Kevin Garnett Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wolves Notes: Garnett, Rudez, Bjelica

July 12th, 2015 at 3:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Even at age 39, Kevin Garnett is looking toward the future, writes Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders. The veteran forward signed a two-year, $16.5MM with the Wolves this week, but he may be more valuable as a mentor than as a player. He is expected to help mold No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns, who joins a talented young core that includes Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng, Tyus Jones, Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins. “I’m excited to be part of this process for the future,” Garnett said. “I can’t wait to build something special with this group of guys. Hopefully, I can help, teach, and also continue to grow and learn from the young guys. It should be great. I’m looking forward to it all. The process to greatness starts now!”

There’s more out of Minnesota this afternoon:

Minnesota coach/executive Flip Saunders said he expects Garnett to be the team’s starting power forward and play in some back-to-back games, according to Jerry Zgoda of The Star-Tribune. Garnett played just five games for the Wolves after being acquired from the Nets in a February deal.
The Wolves have no immediate plans to part ways with Damjan Rudez, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Additionally, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweets Saunders said he likes Rudez’s shooting range and that Rudez will be brought to camp to compete for playing time.
Nemanja Bjelica is expected to sign his deal with the Wolves soon, according to Wolfson (Twitter link).

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Hummel, Garnett

July 12th, 2015 at 10:12am CST by Dana Gauruder

Damian Lillard said there was no way to prevent LaMarcus Aldridge from bolting the Trail Blazers for the Spurs, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports. Lillard told Spears that Aldridge wanted a change and was seeking a franchise that was closer to winning a championship. Lillard added that Aldridge had no issues with him. “We basically exchanged texts about how much admiration we have for each other,” Lillard told Spears. “That change wasn’t about me. I did express that I wanted him to be back. I told him I respected his decision. I respected that he told me before the news broke and I saw it on TV.”

In other news around the Northwest Division:

The Trail Blazers and Nuggets are among the teams interested in signing Robbie Hummel, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets. The Kings and Cavaliers are also in the mix, Wolfson adds, but the two Northwest teams are the ones with the greater interest. Hummel became an unrestricted free agent when the Timberwolves pulled their $1.147MM qualifying offer.
Kevin Garnett has a full no-trade clause in his new contract, thanks to his service time during his first stint with the Timberwolves, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Players can only get full no-trades in a new contract, not extensions, and must have at least eight years service time and four with the same team, Stein adds in a separate tweet. Garnett agreed to a two-year, $16.5MM deal.
The Timberwolves should receive a trade exception for all of Chase Budinger‘s $5MM salary, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Minnesota agreed to deal Budinger to the Pacers on Saturday.
The Nuggets didn’t waive Randy Foye by the end of Saturday, so his non-guaranteed salary of $3.135MM is now fully guaranteed (hat tip to former Nets executive Bobby Marks; Twitter link).

Timberwolves Re-Sign Kevin Garnett

July 10th, 2015 at 5:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 5:57pm: The signing is official, the Wolves announced.

5:03pm: Wolfson pegs the value of the deal at $16.5MM. Garnett, an Andy Miller client, negotiated it himself, Wolfson adds (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 4:43pm: Garnett’s deal is for two years and $16MM, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweets, confirming Zgoda’s estimate.

10:00am: It is indeed a two-year deal for Garnett, Wolfson tweets. It contains no options or non-guaranteed money, Wolfson adds (on Twitter).

NBA: Los Angeles Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

TUESDAY, 8:28am: The Timberwolves and Kevin Garnett have reached a deal, as long expected, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The numbers aren’t yet clear, but the team had reportedly planned to make him a two-year offer, and Garnett was likewise expected to take it. The 39-year-old will be coming back for his record-tying 21st season this year.

“I’m incredibly excited and rejuvenated to be a part of this talented, committed team,” Garnett said, according to Wolfson (Twitter link).

Injuries limited Garnett to just five games after the midseason trade that brought him back to Minnesota, the team that had originally drafted him, but coach/executive Flip Saunders has no regrets based on the veteran’s locker room presence for the young Timberwolves. He’ll rejoin a team that’s set to feature at least three rookies in No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns, No. 24 pick Tyus Jones, and draft-and-stash prospect Nemanja Bjelica, who reportedly agreed to a deal Monday.

Garnett made $12MM last season, though his declining production would suggest a pay cut is in order. Minnesota has his Bird Rights and thus the ability to pay him whatever is necessary, though Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune has estimated a deal would be worth about $8MM a year. That would fall roughly in line with what fellow venerable power forward Dirk Nowitzki agreed to take from the Mavericks last year, when he signed a three-year deal worth about $8.3MM a season.

Western Notes: Cuban, Stoudemire, Aldridge

July 7th, 2015 at 9:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA has fined Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban $25k for publicly confirming the team’s pending free-agent deals with DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. Under league rules teams and players are allowed to strike verbal agreements on new contracts during July’s moratorium period, but team officials are not allowed to openly discuss those deals until July 9th, when the moratorium concludes, Stein adds. Cuban has accumulated over $2MM in league fines since becoming the Mavs’ owner back in 2000.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Unrestricted free agent Amar’e Stoudemire is talking with the Clippers regarding a deal, but Los Angeles’ difficult salary cap situation is complicating matters, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times relays (on Twitter). The Clippers are also floating the idea of signing free agent center Cole Aldrich, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register tweets.
Ed Pinckney will serve as the lead assistant on coach Michael Malone‘s staff with the Nuggets, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets.
LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t officially inform the Trail Blazers that he was leaving Portland until last Friday, though the team likely knew the forward wouldn’t be returning, Jason Quick of The Oregonian notes (via Twitter). The big man agreed to a four-year, and approximately $80MM deal with the Spurs.
Veteran Kevin Garnett may end up transitioning into a front office position during the second season of his new deal with the Wolves if he isn’t healthy enough to play in 2016/17, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes (on Twitter). KG agreed to a two-year pact with the team earlier today.
Despite all of the roster additions the Mavericks have made this offseason, the team still may have lost ground to the other teams in the West who have also improved, especially the Spurs, who landed Aldridge, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. But even if the team does regress in 2015/16, the additions of DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews give the franchise two important building blocks for the future, Sefko adds.

Wolves Notes: Hummel, Garnett, Jones

June 28th, 2015 at 1:03pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wolves have extended a qualifying offer to Robbie Hummel worth slightly less than $1.15MM, according to Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press (Twitter link). President of basketball operations Flip Saunders previously indicated he would like to bring back the forward. Hummel scored 4.4 points in 16.5 minutes per game while shooting 45.9% from the field this season.

Here’s more from Minnesota:

It has yet to be announced, but Kevin Garnett will “definitely” re-sign with the Wolves, Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press reports. Walters also adds that Saunders will “definitely” return as the coach, which confirms a previous report. Garnett only played five games for Minnesota after being traded for Thaddeus Young. The 39-year-old will get a chance to mentor the team’s young talent, including Karl-Anthony Towns, which is something the No. 1 overall pick is looking forward to.
If the Wolves weren’t able to strike a deal with the Cavs for Tyus Jones, the team would have looked to add a point guard after July 1st, Walters writes in the same piece. “Then we would have had to go and sign somebody in free agency,” Saunders said.
Had the draft day trade not occurred, the Grizzlies would have chosen the Duke product with the No. 25 pick, sources tell Walters.

Northwest Notes: Booker, Lyles, Wolves, Jones

June 27th, 2015 at 8:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz have a July 15th deadline for a decision on the second year of Trevor Booker‘s contract, tweets Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. Booker is due to make nearly $4.8MM next season if Utah retains him, but only $250K of that is guaranteed. Genessy calls the decision a “no-brainer,” saying the Jazz would be wise to avoid the risks of free agency. (Twitter link). He also tweeted about Utah’s decision to extend a qualifying offer to Joe Ingles, noting that he won the Jazz over with his play in the second part of the season, especially by shooting 42.7% from three-point range.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

Trey Lyles impressed the Jazz in workouts with his ability in the open floor, Genessy writes. Coach Quinn Snyder said Lyles caught the team’s attention with the way he was able to rebound the ball on the defensive end, then push it up court and create opportunities for teammates. “We’ve alluded to the concept of being unselfish,” said GM Dennis Lindsey. “When I saw him play on tape and then here, that resonated with me.” The GM noted that Lyles posted the highest score on an advanced balance test of 104 players who participated in workouts.
The Wolves aren’t expected to be major players in free agency, according to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. The team is expected to try to re-sign veteran forward Kevin Garnett and reach a deal with European Nemanja Bjelica, but otherwise won’t be very active. “I’m actually, right now at this point, pretty comfortable,” said Minnesota coach/executive Flip Saunders. Garnett made $12MM last season, but Zgoda estimates his new salary will be around $8MM, and possibly part of a two-year deal that includes an opt-out after the first season. Saunders indicated he would also like to bring back restricted free agent Robbie Hummel, who made $880K last year.
The Wolves had been looking for a veteran point guard before the draft, Zgoda writes in the same story, but those plans changed when they were able to acquire Tyus Jones from the Cavaliers on draft night. Minnesota may try to reach a cost-effective deal to keep fourth guard Lorenzo Brown, but Saunders said he is “pretty comfortable” with Jones and Zach LaVine backing up Ricky Rubio.

Western Draft Notes: Towns, Grant, Jazz

May 31st, 2015 at 12:56pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Karl-Anthony Towns will interview with the Wolves and the Lakers, but won’t work out for any teams, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports. The big man would relish the opportunity to play in Minnesota. “It would be a blessing and an honor to even have a chance to play for Minnesota and be able to have the chance to play for a great organization and learn from a great mentor like Kevin Garnett,” Towns said.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

Jerian Grant, whom I profiled earlier today, will work out for the Raptors, Heat, Hornets, Nuggets and Wizards according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Grant previously worked out for the Pacers, Suns, Thunder and Rockets.
The Suns are looking for play-makers off their bench and Grant may be a good candidate for the No. 13 pick, Coro opines in the same piece. “We’re looking at the guys who could possibly be backup point guards,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “The more guys we can get on this team, whether it’s point guard, off-guard, three-man, center, forward, whatever it is — that bring intelligence to the game can only help us.”
The Jazz own the No. 12 selection in the draft and Kincade Upstill of the Deseret News wonders if the team should trade its pick. Upstill examines some hypothetical trades involving the team’s first-rounder, including an intriguing swap with the Clippers that involves sending J.J. Redick to the Jazz for Trey Burke and the No. 12 pick.

Northwest Notes: Garnett, Aldridge, Abrines

May 19th, 2015 at 11:20am CST by Chuck Myron

The Timberwolves got their apparent wish to receive Thaddeus Young in the final version of the Kevin Love trade instead of the Heat’s protected first-round pick this year, and Minnesota flipped Young for Kevin Garnett at this year’s trade deadline. The Sixers, who ended up with that protected Miami pick instead, have about a 9% chance to end up with it as a lottery pick this year, as the lottery odds show. Still, it’s more likely that it ultimately winds up going to Philadelphia next year as a late first-rounder, given the Heat’s strong chance to field a better team next season. Wolves coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders doesn’t have any regrets about trading for a aging superstar who’s mentoring rookies and veterans alike, as he told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck in part two of a lengthy oral history on Garnett.

“What KG brings, the other things, how he might help these other guys analytically be better, is more important than a low first-round pick or whatever it is,” Saunders said.

Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

LaMarcus Aldridge finally had the surgery on his left thumb that he put off in late January, the Trail Blazers announced. He’s expected to be able to return to basketball activity in about eight weeks, and while that would carry into July, when he’s set to become a free agent, it shouldn’t affect his stock, given how well he played while he was dealing with the injury, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Spurs, Mavs, Knicks, Lakers and Celtics are reportedly among the teams gearing up for a run at the Blazers star.
Thunder draft-and-stash prospect Alex Abrines has officially signed an extension with Barcelona of Spain that carries through the 2018/19 season, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi). Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo first reported the deal, though it remains unclear what sort of NBA outs, if any, are in the contract.
The Thunder let some of the top shooting prospects know that shooting is an area of need for the team, and Oklahoma City’s interviews at the combine also revealed that the club is focusing on point guards, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry examines.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Zeller, Gordon

April 22nd, 2015 at 8:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Veteran guard Ben Gordon became the odd man out in the Magic‘s rotation once James Borrego took over as the team’s interim coach, Ken Hornack of FOX Sports Florida writes. Borrego preferred to see what the backcourt pairing of Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton could accomplish, which left Gordon on the outside looking in, Hornack notes. Gordon’s $4.5MM salary for 2015/16 is non-guaranteed. In 56 games this season Gordon averaged 6.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per contest.

Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Hornets big man Cody Zeller had successful surgery today to repair damage to his right shoulder, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter link). The 22-year-old appeared in 62 contests for Charlotte this season, averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. Zeller is expected to resume basketball activities in three months.
Grant Hill‘s presence as part of the Hawks‘ new ownership group could aid GM Danny Ferry in retaining his position within the organization, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post opines (Twitter link). Ferry and Hill have ties through Duke University, which both men attended, Bontemps notes.
Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweeted that Hill’s involvement with the Ressler group should provide a good indicator of how Kevin Garnett could function as part of the Wolves’ ownership when he retires. Garnett has acknowledged an interest in buying the Wolves at some point, and owner Glen Taylor said that his return as a player enhanced his chances of becoming a part-owner.
Heat rookie point guard Shabazz Napier showed promise during his rookie season, but needs to be a more consistent player moving forward, Surya Fernandez of FOX Sports Florida writes in his profile of the player.

Nets Notes: Pierce, Williams, Garnett

April 14th, 2015 at 6:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Paul Pierce has found the Wizards to be a much better fit for himself than the Nets were last season, Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com writes. Speaking about being in Washington, Pierce told MacMullan, “I’m much happier. It was a tough situation [in Brooklyn] last year. Horrible, really. It was just the guys’ attitudes there. It wasn’t like we were surrounded by a bunch of young guys. They were vets who didn’t want to play and didn’t want to practice. I was looking around saying, ‘What’s this?’ Kevin Garnett and I had to pick them up every day in practice. If me and Kevin weren’t there, that team would have folded up. That team would have packed it in. We kept them going each and every day.”

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The veteran forward also relayed that the player who most perplexed him on the Nets was Deron Williams, MacMullan adds. “Before I got there, I looked at Deron as an MVP candidate,” Pierce said. “But I felt once we got there, that’s not what he wanted to be. He just didn’t want that. I think a lot of the pressure got to him sometimes. This was his first time in the national spotlight. The media in Utah is not the same as the media in New York, so that can wear on some people. I think it really affected him.”
Pierce indicated he would have remained in Brooklyn this season for the sake of his longtime teammate, MacMullan notes. “I would have stayed in Brooklyn because of Kevin,” Pierce said. “I told him, ‘I don’t really like this situation but I would never leave you if you want me to stay.’ But they decided not to re-sign me so I never had to make a choice. I would never have left Kevin like that.”
The Nets are currently a half game behind the Pacers for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, but even if the team makes the postseason this campaign still will be considered an expensive failure, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post writes.