Kevin Garnett Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Williams, Hawks, Garnett

February 24th, 2015 at 6:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons claimed Shawne Williams off waivers to offset the loss of Jonas Jerebko, who was traded to Boston last week, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “We’re a little thin up front and Shawne played very well in Miami this year, got put in that trade to New Orleans, New Orleans waived him before they got everybody hurt, so we got some luck there,” Stan Van Gundy said. “So we got a little luck there. But we needed a little depth and he’s a guy that comes in, again, on a value contract, and he’s got a non-guaranteed contract for next year. So it gives us a lot of flexibility.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Wizards are sending $839K to the Kings as part of the Andre Miller for Ramon Sessions trade that occurred last week, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link).
There’s a decent chance the sale of the Hawks won’t be complete until May or June, a person familiar with the deal told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Today is the deadline for prospective owners to submit preliminary bids, Vivlamore reports.
Newly acquired Goran Dragic has become a fan of his new team already, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald relays (Twitter link). Speaking about the Heat, Dragic said, “They take care of players. I feel I’m spoiled here. So much great stuff.“
Kevin Garnett said that it was difficult for him to leave the Nets mid-season because of his loyalty to the organization, but he believed that returning to Minnesota was a great opportunity, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com writes.
The Knicks are counting on oft-injured Andrea Bargnani to help make up for the scoring the team lost with Carmelo Anthony being out for the season, Justin Tasch of The New York Daily News writes. “Well, he has the skillset and the versatility to do those things,” coach Derek Fisher said. “Whether he can average the same amount of points [as Anthony], we’ll see. He’s capable of it. I think if he can stay healthy and just continue to get a comfort out on the floor again, playing basketball, competing hard every night, the physical and mental grind that exists in doing that – which is different when you haven’t done that for a year, which is basically what it’s been for him.“

Northwest Notes: Garnett, Wolves, Blazers

February 22nd, 2015 at 5:55pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kevin Garnett is expected to sign a two-year deal with the Wolves this offseason and during his new contract, Garnett and Wolves President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders are expected to try and form a group to buy the team from owner Glen Taylor, writes Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press. During his 20 seasons in the NBA, Garnett has amassed more than $325MM in salaries alone while Saunders has made an estimated $40MM during his 17 seasons as an NBA coach.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Garnett will have his greatest impact on the Wolves during practices, writes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune. Anthony Bennett and Adreian Payne seem likely to benefit the most from having the veteran around. “Those two, they’ll be able to take more on the court from KG,” assistant coach Ryan Saunders said. “The things he does, the little nuances he knows, they’ll see the ultimate professional.”
New addition Arron Afflalo was ecstatic about the trade that sent him to Blazers, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. The shooting guard believes the Blazers have a real chance to “contend for a championship.” The team believes both Afflalo and Alonzo Gee can help boost its bench unit. “Both guys have been in the league long enough that they know what teams do, it’s just a matter of understanding how we do things,” coach Terry Stotts said. “There will be some time to find a comfort zone, but … I think I have a good feel for who they are as players and what they can do. There’ll be a learning curve for all of us, but hopefully the system that we play fits what they do and they’ll flourish in it.”
Alonzo Gee hopes to make his impact on defense with the Blazers, writes Jabari Young of CSNNW.com. Gee, who has a reputation of being one of the more underrated defenders in the league, admits he will be move motivated playing for a team that has championship goals. “It does change how you look at every game,” Gee said. “Every game counts. You got to go out and try you best to help the team out as well.”

Wolves Rumors: Garnett, Wiggins, Brown

February 20th, 2015 at 12:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wolves reportedly want to re-sign Kevin Garnett for another two years when his contract expires this summer, and he’s expected to take them up on that, a source told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Minnesota insisted on Thaddeus Young instead of a first-round pick in the Kevin Love trade, and after dealing Young for Garnett on Thursday, coach/executive Flip Saunders guaranteed that Garnett will have a greater effect on the Wolves than the first-round pick ever would have, Zgoda tweets. Saunders said he tried to engage the Nets in conversations regarding the Love trade to see if he could acquire Garnett then, but Brooklyn resisted the idea, as Zgoda also relays (on Twitter). There’s more on Garnett amid the latest from Minnesota:

Wolves owner Glen Taylor acknowledged the return of Garnett as a player bodes well for KG’s chances of becoming a part-owner, notes Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). “It’s just that he’s a player. But I think that opens up that possibility,” Taylor said. Still, there were some hard feelings when Garnett and the Wolves parted ways in 2007, and Taylor and the star haven’t said more than hello since, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.
The choice Andrew Wiggins made not to sign with Klutch Sports, the agency that represents LeBron James, played a key factor in the Cavs’ decision to put him in the Love trade, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link). Wiggins is a Bill Duffy client.
The two-year deal that Lorenzo Brown signed with the Wolves on Thursday is a minimum-salary affair that’s non-guaranteed for next season, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).

Western Notes: Cooley, Garnett, Jazz

February 19th, 2015 at 11:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jack Cooley is a candidate to be signed to a 10-day deal by the Jazz, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune reports (Twitter link). Utah is in need of frontcourt depth in the wake of the Enes Kanter trade. Cooley currently plays for the Idaho Stampede, the Jazz‘s D-League affiliate. In 15 D-League games, Cooley is averaging 15.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 28.5 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jazz re-sign swingman Chris Johnson, whom the team had on a 10-day contract a few weeks ago, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
The Clippers met with D-Leaguer Eric Griffin in New York over the weekend and discussed a 10-day deal, but no move is expected, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). Griffin hooked on with the Texas Legends after being waived by the Mavs in October.
The Clippers have two roster openings and Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) hears that they plan to fill both. They’ll likely go with two bought out players but they could sign one buyout guy and one player to a 10-day deal.
The Jazz like Alex Abrines, one of the Thunder’s draft-and-stash prospects, Genessy notes (Twitter link). Abrines, a 21-year-old shooting guard, is under contract with Barcelona of Spain until 2016, as our draft rights held players database shows.
The Jazz showed interest in Shane Larkin before the deadline, sources told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
Just as the Timberwolves would reportedly like to sign Kevin Garnett for two more years, Garnett fully intends to play at least one more season, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron and Zach Links contributed to this post.

Timberwolves Acquire Kevin Garnett

February 19th, 2015 at 8:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

8:28pm: The trade is official, the Nets have announced in a press release.

3:11pm: The Wolves want to re-sign Garnett for two more seasons this summer, according to Jon Kraczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter links). Garnett has known of this desire, Krawczynski adds, speculating that it factored into his decision to waive the no-trade clause.

1:44pm: Kevin Garnett has agreed to waive his no-trade clause and the Nets will trade him to the Timberwolves for Thaddeus Young, reports TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). The teams had been waiting on him to give his OK to the deal that will send him back to where his NBA career began nearly 20 years ago. ASM Sports, the agency for Garnett, has confirmed the agreement via Twitter (hat tip to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post).

The 38-year-old is earning $12MM for the season, and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the campaign. The veteran has appeared in 42 games for Brooklyn this season, and is averaging 6.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 20.3 minutes per night. Garnett’s career averages are 18.3 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 3.8 APG. His career shooting percentages are .497/.276/.790.

Garnett has said in the past that he hopes to buy the Wolves when his playing days are over. The veteran had a no-trade clause in his contract and while he was reluctant to waive it all, he eventually did leave the door open for a deal that would bring him back to Minnesota. There was also strong interest from the Clippers and coach/executive Doc Rivers, but KG was against the idea of a buyout.

Young, 26, is making $9,410,869 this season, and he has a player option worth $9,971,739 for the 2015/16 campaign. The 6’8″ forward has appeared in 48 games for Minnesota this season, and is averaging 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 33.4 minutes per game. His career numbers are 13.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 1.5 APG. Young’s career slash line is .495/.319/.698.

Just a few days ago, it was reported that Wolves president Flip Saunders had shown little inclination towards trading Young. Of course, the deadline has a way of changing those things. Recently, our own Chris Crouse analyzed Young as a trade candidate.

Wolves Trying To Acquire Kevin Garnett

February 19th, 2015 at 1:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

1:31pm: The Nets believe that Garnett will OK the deal, a source tells TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).

12:35pm: Belief is growing that Garnett will waive his no-trade clause, but he hasn’t decided yet, as Wojnarowski hears (Twitter link).

10:23am: The Wolves have “cautious optimism” that Garnett will waive his no-trade clause, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link).

9:40am: Garnett found out about Minnesota’s interest in a reunion weeks ago, but he wasn’t on board with the idea initially, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.

8:35am: Timberwolves brass and Garnett will speak today about the trade possibility, as Bontemps hears (Twitter link). Meanwhile, a source insists to Kennedy that the Nets are quite enamored with Young (Twitter link).

8:27am: Garnett still won’t do a buyout in spite of strong interest from the Clippers and coach/executive Doc Rivers, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Still, Garnett is considering “the one trade scenario,” Wojnarowski says, presumably a reference to the Wolves idea. The Nets and Wolves have had a ton of talks about Young, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Young almost wound up with the Mavericks, and a deal that was in the works fell apart when Dallas wound up with Amar’e Stoudemire, Kennedy tweets.

8:06am: The fate of any deal is largely up to Garnett to decide at this point, Stein tweets.

THURSDAY, 7:52am: The talks are “exploratory,” a source told Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press, though Stein, in the most recent update of his story, notes that sources deemed the discussions “serious.” The Wolves are still debating the merits of relinquishing Young, who’s in his prime and has played better of late, for Garnett, a 20th-year vet, the AP scribe adds. Most people around the league don’t think KG would be willing to waive his no-trade clause, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post, and that’s the sense in Brooklyn, too, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. It’s unclear if the former Wolves star is prepared to put aside any lingering resentment toward owner Glen Taylor about the way they parted in 2007, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune indicates.

11:56pm: Garnett has been said to be unwilling to waive his no-trade clause as recently as the last few days, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets.

WEDNESDAY, 10:52pm: The Timberwolves and Nets are in talks regarding a trade that would return Kevin Garnett to Minnesota in exchange for Thaddeus Young, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. The 19-year NBA veteran has a no-trade clause in his contract, which means that Garnett could potentially veto any deal presented to him. Garnett spent his first 12 seasons in the NBA with Minnesota, and it would be a great ending to his storied career if he retired while wearing a Timberwolves jersey. The big man has also said that he hopes to buy the Wolves when his playing days are over.

The 38-year-old is earning $12MM for the season, and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the campaign. The veteran has appeared in 42 games for Brooklyn this season, and is averaging 6.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 20.3 minutes per night. Garnett’s career averages are 18.3 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 3.8 APG. His career shooting percentages are .497/.276/.790.

Young, 26, is making $9,410,869 this season, and he has a player option worth $9,971,739 for the 2015/16 campaign. The 6’8″ forward has appeared in 48 games for Minnesota this season, and is averaging 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 33.4 minutes per game. His career numbers are 13.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 1.5 APG. Young’s career slash line is .495/.319/.698.

Nets, Thunder Close To Lopez, Jackson Deal

February 19th, 2015 at 1:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:21pm: Stan Van Gundy says the Pistons aren’t moving on Jarrett Jack or Heat guard Norris Cole today, according to David Mayo of MLive.com (on Twitter).

1:01pm: The Thunder are looking at a deal with another team, according to Wojnarowski, who indicates that’s the holdup on the Jackson-Lopez front (on Twitter).

12:47pm: Garnett’s decision regarding his no-trade clause won’t affect the Lopez-Jackson deal, sources tell Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). The Nets are ready to make it happen and are waiting on the Thunder, Mannix says. That would seem to suggest a two-teamer is most likely, but that’s just my speculation.

12:24pm: Jackson is enthusiastic about a potential deal to the Nets, league sources tell Wojnarowski, who hints that Brooklyn’s apparent willingness to unload Jack and sign Jackson to a lucrative deal this summer are major components to that. Jackson is indeed willing to sign long-term in Brooklyn, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (on Twitter), and that was key to Brooklyn’s pursuit of the would-be trade, as Wojnarowski reported earlier (below). Both Wojnarowski, in his full piece, and Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link) have the would-be two-teamer as Lopez to the Thunder for Perkins and Jones, though Wojnarowski says a broader structure of the deal involving other teams remains in play.

12:08pm: The Pistons are a possible landing spot for Jack, sources tell Windhorst (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Detroit would be a part of the Lopez-Jackson deal.

11:42am: The Nets could send Jack to the Wizards as part of a larger deal, a league source tells Wojnarowski (Twitter link)

11:09am: Jackson’s relationship with his teammates on the Thunder has deteriorated quite a bit, according to Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

10:43am: The fate of a Nets-Thunder deal involving Jackson and Lopez rests with the Thunder, and for now it would be just a two team arrangement, reports Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

10:40am: The Nets are one of multiple options the Thunder are looking at regarding Jackson, but a deal between Brooklyn and Oklahoma City remains close, Broussard tweets.

10:20am: Jackson’s camp believes a deal will likely get done, Amick tweets. The Timberwolves and Sixers could be included, perhaps with the Thaddeus Young-for-Kevin Garnett possibility lumped in, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Nets are again looking to flip Perkins or have him conveyed elsewhere, Windhorst tweets.

10:15am: A deal is close, but not done, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). The teams are talking about deal that would see Oklahoma City relinquish Jackson, Perry Jones III and Perkins as Nets feel out Jackson’s willingness to re-sign, as Wojnarowski writes in a full story. Brooklyn is prepared to part with Jack, and the team would make Jackson the starter of Deron Williams, Wojnarowski adds. League sources once more tell Wojnarowski that it’s believed Jackson will command between $13MM and $14MM this summer. Oklahoma City and Brooklyn are exploring potential third teams to add to the deal, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

10:04am: Brooklyn “needs to” include Jarrett Jack in any Jackson-Lopez deal, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). A deal might involve Perkins and Ish Smith heading Brooklyn’s way in addition to Jackson, tweets Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.

9:49am: The Nets and Thunder are having serious talks about a deal involving Brook Lopez and Reggie Jackson, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Wojnarowski reported minutes earlier that there was a decent chance the Nets and Thunder would regather momentum toward a trade involving Lopez if the Nets become convinced they can re-sign Jackson this summer (Twitter link). The Nets and Thunder went deep into discussions on Lopez last month, but those conversations didn’t involve Jackson. The Thunder appear to have been the party with interest in striking up the Lopez talks again while the Nets have seemed hesitant.

Jackson’s agent, Aaron Mintz, recently requested that the Thunder trade his client, who’s due for restricted free agency this summer. The Kings, Bucks, Heat, Pacers, Rockets and Nuggets all appear interested in swapping for Jackson, while there are conflicting reports about whether the Celtics are pursuing him. The 24-year-old turned down an extension offer in the neighborhood of four years and $48MM this past fall, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (Twitter link). That was around the time teams around the league thought he’d end up commanding $13-14MM a year this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported at the time.

Lopez is due a player option worth more than $16.744MM for next season, though there are conflicting reports about whether he’d pick it up. Talks between the Nets and Thunder would have sent a package including Kendrick Perkins and Jeremy Lamb to Brooklyn, and the Nets had reportedly spoken to the Wolves about Thaddeus Young and had interest in flipping Perkins to Minnesota for him. Still, Brooklyn remained reluctant to do such a deal with Oklahoma City, apparently because it didn’t want to relinquish Lopez in what would amount to a salary dump with a package centering on Perkins, in spite of the Young discussion.

Kyler’s Latest: Dragic, Deng, Garnett, Lawson

February 17th, 2015 at 10:09am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks have engaged the Suns in talks as they keep an eye on Goran Dragic, just as the Lakers have done, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. The Knicks and Lakers would be on board with trading for a player whom they could otherwise just wait to sign outright in free agency this summer, like Dragic, but it doesn’t seem that either would give up major assets in any such swap. Kyler has plenty more new information with the trade deadline just two days off, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

Miami is open to trading Luol Deng, according to Kyler, who suggests that the veteran small forward isn’t garnering the sort of interest it would take for him to be traded. Kyler also lists Norris Cole, Chris Andersen and Danny Granger as players the Heat are making available, which jibes with earlier reports on all three.
Golden State is “more than” interested in Kevin Garnett, Kyler hears, which advances a suggestion from Grantland’s Zach Lowe on Monday that the Warriors would like to try to convince Garnett to waive his no-trade clause. The 20th-year veteran reportedly has no plans to seek a buyout.
The Bucks are “being linked” to Ty Lawson, Kyler writes, though it’s unclear just what sort of interest is there.
The Bulls would think about trading Tony Snell for a veteran shooting guard who fits what they’re looking for, Kyler writes. Still, while Chicago is speaking generally about doing some deals before the deadline, the team doesn’t appear to be willing to give up what it would take, according to Kyler.
The Suns are making Gerald Green available, according to Kyler.
Charlotte has interest in Wilson Chandler, but the Hornets would prefer to trade for Arron Afflalo, as Kyler hears. That’s the reverse of the Blazers‘ apparent preference. The Bulls are “sniffing at” both players, too, Kyler adds, nonetheless casting doubt once more on whether Chicago is willing to give up the assets necessary to swing a deal.
Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas have come up in trade rumors, but it’s more likely that the Raptors deal someone on an expiring contract, according to Kyler, naming Landry Fields, Tyler Hansbrough and Amir Johnson as examples.
Sources close to the Pacers tell Kyler that David West is likely to opt in with the Pacers for next season, when his contract calls for him to make $12.6MM.
There is “a sense” that the Magic are making Ben Gordon and Luke Ridnour available, Kyler says.

Lowe’s Latest: Warriors, Garnett, Magic, Pelicans

February 16th, 2015 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Projections from the league and individual teams show the salary cap going from about $68MM next season to around $90MM for 2016/17 without any sort of plan for tiered increases, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. The players union rejected the league’s proposal to smooth out the projected spike in the cap, and while executive director Michele Roberts left open the possibility that the union would counter with a proposal of its own, compromise seems unlikely, according to Lowe. That’s left teams that aren’t usually attractive to free agents with the feeling that their cap flexibility is less valuable than it ever has been, Lowe hears, since just about every team will be in line to sign a max-level free agent or two after next season.

We’ve already passed along Lowe’s news about exploratory Ty Lawson talks between the Nuggets and the latest on the Raptors and Terrence Ross, but Lowe’s must-read column has more, and we’ll hit the rest of the highlights here:

Lowe suggests the Warriors would like to try to convince Kevin Garnett to waive his no-trade clause and that they’ll see if any money-saving deals for David Lee are available.
The Nets don’t want to make a trade just for the sake of making one, and if they do swing a deal, they’ll seek “some token future assets” and cap flexibility for the summer of 2016, Lowe writes.
Lowe names Maurice Harkless and Andrew Nicholson as examples of “little side pieces” the Magic will seek to trade. The Magic are open to trading Nicholson, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last week. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders heard last month that teams had been calling about Harkless but that Orlando’s asking price was high.
The Pelicans would like an upgrade at small forward, but they won’t part with Ryan Anderson cheaply just to accomplish that goal, Lowe writes.
Corey Brewer declined his $4.905MM player option for next season to help facilitate the trade that sent him to the Rockets, according to Lowe. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders also shows the option as having been declined on his Rockets salary page.

And-Ones: Wizards, KG, Stoudemire, Cavs

February 8th, 2015 at 10:46pm CST by Zachary Links

The Wizards are looking at free agents from overseas and players who will buy out their contracts before turning to the trade market, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (on Twitter). The Wizards don’t want to sacrifice their long-term flexibility, so free agents are more attractive to them at this time (link). An attractive trade offer could change that, but that hasn’t come up yet (link).

The Clippers would be interested in Amar’e Stoudemire or Kevin Garnett if they became available on the buyout market regardless of Blake Griffin‘s status, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (on Twitter).
The Cavs announced that they have recalled guard Joe Harris from the Canton Charge. Harris has played in six games for the Charge this season, averaging 18.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 33.2 minutes per game. The 23-year-old guard has played in 36 games (one start) for the Cavs this season, averaging 2.8 points in 10.8 minutes per game.
Bismack Biyombo‘s MRI shows that he’ll miss at least two more weeks of action, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). The Hornets youngster was mentioned in trade rumors prior to the season and the latest diagnosis means that he’ll be sidelined through the trade deadline.
The best move the Pistons could make at the deadline is not making one, opines David Mayo of MLive.com. The Pistons merely are on the edge of playoff contention, nothing more, and with so many roster holes after this season, they shouldn’t trade away key pieces for the future to complete the run.
Expect the 76ers‘ core to be intact after the deadline, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.