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International Rumors: Cook, Landry, Johnson

November 23rd, 2013 at 2:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s been an active day on the international market, and for Chinese teams in particular. China has been a hub for players fresh off NBA rosters of late, and there’s news linking the country’s Chinese Basketball Association to three more NBA veterans, while a fourth appears to be headed elsewhere. Here’s the latest:

Six-year NBA veteran Daequan Cook has agreed to play for Budivelnyk Kyiv, a Ukrainian club, as Basket.com.ua reports (translation via Sportando). BDA Sports Management handles Cook’s representation, as our Agency Database shows.
Lakers training camp casualty Marcus Landry is a primary target for the Shanghai Sharks of China, who are seeking a replacement for the injured Von Wafer, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The 28-year-old Landry is the younger brother of Kings power forward Carl Landry.
Former Timberwolves center Chris Johnson has signed a one-year contract with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions in China, as Shams Charania of RealGM.com confirms. Sportando contributor David Pick first reported the deal was in the works (via Twitter). Johnson had a guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Timberwolves, who nonetheless cut him at the end of camp. Depending on how much money the Eric Fleisher client’s new contract is worth, it could trigger set-off rights that would allow Minnesota to pay slightly less than the $916K they owe him. Multiple teams from overseas appear to have been interested in the 6’11” center from LSU, as Charania writes that he was “scouring offers” on the international market.
D.J. White has officially signed with China’s Sichuan Blue Whales, Sportando reports (on Twitter). Stein reported earlier this week that the Blue Whales and the Jeff Wechsler client had agreed to the deal. The Bulls cut White at the end of the preseason.

Timberwolves Waive Chris Johnson

October 26th, 2013 at 2:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:40pm: The Wolves have officially announced the moves, according to the team’s Twitter account.

1:19pm: The Timberwolves have waived big man Chris Johnson, a source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The former LSU Tiger is not to be confused with the Chris Johnson from Dayton whom the Nets waived earlier today. The Wolves will be on the hook for Johnson’s guaranteed $916,099 salary this season. The move likely means Robbie Hummel and A.J. Price, both of whom are on non-guaranteed deals, have made the opening-night roster, since the subtraction of Johnson leaves Minnesota with 15 players.

Multiple reports this month indicated Johnson’s spot on the team was vulnerable in spite of the guaranteed money on the contract he signed with the team last season after a pair of 10-day deals. He appeared in just two games for a total of nine minutes during preseason action. He averaged 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game across 30 contests for the Wolves last year.

T-Wolves Considering Richard Hamilton?

October 17th, 2013 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves are currently carrying 18 players, including 14 on guaranteed deals, but the team’s regular-season roster could still include an outside addition. According to Nate Sandell and Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities, president Flip Saunders continues to keep an eye on free agents and possible trade targets in search of potential options.

“We’re looking at all the players we have and where are they going to fit in,” said head coach Rick Adelman. “It’s not just the guys who are here. Flip is constantly talking to people around the league who are evaluating everything. I think it’s something that is a process that you go through, and you make that decision sometime next week.”

One player the Wolves are considering is Richard Hamilton, who remains on the free agent market after being released by the Bulls over the summer. Wolfson reports that the idea of signing Hamilton has been “floated among the Wolves front office personnel.” The veteran guard has ties to Saunders, having played for him in Detroit, and would provide depth on the wing for a club that will be without Chase Budinger to start the season.

If the T-Wolves decide not to add any outside players, camp invitees Othyus Jeffers and A.J. Price look like strong bets to make the team, according to the ESPN 1500 report. While the Wolves have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, Chris Johnson‘s roster spot could be in danger, which would leave two openings for non-guaranteed players. Minnesota’s other two camp invitees, Robbie Hummel and Lorenzo Brown, may end up playing for the club’s D-League affiliate in Iowa.

Western Notes: Blair, Durant, ‘Wolves

October 12th, 2013 at 8:46pm CST by Spencer Lund

With Brandan Wright out indefinitely after a left shoulder injury, free agent signee DeJuan Blair, is learning both the power forward and center assignments with the Mavs, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.

The 6’7″ Blair is under-sized for a center, but as he told Sefko, “I’ve been playing five all my life against 7-footers.” Blair was largely relegated to the Spurs bench the last season. He only started 16 games and played only 76 minutes during their run to the Finals last year. So look for him to be extra motivated if given a significant opportunity in Dallas.

Here’s more from around the West tonight:

As mentioned previously, the Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry spoke with Thunder coach Scott Brooks about Kevin Durant‘s minutes with Russell Westbrook expected to miss the first quarter of the season.
Assuming Durant appears in at least 79 games this season, at 38 minutes a night, that would have him playing over 3,000 regular season minutes for the fourth time in five seasons. Ben Wallace in 2004/05 was the last player to win a title after playing over 3,000 minutes during the regular season.
But it’s a workload Brooks plans to manage with off days and practice time and Durant appears up to the challenge, as long as it helps them win.
Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman is looking for more continuity from his starters in preseason despite the second straight game without Kevin Martin, he tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star-Tribune.
But, Zgoda tweets that Adelman has no idea if a week of rest will get Martin back on the court, though he certainly hopes so.
Zgoda goes on to say that Othyus Jeffers, A.J. Price, Robbie Hummel and Lorenzo Brown are battling for what will likely be two spots when the team waives Chris Johnson.
But Adelman says the Wolves could add players cut from other training camps once teams pare down their rosters in the final week of preseason.
Adelman is also happy former ‘Wolves assistant Bill Bayno was hired as lead assistant for the Raptors (Twitter).

T-Wolves Owner On Williams, Roster, Muhammad

September 5th, 2013 at 9:24pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN points out that the Timberwolves will have until October 31st to decide on whether or not they'll exercise Derrick Williams' fourth-year option for 2014/15, in which he would be owed $6.3MM. In a phone conversation with team owner Glen Taylor, it appears that the front office is still undecided:

"We'll evaluate his summer program, and how he looks coming into camp (which starts Oct. 1)…I heard he is looking good."

Wolfson also mentions a point made by Grantland's Zach Lowe, who intimated that picking up Williams' option could potentially carry Minnesota over the luxury tax and prevent them from using their mid-level exception next summer. Here's more of Wolfson's latest in Minnesota via his conversation with Taylor:

It's unlikely that Flip Saunders will bring on a 15th guaranteed contract, meaning that Robbie Hummel, Othyus Jeffers, Lorenzo Brown, and an expected-to-be named big man will compete for the final spot in camp.
Rookies Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng, and veteran Chris Johnson are expected to arrive in town on Monday for developmental work.
Taylor shared that he and Saunders received an apology letter from Muhammad after being dismissed from the league's rookie orientation program, adding that he sent a letter in reply:"I want to get to know him…I wrote to him about first impressions."
As far as renovations for the Target Center, Taylor had this to say: "We have a term sheet with the city. We've agreed to everything. They need to work out a term sheet with AEG (managers of Target Center)."

Southwest Rumors: Barbosa, Oden, James

July 20th, 2013 at 3:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

The news today has had a distinctly Southwestern feel, and we've already rounded up a few items from Texas teams. There's still more news from the Lone Star State amid our broader look at the Southwest Division:

Artur Barbosa, who doubles as the brother and agent of Leandro Barbosa, tells Terra Brasil that the Mavs have offered the veteran guard a contract, and that the Dallas option is preferable to the Bulls, who've also shown interest (translation via HoopsHype). The agent says he's also engaged in talks with the Rockets. The Mavs wouldn't comment last night about a Brazilian report linking them to Barbosa, so perhaps this is the report in question.
Greg Oden is the top big man on the Mavs' radar following the team's signing of Samuel Dalembert and the release of Bernard James, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who names the Heat, Spurs and Pelicans as the other teams still in the mix for Oden (Twitter link).
There's a legitimate chance that a team claims James off waivers from the Mavs, Stein writes in the same piece. A source close to James tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that he's heard teams are eyeing the big man. The Wolves haven't expressed interest yet, but Minnesota is prepared to waive center Chris Johnson if necessary to make way for a better option, Wolfson reports (Twitter links).
Spanish club FC Barcelona announced the signing of Kostas Papanikolaou to a four-year deal (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia). The Rockets hold the power forward's NBA rights, but it's unclear what the buyout clauses in his new contract are like. A report last weekend indicated that Papanikolaou "definitely" wants to play in the NBA this season, but signing a long-term European deal seems to run counter to that.
Tyreke Evans is ready to embrace a sixth-man role with the Pelicans, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News details.

Zgoda On Wolves, Mayo, Stiemsma, Kirilenko

June 29th, 2013 at 1:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

Andrei Kirilenko's decision to opt out of his contract could be something of a game-changer for the Wolves, since it frees up more than $10MM of salary for next season. That means the team has greater flexibility to pursue a new starting shooting guard or small forward through trade or free agency, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, pointing to O.J. Mayo as a likely target. President of basketball operations Flip Saunders has said that re-signing restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic is the club's primary offseason goal, and Zgoda looks at what could come next for the Wolves:

Minnesota will waive Greg Stiemsma before his contract becomes fully guaranteed on July 17th, according to Zgoda. I'd imagine the team will try to find takers for Stiemsma's contract in trades before then, though that's just my speculation. There's no partial guarantee on his deal, so the Wolves won't owe him anything if he's off their roster by the 17th of next month.
The Wolves aren't likely to offer more than two seasons in another contract for Kirilenko.
Zgoda wrote earlier this month that either J.J. Barea or Luke Ridnour was likely to be traded by draft night, and while that didn't happen, the team was in talks with the Bucks about a Ridnour/Ekpe Udoh swap this week. The Wolves still trying to trade one or both of Barea and Ridnour, according to Zgoda.
The Wolves would like to include the minimum-salary deal of Chris Johnson in a Barea or Ridnour trade, too.
Saunders is expected to meet with free agent small forward Chase Budinger in San Diego to talk about a new deal.

Northwest Rumors: Pierce, Kahn, Johnson, Martin

May 17th, 2013 at 9:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

A Northwest Division team has appeared in the Western Conference Finals four of the last six seasons, but with the top-seeded Thunder on early summer vacation after their loss to the Grizzlies, that trend has come to an end. The focus now shifts to offseason movement, and we've got the latest on a pair of Northwest teams here:

New Timberwolves executive Flip Saunders served as an adviser to Celtics coach Doc Rivers last year, but even if Boston elects to waive Paul Pierce, a source downplays the notion that Pierce could join the Wolves, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Wolfson, in his roundup of Minnesota items, hears that former Wolves GM David Kahn told friends he thought he'd assume the same position with the Sixers, who instead hired Sam Hinkie as their new GM.
The minimum salary contract of Chris Johnson, the backup big man the Wolves signed when they were short on bodies this season, is fully guaranteed for next season, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter link).
Kevin Martin hesitated before issuing the standard player line about wanting back with his team next season, and Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman interprets that as a sign he's ready to move on. She thinks the Thunder would be hard-pressed to bring him back on even half of his $12.4MM salary from this season.
Of course, the Thunder wouldn't have a decision to make on Martin if they hadn't pulled the trigger on the James Harden deal, a move Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com chalks up as a blunder.

Northwest Rumors: Roy, Gelabale, Johnson

April 1st, 2013 at 9:27am CST by Chuck Myron

The Trail Blazers and Timberwolves seem to share a link greater than just their placement together in the Northwest Division. They were at opposite ends of a tug-of-war over restricted free agent Nicolas Batum last summer, around the same time former Blazers star Brandon Roy came out of retirement to sign with the Wolves, a move that cost Portland owner Paul Allen $17MM in insurance money. Earlier this season they "amicably" resolved a dispute over a trade the two clubs made back in 2010. Both clubs are in the news again, with news involving Roy and former Blazer and current Wolf Chris Johnson. Here's what we know:

Wolves coach Rick Adelman hasn't been expecting Roy to return this season, but after spending the last two weeks hard at work in practice, Roy will ask Adelman if he can return to game action, reports Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Roy, who says his oft-injured right knee is improving, will almost certainly hit free agency this summer, since he's played only five games this season and his deal is non-guaranteed for 2013/14. He suggested earlier this year that he'd retire if he couldn't come back healthy by the end of this season.
Johnson and Mickael Gelabale also have non-guaranteed deals with the Wolves for next year, and they appear to have a shot at returning to the club, notes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune. "This summer will be big for them," Adelman said. "We like them both."
The Blazers will send their first-round pick to the Bobcats if it's not in the top 12, and as our updated tentative draft order shows, Portland is in line for the No. 12 pick, separated by three games from the Mavericks for the No. 13 spot. Despite the motivation to lose and improve the team's chances of keeping its pick, Blazers coach Terry Stotts insists that's something his squad won't do, as The Oregonian's Mike Tokito observes. "We've played every game to try and win," Stotts said. "The draft picks — I just think you start doing that you're (messing with) basketball karma or whatever. I think you gotta be true to the game and true to your players, and that's never been a concern of mine or our team."

Western Links: Maloofs, Rush, D’Antoni

March 30th, 2013 at 10:29pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com hears more and more that the Maloof brothers could keep the Kings rather than sell the team to the Sacramento-led group if the NBA declines the Seattle bid, adding that it's not a total longshot at this point. Howard-Cooper also says that whether the possibility could drag on into this summer or next season, the Maloofs may step back and re-assess their options (All Twitter links). Interestingly enough, Aaron Bruski of USA Today tweeted that league sources "have maintained without any equivocation that the Maloofs will not own an NBA franchise next season."

We've got more to share out of the Western Conference tonight:

Howard-Cooper reiterates that he's not saying the above scenario will happen, but it's still a possibility. He also clarifies that the Maloofs keeping the Kings would be a way for them to start a bidding war and evaluate at the type of offers they can receive (Twitter links).
Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle says that Brandon Rush plans to do some light running and jumping in three weeks, and that the Warriors guard/forward should be ready by the start of the 2013-14 training camp (Twitter links).
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tweets that he thinks Mike D'Antoni's job is safe for next season at least, being that the Lakers coach is still owed a lot of money and hasn't had a healthy roster.
Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press writes that Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman has a tough challenge of trying to evaluate upcoming free agents Mickael Gelabale and Chris Johnson without enough playing time to find for them.