would be interested in the veteran forward.

Blazers Match Offer Sheet For Nicolas Batum

July 20th, 2012 at 12:08pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 12:08pm: The Blazers have now officially announced the Batum signing (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 6:24pm: The forward will earn $10.7M in each of the first two seasons while year three is worth $10.9MM and year four is $11.2MM, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.

6:20pm: Batum's deal includes a $1.5MM signing bonus, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter).

4:49pm: Olshey informed reporters, including Joe Freeman of the Oregonian (Twitter link), that Batum's offer sheet wasn't quite as high as the $46.5MM that had been reported. The Blazers GM explained that some of the incentives included in the deal were rejected by the NBA, and said Portland would still have a little cap room left after signing Batum and Ronnie Price (Twitter link).

4:16pm: The Trail Blazers have officially matched the Timberwolves' offer sheet for Batum, the team announced today. The Blazers' contract with Batum will be for four years and $46.5MM. It includes a 15% trade kicker, and could be worth up to $50MM if Batum reaches certain incentives.

Northwest Notes: Timberwolves, Leuer, Nuggets

July 19th, 2012 at 8:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's a look at the latest out of the Northwest division..

It appears that the Timberwolves may have missed out on shooting guard Courtney Lee and are now in pursuit of Jon Leuer, writes Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press. The Minnesota native was waived yesterday by the Rockets.
Timberwolves forward Kevin Love says he is glad that he negotiated the option to leave in three years rather than securing a five-year max deal, writes Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press. Love wants to see the club become a contender before he commits to Minnesota long term.
Nuggets coach George Karl says that he is happy with all of the club's latest roster moves, writes Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post. The club is now left with a logjam in the frontcourt with JaVale McGee, Kenneth Faried, Al Harrington, Kosta Koufos, Timofey Mozgov, and Anthony Randolph in the mix, but Karl notes that it is preferable to being thin at the four and five.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Hill, Rush, Warriors

July 18th, 2012 at 7:31pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the latest out of the Pacific Division..

The Lakers have stayed in contact with the Cavaliers in hopes of orchestrating a three-way deal with the Magic involving Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum, but little progress has been made and no deal is remotely close, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Right now, the Cavs don’t seem willing to part with any of their young players including Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, Tyler Zeller, and Kyrie Irving.
Jordan Hill‘s agent Kevin Bradbury says the T’Wolves are “right there” with Lakers but there probably won’t be a deal reached tonight because he’s flying home from Vegas, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
The lack of news on the Warriors re-signing Brandon Rush doesn’t mean that they won’t re-sign him, writes Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. GM Bob Myers is likely waiting for an over-the-cap club to extend him an offer sheet for the mid-level so that they can match.
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) knows that Antawn Jamison is 36 and shot 40% last season but believes that he’ll help the Lakers’ reserves immensely. The forward agreed to terms with the club earlier today.

Southwest Notes: Lin, Mavericks, Grizzlies

July 18th, 2012 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we rounded up a number of pieces reacting to the Knicks' decision to let Jeremy Lin sign with the Rockets, but the Lin updates continue to pour in. ESPN's J.A. Adande argues that Houston is the ideal spot for Lin to thrive, while the day's most interesting Lin piece came from Pablo S. Torre of SI.com, who chronicles the point guard's free agency process.

"Honestly, I preferred New York," Lin told Torre. "But my main goal in free agency was to go to a team that had plans for me and wanted me. I wanted to have fun playing basketball. … Now I'm definitely relieved."

As the newest Rocket arrives in Houston, here are a few more items out of the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks are still scouring the free agent market for bench options, GM Donnie Nelson tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "We're always looking. It's one of those situations where free agents have to be looking out for their best interest, and it's our job to look out for the Mavericks' best interest. We're looking at trying to get the best possible talent that we can."
While the Mavs could still choose to re-sign Delonte West, Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com wonders if the club should turn its focus to a rebounder instead, and lists a few potential targets.
The Grizzlies' front office is happy with how the roster is shaping up, says Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Tillery adds that the team still expects to send Dante Cunningham to Minnesota for Wayne Ellington, and that the trade could be finalized any day. I imagine the Timberwolves are still waiting for resolution on Nicolas Batum's offer sheet.

Latest On Courtney Lee

July 18th, 2012 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

With most of the big-name free agents off the board, Courtney Lee appears to be the top option remaining on the market among wing players. As such, he's drawing plenty of interest — Paul Flannery of WEEI.com writes that agent Dan Fegan advised Lee to be patient, and that patience is close to paying off.

If the Timberwolves' offer sheet to Nicolas Batum is matched by Portland, as expected, both Minnesota and Phoenix will have plenty of cap space to use on Lee. The 26-year-old is also drawing interest from the Bulls and Celtics, though those clubs would likely have to acquire Lee via sign-and-trade.

A deal with Chicago might pique the Rockets' interest, as the Bulls have a $5MM trade exception that could be used to avoid sending salary back to Houston. As the Rockets pursue Omer Asik and Dwight Howard, it's unlikely the team would want to absorb any contracts, which a trade with Boston would require. According to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, Lee has expressed a "strong interest" in playing for Doc Rivers and the Celtics, but with a sign-and-trade difficult to work out and the bi-annual exception unlikely to be enough for Lee, that appears to be a long shot.

Lee may have been a Plan B for some teams that missed out on players like Batum, Eric Gordon, and O.J. Mayo, but as one of the top available targets out there now, he appears to be in line for a lucrative deal.