Wolves Owner On Adelman, Kahn, Saunders, Sale
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor identifies the uncertainty surrouding the future of coach Rick Adelman as his top offseason concern, but his comments to Ray Richardson of St. Paul Pioneer Press seemed to dispel this week's report that Adelman is likely to retire. Taylor plans on Adelman coming back, and doesn't have a contingency in place if Adelman steps down. The owner said he isn't sure if assistant Terry Porter, who filled for Adelman during his absence, would be the choice. "If Rick were to leave, I would want to think about all options we have available to us. My thought process right now would be to not look at just one person," Taylor said.
Richardson's Q&A with Taylor is worth a read in its entirety, but we'll hit the highlights here:
On the future of GM David Kahn:
I haven't come to the time to make a decision on that. Let's finish the season first. I want to find out about my coach first. I don't have a time frame to address David's situation. He and I have been talking about the draft and other things as we go into the offseason. At some point, I know I need to make a decision.
On his relationship with Flip Saunders:
First of all, Flip was just trying to help a friend who had an outside group, but that group never submitted a bid. I have a coach and I have a GM. Me and Flip have not talked about those things. What we talk about mostly is his work at ESPN and what's going on in the league. I have maintained a friendship with Flip. We kept in touch when he was at Washington and Detroit.
On a potential sale of the team:
I haven't come up with anybody who meets all the needs. One of my problems is that I haven't found anybody who lives in Minnesota or has a Minnesota background. The interest has come from people outside the state. I'm interested in a local person buying the team on a limited partner basis. Right now, I don't have a strong feeling that I want to get rid of the team. I still enjoy it. I was thinking of a long run to try to find a successor, but I might keep things the way they are.
On Nikola Pekovic's restricted free agency this summer:
I want him to stay, and he has told me he wants to stay. It's to our advantage to try and work something out with him. We know and he knows he's able to test the market. When he tells me he wants to stay, I take him for his word, but agents play a big role in all of this.
On the notion that the team's signing of Brandon Roy was a mistake:
It's fair criticism … for me and David. We did take a risk, and it was proven to be a wrong risk. There were other players out there with some experience who we could have gotten, who would have helped us at a position (shooting guard) where we needed help. We're out of the money this year ($5.1MM), but based on the contract we have, we don't have to pay him next year if he doesn't play.
Wolves Rumors: Rubio, Ricky Davis, Hummel
The latest edition of Darren Wolfson's Scoops column for 1500 ESPN Twin Cities focuses more heavily on college basketball than the pro game, but Wolfson still manages to squeeze in a few Timberwolves notes toward the end of the piece. Let's check out the highlights:
- GM David Kahn has said in the past that the T-Wolves weren't saving their five-year designated player tag for Ricky Rubio when they decided not to sign Kevin Love for more than four years. Kahn has suggested that when the time comes, Rubio will receive an offer similar to Love's, but according to Wolfson, the belief from Rubio's camp is that the Spaniard will get a five-year offer when he becomes extension-eligible in the summer of 2014.
- Wolfson confirms what Ricky Davis told Jonathan Abrams of Grantland in a story that was published yesterday: Davis had a tryout with the Wolves in January of this season. "They signed [Mickael] Gelabale for the whole year," said Davis, who is trying to resume his NBA career after undergoing knee surgery. "I played with him in France, so that really makes me sick. That makes me really sick. That really hurts. They signed him for the whole year."
- Robbie Hummel, the Wolves' 58th overall pick in last year's draft, is playing well in Europe, and Minnesota will likely talk to him after the season about returning stateside. At the very least, Wolfson says, Hummel figures to play for the Wolves' Summer League squad.
- Rob Babcock, R.J. Adelman, and Matt Bollero are representing the Wolves at this week's Portsmouth Draft Invitational, according to Wolfson.
Draft Rumors: Dobos, McCollum, Muscala
Hungarian center Laszlo Dobos is entering the draft, agent Giorgio Dimitropoulos tweets. The 19-year-old is 7'2" with a 7'8" wingspan, but he's been largely off the radar for draftniks — neither DraftExpress nor ESPN.com has ranked or profiled him. Unlike college underclassmen, who can't return to school if they don't withdraw by Tuesday, Dobos can leave the draft pool any time from now through June 17th and still return to CAI Zaragoza, his Spanish league team. Here's more on the draft front:
- A pair of college seniors have signed with the Excel Sports Management agency, reports Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal. C.J. McCollum will have Sam Goldfeder as his representative, while Mike Muscala's agent will be Sean Kennedy (Twitter links).
- An NBA assistant GM shared his list of the top 30 prospects with Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Sulia link). Not surprisingly, Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore and Marcus Smart lead off, though the unnamed executive cautioned that it's "extremely early," and much could change between now and the draft.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com implores Louisville junior guard Russ Smith to leave the draft field by Tuesday's deadline. Most teams peg him as a second-rounder, while others have him going undrafted, Mannix says. Mark Deeks of ShamSports thinks Smith's should stay in the draft, arguing that his stock isn't getting any higher (Twitter links).
- The ideal draft scenario would allow the Timberwolves to draft Victor Oladipo, according to Jim Rand of the Star Tribune.
Brandon Roy Intends To Continue Playing Career
Two months ago, Brandon Roy told Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that he would have to seriously consider retirement if he couldn't get healthy and return to the court by season's end. Roy hasn't appeared in a game since making those comments, but according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link), the veteran guard is holding out hope that he can play in at least one of the Timberwolves' last five games.
The fact that Roy believes he's healthy enough to return to action this season also means he's looking to continue his playing career. However, according to Bucher, Roy's contract is written in such a way that he's not sure whether he'll still be under Wolves' control — his agents at Wasserman Media Group and the players' union will examine the language of the deal more closely to determine whether he can become a free agent this summer, says Bucher.
Based on the contract details we heard from Mark Deeks of ShamSports last offseason, I would assume Roy's deal has in fact become non-guaranteed. Although the second year of the contract was initially guaranteed, it was agreed that it would become non-guaranteed if his previous knee problems resurfaced. Once that happened, the second year could only become guaranteed again if Roy played more than 1,400 minutes in 2012/13 or if he was on the active list for 65+ games — he failed to meet either benchmark.
Perhaps some specific wording in the contract raises questions, or perhaps there's some debate over whether Roy's knee issues this season were directly related to his previous injuries. Either way, I imagine the Wolves will do their best to ensure they're not on the hook for the $5.33MM owed to Roy next season, considering they reportedly explored buying him out or trading his contract earlier this year.
Roy, 28, has only appeared in five games for the Wolves since returning to the game following his 2011 retirement with the Trail Blazers.
Rick Adelman Considering Retirement
Last week, Timberwolves head coach Rick Adelman won his 1000th game, joining an extremely small group filled with some of the best coaches in basketball history.
But according to NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper, Adelman is likely to retire during the offseason if doctors aren't able to make a diagnosis and then successfully treat his wife's ongoing illness.
Adelman took a leave of absence from the team earlier this season, and says he won't do the same thing again next season, despite having two more years left on his contract.
Kevin Love To Have Left Knee Scoped
Kevin Love, who has been out for three months with a hand injury, will now undergo a "minor arthroscopic procedure" on his left knee, according to the Timberwolves Twitter feed. The procedure is intended to remove the buildup of scar tissue in the knee, according to the team, and has a typical recovery time of 4-6 weeks.
Love was expected back in March but was unable to get doctor clearance for contact. Whispers that he would be shut down until next season began to proliferate a few weeks ago and this announcement from the Wolves confirms it. The 2012-13 campaign will go down as one to forget for the 24-year-old. In only 18 games, Love averaged 18.3 points and shot a miserable 35.2 percent from the field.
In a series of tweets from the team's Twitter feed, general manager David Kahn said the following about the Love situation:
"Disappointing news, but the only course of action we could take. Kevin tried very hard to get back. It was causing him enough pain and concern that the decision was made to do it now. We waited to the last possible moment. You feel so bad for Kevin. He feels very badly about it, too. As time went on, and as he began ramping up his workout with the intent of playing, the knee started to hurt more. The knee was starting to impact the way he runs and we decided that it was time to do this now," Kahn said, adding that there is no long-term concern over the injury and that Love should be cleared for contact in June. (Full series of Twitter links here)
Northwest Rumors: Roy, Gelabale, Johnson
The Trail Blazers and Timberwolves seem to share a link greater than just their placement together in the Northwest Division. They were at opposite ends of a tug-of-war over restricted free agent Nicolas Batum last summer, around the same time former Blazers star Brandon Roy came out of retirement to sign with the Wolves, a move that cost Portland owner Paul Allen $17MM in insurance money. Earlier this season they "amicably" resolved a dispute over a trade the two clubs made back in 2010. Both clubs are in the news again, with news involving Roy and former Blazer and current Wolf Chris Johnson. Here's what we know:
- Wolves coach Rick Adelman hasn't been expecting Roy to return this season, but after spending the last two weeks hard at work in practice, Roy will ask Adelman if he can return to game action, reports Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Roy, who says his oft-injured right knee is improving, will almost certainly hit free agency this summer, since he's played only five games this season and his deal is non-guaranteed for 2013/14. He suggested earlier this year that he'd retire if he couldn't come back healthy by the end of this season.
- Johnson and Mickael Gelabale also have non-guaranteed deals with the Wolves for next year, and they appear to have a shot at returning to the club, notes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune. "This summer will be big for them," Adelman said. "We like them both."
- The Blazers will send their first-round pick to the Bobcats if it's not in the top 12, and as our updated tentative draft order shows, Portland is in line for the No. 12 pick, separated by three games from the Mavericks for the No. 13 spot. Despite the motivation to lose and improve the team's chances of keeping its pick, Blazers coach Terry Stotts insists that's something his squad won't do, as The Oregonian's Mike Tokito observes. "We've played every game to try and win," Stotts said. "The draft picks — I just think you start doing that you're (messing with) basketball karma or whatever. I think you gotta be true to the game and true to your players, and that's never been a concern of mine or our team."
Odds & Ends: Meeks, Kings, Clippers, Wolves
Jodie Meeks has been a critical role player for the Lakers this season under coach Mike D'Antoni after sitting on the pine for much of Mike Brown's tenure. The Lakers hold a team option on Meeks and he believes that it will be exericsed. “Yeah, I think so,” Meeks told Shams Charania of RealGM when asked if he believes he will be part of the Lakers next year. “You can’t really worry about that right now, just finish out this year. I’ll do that and see whatever happens.” Here's more from around the Association..
- If Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman winds up walking away this summer due to family issues, J.B. Bickerstaff won't be considered a candidate for the job, according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link). There are still hard feelings in the Minnesota office when Bickerstaff followed Kevin McHale to the Rockets that would keep him from being considered.
- Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times rounds up the week's news on the future of the Kings, noting that Sacramento City Council's approval of an arena plan is non-binding, just like their endorsement of an ill-fated arena proposal last year (link via the Sacramento Bee).
- The Clippers retooled bench worked hard in the offseason to become arguably the league's best bench, writes Derek Page of HoopsWorld. In order for everything to come together for L.A., it was essential for Jamal Crawford to check his ego at the door and accept being the club's sixth man.
- While we have heard that the Wolves are set to exercise GM David Kahn's option for next season, owner Glen Taylor says that he hasn't made a decision yet, writes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune.
Western Links: Maloofs, Rush, D’Antoni
Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com hears more and more that the Maloof brothers could keep the Kings rather than sell the team to the Sacramento-led group if the NBA declines the Seattle bid, adding that it's not a total longshot at this point. Howard-Cooper also says that whether the possibility could drag on into this summer or next season, the Maloofs may step back and re-assess their options (All Twitter links). Interestingly enough, Aaron Bruski of USA Today tweeted that league sources "have maintained without any equivocation that the Maloofs will not own an NBA franchise next season."
We've got more to share out of the Western Conference tonight:
- Howard-Cooper reiterates that he's not saying the above scenario will happen, but it's still a possibility. He also clarifies that the Maloofs keeping the Kings would be a way for them to start a bidding war and evaluate at the type of offers they can receive (Twitter links).
- Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle says that Brandon Rush plans to do some light running and jumping in three weeks, and that the Warriors guard/forward should be ready by the start of the 2013-14 training camp (Twitter links).
- Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tweets that he thinks Mike D'Antoni's job is safe for next season at least, being that the Lakers coach is still owed a lot of money and hasn't had a healthy roster.
- Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press writes that Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman has a tough challenge of trying to evaluate upcoming free agents Mickael Gelabale and Chris Johnson without enough playing time to find for them.
David Kahn To Return As GM
David Kahn's position as General Manager of the Timberwolves is secure and the the one-year option on his contract will be exercised shortly, if it has not been exercised already, sources tell Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link). That presumably means that Flip Saunders won't return to the organization, as the club had interest in him as a possible replacement for Kahn.
Owner Glen Taylor insisted earlier this month that Kahn could return for 2013/14, despite a great deal of outside criticism for the exec. The Timberwolves have had the misfortune of being bit by the injury bug this season with Ricky Rubio missing the early part of the season and Kevin Love missing much of the second half. However, Kahn's personnel decisions during his time in Minnesota have led the club to a 58-172 record over the last three seasons.