Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wolves Notes: Edwards, Anderson, Finances, Sale Date

February 29th, 2024 at 10:11am CST by Arthur Hill

After Anthony Edwards helped the Timberwolves beat Memphis by shutting down Jaren Jackson Jr. on Wednesday night, he told reporters he deserves a spot on the All-Defensive Team, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Jackson had 29 points midway through the third quarter when Edwards volunteered to guard him, even though he’s about six inches shorter than his World Cup teammate from last summer. Jackson was limited to four points the rest of the way as Minnesota rallied for the victory.

“They just got to watch the games because this is not my first time doing this,” Edwards said, referring to media members who will vote for All-Defensive honors. “I have nights like this all the time where somebody gets hot, their best player gets hot and I go shut ’em down the rest of the game.”

Edwards also sparked the offense with 17 points in the third quarter, Hine adds, bringing some energy on a night when the Wolves were mostly lifeless in a matchup with a sub-.500 team. Edwards, who played nearly 40 minutes despite turning his ankle in Tuesday’s game, said every victory is important to him.

“I come from winning 20 games my rookie year, so I don’t care how we win,” he said. “… If we win the game, I’m happy. I have nothing bad to say.”

There’s more from Minnesota:

Kyle Anderson sat out Wednesday’s contest with a sprained left knee, but coach Chris Finch is optimistic that it won’t be a long-term concern, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “I don’t know. It’s, I would say, more day to day,” Finch said. “I don’t think it’s super long, but you never know how these things respond over 48 hours.”
Success will be expensive for the Wolves, who are facing heavy tax bills and second-apron restrictions if they keep the current roster together, Keith Smith of Spotrac states in an overview of the team’s finances. They currently have nine players under contract for next season at a combined $183.7MM. Filling out the roster with five minimum-salary signings brings the total to $189.5MM, which is right at the second apron and $18.2MM above the tax line. If free agents Anderson and Monte Morris both re-sign for $10MM per season, Smith adds, the team salary will balloon past $207MM, which is higher than the Warriors or Clippers. Smith notes that the payroll will get even more expensive if Edwards receives All-NBA honors, which would increase of the first year of his new extension from 25% to 30% of the cap max, bumping it from $35.25MM to $42.3MM.
Owner Glen Taylor tells Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link) that the sale of the franchise to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez won’t be finalized today, which was originally the target date. Taylor said a new closing date will be set.

Devin Booker Expected To Play For Team USA In Olympics

February 28th, 2024 at 9:00pm CST by Rory Maher

After previously reporting that Jrue Holiday, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum are considered locks to be part of Team USA’s roster for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, at least as long as they remain healthy and interested, Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic have added a seventh player to that list: Suns star Devin Booker.

Booker, Holiday, Durant and Tatum were on the roster when the Americans won the gold medal in Tokyo in 2021.

USA Basketball isn’t expected to make a formal announcement about the roster until late April or early May, according to Charania and Vardon. Embiid is currently recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus, but sources tell The Athletic he remains committed to playing.

Four other players are considered “strong candidates” to join Team USA’s roster this summer as well, sources tell Charania and Vardon. That group features Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, Heat center Bam Adebayo and Lakers center Anthony Davis. During All-Star weekend, both Haliburton and Davis said they’d play if they were invited.

Adebayo was another member of the roster that won gold a few years ago.

If all four players make the cut, 11 spots on the 12-man roster would be filled, though a lot can happen between now and the beginning of July, when Team USA will hold its training camp before the Olympics open later that month.

Knicks Notes: DiVincenzo, Anunoby, Randle, Injuries

February 28th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves were a serious suitor for Donte DiVincenzo and had a real chance to sign him when he reached free agency last summer, league sources tell Fred Katz of The Athletic. DiVincenzo, who was also weighing “significant” offers from a few other teams in addition to the Knicks, reached out to former Warriors teammate Stephen Curry to ask his advice, according to Katz.

As Katz writes, DiVincenzo was leaning toward the Knicks and Curry helped him finalize that decision, confirming that New York would be a good fit for his skill set.

“Just looking at the depth chart and the role he could play, what they needed,” Curry said. “They were already a playoff team, starting to trend in the right direction. Then (there is) his familiarity with their players from college. That made it so he’d have the opportunity to go in and do exactly what he did for us. He’s a smart, high-IQ basketball player who plays defense.”

DiVincenzo, who said he would’ve liked to stay in Golden State if the Warriors had been in position to make a competitive offer, appreciated Curry’s input.

“I’m a grown man. I make my own decisions, but to have somebody of that stature to almost voice the opinion that I’m thinking — it makes you feel good about the decision you’re making, rather than if he says something way out of left field and you kind of start to question things,” DiVincenzo said. “… He reinforced what I was thinking about New York.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Ian Begley of SNY.tv checks in on several Knicks injuries, exploring where things stand for OG Anunoby (elbow), Julius Randle (shoulder), Jalen Brunson (neck), and Isaiah Hartenstein (Achilles). Begley thinks Anunoby will likely return to the court before Randle, barring setbacks, and suggests that mid-March is viewed as a realistic target for Anunoby.
Despite being hit hard by the injury bug in recent weeks, the Knicks aren’t griping about their bad luck, Josh Hart said on Tuesday after the team lost for the sixth time in its last eight games. “We’re not going to complain about injuries. … Whenever you go through adversity, you got two choices,” Hart said, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. “You got the first one to kind of face it head on. And don’t complain, just work. And then you have the other one that’s just go into a ball and complain and cry about it. So I don’t think that’s what anyone in this locker room is doing.”
There are two ways for the Knicks to silence the speculation about the possibility of a trade for a superstar, according to Andrew Crane of The New York Post (subscription required), who says the club could either make a trade for a star or continue to win without needing one. As Crane notes, if the Knicks can get healthy by the playoffs, the group that flashed its potential following the Anunoby addition in January – and has since added two more solid role players in Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks – will get a chance to show what it’s capable of this spring.
As we detailed in a separate story this afternoon, the Knicks’ protest of their February 12 loss was formally denied by the NBA, as expected.

And-Ones: Holiday, Team USA, Galloway, Top 2024 FAs

February 28th, 2024 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Celtics guard Jrue Holiday is expected to be a part of the Team USA roster that competes in the 2024 Olympics in Paris this summer, sources with knowledge of the situation tell Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic. According to The Athletic’s duo, there’s a belief that Holiday has made a commitment to USA Basketball officials in recent weeks.

Holiday is one of several players who are considered locks for the 12-man U.S. roster as long as they remain healthy and interested. Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, and Jayson Tatum also fall into that group, per Charania and Vardon.

Holiday holds a player option for the 2024/25 season, but he’ll become eligible to sign a long-term extension with the Celtics on April 1 (he’s technically extension-eligible already, but can only currently sign a short-term deal). Getting an extension done this spring would put the veteran guard in position to compete with Team USA this summer without having to worry about an unresolved contract situation.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Jaylin Galloway, a 21-year-old forward who played for the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League this season, is generating NBA interest and is a candidate to sign with a team before the end of the 2023/24 season, Marc Stein writes in his latest article at Substack. Galloway played in last July’s Las Vegas Summer League with the Timberwolves, who are one of many teams around the NBA with an open roster spot.
LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George sit atop a list of the top 25 free agents of 2024 compiled by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. James and George are considered likely to remain with their respective teams in Los Angeles, while Maxey will be a restricted free agent and will almost certainly sign a lucrative long-term deal with Philadelphia.
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic takes a look at the NBA’s new rule requiring players to appear in at least 65 games for award consideration, noting that it was a priority for the league ahead of negotiations for its next media rights deal. As Vorkunov writes, before the rule was implemented, at least one the NBA’s major television partners had expressed frustration to the NBA about star players sitting out marquee broadcasts.

Timberwolves’ Lloyd Among Hornets’ Front Office Candidates

February 28th, 2024 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves executive Matt Lloyd is among the “prime names” to watch as the Hornets seek a new head of basketball operations, Marc Stein reports in his latest article at Substack.

Lloyd is the senior vice president of basketball operations under Tim Connelly in Minnesota. He was one of Connelly’s first hires back in 2022 after having previously served in Orlando’s front office as an assistant general manager, interim GM, and VP of basketball operations. Lloyd also had a lengthy stint in the Bulls’ front office earlier in his career.

A report earlier this month indicated that Hornets president of basketball operations and general manager Mitch Kupchak would be moving into an advisory role with the franchise. While Kupchak continues to serve as the head of basketball operations while the team searches for his replacement, the expectations is that Charlotte will make a hire by the end of the regular season.

Stein also names Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon and Nets assistant GM Jeff Peterson as “prime” contenders for the Hornets job. Both Langdon and Peterson were identified as candidates in multiple previous reports, with Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer referring to Langdon as one of the potential frontrunners.

Langdon is the No. 2 executive in New Orleans’ front office under David Griffin and has been connected to other general manager jobs in the past. Langdon withdrew from the Kings’ front office search following some initial interest from Sacramento back in 2020 and interviewed for the Wizards’ top job in 2023.

According to Stein, the Nets are believed to have strong interest in retaining Peterson as a top lieutenant under Sean Marks and may offer him a promotion and/or a raise, which was previously reported. Peterson was in Atlanta’s front office when one of the new Hornets co-owners, Rick Schnall, was part of the Hawks’ ownership group.

Sixers general manager Elton Brand was named as another possible frontrunner for the Hornets’ position, but a report two weeks ago indicated that he would remain in Philadelphia rather than pursuing the top job in Charlotte.

Northwest Notes: Conley, George, Blazers, Nuggets

February 23rd, 2024 at 10:43pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley will earn $9,975,962 in 2024/25 followed by $10,774,038 in ’25/26 as part of his new two-year extension, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). It’s a straight two-year contract with no options, and Conley can’t be traded for six months due to the 8% raise in year two of the extension, Marks adds.

Appearing on NBA Countdown, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said (Twitter video link) Conley initially wasn’t thrilled that Utah sent him to Minnesota at last year’s deadline, having instead hoped to land with the Lakers or Clippers. However, he and his family now love the area and he was enthusiastic about staying with the Wolves.

In a story for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton writes that Conley’s extension looks like a win for the Wolves on the court and off, even though they’re almost certain to be a second apron team in 2024/25. Pelton says the No. 1 seed in the West is well worth spending money on. Minnesota has only paid the tax once in franchise history, but Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are set to become majority stakeholders next season.

Pelton also examines Minnesota’s free agents this summer and ways in which the team could trim payroll, which seems unlikely barring an unforeseen development.

Here’s more from the Northwest:

Jazz guard Keyonte George, the 16th pick of last year’s draft, spent the summer watching all 82 of Utah’s games from 2022/23 to prepare for his rookie campaign, he tells Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports. “I watched as much film as I could just so I knew what my role was going to be coming in,” George said. “I knew Mike (Conley) was gone, so I just had to go into a new situation, trying to be a lead guard, and I was trying to speed up the process. My main goal was to be effective as soon as possible so I wanted to put myself in a position to be knowledgeable and not think about what I was doing in a new system and just play.” Known as more of scorer coming out of Baylor, George knew facilitating would be key to NBA minutes. He says he continues to study other players to gain an edge. “As the year has gone on, I’ve felt way more comfortable and my shot is starting to fall,” George added. “Definitely the game is slowing down for me. I’ve been watching games around the league and seeing how other guards get to their spots and just trying to figure out my spots and my shot selection.”
The Trail Blazers have reached a five-year “bridge agreement” with the city of Portland that will keep the team in the Moda Center through at least 2030, with the current lease expiring in 2025, per Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. The Blazers own the arena but the city leases the land. President of business operations Dewayne Hankins said the move will keep the team in Portland and owner Jody Allen has instructed the Blazers to get a long-term deal done with the city.
The Nuggets are 25-8 with all five starters active but just 12-11 when at least one player from the group is unavailable. With that in mind, head coach Michael Malone says he’s more focused on repeating as NBA champions instead of angling for the West’s top seed, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes. “For me, (the top seed) is not a top one or two priority, to be very honest,” Malone said. “We talked about that with our team today. The good thing is Minnesota is No. 1. We play them three more times. We’re three games out (of first place). So we have avenues to become the No. 1 team. It’s definitely attainable. But I don’t want to win that battle and lose the bigger war. … I think having home court in the first round is very, very important. I think having a healthy team going into the postseason is very important. And if we happen to be the No. 1 seed, that’s just a cherry on top. But we’re not gonna put all our cards in just to attain that and to risk being healthy for a very deep playoff run.”

Mike Conley Signs Two-Year Extension With Timberwolves

February 23rd, 2024 at 9:10am CST by Rory Maher

FEBRUARY 23: Conley’s extension with the Timberwolves is now official, the team announced today in a press release.

FEBRUARY 19: Veteran point guard Mike Conley has agreed to a two-year, $21MM extension with the Timberwolves, agents Steven Heumann and Jess Holtz tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Conley, 36, is earning $24.4MM this season in the final year of his current contract. He would have been Minnesota’s biggest free agent this summer, but inking a two-year extension will keep him off the open market.

Shams Charania of The Athletic hears Conley’s extension is worth $22MM (Twitter link), so we’ll have to wait for more details to learn his exact cap hits for 2024/25 and 2025/26. Either way, it sounds like he won’t hit free agency until 2026, when he’ll be 38.

Conley has started all 50 of his games for the Wolves in ’23/24 and has been a key leader for the No. 1 seed in the West. In 28.9 minutes per night, he has averaged 10.6 PPG, 6.4 APG, 2.9 RPG and 1.0 SPG. In his 17th NBA season, Conley is posting career-high marks from three-point range (44.2%) and the free throw line (92.3%).

According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), Minnesota’s front office has been trying to work out a deal for Conley for several weeks, and obviously the interest was mutual. His new extension is similar to the one Al Horford signed with Boston in December 2022 (two years, $19.5MM).

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (Twitter links), the Wolves project to be over the second tax apron in ’24/25, with their entire starting lineup under contract. The other four starters are Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.

Northwest Notes: Conley, Towns, Finch, Reath, Jazz

February 22nd, 2024 at 10:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mike Conley, who agreed to a two-year, $21MM contract extension to remain with the Timberwolves, likely could have gotten a more lucrative deal in the open market, but he’s happy to be the floor leader of a prime contender, he told Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

“This organization is headed in the right direction,” said Conley, who is still seeking his first championship. “It’s got good people leading the way, people with great intentions and are trying to build a team that can compete for years to come. Give fans something to be excited about. So, organizations like this you don’t want to pass up on.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

A phone call between Karl-Anthony Towns and Chris Finch just after Finch was hired during the 2020/21 season established a bond that had fostered the Timberwolves‘ resurgence, as both Hine and The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski write. “That was not lost on me at the moment, and it’s never been lost on me,” Finch said. “It’s been everything for the relationship. It points to really what a great person he is in terms of — he’s referred to himself as a servant leader. That’s what servant leadership is about. It’s what can you do to make those people around you, their experiences, better or easier? He paved the way for me in that regard.”
Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups is thrilled that Duop Reath was promoted from a two-way deal to a standard three-year contract. “I just love to see people get what they deserve,” Billups told Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report. “That was maybe the most happy thing that happened over the break, was being able to talk to him. He’s just so grateful and so thankful. That’s what this thing is really all about—to be able to bring somebody in who’s trying to make the league, bring him into Summer League and have him grow to a level where he’s getting an actual NBA contract is unbelievable.” Reath has a $4MM guarantee through next season and could make as much as $6.22MM through the life of the contract, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
The Jazz came close to trading for an impact player, The Athletic’s Tony Jones said on the Jackpotting Around Jazz Podcast (Twitter link). Jones didn’t name the “really good player” Utah was pursuing, but did say it wasn’t Dejounte Murray.

Timberwolves Sign Justin Jackson To 10-Day Deal

February 22nd, 2024 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 22: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

FEBRUARY 21: The Timberwolves have agreed to sign former first-round pick Justin Jackson to a 10-day contract, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 15th overall pick in 2017, Jackson has appeared in 278 total regular season games for the Kings, Mavericks, Thunder, Bucks, Celtics, and Suns across six seasons in the NBA. However, he has been out of the league for over a year, having been waived by Oklahoma City last February after being sent from Boston to OKC in exchange for Mike Muscala at the trade deadline.

Jackson has spent the 2023/24 season playing for the Texas Legends, Dallas’ G League affiliate. In 35 games for the Legends, he has averaged 19.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 34.6 minutes per contest, with an excellent shooting line of .480/.427/.868.

Minnesota had been carrying 13 players on standard contracts since this season’s February 8 trade deadline and had until Thursday to fill at least one of the two openings on its roster, as we outlined over the weekend. Unless the Wolves make a second addition to their roster, they’ll find themselves in a similar situation once Jackson’s 10-day contract expires, with up to two weeks to re-add a 14th man.

Jackson will earn $145,301 over the course of his 10-day deal, while the Wolves take on a cap hit of $116,075. The contract will cover the team’s next five games, starting on Friday vs. Milwaukee.

With Jackson’s 10-day deal on their books, the Wolves are now $1.4MM below the luxury tax line, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That will be a consideration as Minnesota manages its roster during the season’s final weeks, since the organization won’t want to become a taxpayer.

Western Notes: Conley, Beal, Curry, Jokic

February 19th, 2024 at 10:50pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Timberwolves guard Mike Conley, who agreed to a contract extension on Monday, doesn’t meet the criteria for a full no-trade clause. As explained in our glossary, in order for a player to receive a no-trade clause, he must be signing a free agent contract and not an extension, must have at least eight years of NBA experience and must have spent at least four years with the team he is signing with. Conley isn’t signing a free agent contract and hasn’t spent four years in Minnesota, so he doesn’t qualify.

Suns guard Bradley Beal remains the only player in the NBA with a full no-trade clause.

Darren Wolfson of SKOR News and 5 Eyewitness News observes (Twitter link) that while Conley doesn’t qualify for a no-trade clause, he likely received assurances he wouldn’t be dealt, which possibly helped extension talks move forward.

Relatedly, The Star Tribune’s Chris Hine (Twitter link) hears that Conley’s exact extension number comes in at $20.75MM over two years. Conflicting reports Thursday indicated differing values, though it’s possible the deal includes incentives.

We have more notes from the Western Conference:

Beal underwent a procedure on his broken nose, according to Duane Rankin of Arizona Republic. He suffered the break in the second half of the Suns‘ January 16 game against Indiana. According to Rankin, Beal is on track to return Thursday in Phoenix’s first game out of the All-Star break against Dallas. Beal is averaging 18.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 30 games (all starts) with the Suns this season.
Warriors superstar Stephen Curry indicated he’s nowhere near retiring. “Eventually, your body will tell you when it’s time, but I don’t think I’m anywhere close to that,” Curry said (Twitter link via Yahoo Sports’ Ben Rohrbach). Curry, 35, is averaging 28.0 points per game while connecting on an absurd 42.1% of his 12.0 three-point attempts. Still, he told ESPN’s Malika Andrews (Twitter link) his 10th All-Star appearance made him contemplate the future. “This isn’t going to be around forever,” Curry said. “... I think the lesson I’ve learned is not to put any limitations on it, but approach every year like this could be the last year.“
Even though he’s arguably the best basketball player in the world and was the only defending champion on either All-Star team, Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic is still OK with being overlooked when compared to his peers, writes The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando. “I’m not the face of the NBA,” Jokic said.