Glen Taylor Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: D-League, Printezis, Taylor

November 12th, 2015 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

NBA D-League president Malcolm Turner says the NBA is moving closer to a 30-for-30 model that would provide each NBA team with its own D-League affiliate, and Turner believes that it is a goal that could be realized within the next five years, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. “All those NBA teams who currently don’t have a D-League team, we’re in active conversations with all of them,” Turner said. “Each team is at varying stages in terms of interest, and we’re trying to prioritize actionable interest and opportunities we can act on now. We’re already working on the pipeline of opportunities for 2017/18 and beyond. One of the reasons we’re focused on them so far in advance is 30-for-30 is our No. 1 initiative and we feel like we’re now within striking distance of achieving that goal.”

Turner also acknowledged that increasing player salaries in the D-League to be more competitive with overseas clubs is an important part of allowing the league to grow, Zillgitt adds. “As we grow, we obviously have additional player rosters to fill,” Turner continued. “We want to make sure we’re adding more and better talent to the league rather than less. We are taking a look at any and all opportunities to enhance our value proposition for talent. We’re in the market for top talent to fill our rosters and assessing our overall business accordingly. We have a bright future, and we’re working very hard to realize those opportunities.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Wolves owner Glen Taylor is engaged in serious talks to sell approximately 20% ownership of the franchise to a group led by Grizzlies minority partner Steve Kaplan, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports. The group’s motivation for purchasing a minority share is that it hopes to position itself to buy the majority stake if Taylor decides to sell the franchise in the future, Wojnarowski adds.
Greek power forward Giorgos Printezis, whose draft rights went from the Hawks to San Antonio in July as part of the Tiago Splitter trade, is on the Spurs‘ radar, though at 30 years old he is running out of time if he wishes to make the jump stateside, Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net writes. “It was good to meet with Giorgos. We traded for his rights last summer and this was the first time I got to spend some time with him. I have never met him before,” said Spurs GM R.C.Buford, who recently scouted the player in Athens. Printezis’ contract with Olympiacos runs through the summer of 2017, according to Barkas. As for the chances of seeing the forward in San Antonio at that point, Buford told Barkas, “I think that a part of this decision belongs to him. For sure we will be following him and if our needs fit his needs, then we will see what happens.”
The Bucks, who are currently without their own affiliate, are willing to invest in a D-League team, and the franchise will meet later this month to discuss the possibilities, Zillgitt tweets.

Northwest Notes: Chandler, Jazz, Saunders

October 24th, 2015 at 10:00am CST by Eddie Scarito

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said that coach/executive Flip Saunders would not return to the team this season because of complications resulting from his treatment for cancer, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune relays. When asked if he expected Saunders to return this season, Taylor said, “Not this year. I just think his illness, I mean, it’s serious. At this point, if he came back I still think he’d have a hard time to recover all his energy and all that because he has been in the hospital for a long time.”

Taylor also noted that GM Milt Newton and interim coach Sam Mitchell have the authority going forward to make trades and player personnel decisions in Saunders’ absence, Zgoda adds. “We haven’t put anything on hold,” Taylor said. “Milt’s handling it just the way I’d expect him to. He tells me what he thinks, and we talk about things, just the same as I did with Flip. Milt’s just stepped in. Sam has to be his own coach. He won’t do things exactly as Flip does, and I wouldn’t expect him to.”

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Taylor was re-elected as the chairman of the NBA Board of Governors, commissioner Adam Silver announced at a press conference on Friday (h/t Tim Bontemps of The New York Post via Twitter).
The Nuggets have in the past asked for either two first-round picks or a first-rounder and a young player in exchange for Wilson Chandler, league sources told Grantland’s Zach Lowe, and while Lowe thinks it’s conceivable that price comes down, he still doesn’t believe a Chandler trade is likely. Meanwhile, the chatter surrounding the idea of a Kenneth Faried trade that’s been going on for the past two years hasn’t stopped, Lowe adds.
The Jazz intend to utilize their wing players as playmakers this season, which will influence a number of the team’s roster decisions, Aaron Falk of The salt Lake Tribune writes. “I think we’ve got good ball handlers on the wings, and you get to a point where you have to make tough decisions,” coach Quin Snyder said. “… We have Joe Ingles. We have Alec Burks. We have Rodney Hood and Gordon Hayward. Those guys can all handle the ball and make plays.”
Mitchell and Newton indicated that the Wolves still intend to continue with the youth movement put in place by Saunders, who is on a leave of absence while he battles Hodgkins’ Lymphoma, writes Michael Rand of The Star Tribune. “Most definitely the vision is still to develop our young players. We’d love to make the playoffs, but we’re not going to circumvent the process that it’s going to take to be a perennial playoff team,” Newton said. “You have to win to learn how to win, but overall the vision is to develop that young core we have to become that perennial playoff team.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Faried, Bennett, Kaman

September 18th, 2015 at 11:45am CST by Chuck Myron

People close to the Nuggets have indicated that Kenneth Faried played a larger role in the downfall of former coach Brian Shaw than publicly known, according to Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders. Trade rumors surrounded Faried for much of the past year, and many people around the league expect Denver will deal him away. Still, Dowsett takes Shaw to task for his performance as a coach last season and calls the hiring of Michael Malone the team’s best offseason addition. See more from the Northwest Division:

Anthony Bennett looked strong playing for the Canadian national team during the summer, and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor downplayed the idea that the Wolves will trade the former No. 1 overall pick, telling Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, “We shouldn’t assume he’d go” (Twitter link). The Wolves have reportedly been willing to move Bennett for the right return.
Chris Kaman would probably fit best on a contender, but he enjoyed playing for the Trail Blazers last season, and Kaman’s level of contentment has had much to do with whether he’s been successful over the past few seasons, as The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman examines. Kaman will make $5.016MM this season in the last year of his contract.
The exodus of so many of last season’s Trail Blazers has C.J. McCollum excited about the more prominent role he’s poised to take on this year, one reminiscent of his time as a scoring force in college at Lehigh, as he tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. McCollum is hopeful that he can continue to work with Steve Nash, who helped him with his game this summer, even though Nash is reportedly finalizing a deal to become a part-time player development consultant for the Warriors.

Northwest Notes: Nelson, Robinson, Saunders

January 14th, 2015 at 10:37am CST by Chuck Myron

This season’s first 50-point scoring performance came from an unlikely source, as Mo Williams dropped 52 on the Pacers to help the Timberwolves to a rare victory Tuesday. The 32-year-old who’s on a one-year deal is still averaging only 12.4 points per game, even with the 52 taken into account. While we wait to see if Williams can stay hot and boost his stock, here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

The Nuggets gave Jameer Nelson assurances about minutes and style of play to help him overcome his initial hesitation to head to Denver, TNT’s David Aldridge reports (on Twitter). The Celtics shipped Nelson to the Nuggets late Tuesday in exchange for Nate Robinson.
Robinson had tired of his sharply limited playing time prior to the trade and was at times a distracting force in the locker room for the Nuggets, according to Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. The guard, who’s reportedly reached a buyout deal with Boston, is seeking a chance to showcase his talent as he approaches free agency this summer and would prefer to sign with a contender, Dempsey writes.
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor hasn’t spoken with Flip Saunders about whether Saunders will coach the team again next season, as Taylor tells Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Saunders and Taylor reached a deal that’s “open-ended” in terms of length this past offseason when Saunders, who also serves as the team’s president of basketball operations, agreed to coach the team.
Taylor recently rebuffed interest from a suitor looking to buy the Wolves, as he also tells Walters (Twitter link).
The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson, Darnell Mayberry, Anthony Slater and Berry Tramel speculate on the future of Reggie Jackson, possible deadline moves for the Thunder, and more.