Brandon Roy Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Roy, Jones, Nene, PEDs

January 17th, 2013 at 10:51pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Friday evening:

Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that Brandon Roy has shown no indication of thinking about retiring from the Timberwolves.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel talks to Magic rookie DeQuan Jones about his unlikely path to the NBA.
Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com revisits the Nuggets' trade of Nene Hilario to the Wizards for JaVale McGee.
In light of the recent steroids controversies surrounding cyclist Lance Armstrong and the Baseball Hall of Fame, HoopsHype has a new column by former D-League player Rod Benson about the relative lack of performance-enhancing drug use in the NBA.
Larry Coon has updated his invaluable Salary Cap FAQ with a new entry on rules regarding international players and some corrections.

Odds & Ends: Williams, Warriors, Magic, Roy

January 2nd, 2013 at 10:52pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Wednesday evening:

Jazz guard Mo Williams is expected to miss six weeks following thumb surgery. It will be interesting to keep an eye on what roster moves Utah makes to account for his absence.
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News examines several reasons the Warriors are having such a successful season.
John Mitchell of Philly.com writes that former Sixers big man Nikola Vucevic is beginning to realize his potential with the Magic.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the path Ishmael Smith followed that led to his signing with the Magic.
Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Brandon Roy is practicing with the Timberwolves but it is still unknown when he will return to the court.
Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun writes that J.J. Hickson's stellar recent play has been a nice surprise for the Trail Blazers.

Odds & Ends: Martin, Roy, Allen, Brooks

December 29th, 2012 at 8:56pm CST by Ryan Raroque

If Kevin Martin has his way, anyone other than the Thunder will have a tough time signing him this summer, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The ninth-year veteran is averaging career bests in three point shooting (45.7%) and free throw shooting (93.2%) in addition to producing 15.8 PPG in 30.0 MPG. He is currently in the final year of his contract, and is slated to make nearly $12.4MM this season. Here are some more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from around the Association:

Despite recent reports that Phil Jackson wouldn't be interested in coaching the Nets, Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops talks about why we probably haven't seen the last of the Zen Master just yet.
Cavaliers coach Byron Scott is confident about the front office's patience with him, writes Jodie Valade of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler tweeted that an Andrea Bargnani trade is inevitable since he is no longer in Toronto's long-term plans, and that the Raptors will only play him when he comes back in order to prove that he's healthy.
Kyler (via Twitter) also says that the Lakers aren't currently looking to trade any of their bench players and are more focused on continuing to establish rhythm, Bargnani's elbow injury effectively hurts any if not all of his trade value right now, and that the current feeling around Brooklyn is that P.J. Carlesimo will get a chance to finish the season if none of the candidates they want are available.
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune shared some of David Kahn's comments on Brandon Roy's decision to undergo non-invasive treatment, noting that it would not be the same Regenokine therapy that Roy underwent last spring and that the upcoming process could take three to four weeks (Twitter links).
Shams Charania of RealGM says that Ray Allen was not contacted by the Bucks during the free agency period this past summer and admitted that he probably would not have considered a return to Milwaukee regardless.
Nets guard MarShon Brooks is hoping to capitalize on what appears to be a fresh start with coach P.J. Carlesimo after not being able to mesh with Avery Johnson, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Without much practice time, Carlesimo will have to rely on much of the same offensive schemes that the Nets players have been familiar with up to this point along with additional help from the assistant coaches as he continues to make a transition into his interim head coaching role (Roderick Boone of Newsday reports).
While the departure of Joe Johnson might have signaled a rebuilding year to some, the Hawks' climb to 3rd place in the East after 27 games has definitely contradicted that notion, writes Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.

Roy Has Setback In Rehab, Considering Retirement?

December 29th, 2012 at 6:30pm CST by Zachary Links

6:30pm: Via the official Timberwolves' PR Twitter account, Roy issued a statement saying that his goal has been, and continues to be, to return to the court as healthy as possible. The Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda (Twitter link) interprets this as Roy holding off retirement for now.

1:10pm: "All signs are pointing toward retirement" for Roy, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. Roy has spent the last two days deciding between hanging it up and undergoing one more medical procedure to help his knees, according to Krawczynski (Twitter link).

12:39pm: Timberwolves guard Brandon Roy has had setbacks in rehabilitation from his knee injury and his return date is now uncertain, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Roy returned to Minnesota to practice before issues with knees forced him to step away again in past 48 hours.

The Wolves rolled the dice on Roy this offseason, giving him a two-year, $10.4MM deal. However, the second year of the deal is not guaranteed if Roy does not play in 65 games or log 1,400 minutes this season. Roy obviously won't reach 65 games this year and the 1,400 minute milestone is a virtual impossibility.

If the injury forces Roy to retire, the Collective Bargaining Agreement would allow for the Wolves to wipe the guard's $5.1MM salary from the books on January 9th, 60 days from the last game that Roy played. Roy is eligible for the injury exclusion as he played in less than ten games in 2012/13.

Western Notes: Roy, Conroy, Fisher

December 22nd, 2012 at 10:37pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are some quick notes out of the Western Conference tonight:

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweets that DeMarcus Cousins has decided to hire Dan Fegan as his new agent, replacing John Grieg. Two of Fegan's most notable clients include Kevin Martin of the Thunder and Lakers center Dwight Howard (All Twitter links).
In what should be encouraging news for the Timberwolves and their fans, Brandon Roy returned to practice today and reported that he felt no pain in his knee (Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune reports). The veteran two-guard had been inactive since undergoing surgery on his right knee last month and hadn't played since November 9.
Will Conroy was at Minnesota's practice today, but attended as a special assistant to David Kahn and not as a candidate to re-join the team as a player, says Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press. The 6'2 guard and close friend of Brandon Roy had been released earlier in the season in order to make room for recently-waived Josh Howard. According to Kahn, Conroy will serve as the team's D-League scout before returning to Seattle to finish his school degree.
When asked about Derek Fisher being waived, coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters to ask GM Mitch Kupchak if the team had any interest in the former Lakers guard (according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles via Twitter). Although we heard an earlier report that Fisher was contemplating retirement, Ramona Shelburne (also of ESPN LA) tweeted that in the event that he would still continue playing, any team who signs him would have to inherit the non-guaranteed deal he signed with the Mavericks.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas provides the current rundown of Rick Carlisle's point guard situation following Fisher's abrupt departure.
Alex Kramers of TheKingsBlog.com elicited the reaction from the Kings locker room as they prepare to compete without DeMarcus Cousins. Coach Keith Smart told the media that the situation will be reassessed within the next few days. On a different and much lighter note, Kramers delves a bit into the minor ties between Jimmer Fredette and the Warriors' Stephen Curry.

Wolves Rumors: Love, Derrick Williams, Roy

December 16th, 2012 at 12:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ricky Rubio wasn't in the starting lineup and played only 18 minutes last night, but that he played at all is joyous news for the Wolves. The team welcomed him back for his first action since March, when he tore two ligaments in his left knee. Rubio shot just 1-for-4 from the field, but dished out nine assists against only two turnovers, and helped spark a comeback win after Minnesota endured an early deficit against the Mavs. His return isn't the only story of note from the Twin Cities, and we've got the latest here.

Kevin Love's name has surfaced in trade rumors following his comments critical of the Wolves organization this week, but Minnesota has no intention of trading its All-Star power forward, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
While agreeing with Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer that the Cavs likely aren't interested in Derrick Williams, Bob Finnan of The News-Herald believes the disappointing second-year forward would "have to be the center of any proposal" the Wolves might offer Cleveland in exchange for Anderson Varejao.
The idea of retirement might have crossed Brandon Roy's mind following his latest knee surgery, but Roy should be back in the Wolves lineup in a week and a half, according to Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link).

Wolves Rumors: Rubio, Varejao, Love, Roy

December 14th, 2012 at 9:45am CST by Luke Adams

It's Friday, which means Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities has checked in with his weekly edition of Scoops. Here are Wolfson's Timberwolves updates from his latest piece:

The Timberwolves are likely to make a deal before the February trade deadline, but aren't making any calls yet while they wait to see how the lineup looks when Ricky Rubio returns.
David Kahn has been answering incoming calls, however. Wolfson reports that the Raptors and Cavaliers have both been in touch with the Wolves, to gauge interest in Andrea Bargnani and Anderson Varejao, respectively. Minnesota likes Varejao a lot, according to Wolfson, though in my opinion it would take a massive package for the Cavs to move him this season.
One league source doesn't believe money is a source of frustration for Kevin Love, since the All-Star forward is still in position to earn as much or more over the long-term as he would have if he'd received a five-year extension. The source points to a Kahn quote from 2009 ("On a championship-contending team… Kevin might be the fourth-best player") as something that still irks Love.
Obrad Fimic, the agent for Alexey Shved, on the Timberwolves recruitment of his client: "Honestly, the whole deal was done thanks to David, who convinced us that Shved is a perfect fit for coach Rick Adelman's system. Alexey and I liked what we heard and here we are."
Although Brandon Roy denied that retirement wasn't something he thought about following his latest knee procedure, a league source insists to Wolfson that Roy at least considered it.
There should be closure on the Martell Webster compensation case soon, with the Wolves expecting to receive cash and/or a second-round pick from the Trail Blazers.

Roy Says He’s Not Considering Retirement

December 13th, 2012 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Brandon Roy spoke to reporters today after the Timberwolves' shootaround for the first time since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee last month. When asked if he was considering retiring after his latest setback, Roy said the thought hadn't crossed his mind.

"A few people asked me that," Roy said, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. "And I don’t pay attention much to the media. I don’t really read that stuff. But I don’t know where that could have come from. But no, I never thought about walking away. It was, for me, just do I want to go through another procedure or do I want to play through it. that was more my question than walking away."

Roy himself acknowledged following the surgery that "if it ends in three weeks, it ends." However, he seemed to be referring to a scenario in which his knees didn't recover from the procedure. The former Trail Blazer confessed again today that further issues would be cause for concern, but said his knee feels good, and that the nagging discomfort he felt earlier in the season no longer seems to be an issue.

The Timberwolves signed Roy to a two-year contract this summer, though the second year figures to become non-guaranteed, given the time the 28-year-old has missed already due to knee troubles.

Wolves Rumors: Williams, Gasol, Roy, Pekovic

December 7th, 2012 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

Although Ricky Rubio had been angling to make his return to the court for the Timberwolves tonight, the team has announced that he won't play against the Cavs (Twitter link). Still, even though Rubio's debut won't happen today, it seems it's getting close, which is good news for the T-Wolves. Here are a few more items out of Minnesota:

Speaking to the media today, David Kahn said there was no truth to any trade rumors involving the Lakers and that he hasn't spoken to them since the summer (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

Rob Pelinka, Derrick Williams' agent, has "voiced his displeasure" about his client's lack of playing time, reports Wolfson. According to Wolfson, Pelinka hasn't requested a trade, but has asked about the likelihood of a deal, and was told the Wolves want to see Williams on the court with Rubio first, since the two worked well together last season.
David Kahn has spoken to other general managers, but there's nothing serious in the works yet, says Wolfson. A team source tells ESPN 1500 that the Wolves are interested in Pau Gasol, but that a deal would likely have to include a third team.
The T-Wolves are open to going into luxury-tax territory next season if it's necessary, according to Wolfson.
The doctor who performed Brandon Roy's latest knee procedure would be surprised if the former Blazer retired, though it's been "loosely discussed."
A team source hints to Wolfson that there's a "healthy internal debate" about whether the Wolves want to commit a big, long-term deal to Nikola Pekovic.
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune explores the Pau rumors, and writes that the T-Wolves figure to be interested in Gasol right up until he's traded somewhere. Zgoda also outlines a few reasons why Minnesota would have interest in acquiring the Spaniard.

Timberwolves Rumors: Williams, Finley, Roy

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves got an unexpected lift on Wednesday when Kevin Love returned earlier than anticipated from the broken hand that had sidelined him for the last few weeks. Although reports suggested Love wouldn't be back until December, he looked to be in midseason form in his debut, racking up 34 points and 14 rebounds against the Nuggets. It wasn't enough to propel the T-Wolves to victory, but the team will get another shot to get its first win with Love on the court tonight vs. the Trail Blazers. In the meantime, here are a few rumblings out of Minnesota:

Derrick Williams tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link) that he was preparing to become a Trail Blazer this summer when rumors involving a Nicolas Batum sign-and-trade were swirling. Asked if he was just listening to speculation or if he had inside info, Williams replied, "I guess you could say inside information" (Twitter link).
With Michael Finley attempting to make an NBA comeback, the Wolves received a call from Finley's camp, but said no thanks, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Brandon Roy's future is still to be determined, tweets Wolfson, who says the idea of possible retirement came up when Roy spoke to GM David Kahn last Friday.
Earlier this afternoon, we heard that the Timberwolves briefly signed Demetris Nichols and Troy Hudson before the season in order to hang onto the duo's D-League rights. Both players are now on the roster for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Minnesota's D-League affiliate.