Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wolves Notes: Beverley, Play-In Win, Gupta, Offseason

April 13th, 2022 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley told reporters after Tuesday’s game vs. the Clippers that it was extra special to clinch a spot in the playoffs by beating his former team. Beverley was a Clipper from 2017-21 but wasn’t happy with the extension offer he received from the club last offseason and was eventually traded, initially to Memphis, then to Minnesota.

“I gave my blood and sweat and tears to that organization,” Beverley said, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “You guys know the story. Blood, sweat and tears, to just be written off like that, ‘He’s injury-prone. He’s old.’ This, this, that, that. To be able to come here and play them in a play-in and beat their ass, no other feeling, man. No other feeling.”

The Clippers, who will have one more chance to secure a playoff spot on Friday, remain fond of Beverley and miss him, as Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times writes. Clippers star Paul George said after Tuesday’s loss that it was obvious Beverley’s “energy and his persona” had rubbed off on his Timberwolves teammates.

“I know what it was coming into this game. I wasn’t going to allow Pat to do his antics and try to get me flustered,” George said. “I knew it’s all for show. It’s for the crowd. Gets the crowd involved. I love it. I love it. I miss it. He did it on our side because it’s contagious. I think when he’s in that mode, it ignites the team, ignites the arena. You need energy guys like that.”

Here’s more on the Wolves, who are ticketed for a first-round matchup with the No. 2 Grizzlies:

Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at a November 5 team meeting – led by Beverley and dubbed a “monumental moment” by Karl-Anthony Towns – that Timberwolves players view as a turning point in their season. As Krawczynski details, Beverley directly asked each player in the locker room about their role on the team. “Guys looked around, and we were kind of uncomfortable at first,” Jaylen Nowell said. “We never really had that type of situation, that type of vet that did that.”
While Sachin Gupta remains the Timberwolves’ head of basketball operations, he still has an interim title for now, as team ownership has yet to announce who will hold that job on a permanent basis, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. For what it’s worth, Gupta received a glowing review from newly-extended head coach Chris Finch on Monday. “He’s a good person,” Finch said. “We’re philosophically aligned. We trust each other. We don’t try to do each other’s jobs. He’s got a very appropriate presence around the team. He’s done a really good job of bringing stability, great energy to the whole building.”
The Timberwolves’ core pieces are in place and their 2022 playoff berth shows they’re on the right track, but they still have a ways to go before they can be considered legitimate title contenders, says John Hollinger of The Athletic. In Hollinger’s view, improving the forward spots should be the top item on Gupta’s offseason to-do list, and the club should be willing to trade a draft pick or two if necessary to make it happen.

Heat Notes: Adebayo, Butler, Strus, Haslem, Oladipo

April 13th, 2022 at 11:10am CST by Luke Adams

More than three years before Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler led the Heat to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference this season, they were almost traded for one another, Adebayo said during a recent appearance on J.J. Redick’s Old Man and the Three podcast.

According to Adebayo, his name came up in trade talks in 2018 when the Heat were exploring the possibility of acquiring Butler from the Timberwolves.

“You heard the Minnesota situation,” Adebayo told Redick, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “And it’s crazy, because I almost got traded for Jimmy, to Minnesota. … (team president) Pat (Riley) wouldn’t trade me. Like he was, ‘Nah, I see something good in this kid.’ Yadda, yadda, yadda. And, at that point, I’m sweating bullets. Like, I’m not trying to be traded. I like it in Miami. It’s warm. I kind of got my feet wet. I’m familiar with the place.”

According to Winderman, the Heat’s offer to Minnesota in 2018 ended up revolving around Josh Richardson, Dion Waiters, and draft picks. The Wolves instead sent Butler to the Sixers, who flipped the veteran swingman to Miami less than a year later in a sign-and-trade deal involving Richardson.

Here’s more on the Heat:

In an interview with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Heat wing Max Strus discussed his recovery from a 2019 ACL tear, his experience in Miami, and his long-term career goals. Strus – who is under contract with the Heat for one more season before becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2023 – said he’s taking things year by year but would “love to be here” long-term. “I think it’s been great for my career, and I think I’m a good fit for the Heat and what we do here,” he said. “I try not to get too caught up in that because you never know what’s going to happen.”
While the March 23 sideline spat involving Jimmy Butler, Udonis Haslem, and head coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t look good, the Heat were able to quickly move past that incident and have no regrets, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I could have been a little more cool-headed,” Haslem said on Cari Champion’s podcast. “Jimmy could have been a little more cool-headed. But I don’t think neither one of us regret that situation. Because you look at the type of basketball we’re playing now. A couple of days later, we were back drinking wine together.”
After returning to the court last month following a long recovery from quad surgery, Victor Oladipo appeared in just eight of the Heat’s last 17 games and only played 20 or more minutes three times. However, he showed just how valuable he can be by averaging 30.5 points on 60.6% shooting in his final two games. As Winderman writes in another Sun Sentinel article, the Heat will face a tough decision on how and when to insert Oladipo into a crowded rotation for the postseason. “I don’t have no control with that,” the two-time All-Star said. “If my number is called, I’ll be ready.”

Patrick Beverley Fined $25K By NBA

April 12th, 2022 at 7:29pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA has fined Timberwolves starting point guard Patrick Beverley $25K as a result of “improper conduct” toward a referee during the final seconds of Minnesota’s final game of the 2021/22 regular season, the league announced in a press statement (via Twitter).

As a result of his conduct during the end of the club’s eventual 124-120 loss to the Bulls on Sunday, Beverley was assessed a technical foul and ejected from the contest.

Beverley and the 46-36 Timberwolves are set to face off against the veteran guard’s previous team, the 42-40 Clippers, tonight in a play-in contest to determine who will become the No. 7 in the West and face the Grizzlies in the first round of the 2022 playoffs. Beverley had a well-traveled 2021 offseason. L.A. initially traded the 6’1″ vet to the Grizzlies, who then rerouted him to Minnesota.

In his first year with the Timberwolves, Beverley enjoyed a resurgent season. A starter in 54 of his 58 games, the 33-year-old averaged 9.2 PPG, 4.6 APG, 4.1 RPG, 1.2 SPG and 0.9 BPG, with a shooting line of .406/.343/.722.

Taurean Prince Unavailable For First Play-In Game

April 12th, 2022 at 6:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Timberwolves reserve forward Taurean Prince will miss Minnesota’s play-in game on Tuesday against the Clippers, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). Prince is struggling with right knee inflammation.

In 69 regular season games, Prince averaged 7.3 PPG and 2.5 RPG across 17.1 MPG during his first year with the Timberwolves. The 28-year-old boasts shooting splits of .454/.376/.756 this year. In the absence of Prince, 6’9″ power forward Jaden McDaniels may see an uptick in his minutes off Minnesota’s bench.

Sporting a 46-36 regular season record, the Timberwolves enter the play-in tournament as the No. 7 seed and will be fighting L.A. for the right to play the second-seeded Grizzlies in the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs. The loser of tonight’s meeting will play the victor of tomorrow’s play-in game between the Pelicans and Spurs for the West’s eighth seed.

Gupta Thrilled To Keep Finch Long-Term

April 11th, 2022 at 7:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch signed a multi-year extension on Monday and the team’s top executive was glad to lock him up long-term, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. “He’s just a joy to work with,” executive VP of basketball operations Sachin Gupta said. “I think the results on the floor are clear, just the drastic improvement from last year to this year, with really little change to the roster. I think he and his whole staff deserve a ton of credit for that.” Finch said, “I feel like there’s a pathway we can see to keep getting better and better. I’m just really excited to be able to say that these guys believe in what I’m doing.”

Poll: Tuesday’s NBA Play-In Games

April 11th, 2022 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

A year ago, the NBA scheduled its first two Eastern Conference play-in games for the Tuesday after the regular season ended, with both the Western Conference games taking place on the Wednesday.

The league has tweaked that schedule this time around — Tuesday’s slate of games will feature one from each conference, with the Nos. 7 and 8 teams all in action. The Nos. 9 and 10 teams in both conferences will play on Wednesday.

That means we’ll know by the end of the night on Tuesday which two teams will claim the No. 7 playoff seeds, securing first-round matchups against the Celtics in the East and the Grizzlies in the West.

The Nets are eight-point favorites over the Cavaliers in the first of Tuesday’s play-in games, according to BetOnline.ag, and for good reason. The game will be played in Brooklyn, where Kyrie Irving is now eligible to play despite not having received a COVID-19 vaccine. And after a strong start to the season, Cleveland didn’t play well down the stretch, posting a 9-16 record since the All-Star break.

Injuries will also be a factor in this game. Irving and Kevin Durant are both healthy, which is more than can be said about the Cavs’ All-Stars. While Darius Garland is good to go, center Jarrett Allen continues to battle a fractured finger and there’s pessimism he’ll be available on Tuesday. Ben Simmons and Joe Harris will be sidelined for Brooklyn, but the Nets have gotten used to playing without those guys — Harris hasn’t played since mid-November and Simmons has yet to make his Nets debut.

Over in the West, the Timberwolves will host the Clippers after finishing four games ahead of them during the regular season. Still, BetOnline.ag only lists Minnesota as a three-point favorite for the time being.

The Clippers are getting healthy at the right time, which is one reason why they’re viewed as a candidate to make a little noise in the postseason. Kawhi Leonard continues to recover from his ACL surgery, but Paul George has been back in the lineup since late March and Norman Powell returned last week.

Winning in Minnesota will be a tall order for L.A. though. The Wolves have been one of the NBA’s most dangerous teams since the new year, having gone 30-16 following a 16-20 start to the season. The trio of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and D’Angelo Russell has been tough to stop on offense, while Patrick Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt helped anchor an above-average defense.

We want to know what you think. Which teams will win Tuesday’s play-in games and become this season’s No. 7 seeds?

Vote in our poll below, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Timberwolves Sign Chris Finch To Multiyear Extension

April 11th, 2022 at 9:10am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have signed head coach Chris Finch to a multiyear contract extension, the team announced today in a press release. The assistants on Finch’s staff have also been extended.

Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link) first reported that Finch and his coaching staff were receiving multiyear extensions. According to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link), Finch signed a three-year deal with a fourth-year option.

A former assistant coach in Houston, Denver, New Orleans, and Toronto, Finch took the reins in Minnesota midway through the 2020/21 following Ryan Saunders‘ dismissal. He guided the Timberwolves – who got off to a 7-24 start – to a 16-25 finish last season, then helped take the club to another level in ’21/22.

Minnesota finished this season with a 46-36 record, good for seventh in the Western Conference. It’s the Wolves’ second-best record since 2004 and puts them in position to earn just their second playoff berth since then, assuming they can win a play-in game this week.

“Chris has done a tremendous job creating stability and consistency for this franchise and building a winning mentality,” the Timberwolves said in a statement attributed to their ownership group. “We look forward to supporting him throughout the years while he continues achieving the goals he and his staff have set out for the team.”

The Wolves are in the midst of an ownership transition, with Glen Taylor planning to hand majority control over to Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore in 2023. Finch’s extension – and the statement from team ownership – is a strong signal that he has the full support of Rodriguez and Lore in addition to Taylor.

Super-Max Candidates Who Will Be Impacted By 2021/22 All-NBA Picks

April 8th, 2022 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

A player who has no more than six years of NBA experience is typically eligible for a maximum salary starting at 25% of the salary cap; a player with between seven and nine years of NBA service is eligible for a max deal starting at 30% of the cap; and a player with 10 or more years of experience can earn a starting salary worth up to 35% of the cap.

However, the NBA’s super-max rules, which we explain in a pair of glossary entries, allow players who don’t yet have 10 years of experience to move into higher maximum-salary tiers. By meeting certain criteria, players with seven to nine years of experience can become eligible for salaries worth up to 35% of the cap, while players with six years (or less) of service time can qualify for up to 30% of the cap.

The super-max performance criteria is as follows (only one of the following must be true):

The player was named to an All-NBA team and/or was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
The player was named the NBA MVP in any of the three most recent seasons.

A player who has seven or eight years of NBA service with one or two years left on his contract becomes eligible for what is known as a “Designated Veteran” extension if he meets the required performance criteria and hasn’t been traded since his first four years in the league. A Designated Veteran contract can also be signed by a player who is technically a free agent if he has eight or nine years of service and meets the required criteria.

Nuggets star Nikola Jokic met the super-max performance criteria a year ago when he won his first MVP award. However, since he still only had six years of NBA experience under his belt at the time, he couldn’t actually sign a Designated Veteran extension with Denver until the summer of 2022. The expectation is that Jokic will sign a five-year contract extension with a starting salary worth 35% of the 2023/24 cap this offseason.

Players who are coming off their rookie contracts and meet the super-max performance criteria become eligible for what is colloquially known as a “Rose Rule” contract, starting at 30% of the cap instead of 25%. The rule is unofficially named after Derrick Rose, who won an MVP award in 2011 while he was still on his rookie deal.

Mavericks star Luka Doncic qualified for a Rose Rule super-max deal by earning All-NBA honors in his second and third NBA seasons in 2020 and 2021. Even if he doesn’t make an All-NBA team this season (he will), he already met the performance criteria by being named an All-NBA player in two of the three seasons before his new contract will take effect. When the Mavs signed Doncic to a rookie scale extension last offseason, they agreed it would start at 30% of the 2022/23 cap. Currently, that five-year deal projects to be worth over $212MM.

Not every player is as fortunate as Jokic or Doncic though. Most of the players who have a shot at becoming eligible for a super-max contract this year will need to earn a spot on one of the 2021/22 All-NBA teams in order to qualify.

Here’s a closer look at some of the players who have a lot riding on this season’s All-NBA picks from a financial perspective:

Trae Young (Hawks)

When Young signed a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension with the Hawks last August, the two sides agreed to include Rose Rule language in the agreement, opening the door for Young’s starting salary to be worth 30% of the cap (instead of 25%) when the deal begins in 2022/23. In order for that to happen though, Young has to earn one of 15 All-NBA spots this season.

It looked in the first half, as Atlanta got off to a 17-25 start, like Young would be a long shot to make an All-NBA team. However, as they did a year ago, the Hawks have played much better in the second half and Young has been leading the team’s push for a playoff spot.

Young’s season-long averages of 28.3 PPG and 9.7 APG in 74 games (34.9 MPG) make him a legitimate All-NBA candidate, even if he’s penalized a little for his subpar defense. While Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, and Ja Morant are probably ahead of him among potential All-NBA guards, Young looks like a strong Third Team contender, especially if voters consider DeMar DeRozan to be a forward.

Based on the NBA’s latest cap projections, Young would be in line for a $212.3MM payday if he’s named to an All-NBA team or $176.9MM if he isn’t. That’s a difference of more than $35MM, so voters will have to think carefully about which players they select as their six All-NBA guards this spring.

Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves)

Devin Booker (Suns)

Unlike Young, Towns and Booker have yet to lock in extensions with their respective teams and aren’t facing do-or-die All-NBA decisions this spring. However, both players would become eligible for super-max contract extensions (worth 35% of the cap instead of 30%) if they’re named to an All-NBA team this season.

The current contracts for Towns and Booker are virtually identical, and if they both earn All-NBA nods, their next deals could be too. With seven years of NBA experience and two years left on their respective contracts, they’d be eligible to sign four-year, Designated Veteran extensions this offseason.

Those deals wouldn’t go into effect until 2024/25, so it’s difficult to pin down exactly how much they’d be worth. We don’t yet have solid cap projections for that season. But if we assume a $130MM salary cap for that ’24/25, a four-year contract starting at 35% of the cap would work out to approximately $204MM.

First though, Towns and Booker will need to earn All-NBA spots. Booker looks like a lock, having been the go-to offensive option for the league’s best team.

Towns’ spot isn’t quite as certain, since he’ll be behind centers Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, and Rudy Gobert‘s defensive dominance always makes him an All-NBA threat. But I think voters will favor Towns over Gobert and other centers (such as Bam Adebayo). There’s even a possibility that both Jokic and Embiid could end up on the First Team if voters put one of the two stars at forward, which would leave both the Second Team and Third Team center spots up for grabs and make Towns a slam-dunk choice.

Zach LaVine (Bulls)

LaVine will have eight years of NBA service under his belt when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason and will be eligible for a maximum salary starting at 30% of the cap. An All-NBA nod would bump that number up to 35%, but that doesn’t look nearly as realistic for LaVine as it did earlier in the season.

Slowed by knee pain, LaVine has seen his numbers dip a little in the second half, and while they’re still strong overall (24.4 PPG on .475/.389/.852 shooting), his teammate DeRozan is more likely to earn All-NBA accolades. And after slipping to sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, Chicago is unlikely to be rewarded with two All-NBA selections.

Assuming LaVine doesn’t make an All-NBA team, his projected five-year maximum contract with the Bulls will be worth $212.3MM instead of $247.7MM.

The rest

The players listed above aren’t the only ones who have super-max eligibility on the line with this year’s All-NBA vote. But they’re the only ones among that group who are realistic candidates to actually make one of those All-NBA teams.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Michael Porter Jr., for instance, signed rookie scale extensions with Rose Rule language last offseason and would be eligible for higher max salaries if they make an All-NBA team, but obviously they won’t. Suns center Deandre Ayton, a restricted free agent this summer, would qualify for a 30% max salary with an All-NBA spot, and he certainly has a better case than Gilgeous-Alexander or Porter. But he’ll fall short too.

When this season’s All-NBA teams are eventually announced, Young, Towns, Booker, and – to a lesser extent – LaVine are the best candidates to benefit financially.

Wolves Sign Greg Monroe For Rest Of Season

April 7th, 2022 at 6:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

6:04pm: Monroe has officially signed a contract for the rest of the season, the team announced in a press release.

8:12am: Veteran center Greg Monroe will sign a contract with the Timberwolves that covers the final days of the regular season, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The move will cap off an active season for Monroe, who signed a 10-day contract with Minnesota in late December and spent time with the Wizards, Bucks and Jazz as well. He just completed a 10-day deal in Utah that expired Wednesday night. He has played 13 total games, averaging 5.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per night.

Wolves owner Glen Taylor indicated last month that the Wolves had interest in bringing back Monroe to help with rebounding. Minnesota has a roster opening, so no other move will be necessary. Monroe will be postseason-eligible.

The expected signing removes an option for the Jazz as they look to fill a roster spot ahead of the postseason, notes Ryan McDonald of The Deseret News. Utah added Monroe after injuries to backup centers Hassan Whiteside, who has since returned, and Udoka Azubuike, who is out for the season.

McDonald adds that one possibility for Utah is converting the two-way contract of Trent Forrest so he would be eligible for the playoffs.

Jaden McDaniels Nearing Return

April 5th, 2022 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Out since March 14 due to a high ankle sprain, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels has been upgraded to questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. Washington (Twitter link). “I think he’s had a really good week, good evaluation,” head coach Chris Finch said (Twitter link via Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic). “Just not sure if he’s ready to play in the game tonight, but try to push him today in our ‘stay in shape league‘ and see how everything goes.”