Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies, Timberwolves Discussing Trade

July 17th, 2012 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

TUESDAY, 12:11pm: The Grizzlies believe they have a verbal agreement to swap Dante Cunningham for Wayne Ellington, but the Timberwolves seem to be looking to include Cunningham in another deal before finalizing anything, reports Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Tillery speculates that the T-Wolves are waiting for resolution on Nicolas Batum's offer sheet before making any other moves official.

"The shoe will drop this week or it won't get done," one source told Tillery, on the Grizzlies/Timberwolves trade talks.

Odds & Ends: T-Wolves, Griffin, Nuggets, Hollins

July 16th, 2012 at 10:57pm CST by Michael Pina

Chris Haynes from CSNNW.com has confirmed that the Timberwolves offered Derrick Williams and two first round picks in exchange for Nicolas Batum earlier this summer. Portland, obviously, turned the deal down. (Twitter link). Batum has signed an offer sheet that was given to him by Minnesota, but Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey has repeatedly said he would match it before the Wednesday night deadline, sending him back to Portland on a four-year, $46.5MM deal.

After tearing his left meniscus during a Team USA practise last Wednesday, Blake Griffin was forced to remove himself from the Olympic games. The Clippers forward had successful surgery today, and is still expected to be ready in time for training camp, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc J. Spears.
The Nuggets are considering using their amnesty provision on forward Chris Andersen, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Andersen has two years and $9MM left on his deal.

Earlier updates:

The Hornets have shown an interest in signing free agent center Ryan Hollins, tweets SI.com's Sam Amick. Hollins split his time last season with both the Cavaliers and Celtics.
Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times has a few Bucks related tidbits to share. A few teams have interest in the team's unrestricted free agent guard Carlos Delfino, including the Hawks. (Twitter link). Also, the Bucks could be in the market for free agent center Joel Przybilla. (Twitter link).
After fracturing a bone in his right hand during Summer League practice on Saturday, Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving will undergo surgery on Wednesday in Cleveland, effectively ending all his basketball playing activity for the rest of summer. The former number one pick and reigning Rookie of the Year is expected to make a full recovery in time for training camp, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc J. Spears.
Former Knicks and Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni has not been contacted by the Trail Blazers to fill their head coaching position, tweets The Oregonian's Jason Quick.
The Bobcats might use their amnesty on DeSagana Diop, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
The Nets are expected to re-sign Keith Bogans, tweets the New York Daily News' Frank Isola
The Trail Blazers search for a head coach has begun to heat up: Suns assistant Elston Turner (twitter link), former Knicks assistant Phil Weber (twitter link), and Hawks assistant Lester Conner (twitter link) have all been linked to the position.
NBA Agent Happy Walters' Rogue Sports acquires SFX Baseball and NFL-agency Maximum Sports to form Relatively Sports, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski.
Hawks forward Josh Smith is excited about the new direction his team appears to be headed, writes Hoopsworld.com reporter Alex Kennedy. Also from Kennedy, talks between the Nuggets and JaVale McGee are progressing, as both parties appear only to be speaking with one another.
According to the Bay Area News Group's Marcus Thompson, Anthony Randolph would like to return to the Warriors. (Sulia link)

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Hawks Acquire Kyle Korver

July 16th, 2012 at 5:22pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 16: The Hawks have announced via a team press release that they have officially acquired Kyle Korver from the Bulls in exchange for cash. As noted on Twitter by ESPN.com's John Hollinger, the Bulls receive a $5MM trade exception in the deal, and the Timberwolves are no longer involved.

JULY 13: The trade will also include the Timberwolves, according to Johnson (via Twitter). Korver will be absorbed into the Hawks' $5MM trade exception, and the Bulls will receive a second-round pick from Minnesota, says Johnson. It sounds as if one more detail is required here.

2:18pm: The Bulls have agreed to trade Kyle Korver to the Hawks, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). The deal is pending a physical, and could become a sign-and-trade involving Kirk Hinrich, according to Johnson.

Wolves Officially Sign Batum To Offer Sheet

July 15th, 2012 at 6:21pm CST by Alex Lee

The Blazers have officially received the offer sheet from Minnesota for restricted free agent Nicolas Batum, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com confirms that it is for four years and $46.5MM with incentives that can take it up to $50MM, as well as a 15% trade kicker.

Nicolas Batum Signs Timberwolves’ Offer Sheet

July 14th, 2012 at 7:46pm CST by Luke Adams

SATURDAY 7:46pm: The Trail Blazers' unwillingness to work out a sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves may stem from the two teams' ongoing discussions to resolve a dispute involving a prior trade for Webster, reports Ric Bucher of ESPN.com.

FRIDAY 6:15pm: After waiving Martell Webster and trading Brad Miller earlier today, the Timberwolves will not be able to submit their offer sheet to Nicolas Batum until Sunday, writes Jaynes.

THURSDAY 9:51pm: Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com writes that Minnesota added a 15% trade kicker to Batum's offer sheet in which a hefty 15% tax is imposed on the team that trades him during his new contract. This essentially makes it more difficult for Portland to match the deal, however, since the Timberwolves have not submitted the offer sheet to the league yet, there still remains the possibility of a sign-and-trade with the Trail Blazers.

7:13pm: Joe Freeman of OregonLive.com tweeted that the Trail Blazers have not received a signed offer sheet from Batum yet. Freeman also added that GM Neil Olshey did not indicate whether or not Portland and Minnesota were engaged in sign-and-trade talks (Twitter link).

6:24pm: Jason Quick of The Oregonian reiterated a point that the Timberwolves would have to waive Martell Webster and Brad Miller before Minnesota can extend an offer sheet to Nicolas (Twitter link).

1:29pm: Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor says the Timberwolves will submit Batum's offer sheet to the NBA by the end of the business day, giving Portland one last chance to work out a sign-and-trade, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Zgoda adds (via Twitter) that the T-Wolves are offering draft picks, but won't give up Derrick Williams or Nikola Pekovic.

11:53am: Nicolas Batum has officially signed a four-year, $46.5MM offer sheet with the Timberwolves, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. In order to make room for Batum's offer sheet, the Timberwolves officially announced that they have amnestied Darko Milicic.

Batum's signing gives the Trail Blazers three days to either match the offer or let the young forward head to Minnesota. It also means that a sign-and-trade is no longer an option for the Blazers and T-Wolves.

Batum and his agent have both indicated that the 23-year-old would like to move on from Portland, leading to speculation that the Blazers and Timberwolves could work out a sign-and-trade deal that would net Portland some assets for letting Batum go to Minnesota. However, it appears the two sides were unable to work out a deal, so the Wolves will take their chances with the offer sheet and hope they've called Neil Olshey's bluff — the Portland GM has said the Blazers will match any offer for Batum. If Portland does officially match the deal, the club can't trade Batum for the next year without his consent.

The Bulls, meanwhile, had been involved in three-way trade talks with the Wolves and Blazers about a Kyle Korver deal, but those discussions are now dead, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Johnson speculates that the Bulls could revisit Korver discussions with the Hawks.

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Timberwolves Amnesty Darko Milicic

July 14th, 2012 at 5:08pm CST by Luke Adams

5:08pm: Count the Celtics, Nets and Clippers among the frontrunners to acquire Milicic, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

SATURDAY, 4:15pm: Milicic has cleared waivers and is now an unrestricted free agent, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 11:55pm: The Timberwolves have officially waived Milicic and designated him as their amnestied player, the team announced (via Twitter). Teams with cap space can place bids on Darko, starting at a minimum of about $2.5MM, according to SI.com's Zach Lowe (via Twitter). If he goes unclaimed, he'll become an unrestricted free agent.

Northwest Rumors: Batum, Tolliver, Randolph, Roy

July 14th, 2012 at 1:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wolves' courtship of Nicolas Batum took another unusual turn last night, when Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reported that the league has ruled the offer sheet he signed with the team is invalid, since the Wolves don't have enough cap space to accommodate the four-year, $46.5MM deal. Minnesota moved to clear cap space Friday by waiving Martell Webster and trading Brad Miller to the Hawks. They also renounced the rights to free agents Anthony Tolliver and Anthony Randolph, as fellow CSNNW.com scribe Dwight Jaynes reported. But, as Jaynes noted, Webster won't clear waivers until Sunday at 4:00pm Central, at which time the Wolves can finally submit a new signed offer sheet from Batum. That's not the only news from the Northwest, and we've got the rest here:

T-Wolves Waive Webster, Trade Miller To Hornets

July 13th, 2012 at 5:48pm CST by Luke Adams

5:48pm: The Timberwolves have also traded Brad Miller and two second round picks to the Hornets for a future second round pick, the team announced today.

4:15pm: The Timberwolves have released Martell Webster, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Webster's contract for 2012/13 was only partially guaranteed, so most of his $5.7MM salary will come off Minnesota's books. Assuming he clears waivers, Webster will become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team.

Blazers Notes: Sloan, Joerger, Griffin, Batum

July 13th, 2012 at 4:49pm CST by Luke Adams

We heard yesterday that Jerry Sloan withdrew his name from consideration for the Trail Blazers' head coach opening. Today, GM Neil Olshey revealed that Sloan was more seriously considered than we originally thought. Olshey told reporters, including Mike Tokito of the Oregonian, that he offered Sloan the job, but the former Jazz coach declined the offer after sleeping on it (Twitter links). Here are a few more Blazers updates, primarily involving the team's coaching search….

Free Agent Rumors: Humphries, Stiemsma, Lin

July 12th, 2012 at 11:02pm CST by Luke Adams

As NBA teams continue to agree to contracts and officially sign this year's free agents, you can keep tabs on all the activity by checking out Hoops Rumors' 2012 Free Agent Tracker. We're continuously updating our database to reflect the latest contract agreements, adding details on years and salaries as they become available. But there are still plenty of unsigned players left on the market, so we'll track today's rumors on those guys right here:

TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter) cites league sources that believe Kris Humphries would be more inclined to remain with the Nets than leave for the Bobcats. Marc Stein tweeted that the Nets could be involved no matter what Humphries decides to do, and could end up offering to negotiate a sign-and-trade if he chose Charlotte.
The Timberwolves are waiting for Portland to make a decision on Nicolas Batum before they extend an offer sheet to Greg Stiemsma, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

Earlier updates:

Jeremy Lin will sign his $28.8MM offer sheet with Houston on Friday, marking the start of the three day clock in which the Knicks can match the offer (Twitter link via Howard Beck of the New York Times).
TNT's David Aldridge says that the Nets want to keep Kris Humphries and are not currently facilitating a sign-and-trade deal with the Bobcats (Twitter link). In fact, it appears that both teams are competing against each other to sign him. ESPN's Marc Stein tweets that Charlotte is currently offering a three-year deal worth $22MM, while the Brooklyn is offering three years and $24MM.
Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York tweets that the Knicks have interest in Ronnie Brewer.
Tim McMahon of ESPN Dallas reports that the Mavericks remain interested in re-signing Delonte West.
Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida says that although Rasheed Wallace had been contemplating a return since 2010 and even had a workout with the Heat last season, the 6'11 forward/center appears to be "done" (Twitter link).
With the Bulls casting out a wide net in free agency, Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald tweets that Chicago could have already been in touch with Greg Oden.
Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets that Will Barton and his agent are currently working out a deal with the Trail Blazers.
If they lose Nicolas Batum, the Timberwolves are interested in signing Courtney Leeoutright, rather than in a sign-and-trade deal, tweets Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld.
C.J. Watson will become an unrestricted free agent if he clears waivers tomorrow afternoon, but there's no guarantee he'll go unclaimed. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweetsthat Watson is drawing interest from several teams.
Brad Miller isn't technically a free agent, but his contract for 2012/13 is non-guaranteed, meaning he could hit the market soon. While Miller is expected to retire, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida that nothing is official on that front. The deadline to waive Miller without paying his full guarantee is July 30th, so the Timberwolves are expected to continue looking to include him in a trade before that date.
The Bulls, Mavericks, Lakers, Cavaliers, and Timberwolves are eyeing Anthony Tolliver, according to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Twitter link).
Courtney Lee and the Timberwolves have continued to talk daily since free agency opened, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter). Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune agrees that Lee could become Minnesota's top target if the team's offer sheet for Nicolas Batum is matched by the Trail Blazers.
Greg Oden's agent Mike Conley tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida that his client has begun working out and is interested in playing in the NBA in 2012/13. Conley's comments about Oden's desire to play this season, perhaps with the Heat, echo what we heard in May.
The Bulls continue to negotiate with John Lucas III even though he's drawing interest from the Heat, Wizards, and other teams, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.

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