Greg Stiemsma Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Sign Greg Stiemsma

July 10th, 2013 at 4:50pm CST by Luke Adams

4:50pm: The Pelicans have officially announced the signing of Stiemsma in a press release.

10:15am: The Pelicans have reached an agreement to sign Greg Stiemsma, according to agent Mark Bartelstein (Twitter link via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today). The deal will be for one year and $2.7MM, says ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (via Twitter).

Stiemsma, 27, was released on the weekend by the Timberwolves, prior to his 2013/14 contract becoming guaranteed. However, based on the figure reported by Broussard, the big man seems to be in line for a salary nearly identical to what he would have earned anyway.

Stiemsma appeared in 76 games for the Wolves a year ago, averaging 4.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG as a center off the bench. For New Orleans, he'll serve as a de-facto replacement for Robin Lopez, who the Pelicans agreed to trade to Portland.

Sam Amick of USA Today first reported yesterday (via Twitter) that the Pelicans were among about 12 suitors for Stiemsma, while ESPN.com's Marc Stein tweeted earlier today that New Orleans appeared to be the frontrunner.

Odds & Ends: Stiemsma, Brewer, Bucks

July 9th, 2013 at 9:11pm CST by Michael Pina

A few random notes from around the league on this busy Tuesday evening.

After having his rights renounced by the Timberwolves, free agent center Greg Stiemsma has found interested suitors in about 12 teams around the league, according to a tweet by USAToday's Sam Amick. The Pelicans are one of those teams.
The Timberwolves are pursuing Corey Brewer and are trying to trade Luke Ridnour to make signing him possible, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
According to Gery Woelfel of JournalTimes.com, there's growing chatter that the Bucks are aggressively pursuing Hawks restricted agent point guard Jeff Teague, and would let Brandon Jennings walk if they can get him.
Woelfel is also reporting that the Bucks are interested in Gary Neal.

Wolves Rumors: Pekovic, Martin, Trades, Rubio

July 8th, 2013 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

According to reports from Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities and Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, the Timberwolves have formally extended a multiyear contract offer to restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic. Zgoda, who expects Pekovic to sign a four-year deal worth $12MM or more, says the offer was made on Friday and that the Wolves expect an answer from the big man's camp early this week.

Here's more out of Minnesota from Wolfson:

The Thunder have interest in signing-and-trading Kevin Martin to the Wolves, but an outright signing is more likely. Andrei Kirilenko's camp is also pushing for a sign-and-trade, says Wolfson, but the Wolves are more likely to simply renounce his rights.
In their search for a defensive-minded wing, the Wolves are exploring trades involving Luke Ridnour and J.J. Barea. While Ridnour is drawing more interest, the team may prefer to move Barea, since head coach Rick Adelman likes Ridnour.
Prior to being waived yesterday, Greg Stiemsma was offered to every team in trade talks, but no clubs were willing to give up anything of value.
The Wolves have inquired on Chauncey Billups, but are focusing on other needs for now.
Barring an unforeseen catastrophe, Ricky Rubio will be offered a new five-year contract next summer, when he becomes extension-eligible.
While Wizards exec Milt Newton appeared to be a candidate for the Wolves' GM job, he'll likely remain in Washington. Wolves president Flip Saunders figures to promote internally for the team's GM job, with Wolfson citing Rob Babcock as a possibility.

Odds & Ends: Jamison, Stiemsma, Douglas, Telfair

July 7th, 2013 at 11:27pm CST by Zachary Links

We learned earlier today that the Clippers have interest in signing free agent Antawn Jamison, but the veteran might not fit into their plans so easily. The club is also targeting Lamar Odom and since they're unlikely to get both, it's a one-or-the-other scenario for the Clippers, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Here's more from around the Association..

The agent for Greg Stiemsma told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (via Twitter) that there's still a chance that his client could return to the Wolves after being waived earlier today. The conversation Zgoda had made it seem as though the move was procedural and that there is still mutual interest in a new deal.
Meanwhile, the Wolves continue to talk with Minnesota's own Alan Anderson, agent Mark Bartelstein told Zgoda (on Twitter).
A source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter) that Toney Douglas is being looked at by a couple of teams to fill a backup role. The Knicks could be in play for him as he offers defense, three point shooting, and a decent transition game.
More from Zwerling (on Twitter) who says that Sebastian Telfair might not be in play for the Knicks after all due to financial reasons.

Wolves Waive Stiemsma, Gelabale

July 7th, 2013 at 4:05pm CST by Zachary Links

The Wolves announced that they have waived center Greg Stiemsma and forward Mickael Gelabale. Both moves have been expected for some time.

Both players had contracts for the 2013/14 season that were said to become guaranteed if they were still on the Wolves’ roster at the end of the month. Stiemsma was set to earn $2.69MM next season while Gelabale would have made $916K. According to the Hoops Rumors schedule of guarantee dates, Stiemsma would have had his contract locked in on July 17th while Gelabale would have been guaranteed on the 22nd.

Stiemsma, a former Celtic, averaged 4.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 15.9 minutes per game last year. Gelabale, who spent several years overseas, scored 5.0 PPG in 17.9 minutes per contest.

Wolfson On Mayo, Budinger, Belinelli, Iguodala

June 30th, 2013 at 10:04am CST by Chuck Myron

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities covers a broad spectrum of Minnesota sports in his weekly Scoops column, but with the NBA draft just completed and free agency about to start, his focus this week is on the Timberwolves. Let's dive in:

Wolfson writes that Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders may meet with O.J. Mayo this week, and Wolfson adds via Twitter that there's a strong belief that the meeting will indeed take place, around the same time Saunders meets with Chase Budinger.
Minnesota is also considering Marco Belinelli.
The Wolves are unlikely to go after Andre Iguodala, and his high price tag isn't the only reason.
A source tells Wolfson that while the Wolves like Bucks big man Ekpe Udoh, who was rumored this week to be part of a trade for Luke Ridnour, the team is getting plenty of offers for Ridnour, and Minnesota may wind up with a more attractive player than Udoh in return.
Bojan Dubljevic, whom the Wolves took 59th overall, will remain in Europe for at least two more years.
Another rumor around draft time had the Wolves swapping the No. 26 pick for MarShon Brooks, but such a deal was "never that close," Wolfson writes.
Greg Stiemsma has left agent Mike Naiditch, and the Priority Sports Agency will now handle his representation.

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.

Wolves Rumors: Oladipo, Mayo, Kirilenko, Pekovic

June 7th, 2013 at 8:37am CST by Luke Adams

Yesterday, Timberwolves president Flip Saunders made multiple radio appearances, stressing that he wouldn't trade Kevin Love and that the team wasn't about to just give anyone away in order to move up in the draft. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities has more today on the T-Wolves' offseason plans, so let's dive in and check out the highlights from Wolfson's latest Scoops column….

The Wolves still have "strong interest" in drafting Victor Oladipo, but Oladipo's representatives have been reluctant to set up a workout for their client until the club shows it has the ability to trade into the top five, says Wolfson.
While the Wolves appear unlikely to pursue Kevin Martin, who Rick Adelman coached in Houston, O.J. Mayo remains a "big-time free agent priority" for the team, according to Wolfson.
Wolfson passes along a recent quote from Andrei Kirilenko, in which Kirilenko discusses his $10.22MM player option, adding that it sounds as if the veteran forward is seriously considering opting out. According to Wolfson, the Wolves would like to bring back the Russian, but aren't in love with the idea of paying him $10MM+.
Restricted free-agent-to-be Nikola Pekovic will meet with Saunders in Italy this weekend.
The team option the Wolves hold on Dante Cunningham is essentially a lock to be exercised, says Wolfson.
As I noted in Hoops Rumors' timeline of contract guarantee dates, Greg Stiemsma's and Mickael Gelabale's deals for next season don't become guaranteed until July 17th and July 22nd, respectively. Wolfson points out that both players could be useful trade chips in the next few weeks, since their deals are essentially set to expire in July.

Northwest Notes: Durant, Blazers, Stiemsma

December 5th, 2012 at 7:13pm CST by Sean Highkin

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

Kevin Durant tells Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman that he feels the Thunder have played well in adjusting to James Harden's absence.
Abby Chin of CSNNW.com writes that Blazers coach Terry Stotts is trying to instill confidence in the team's bench, which has underperformed this season.
Timberwolves center Greg Stiemsma reflects on his rookie season in Boston as they prepare to play the Celtics.

Odds & Ends: Lazenby, O’Bryant, Hibbert

November 10th, 2012 at 11:08pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Jabari Davis of Sheridan Hoops noted a few highlights from a roundtable discussion between longtime personal friend of Phil Jackson/NBA author Roland Lazenby and the hosts of a blog talk radio show called TheOpinioNationNetwork. Most notably, Lazenby feels that Jackson's return to the Lakers is a foregone conclusion and went on to briefly talk about how Jackson would be able to handle the team's schedule, Nash's fit within the triangle offense, and where he currently stands with Jerry Buss.

While the head coaching situation in Los Angeles currently appears to be the most polarizing topic of the basketball world, we'll keep track of tonight's other rumblings from around the Association here:

There is no timetable for Clippers guard/forward Grant Hill's return to action (he has been out after suffering a bone bruise in his right knee on October 14th), although an MRI on Friday revealed that his condition hadn't worsened (Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports).
Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune mentions that Timberwolves guard Alexey Shved is starting to become more comfortable playing in the NBA: "It's so different here from Europe, it takes time…I feel pretty good. Now I'm starting to know what I can do."
Eric Patten of NBA.com makes note of DeAndre Jordan's development and it has been an important cog in the Clippers' offense.
Greg Stiemsma credits Al Jefferson and Kevin Garnett as two players who have helped with his development as an NBA player, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
Although Timberwolves guard Brandon Roy was removed from the lineup tonight because of knee soreness, coach Rick Adelman says that he won't be overly concerned for now and hopes that it's just a minor setback (Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago reports).
Former Warriors lottery-pick Patrick O'Bryant is headed abroad, as Sportando.net reports that he has been officially signed by Tiburones de Vargas of the National Basketball League of Venezuela.