Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

International Notes: Anderson, Embiid, Bacon, Stephenson

April 29th, 2023 at 2:53pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves forward Kyle Anderson is considered likely to be naturalized in time to play for the Chinese national team during this summer’s World Cup, sources tell Mike Chan of The South China Morning Post.

As Chan writes, Anderson’s maternal great-grandfather was born in China, making him one-eighth Chinese. Last summer, Anderson and his mother reconnected with some of their long-lost Chinese relatives in a village in Shenzhen.

There’s a catch, however: According to Chinese law, Anderson would have to renounce his United States citizenship to become naturalized in China, as the country doesn’t allow dual citizenship. Anderson did not respond to Chan’s request for comment and was noncommittal about his decision at the end of the season.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

On the other hand, it seems unlikely that Sixers center Joel Embiid will compete in the 2023 World Cup, at least for France, according to French outlet L’Equipe. “Joel hasn’t made a decision, but it seems difficult for him to be able to play this summer,” French national team head coach Vincent Collet said (hat tip to Eurohoops). “But that does not call into question the fact that he can play with us next year. He is going to get married this summer, and it really falls into the wrong period, during the preparation of all the teams.” As Eurohoops notes, Embiid is a citizen of three different countries: his native Cameroon, France, and the U.S.
Panathinaikos, a Greek club that competes in the EuroLeague, is expected to part ways with former NBA player Dwayne Bacon after he was suspended two games for disciplinary reasons, according to Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops (Twitter link). Bacon, 27, played for AS Monaco last season. The former second-round pick’s last NBA campaign was in 2020/21 with Orlando.
Veteran guard Lance Stephenson has signed with Puerto Rican side Leones de Ponce, the team announced in a press release. Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files was the first to report the news. Stephenson finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and four assists in his debut Friday night, Agness writes. The 32-year-old played 46 games for the Hawks and Pacers last season, but an NBA opportunity for ’22/23 didn’t materialize.

Knicks Notes: Towns, Randle, Grimes, Hart

April 28th, 2023 at 2:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks are expected to be aggressive in trying to add talent this summer and could be a leading contender if the Timberwolves decide to trade Karl-Anthony Towns, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy. A league source told Deveney that Towns would have interest in going to New York and speculated that it’s just a matter of time before the Knicks try to make it happen.

Deveney points out that Towns already has ties to the organization in team president Leon Rose, who is his former agent, and head coach Tom Thibodeau, who coached Towns for two and a half seasons in Minnesota. The Wolves’ early playoff exit, combined with New York’s surge into the Eastern Conference semifinals, creates even more motivation for the move to happen, Deveney adds.

Towns has one more season before his four-year, $224MM super-max extension kicks in, which will place a tremendous strain on the Wolves’ finances. Trading him might be the best option for avoiding the strictest provisions of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“No matter the success this year, the Knicks are going to keep being aggressive,” an Eastern Conference executive told Deveney. “So you’d want to start with RJ Barrett there. But you can send (Obi) Toppin, you can send (Quentin) Grimes, (Miles) McBride. They do not want to trade (Immanuel) Quickley but if the target is Towns, maybe they would change that. You’d play Towns at the 5 if you were New York so they’d probably have Mitchell Robinson in the deal, and he could go to a third team. A lot of possibilities and Minnesota might be a better team by putting it all on (Anthony) Edwards and getting the right pieces from that mix.”

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No timetable has been set for a return by Julius Randle, who reinjured his left ankle in Wednesday’s game, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Thibodeau said Randle was limited in Friday’s practice to shooting, lifting weights and doing cardio work in the pool. He’s considered day-to-day ahead of the start of New York’s second-round series with Miami on Sunday afternoon.
Grimes, who missed the past two games with a right shoulder contusion, is optimistic that he’ll be ready for the series opener (video link from SNY.tv).
The Knicks and Heat have been through some legendary playoff battles, but Josh Hart said that won’t have any effect this year’s series (video link). “It was 23, 27 years ago,” Hart told reporters. “Most of our guys weren’t even born yet. For us, those are the war stories of the past. We’ve got our own path.”

Wolves Notes: Edwards, McDaniels, Reid, Gobert, Finch, Connelly

April 27th, 2023 at 2:41pm CST by Rory Maher

As former first-round picks entering their fourth seasons, Timberwolves wings Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels will be eligible for rookie scale extensions this summer. President of basketball operations Tim Connelly didn’t hesitate when asked if the team would commit to the two young players, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

When the Wolves are permitted to have extension discussions with Edwards and McDaniels, both players will have “really, really nice offers with a lot of money in their inbox,” Connelly said.

Edwards is highly likely to receive a rookie scale max extension after emerging as the team’s best player in 2022/23, while McDaniels could potentially get a nine-figure offer himself — particularly with the addition of a fifth year on non-max rookie extensions — following a career season.

Here’s more on the Wolves:

Edwards’ attorney released a statement saying the guard intends to fight the “baseless” assault charges he’s facing in Denver, Hine writes for The Star Tribune. “With the game over, Anthony’s exit from the court was partially obstructed by a chair, which he moved and set down three steps later,” attorney Harvey Steinberg said via Klutch Sports, Edwards’ agency. “As video of the incident confirms, Anthony did not swing the chair at anyone and of course did not intend to hurt anyone. Despite these innocent facts, the Denver Police Department inexplicably chose to charge Anthony with two counts of misdemeanor assault. Anthony intends to vigorously defend against these baseless charges.”
Both Connelly and head coach Chris Finch said that bringing back reserve big man Naz Reid will be a top priority for the Wolves, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). Reid will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension. The 23-year-old averaged career highs in points per game (11.5), rebounds (4.9) and field goal percentage (53.7%), but missed the end of the regular season and postseason after fracturing his left wrist, which required surgery.
Center Rudy Gobert has been a mainstay for the French national team in international play, but he says he’s not sure if he’ll compete in the World Cup, which starts in late August, per Krawczynski (Twitter link). The three-time Defensive Player of the Year added that he wants to “come back like I want to have the best year of my career next season. I know that this summer I’m going to put myself in position that I’ve never put myself in before.”
It certainly sounds like Finch’s job will be safe entering next season, as Connelly called the coach and his staff “elite,” tweets Krawczynski. As for the rumors linking Connelly to the Wizards‘ front office opening, he says he’s “pretty committed to the Minnesota Timberwolves right now” and is focused on advancing in the playoffs and building for the future (Twitter video link via SneakerReporter, who covers the Wolves).

Anthony Edwards Faces Assault Charges After Game 5 Loss

April 26th, 2023 at 6:04pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards faces assault charges after missing a potential game-tying shot to conclude Tuesday’s Game 5 loss in Denver, which eliminated Minnesota from the playoffs, multiple sources tell Jake Shapiro of DenverSports.com.

After sprinting off the court into the tunnel following the game, Edwards allegedly picked up a folding chair and swung it, hitting a female security guard and a second female employee, per Shapiro. Both women were reportedly injured and asked to file charges, though neither injury was serious.

The Denver Police Department confirmed that they were called to the scene and cited Edwards for two counts of third-degree assault, according to Shapiro.

The Wolves’ team bus was held up by police after the game in order to cite Edwards, a source tells Shapiro. Part of the alleged incident appears to be shown at 21 seconds into the following clip taken from NBA TV (Twitter video link).

As Shapiro writes, in Colorado third-degree assault carries a potential jail punishment of up to 18 months and/or a fine of up to $1,000. It is a class-one misdemeanor. According to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune, Edwards is due to appear in a Denver court on June 9.

The Timberwolves released a statement regarding the incident.

“We are aware of the alleged incident regarding Anthony Edwards following Game 5 in Denver and are in the process of gathering more information. We have no further comment at this moment.”

Timberwolves Notes: Gobert, Towns, Edwards, McDaniels, Free Agents

April 26th, 2023 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves‘ experiment of playing two big men together has been questioned ever since Rudy Gobert was acquired from Utah last summer to team with Karl-Anthony Towns. Even though Minnesota was eliminated from the playoffs in five games, coach Chris Finch‘s comments show that the organization is committed to making the pairing successful, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

“They’re both really incredibly good basketball players,” Finch said after Tuesday’s Game 5 loss. “With the skill level that KAT has, for sure, there’s no reason basketball-wise that it shouldn’t work. There’s a lot of things we can talk about about why the learning curve was so steep for it. But the most important thing is we have a big enough body of work, I think we can properly evaluate it. I still remain extremely confident we’re able to maximize those guys.”

Finch indicated that he’ll consider changes to the offense this summer, and Krawczynski notes that Towns and Gobert will have an opportunity to work together during the offseason. Towns had an illness at the start of training camp and missed 52 games during the season with a calf injury, so their acclimation process was interrupted.

Krawczynski observes that the Wolves took a step backward in rebounding despite having two natural centers in their starting lineup. He states that being outrebounded in last year’s playoffs prompted the deal for Gobert, but Minnesota fell to 27th in rebounding percentage this season after finishing 21st last year.

“It’s going to take a lot better habits from our perimeter players boxing out, to be quite honest with you,” Finch said of the rebounding issue. “It has to be a big point of emphasis.”

There’s more on the Timberwolves:

An extension for Anthony Edwards will be among the team’s offseason priorities, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link). The All-Star guard is eligible for a five-year deal worth a projected $207MM, but that could rise to $249MM if he makes an All-NBA team. Marks points out that a maximum-salary extension for Edwards would make Minnesota the only team with three max players when it kicks in during the 2024/25 season. The Wolves will also consider a rookie scale extension for forward Jaden McDaniels, who is considered a candidate to make an All-Defensive team, Marks adds.
Trade speculation surrounding Towns, whose four-year, $224MM super-max extension takes effect in 2024/25, could get much louder over the next year, per Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype. Towns will become trade-eligible in July, and Gozlan points out that he’s a logical trade option if the Wolves want to keep Edwards and McDaniels and there’s no market for Gobert.
The Timberwolves may find it too expensive to keep both Naz Reid and Jaylen Nowell in free agency, Gozlan adds. He expects Reid to get offers for the full mid-level exception, which is projected to be $52.5MM over four years.

Alexander-Walker Hopes To Re-Sign With Wolves

April 25th, 2023 at 8:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nickeil Alexander-Walker was basically a throw-in to the deal that brought Mike Conley to the Timberwolves in February but he has emerged as a playoff starter, Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes.

Alexander-Walker moved into a more prominent role after Jaden McDaniels broke his hand during the regular season finale. Alexander-Walker has shadowed Jamal Murray during a portion of the series against the Nuggets and contributed a couple of key three-pointers in Game 4. He’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and hopes to stay with the Timberwolves.

“They gave me a chance,” he said of the Timberwolves. “I’ve been working very, very hard, relentlessly and sometimes I’m too hard on myself, for an opportunity. So for me to get that, I would love to come back. I believe in this group. Believe that we can figure it out together and do something special.”

Anthony Edwards carried the Timberwolves to an overtime victory in Game 4 with 34 points but he wasn’t impressed with himself, ESPN’s Andrew Lopez relays. “I played terrible if you ask me,” Edwards said. “I took three bad threes, three terrible possessions, and I (darn) near shot us out the game. I didn’t play that good.”

Injury Updates: Anderson, Leonard, George, Fox, Embiid

April 24th, 2023 at 10:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward Kyle Anderson has been ruled out by the Timberwolves for Game 5 of the first-round series against the Nuggets on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets.

Anderson suffered an eye injury on Sunday when he was struck by teammate Anthony Edwards as the two Timberwolves teammates defended a dunk attempt by DeAndre Jordan. Anderson is averaging 8.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds in the series, which Denver leads 3-1.

We have more injury-related news:

The Clippers will be without both of their superstars again for Game 5. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have been ruled for Tuesday’s game as their team faces elimination against the Suns, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets. Leonard received treatment on his sprained right knee on Monday but didn’t practice, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
While Kings star guard De’Aaron Fox was initially considered doubtful for Wednesday’s game against the Warriors due to a fractured index finger on his left hand, there is internal optimism that Fox will try to play, Sam Amick and Shams Charania of The Athletic report. The medical staff will try to figure out if it’s feasible for Fox to play with the injury, which is on his shooting hand. The Kings have confirmed Fox has an avulsion fracture, Marc Stein tweets.
Joel Embiid‘s status for the second-round series remains unclear as he tries to recover from a sprained LCL in his right knee. “I’m told he’s doing better and he’s moving around better,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said on the NBA Today show (video link) regarding the Sixers’ center. “The swelling has subsided … (but) you’re not going to push it with something like that.”

Timberwolves Notes: Edwards, Alexander-Walker, Murray, Nuggets

April 23rd, 2023 at 4:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With his team trailing the top-seeded Nuggets 3-0, All-Star Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards is dealing with the kind of postseason tribulations all developing young stars seem destined to endure, opines Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Though no team in league history has rallied to win a series from this deficit, Edwards remains unshakably confident.

“This series is not over,” Edwards said. “It’s the first to four, not to three. I promise you it ain’t over. Everyone’s counting us out. It ain’t over. I promise you.”

Krawczysnki notes that Edwards occasionally has tried to take on a bit too much of his team’s scoring load in an effort to salvage the series, but has also shown flashes that suggest he could be one of the few special stars capable of one day being able to lead the Timberwolves to playoff glory.

Through the series’ first three contests, the 6’4″ swingman is averaging 31.7 PPG on .500/.400/.862 shooting splits. He has also added 4.7 APG, 3.7 RPG, 2.3 SPG, and 1.7 BPG.

There’s more out of Minnesota:

Reserve Timberwolves shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, eligible for restricted free agent this summer, is hopeful that he can stick around with Minnesota long-term, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (via Twitter). “I would [like to return to the Timberwolves next year],” Alexander-Walker said. “I’m grateful for Minnesota, grateful for [head coach Chris] Finch and the head office. They gave me a chance… I believe in this group. Believe that we can figure it out together and do something special.” The 6’6″ wing out of Virginia Tech was traded to Minnesota by the Jazz midway through the season. In 23 regular season games with the Timberwolves, he averaged 5.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG and 1.4 APG.
The Timberwolves are facing off against a star talent they could have selected in the 2016 draft, a decision they doubtlessly regret now, writes Aaron Lavinsky of The Star Tribune. Jamal Murray – along with MVP candidate Nikola Jokic – is the key offensive contributor for the Nuggets that has put Minnesota in dire straights. As Lavinsky details, Murray’s head coach at Kentucky, John Calipari, personally encouraged then-head coach and team president Tom Thibodeau to draft Murray with the team’s fifth pick, but Thibodeau was locked in on then-Providence point guard Kris Dunn. Dunn was briefly out of the NBA before signing with Utah this season, while Murray is a borderline All-Star.
Today, the Timberwolves will try to begin an uphill battle to save their season against the West’s top-seeded Nuggets, writes Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune. The team is trying to be more granular in its approach to this playoff series. Accordingly, Minnesota is striving to move forward one game at a time, starting with staving off elimination at home this evening.

Southeast Notes: Young, Murray, Wizards, Bridges, Love

April 22nd, 2023 at 6:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks still face long odds in their first-round series with the Celtics, but they have to be encouraged by the way Trae Young and Dejounte Murray played together Friday night, writes Jeff Schultz of The Athletic. Atlanta avoided a 3-0 deficit as the backcourt combination turned in one of its best games since Murray was acquired last summer. They combined for 57 points in the Game 3 victory, with 38 of those coming in the second half.

“At one point, I was just like, I should just keep quiet and let them do it,” coach Quin Snyder said. “They had some isolation situations where they created for themselves and for other guys, and a lot of that was them just figuring it out. People feed off that.”

Schultz notes that there have been questions about whether they can be effective together ever since the Hawks sent three first-round picks and other assets to the Spurs in exchange for Murray. Former general manager and team president Travis Schlenk reportedly didn’t support the deal, and the results hadn’t been positive during a 41-41 season.

A recent report indicated Atlanta will consider trading Young this summer, but Schultz states that Friday’s performance may show that he and Murray can find a way to make things work.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Wizards may dream about landing a big name like Raptors president Masai Ujiri or Warriors general manager Bob Myers to replace fired GM Tommy Sheppard, but they’re better off pursuing someone who has succeeded in building a team in a mid-level market, contends Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. She names Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon, Knicks GM Scott Perry, Bucks assistant GM Milt Newton and Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly as potential targets.
The NBA was too lenient with former Hornets forward Miles Bridges when it agreed to reduce his 30-game suspension to 10 games for next season, argues David Aldridge of The Athletic. Aldridge disagrees with the league’s reasoning that Bridges would have served 20 games of that suspension if he had signed with a team this year and notes that the CBA gives commissioner Adam Silver the power to invoke a harsher penalty under its “misconduct” section.
Kevin Love is back in the Heat‘s starting lineup for tonight’s Game 3 against the Bucks, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Chiang observes that the new starting five of Love, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo has only played together for two minutes in the series and 13 minutes during the regular season.

Wizards May Inquire About Tim Connelly

April 19th, 2023 at 9:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said the team will replace general manager and president Tommy Sheppard with “an executive from outside the organization,” per Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Robbins expects the team to check on the availability of Raptors vice chairman and president Masai Ujiri and Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly. Robbins points out that Connelly is originally from Baltimore and broke into the NBA as an intern with the Wizards in 1996.