Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Sign Naz Reid To Three-Year Extension

June 28th, 2023 at 11:07am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JUNE 28: Reid’s three-year extension with the Timberwolves is official, the team confirmed in a press release.

JUNE 25: Days before he was slated to hit unrestricted free agency, Timberwolves center Naz Reid has agreed to sign a three-year, $42MM contract extension to stay in Minnesota, his agents Jeff Schwartz and Sean Kennedy inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Reid’s new deal will include a player option for 2025/26.

As Woj notes, Reid enjoyed a well-timed breakout season in 2022/23 as the Timberwolves’ third big man, averaging career bests of 11.5 PPG (on .537/.346/.677 shooting splits) and 4.9 RPG. He also chipped in 1.1 APG, 0.8 BPG, and 0.6 SPG across his 68 contests with the team.

The 23-year-old first joined Minnesota on a two-way contract after going undrafted out of LSU in 2019, and by his second season in 2020/21 had carved out a major rotation role with the team.

Reid’s reported new contract represents a massive pay upgrade for the 6’9″ reserve. The $1.9MM minimum salary he earned in 2022/23 had been his prior pay peak.

Based on Reid’s previous contract, the most Minnesota could offer in an extension prior to free agency was a starting salary of $12.95MM, which is 120% of this season’s estimated average salary. It appears the Wolves offered that full amount, so his deal will be worth just shy of $14MM in year two, with an option worth just over $15MM in year three.

According to Matt Williams of ESPN (Twitter link), Reid averaged 0.78 points per minute following the 2023 All-Star break, more than any other NBA center aside from MVP Joel Embiid.

Before Minnesota offloaded significant assets to Utah in a trade for former All-Star big man Rudy Gobert last summer, Reid had looked like he might be in line to form the team’s frontcourt of the future alongside maximum-salaried power forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Reid had emerged as one of the premium big man prospects heading into free agency this summer, potentially capable of earning more money and a starting gig on another team given his upside, so it’s fascinating to see him opting to stick with his current team and role.

Fischer’s Latest: Jazz, Cavs, Wolves, DiVincenzo, Gallinari, More

June 27th, 2023 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz‘s trade for John Collins and the Timberwolves‘ extension agreement with Naz Reid are two transactions that could have a ripple effect on other offseason activity, Jake Fischer writes in his latest story for Yahoo Sports.

As Fischer explains, the Jazz were expected to be a player for forwards in free agency, with Celtics RFA Grant Williams among Utah’s rumored targets. The Jazz still project to have cap room available, especially if Jordan Clarkson doesn’t remain with the team, but after adding Collins to a frontcourt that now features Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, and lottery pick Taylor Hendricks, it’s hard to see them spending big on another forward or center, Fischer observes.

As for Reid, the Cavaliers were among the teams that hoped to take a run at him in free agency, sources tell Fischer. It’s unclear whether Cleveland – which should have the full mid-level exception available – will pivot to pursuing another significant frontcourt addition to complement Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley or whether the club specifically valued Reid highly, Fischer writes.

Meanwhile, opposing executives are curious about how the Timberwolves’ new deal with Reid might affect the rest of their roster. In particular, Fischer says, rival teams are wondering if Minnesota might waive veteran wing Taurean Prince, whose $7.5MM salary for 2023/24 is non-guaranteed.

With Prince on the books, the Wolves likely won’t have access to the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, and they’re believe to be in the market for a combo guard with size using that MLE, according to Fischer, who names Bruce Brown and Donte DiVincenzo as two possible targets.

Here’s more of Fischer’s latest reporting:

Minnesota is hardly the only team with interest in DiVincenzo. There has been “growing noise” among league personnel about the possibility of DiVincenzo joining the Knicks and teaming up with fellow Villanova alums Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, says Fischer.
Teams with cap room, including the Pacers, Magic, and Pistons, are believed to be eyeing players like Grant Williams (RFA) and Max Strus, according to Fischer, though he has heard the same rumblings that Marc Stein has about Detroit potentially using its room to make a room at Cameron Johnson. If the Nets bring back Johnson, rival executives are prepared for Brooklyn to make a cost-cutting trade to help accommodate Johnson’s increased salary.
The Wizards are considered likely to reach a buyout agreement with Danilo Gallinari, freeing up the veteran forward to pursue a deal with a team closer to contention, Fischer reports. Gallinari would be ineligible to re-sign with the Celtics in that scenario.
The Rockets are considering high-salary, short-term deals in order to land their preferred targets in free agency, per Fischer, who suggests it might take a maximum-salary offer to lure Fred VanVleet away from the Raptors. VanVleet is rumored to be one of Houston’s top priorities in free agency.
In case you missed it, we passed along more of Fischer’s latest tidbits in a pair of stories earlier today.

Stein’s Latest: Reid, Spurs, Pistons, Johnson, Rose, Porzingis, Jazz

June 26th, 2023 at 8:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs were among the teams who were interested in signing Timberwolves big man Naz Reid before he agreed to a three-year, $42MM extension, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article.

San Antonio was seeking a veteran center to ease the burden on No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama during his rookie season. However, the Spurs may have only planned to offer Reid a one-year deal.

The Mavericks were among the teams with the full $12.4MM mid-level exception available who were known to have interest in Reid, Stein adds.

Here are some more tidbits from Stein:

The Pistons’ interest in Nets restricted free agent Cameron Johnson, which has previously been reported by Stein, is genuine, he reiterates. There’s rising belief around the league that he’s their No. 1 free agent target, even though the Nets have the right to match. Detroit is projected to have over $30MM in cap space.
The Suns, Bucks and Bulls have been mentioned as potential landing spots for Derrick Rose, according to Stein. The Knicks declined to pick up their $15.6MM option on Rose for next season. However, Rose’s time in New York isn’t necessarily over — the Knicks may re-sign him at a lower number if his other options don’t pan out, Stein says.
If Kristaps Porzingis had chosen to decline his player option, the Jazz were prepared to make offer for more money than the Celtics can give him via a two-year, $77MM extension, per Stein. They were also interested in being the third party to facilitate the trade between the Wizards and Celtics. Boston was Porzingis’ preferred destination, however.

Northwest Notes: Reid, Lillard, Wallace, Holmgren

June 26th, 2023 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves‘ decision to re-sign Naz Reid before the start of free agency stemmed from an edict by owner Glen Taylor, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Get it done,” Taylor reportedly told his front office after meeting with partners and eventual owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. They also talked to president of basketball operations Tim Connelly and head coach Chris Finch, who agreed there was too much risk in letting Reid reach the open market.

The 23-year-old center is one of the team’s best developmental projects and has become a valuable member of the reserve unit. Krawczynski notes that Reid was given a player option in the third year of his $42MM contract in case he becomes dissatisfied with his progress and playing time with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert on the roster. Krawczynski adds that the Spurs and Kings could have been threats to sign Reid because of their available cap space and their ability to offer him a larger role.

Negotiations with Reid began shortly after Connelly joined the front office last summer, Krawczynski states. Reid worked out in Minnesota during the offseason and reported to camp with an improved perimeter game that enabled him to be effective alongside either Towns or Gobert.

The Wolves agreed to pay Reid more than they had originally expected, which Krawczynski notes will lead to difficult decisions in the future. Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels are both likely to receive extensions this summer, which will make it tough to keep three high-salaried centers on the roster for the long term.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

If the Heat acquire Damian Lillard, it will probably be the last significant move the team can make for a while, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer writes in an examination of the trade market for the Trail Blazers star. A deal with Portland would likely require Miami to give up most of its remaining assets, which include first-round picks in 2028 and 2030 and pick swaps in 2027 and 2029, along with Tyler Herro, Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez. Either Kyle Lowry or Duncan Robinson will have to be involved if a trade happens after July 1, O’Connor adds. O’Connor also looks at a potential deal with the Nets, but states that there aren’t many other teams in need of a point guard who have the assets to make a serious offer for Lillard.
The Thunder were attracted to Cason Wallace because of his unselfish approach to the game, according to Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman. General manager Sam Presti said he noticed that quality even when Wallace was playing in all-star contests. “He plays no-agenda basketball,” Presti said. “… All players have stories, and I think his story is a great one because in today’s world in, basketball, there’s so many people saying, ‘You’ve got to get more shots, you’ve got to do this, you’ve got to be more out in front, you’ve got to draw more attention to yourself.’ This guy got drafted in the top 10 by just being an incredible team player.”
Presti said Chet Holmgren continues to make progress in his recovery from foot surgery and there’s hope that he’ll be able to play for the Thunder during Summer League, according to Cody Taylor of The Rookie Wire.

Reid To Receive Player Option In Extension

June 25th, 2023 at 5:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Naz Reid will have a player option in the final year of the three-year extension he agreed to sign with the Timberwolves, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. The cap hits on his new deal will be $12.95MM next season, $13.98MM for the 2024/25 season and $15.02MM in 2025/26, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

While many Timberwolves fans may be frustrated by the way this past season unfolded and some of the moves the team made, Joe Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune lists 10 reasons why the franchise is better off than it was a year ago. The addition of Mike Conley and subtraction of D’Angelo Russell are two of the positive developments that made Souhan’s list.

Northwest Notes: Wolves, McDaniels, Jazz, K. Johnson

June 24th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Having traded away so many first-round picks a year ago to acquire Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves know they have to get “creative” if they hope to add young talent to their roster, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly told reporters during his post-draft press conference, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Minnesota entered Thursday night with a single second-round pick and acquired a second one that was used to draft Leonard Miller.

“We’re out a bunch of first-round picks, so we’re probably a bit more aggressive trying to find guys that are maybe a year early, or guys that have slipped for an injury, for example, like (No. 53 pick) Jaylen (Clark),” Connelly said. “I don’t think we can just follow too many trends. We’ve got to be creative and kind of cross our fingers.”

Clark, who injured his Achilles earlier this year and underwent surgery after the season, isn’t expected to be ready for the start of his rookie year. However, the Wolves are optimistic about what he’ll be able to bring to the team once he’s healthy, with Connelly referring to him as “the best perimeter defender in the draft,” according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

“We’re going to be very patient with him,” Connelly said. “Prior to the injury we thought the guy was an easy first-round pick.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The Timberwolves received “a ton” of trade interest in forward Jaden McDaniels this week, league sources tell Krawczynski. Minnesota rebuffed inquiries from teams “all over the draft board,” Krawczynski adds.
Armed with first-round picks at No. 9, No. 16, and No. 28, the Jazz were a candidate to make a consolidation trade on Thursday. Instead, they hung onto all three picks and were thrilled to land Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, and Brice Sensabaugh, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. “The way the draft board fell took a really fortunate turn for us,” general manager Justin Zanik said. “We got two of the guys that we had in our top 10 — players that we were, frankly, debating out which one to take at 9, and we ended up getting both of them. And at 28, getting a player that we had in our top 18.”
Hendricks, George, and Sensabaugh are all 19 years old, so the fact that the Jazz were willing to add all three to their 2023/24 roster is a reflection that they’re not in any hurry to accelerate their timeline for contention. Still, Tony Jones of The Athletic believes all three first-rounders are capable of playing rotation roles as rookies, noting that none of them are projects. “It’s not like we’re leaning into youth, we’re leaning into talent,” Zanik said, per Walden.
The Thunder‘s plan is for former Kansas State forward Keyontae Johnson, the 50th pick in Thursday’s draft, to sign a two-way contract, head of basketball operations Sam Presti said on Saturday (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman).

Spurs Trade No. 33 Pick Leonard Miller To Timberwolves

June 23rd, 2023 at 12:43am CST by Arthur Hill

JUNE 23: The trade is official, the Timberwolves confirmed in a press release.

JUNE 22: The Timberwolves are acquiring the No. 33 pick from the Spurs, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. San Antonio will receive two future second-round picks in return, a source tells Woj (Twitter link).

Minnesota will part with its own 2028 second-round selection and Utah’s second-rounder in 2026, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Wolves used their newly acquired pick to select the G League Ignite’s Leonard Miller.

Miller improved his draft stock in 2022/23 with a strong performance in the G League regular season. He averaged a double-double (18.0 PPG, 11.0 RPG) in 24 games (30.5 MPG), shooting 55.6% from the field.

Northwest Notes: Lillard, Blazers, Wolves, Gee, Jazz

June 22nd, 2023 at 4:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard avoided dropping any bombshells during a Q&A with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, offering fairly cagey responses when Scotto asked about his thoughts on this year’s top prospects and where he sees himself in five years.

However, Lillard did give an interesting answer when asked about the importance of winning a championship. According to the Blazers star, while winning a title is at “the top of the list” in terms of his goals, it wouldn’t necessarily significantly change the way he views his own legacy.

“A championship would mean a lot to me, but in my personal opinion, if I don’t win it, it’s not the end-all, be-all to me,” Lillard said. “I wouldn’t be happy with it, but I think when you talk about other people’s perception, I think it’s extremely important to my legacy. It’s extremely important to me, but my opinion of me not winning wouldn’t be the same as others.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Hannah Grauert, who worked from the Trail Blazers from 2007-17 and most recently spent time with Nike and Microsoft, will be the president of the club’s new G League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Grauert will be overseeing the NBAGL franchise as a whole, not focusing specifically on basketball operations.
While Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly isn’t ruling out the possibility of making a deal or two on draft night, he doesn’t anticipate a move that will shake up the roster in a major way, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.“We have a core and we’re excited to run it back,” Connelly said. “… We’re pretty excited about our core. [Chris Finch] is an elite coach. Having the year under his belt and hopefully a healthy year, we think we can be pretty good.”
Former NBA wing Alonzo Gee is now part of the Timberwolves‘ front office, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Gee appeared in 417 NBA regular season games from 2009-17 and continued to play internationally until 2022.
As Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune relays, Jazz vice president of player personnel Bart Taylor shared his wide-ranging thoughts on the team’s draft preparation in general and the 2023 draft in particular. While Taylor made some interesting comments, he was tight-lipped when asked how many players are realistically in play for Utah at No. 9. “I mean, we have nine right now,” Taylor said. “One of them will be there. One of them I know will not be there, for sure.

Owners Eager To Retain Naz Reid

June 20th, 2023 at 10:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While Karl-Anthony Towns has been one of the prominent names on the rumor mill, the Timberwolves brass believes improved health from Towns and Rudy Gobert will solve some of the team’s offensive problems, according to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. Owners Glen Taylor, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are on board with that approach. The owners are also hoping to re-sign backup big man Naz Reid, who will be an unrestricted free agent. Reid has been hanging around the team’s practice facility since the season ended, a positive sign that he’d like to stay with the club.

Trade Rumors: T. Jones, Hawks, Spurs, Wolves, Jazz, Sexton

June 20th, 2023 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies are exploring the possibility of trading reserve point guard Tyus Jones, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

It’s an interesting rumor, given that starting point guard Ja Morant is expected to miss at least the first 25 games of the 2023/24 season due to a suspension. Jones, one of the league’s top backups, would presumably be promoted to the starting five if he remains in Memphis through the offseason, but apparently that’s not a given.

According to Fischer, with Dillon Brooks expected to move on in free agency, the Grizzlies are making it a priority to upgrade their wing depth. Fischer notes that the Spurs talked to Jones last summer before he re-signed with Memphis, but are probably unlikely to pursue him again this offseason after his brother Tre Jones emerged as San Antonio’s starter.

The Raptors (OG Anunoby) and the Clippers (several wings) are among the other teams that could make sense as destinations for Jones, Fischer writes, though Toronto may re-sign Fred VanVleet and has set a high asking price for Anunoby. Eric Gordon, Norman Powell, and Marcus Morris are among the veterans the Clippers could offer in a deal for Jones, according to Fischer, adding that Morris has been viewed as a trade candidate by rival teams since he fell out of the rotation near the end of last season.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, league sources have linked the Hawks to several teams in trade discussions, including the Celtics, Raptors, and Mavericks. O’Connor reiterates that Pascal Siakam is a player of interest for Atlanta, which Fischer previously reported.
There are rumblings that the Spurs are looking to acquire a second lottery selection in addition to their No. 1 pick, according to O’Connor, who wonders if the team might package its second-round picks (Nos. 33 and 44) with a “rising player” to try to move up. For what it’s worth, Spurs GM Brian Wright was asked if the team would consider moving Devin Vassell or Keldon Johnson in a deal for a first-round pick and said no, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. “With this team we want to see what we have,” Wright said. “We have a group that has worked really hard. Where they were last year may not be what they are in the future. We want to see how things blend together.”
The Timberwolves, who currently hold only the No. 53 pick in Thursday’s draft, have been making inquiries to see if they could get into the first round, but haven’t gained traction on a deal, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
As ESPN suggested earlier today, the Jazz have contacted the Pistons about the possibility of trading up to No. 5 in the draft using the Nos. 9 and 16 picks, according to Fischer. However, while ESPN’s report indicated that Jarace Walker may be Utah’s target, Fischer suggests rival teams think the Jazz are after Anthony Black.
The Jazz have made veteran guard Collin Sexton available in trade talks, sources tell Fischer. Sexton has three years and $54.5MM left on the contract he signed a year ago.