Gorgui Dieng Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Nash, Wolves, Harris

December 31st, 2014 at 10:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Steve Nash has been away from the Lakers since being ruled out for the rest of the season, but the veteran finally paid the team a brief visit, Arash Markazi of ESPN.com writes. Nash greeted the team at the airport as they prepared to board a flight to Chicago, Markazi notes. “It was great to see him, first of all, and for all the players to see him,” coach Byron Scott said. “It was a great gesture on his part to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. He still has to deal with the fact that his career might be over. That’s still something he’s wrestling with. I’m still inviting him to come around here for practice and to join in and just be a part of the team and part the coaching staff. That’s something that he has to deal with and when he wants to and he feels he’s able to do that, whatever time that might be, he’ll be welcome with open arms.”

Here’s more out of the West:

The improved play this season of Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad is making the 2013 trade of Trey Burke to Utah look like a great deal for the Wolves, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes.
Former Lakers guard Manny Harris has inked a deal to play in Turkey with Eskisehir Basket, the team announced via Twitter (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Harris was with Los Angeles on a pair of 10-day contracts during the 2013/14 campaign, and he spent parts of 2010/11 and 2011/12 with Cleveland.
With the Nuggets‘ season all but lost, it is now up to GM Tim Connelly to try and rebuild the franchise through trades, Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post opines. If the Nuggets want to tank for a chance at a higher draft pick, then Ty Lawson is the obvious player to trade, Kiszla notes. After Lawson, there isn’t another player on the roster who can consistently direct Denver’s already unreliable offense, and the result of dealing him could be a top five draft pick, Kiszla adds.

Wolves To Exercise Options On Three For 2015/16

October 19th, 2014 at 2:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

OCTOBER 19TH, 2:10pm: The Wolves confirmed the exercising of the options via Twitter.

OCTOBER 16TH: The Wolves are set to pick up their 2015/16 rookie scale team options on Anthony Bennett. Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities hears (Twitter link). Bennett’s option will add more than $5.8MM to the team’s books for that season, while Muhammad will make in excess of $2MM and Dieng will be due nearly $1.5MM, as seen on our Rookie Scale Team Option Tracker. Minnesota has until October 31st to make the decisions official.

Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick from 2013, came to the team in the Kevin Love trade after a thoroughly disappointing rookie campaign. He went 0 for 15 from the floor over his first four games, and the 6’8″ forward wound up shooting just 35.6% in 12.8 minutes per game across 52 appearances last season. Still, he holds promise, as does Muhammad, the 2012 McDonald’s All-American MVP who was the 14th pick in that same 2013 draft. Muhammad saw just 7.8 MPG in 37 contests for Minnesota, which sent him on D-League assignment during the season. Dieng was the lowest pick among the three, at No. 21, but he probably had the best rookie campaign, grabbing 5.0 rebounds per night in 13.6 MPG over 60 games.

The options on all three would bring the team’s commitments to more than $36.4MM for 2015/16, but there are several decisions that stand to make that figure go up. The team is reportedly willing to shell out at least $48MM over four years in an extension for Ricky Rubio, while player options for Thaddeus Young, Chase Budinger and Corey Brewer total nearly $20MM put together.

Bulls, Cavs Angling For Love, Nuggets In Mix

July 22nd, 2014 at 4:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:57pm: A source who spoke to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times disputes that the Bulls are once more pushing to trade for Love.

4:08pm: The general belief is that the Wolves asked for Joakim Noah when they held preliminary talks about Love with the Bulls prior to the draft last month, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Presumably, Chicago rebuffed Minnesota on that point.

3:40pm: Dieng’s name hasn’t come up in talks with Cleveland, and neither has Martin’s, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. Krawczynski cautions that Martin’s name was indeed a part of talks with the Warriors earlier in the offseason (Twitter links).

2:44pm: Gorgui Dieng‘s name has also come up in talks between the Cavs and Wolves, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link).

2:11pm: Cleveland’s search for non-guaranteed contracts are in fact in an effort to sweeten their offer for Love, Wojnarowski writes in a full story, as they would provide cap relief for Minnesota once waived. The Cavs are also dangling future first-round picks in search of an experienced center, sources tell Wojnarowski, though it’s unclear if that, too, is related to Love. Wojnarowski is among the reporters contending that the Cavs are willing to put Wiggins in the deal, a point of frequent debate.

The Nuggets also remain in play for Love, according to Wojnarowski, and their package is Minnesota’s favorite outside of Cleveland’s and Golden State’s, if the Warriors were to relent and offer Klay Thompson. Denver reportedly offered multiple packages in June, but it’s unclear what the Nuggets have on the table now. The Wolves are insisting that teams take on J.J. Barea as part of any Love trade, and possibly Kevin Martin, too, Wojnarowski adds.

1:15pm: The Wolves also like Bulls rookie Doug McDermott, but their priority remains acquiring Wiggins if possible, Wolfson tweets.

12:57pm: The Bulls are indeed making another push to get involved in the Love sweepstakes, report Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The general belief is that the Wolves would seek Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler and other assets from Chicago, according to Stein and Windhorst. The Bulls and Warriors were seemingly Love’s top two destinations when he made a push to be traded in May, but Chicago put any pursuit of him on the backburner while it chased Carmelo Anthony.

Still, the Cavs remain in the lead for Love and are increasingly optimistic that they can find a package that will work for the Wolves, Stein and Windhorst write. Their offer would center around Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a first-round pick, Stein and Windhorst hear, echoing a report last week from fellow ESPN scribe Chris Broussard and perhaps signaling a renewed willingness from Cleveland to part with Wiggins.

11:09am: The notion of including Andrew Wiggins in a trade for Kevin Love appears to be a matter the Cavs have tabled for now, but Cleveland remains in daily contact with the Wolves, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. The Wolves are ready to pull off a deal, but the Cavs are reticent to trade future first-round picks, as Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times hears (Twitter link). Minnesota is interested in the protected 2015 first-round picks the Cavs have coming from the Heat and Grizzlies, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter links).

The Bulls could find themselves in position to acquire Love, especially given the presence of Nikola Mirotic on the roster, if the Cavs won’t give up the picks the Wolves want, sources also tell Woelfel (Twitter link). As Mirotic was finalizing his buyout from Real Madrid of Spain, he reportedly wanted the Bulls to assure him that he wouldn’t be traded, though it’s unclear if Chicago ever addressed that issue.

The Cavs are on the prowl for non-guaranteed contracts that they can flip and use as trade ballast in subsequent deals, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Cleveland remains under the cap, so it isn’t subject to a two-month waiting period that would prevent it from immediately aggregating salary it received via trade in another swap. It appears as though the Cavs are going after these contracts at least in part to help build their portfolio for a Love trade, though that’s just my speculation.

Michael Carter-Williams Leads All-Rookie Team

May 22nd, 2014 at 1:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams headlines the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team, which also features Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke, Mason Plumlee and Tim Hardaway Jr. The Second Team is composed of Kelly Olynyk, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gorgui Dieng, Cody Zeller and Steven Adams. Carter-Williams was a unanimous first-team selection among the media members who voted for the award. Had Kevin Calabro of ESPN Radio not left Oladipo off his ballot entirely, the Magic guard would have been a unanimous first-teamer, too.

Still, the first team is made up of the only five players who received first-place votes for Rookie of the Year. Ben McLemore was the player with the most All-Rookie votes not to make either the first or the second team, and 29 players received at least one vote for one of the teams. That includes 2013 No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, who drew a single second-team vote.

Only three of the top 10 picks from the 2013 draft appear on either All-Rookie Team. Still, all 10 players selected to the team were first-round picks, with Hardaway, the 24th overall selection, the last to come off the board on draft night a year ago.

Western Notes: Lakers, Faried, Corbin, Wolves

April 17th, 2014 at 9:43pm CST by Alex Lee

It is certainly no surprise that, after we rounded up the Lakers’ exit interviews earlier tonight, there is already more buzz coming out of Los Angeles. This is the Lakers, after all. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports is reporting that Pau Gasol would consider reuniting with former coach Phil Jackson, now running things with the Knicks. Citing a source, Spears hears that the interest is mutual.

Meanwhile, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report mentions both Van Gundys, Stan and Jeff, as names that stand out to him should the Lakers part ways with Mike D’Antoni. Within the same story, Ding breaks down the team’s draft lottery odds as well as maps out the complicated status of their draft picks beyond this season. Here is what else is going on in the Western Conference:

Earlier this month it was Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly that had some kind words to say about Kenneth Faried. On Thursday, it was Brian Shaw’s turn. As Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post writes, the head coach wants and expects to have Faried in a Nuggets uniform next season. Faried was frequently mentioned in trade rumors this season.
The fate of Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin will hang in the balance just a little longer, according to Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune, who writes that the team will take a “decompression period” before making a decision on whether or not to bring the coach back. Luhm reports that a decision could come down as soon as this weekend.
With Rick Adelman’s departure imminent, the Wolves head coaching wish list includes Tom Izzo, Fred Hoiberg and Stan Van Gundy, reports Spears in his final power rankings column.
It’s a small silver lining in an otherwise ugly season in Minnesota, but ESPN’s Marc Stein tweets that the Wolves can take solace in the fact that they refused to deal rookie Gorgui Dieng at the trade deadline before they knew what they had (Twitter links). The Louisville product was a bright spot in Minnesota down the stretch and figures to be a key contributor in his second season.

T-Wolves Notes: Adelman, Love, Rubio

April 15th, 2014 at 10:50pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Rick Adelman‘s contract with the Timberwolves includes a mutual option with the team in which either side can opt out of the deal; the agreement calls for a decision to be made no later than two weeks after the end of the regular season (noted by the Associated Press). The above piece sheds light on the biggest criticisms surrounding Adelman’s performance this year, and it specifically mentions his questionable rotation decisions with Kevin Love and the team’s young players. Team president Flip Saunders is expected to sit down and talk with the long-time NBA head coach to discuss their future.

Keeping that in mind, Andy Greder and Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press write that there is an understanding between Adelman and the team that he can return next season as a consultant. Greder and Walters have more interesting tidbits to pass along out of Minnesota, and you can find them below:

Despite the uncertainty of Love’s future, there is no intention of trading him.
On the premise that Ricky Rubio hasn’t performed at an all-star level this season, It seems more probable that the T-Wolves would choose to offer a four-year extension rather than a five-year max when the two can negotiate a rookie deal extension between July and October.
The team will look to add a two-way wing player this summer. While they could also look to make a trade in order to boost their defense, owner Glen Taylor says it probably wouldn’t be a “big” one.
As with Love, Taylor doesn’t seem open to dealing Pekovic or Rubio right now.
Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng are expected to be key contributors next season, and Dieng’s standout performances during the latter portion of this year gives the team some added flexibility as it continues to deal with Nikola Pekovic‘s lingering injury concerns.

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)."

Timberwolves Sign Gorgui Dieng

July 13th, 2013 at 10:09pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Timberwolves have signed Gorgui Dieng to a rookie-scale contract, according to the teams official PR Twitter account. (Twitter link). An official release will come shortly.

The rookie Dieng was selected 21st overall in June's draft as part of the deal sending 14th pick, Shabazz Muhammad, and Dieng to the Jazz in exchange for 9th pick, Trey Burke. Dieng's likely first year salary, according to our salary chart, will be $1,352,640.

The 6'10" 240 pound center from Senegal, was initially ruled ineligible to play for the Louisville Cardinals, but after they appealed the NCAA's decision, it was reversed and he helped them win the 2013 NCAA championship.

Jazz Acquire Trey Burke

June 27th, 2013 at 9:29pm CST by Luke Adams

9:29pm: The deal is now official, with Burke heading to Utah for Shabazz Muhammad (No. 14) and Gorgui Dieng (No. 21).

7:34pm: The Jazz will acquire ninth overall pick Trey Burke from the Timberwolves, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com reports (via Twitter) that the T-Wolves will acquire the 14th and 21st picks in the swap.

There was speculation earlier today that Utah would trade up in the draft to land one of the top point guards on the board. It was reported that the team may have to include Alec Burks along with the two first-rounders to get a deal done, but with Burke slipping to No. 9, the Wolves were apparently ahppy to simply pick up an extra pick.

Southwest Notes: Spurs, Pelicans, Draft, Burke

June 27th, 2013 at 1:20pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest draft rumors out of the Southwest Division..

Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter) hears that point guard Trey Burke was very close to a promise from the Pelicans at No. 6. Hoops Rumors' most recent mock draft has the Michigan product going No. 8 to the Pistons.
Among the players believed to have piqued the Spurs' interest are Murray State guard Isaiah Canaan, Michigan guard Tim Hardaway Jr., North Carolina small forward Reggie Bullock, and Louisville center Gorgui Dieng, notes Jeff McDonald of the Express News.
Virginia Tech's Erick Green made a second trip into San Antonio to workout recently for the Spurs, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Wojnarowski notes that Green, a 6'4" guard, is one of the draft's better scorers.