J.j. Barea Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wolves, Grizzlies Discussing Budinger, Barea

February 19th, 2014 at 12:26pm CST by Zachary Links

12:26pm: A source involved in the talks tells Berger that the proposal is “dead,” though others are holding out hope for revival. Some members of the Memphis camp suspect the Timberwolves are using these discussions to further their chances for a different deal, according to Amick (Twitter links).

12:13pm: The Grizzlies are “very unlikely” to yield on Allen, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

11:12am: The Wolves are eager to swap Barea, but they’re somewhat reluctant to move Budinger, Wolfson adds (on Twitter).

11:01am: There’s no way Wolves executive Flip Saunders will make the trade without Allen as part of it, Wolfson tweets.

10:50am: The teams are “nowhere close to a deal,” according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who seconds what Wojnarowski is hearing about the Grizzlies’ reluctance to include Allen (Twitter link). Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities nonetheless hears the clubs are making progress, as he notes on Twitter.

10:45am: The Wolves are insisting that Allen be included along with Prince in a deal for Budinger and Barea, but the Grizzlies are resisting at the moment, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

WEDNESDAY, 10:23am: The Grizzlies and Wolves have gained momentum toward a deal involving Prince and Allen, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Presumably, Budinger and Barea are also still a part of the talks.

MONDAY, 7:04pm: The Grizzlies are discussing a deal with the Timberwolves centered on forward Chase Budinger and guard J.J. Barea, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Memphis wants to include forward Tayshaun Prince into the package and the deal could be expanded to include guard Tony Allen, though components of a proposed deal are still fluid.

Memphis has been trying to unload Prince and his cumbersome contract, sources tell Wojnarowski. The forward is earning $7.2MM this season and will make $7.7MM in 2014/15. on his contract. Meanwhile, Wolves GM Flip Saunders is believed to want to add defensive toughness to his roster, and that would make Allen a natural fit.

Budinger, 25, missed much of the early season recovering from knee surgery, and has averaged 6.0 PPG in 17.7 minutes per game this season. Barea, 29, is averaging 8.7 PPG in 18 minutes per contest this season. The Wolves badly want to make the playoffs this season with Kevin Love’s free agency on the horizon and they have reportedly been open to moving the diminutive guard in order to help make that happen.

Allen has been sidelined since early January with a fracture in his left hand. In his 27 games this season, Allen has averaged 10.2 PPG off of 49.3% shooting from the floor.

Wolves Have Interest In Andre Miller

February 18th, 2014 at 2:00pm CST by Zachary Links

TUESDAY, 2:00pm: The Wolves would be Miller’s top choice for a trade destination, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who notes that it’s probably not a factor in Denver’s thinking. The Nuggets still aren’t making progress on a Miller trade, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).

MONDAY, 9:05pm: The Timberwolves are among the clubs that have expressed interest in Nuggets guard Andre Miller, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Wolves would only acquire Miller if they find another home for guard J.J. Barea, however.

A straight-up swap of the two probably isn’t in the cards as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter) believes that such a deal has already been proposed. The Nuggets, unsurprisingly, rebuffed the Wolves’ offer.

The veteran guard left the club earlier this year and apparently has no interest in returning to them this season. The 37-year-old isn’t the player he once was, but he has proven to be one of the most durable players in the league. Our own Chuck Myron recently looked at Miller as a trade candidate.

Amick On Expected Buyers, Sellers At Deadline

February 7th, 2014 at 10:12pm CST by Cray Allred

In his most recent column, Sam Amick of USA Today passed on a lot of information gathered from six NBA executives speaking anonymously regarding what he thinks will be a “very active swapping season.” Talk includes teams from around the league looking to win now or bolster rebuilding efforts. The entire article is worth the read, but here is a brief roundup:

The Knicks “have decided to think big” as the deadline approaches, and believe that the Celtics‘ Rajon Rondo is more available than Boston general manager Danny Ainge is letting on. Trading Carmelo Anthony is not being given serious consideration, despite all the speculation surrounding his willingness to re-sign this summer.
Rival executives think that if Ainge were to make any Rondo move, he would wait until just before the deadline to do so.
The Pelicans are thought to be willing to trade Eric Gordon, although moving the two-year, $29MM left on his contract would be a challenge.
If the Suns don’t acquire Pau Gasol, Thaddeus Young is another possible trade target before the deadline. It’s also believed that Phoenix would have strong interest in Rudy Gay this off season should he opt out of his player option.
The Spurs and Bobcats were mentioned by an executive as possible destinations for the Sixers‘ Evan Turner, either through a trade this season or when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer.
It’s more likely that the Pistons move players with expiring deals (Rodney Stuckey, Charlie Villanueva or Jonas Jerebko, for instance) than for them to part with Greg Monroe before the deadline.
The Timberwolves have great urgency to make the playoffs and keep Kevin Love content, and are thought to be willing to part with J.J. Barea, Dante Cunningham, and Alexey Shved for a deal that would help them avoid finishing another season outside the playoffs.
While the Grizzlies‘ Zach Randolph hasn’t said whether he will opt out of his contract this summer, he has indicated that he wants to remain with Memphis. For their part, the Grizzlies don’t appear to be shopping him. The Suns inquired about the power forward, but were told he wasn’t available.
The Magic aren’t eager to move Arron Afflalo, and it would likely take a proven player in addition to any draft picks to pry him away from Orlando.

Northwest Notes: Timberwolves, Roberson, Barea

October 19th, 2013 at 10:31pm CST by Spencer Lund

Here are some links from around the Northwest Division tonight:

Coach Rick Adelman is working with the ‘Wolves on expanding his offensive system, writes the Star Tribune’s Jerry Zgoda.
Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver previews the Northwest Division and has the Timberwolves finishing fourth behind the (in order from top to bottom) Thunder, Nuggets, and Blazers, but in front of the Jazz.
Thunder rookie Andre Roberson is making an impression with his defense and rebounding reports the Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater, despite star Kevin Durant admitting he had never heard of him before he was drafted.
Pioneer Press scribe Bruce Brothers writes that the big challenge next season for Timberwolves guard J.J Barea is to get tougher.

Western Notes: Barea, Blazers, Rockets, Gibson

September 3rd, 2013 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier in the day, we rounded up several items out of the Pacific Division. Now, let's shift our focus to the West's other two divisions, with a few links relating to Southwest and Northwest teams….

J.J. Barea tells Gonzalo Aguirregomezcorta of ESPNDeportes.com that while he wouldn't be opposed to returning to the Mavericks eventually, he's not looking to change addresses anytime soon. "I'm happy in Minnesota," Barea said. "They're the ones that wanted me there, the ones that signed me for four years, so until they decide to trade me, I'm going to give them all my effort in the games."
The Trail Blazers aren't looking to trade LaMarcus Aldridge and he's looking forward to playing with the new-look roster, but if the team's season gets off to a slow start, it's worth keeping a close on Portland's situation, according to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
Lance Thomas was grateful for the opportunity to re-sign with the Pelicans after the team released him in July, as he tells Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com.
The Rockets had some interest in free agent guard Daniel Gibson at one point, but don't anymore, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com gives the Mavericks a grade of B- for the team's new deal with Bernard James.

Odds & Ends: Nets, Celtics, Mavs, Barea

July 13th, 2013 at 12:07am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets and Celtics had agreed last month to the framework of a trade that involved Paul Pierce, but not Kevin Garnett, writes Howard Beck of The New York Times. Then, Brooklyn GM Billy King asked Boston counterpart Danny Ainge whether Garnett would be available, too, and the deal began to morph into the nine-player swap that was finalized today. Here's more on an ever-changing NBA landscape:

The Mavs lost a pair of guards to injury, but they aren't interested in a trade that would bring back J.J. Barea, tweets Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities.
According to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), it's
worth keeping an eye on Jordanian forward Zaid Abbas, who may be NBA-bound next
month. Amick adds in a second tweet that Abbas is holding off on signing with a
Chinese team due to optimism about potential NBA workouts in August.
The Rockets hold the rights to Kostas Papanikolaou after acquiring him as part of the Thomas Robinson trade, but the Bucks are among other NBA teams with interest in the 6'9" Greek small forward who "definitely" wants to play in the NBA this season, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link).
With Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Omri Casspi all joining other teams, the Cavaliers renounced their rights to the trio today, according to the RealGM transactions log. The Cavs did the same with Luke Walton, who remains a free agent.

Spurs Made Run At Andrei Kirilenko

July 10th, 2013 at 8:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs explored the possibility of acquiring Andrei Kirilenko from the Timberwolves via a sign-and-trade deal, but talks between the two sides appear to have ended without an agreement, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Although San Antonio seriously considered a multiyear offer for Kirilenko, the club doesn't have the cap space or exception room to add the Russian forward without a sign-and-trade. So far though, Timberwolves president Flip Saunders has shown little, if any, inclination to assist Kirilenko in securing a significant financial commitment from another club, sources tell Wojnarowski.

Kirilenko and the Spurs had been discussing an annual salary worth about $8-9MM, and Minnesota was unwilling to take back the salary necessary to complete a sign-and-trade for that amount, says Wojnarowski. Doing so would have compromised the Wolves' ability to add free agents Kevin Martin and Chase Budinger, and would have affected their continued pursuit of Corey Brewer.

According to Wojnarowski, the Thunder have resisted the idea of accommodating a sign-and-trade for Martin, while the Nuggets have been similarly reluctant to work out a sign-and-trade involving Brewer. Denver isn't interested in acquiring Luke Ridnour or J.J. Barea, which would likely be necessary for Brewer to earn a $5MM annual salary with the Wolves, notes Wojnarowski.

Although the Nuggets were also very interested in re-signing their own free agent swingman, the team has been unwilling to go as high as the Wolves on an offer for Brewer. With other teams also in the mix, it now appears unlikely that Brewer will return to Denver, according to Woj.

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.

Free Agency Rumors: Odom, Brand, Tinsley

July 6th, 2013 at 8:18pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Mavs will bring back point guard Devin Harris, but they're also considering another former guard, this one from their title-winning 2011 team: Jose Barea.

Earlier this month, there were rumors of a sign-and-trade involving O.J. Mayo and either the Wolves' J.J. Barea or Luke Ridnour. This came before the Mavs locked up their point guard slot by signing Jose Calderon.

Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com says (via Twitter) the Mavs have $8MM in cap space after Jose Calderon signed with them and O.J. Mayo signed with the Bucks, but there are ways to increase that figure, he notes. We already reported that the signing of Calderon likely knocks Barea out of the running for a return to the Mavs in a sign-and-trade since the Mavs have their point guard now and Mayo is gone.

Here's what else is happening around this busy Saturday night, including more Mavs' rumors as they go with plan B after failing to sign Dwight:

Besides bringing Harris back, the Mavs are also looking at re-signing Elton Brand, reports McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. McMahon also mentions their interest in Jermaine O'Neal, as previously iterated.
The Lakers, fresh off the disappointing exit of free agent Dwight Howard, are looking at Elton Brand and Lamar Odom, reports ESPNLosAngeles' Ramona Shelburne (Twitter links). But interest levels for Odom are hard to determine on both sides, and they may not be able to afford Brand, Shelburne continues.
Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune says (via Twitter), that besides the Nets, the Jazz were among Jamaal Tinsley's primary suitors. Oram says Tinsley remains interested in returning to the Jazz.
In the first three years of Chris Grant's position as the Cavs' general manager, he spent less than $7MM in free agency. This summer he's spent $34MM counting option years, tweets the Akron Beacon Journal's Jason Loyd.

Odds & Ends: Barea, Kenyon, Sampson, Copeland

July 6th, 2013 at 12:41am CST by Chuck Myron

Here's more from the NBA on an landmark night in free agency:

A Dallas source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that the Mavs' agreement with Jose Calderon likely knocks them out of discussions for J.J. Barea. Still, the Wolves remain upbeat about their chances of a Barea deal with the Mavs, in what would be a salary dump enabling Minnesota to clear money for a defensive-minded wing player (All Twitter links).
The Spurs have been one of many teams reportedly interested in Kenyon Martin, and now they're "in hot pursuit" of the veteran big man, though the Knicks and others remain in play, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game heard that Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson wouldn't return to the team, but Sampson tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that he'll be back in Houston. (Twitter links). "That's just a bad rumor," Sampson said. "I'm looking forward to a great year with the Rockets."
The Pacers and Chris Copeland discussed a third year that would have been a team option, but settled instead on their two-year, $6.12MM agreement, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group briefly looks at what the Warriors could do with the trade exceptions they'll acquire as part of their deal with the Jazz. He also hears that the W's see Andre Iguodala as capable of handling backup point guard duties, so the team will prioritize finding a backup center over a backup point guard (Sulia link).
In a separate piece, Thompson recounts the steps Iguodala took on the way to his agreement with the Warriors, noting that Iggy has long considered Golden State a desirable destination.
Lately, agent Dan Fegan has been preoccupied with other free agent clients, such as Dwight Howard, so he and the Wizards have yet to begin discussing an extension for John Wall, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Wall is extension-eligible this season, and will hit restricted free agency next summer if he and the Wizards don't strike a deal by Halloween.
In an interview with DraftExpress.com, Dario Saric suggests that the Mavericks were interested in making him a promise at No. 13 had he not withdrawn from last week's draft.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.