Nicolas Batum Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Rumors: Williams, Finley, Roy

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves got an unexpected lift on Wednesday when Kevin Love returned earlier than anticipated from the broken hand that had sidelined him for the last few weeks. Although reports suggested Love wouldn't be back until December, he looked to be in midseason form in his debut, racking up 34 points and 14 rebounds against the Nuggets. It wasn't enough to propel the T-Wolves to victory, but the team will get another shot to get its first win with Love on the court tonight vs. the Trail Blazers. In the meantime, here are a few rumblings out of Minnesota:

Derrick Williams tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link) that he was preparing to become a Trail Blazer this summer when rumors involving a Nicolas Batum sign-and-trade were swirling. Asked if he was just listening to speculation or if he had inside info, Williams replied, "I guess you could say inside information" (Twitter link).
With Michael Finley attempting to make an NBA comeback, the Wolves received a call from Finley's camp, but said no thanks, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Brandon Roy's future is still to be determined, tweets Wolfson, who says the idea of possible retirement came up when Roy spoke to GM David Kahn last Friday.
Earlier this afternoon, we heard that the Timberwolves briefly signed Demetris Nichols and Troy Hudson before the season in order to hang onto the duo's D-League rights. Both players are now on the roster for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Minnesota's D-League affiliate.

Odds & Ends: Lin, D-League, Ilyasova, Batum

November 22nd, 2012 at 10:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's round up a few more Thanksgiving Day notes from around the Association….

With Jeremy Lin and the Rockets set to face the Knicks on Friday, most Knicks players don't have much to say about their former teammate, as Howard Beck of the New York Times writes. "I thought he made a great decision for himself, his family and his basketball career," Tyson Chandler said. "I thought the Knicks made the right decision. At the end of the day, it worked out for both parties."
Lin, for his part, believes he and Carmelo Anthony could've thrived playing alongside each other with the Knicks, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
When Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype asked a number of D-League executives and coaches which D-League players would next be called up by an NBA team, JaJuan Johnson's name topped the list.
Ersan Ilyasova is at a loss to explain his early-season slump after signing a long-term deal with the Bucks this summer, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Another player that signed a lucrative long-term contract in July, Nicolas Batum is living up to his new deal so far, and tells Joe Freeman of the Oregonian that he wants to keep that up. "It’s what people say about me and what people too scared to say it think about me: ‘Yeah, he’s been good, but it’s only been 11 games. We’re going to see the old Nicolas Batum soon,'" Batum said. "But I’m going to try to avoid that. I’m not the old Nicolas Batum."
Darko Rajakovic, who is currently coaching the D-League's Tulsa 66ers, could be just the first of many European coaches to arrive stateside, says Jenni Carlson of the Oklahoman.

Northwest Notes: Wolves Injuries, Blazers, Williams

November 20th, 2012 at 9:13pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from the Northwest Division on Tuesday night:

J.J. Barea and Nikola Pekovic are both expected to play for the Timberwolves on Wednesday, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Wolves coach Rick Adleman told Ray Richardson of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press that doctors cleaned debris out of the knee of Brandon Roy.
Joe Freeman of the Oregonian sheds some light on Blazers coach Terry Stotts' attempt to juggle the minutes of rookies Victor Claver, Joel Freeland, and Will Barton.
Freeman also notes that so far, Nicolas Batum is living up to the four-year, $44MM contract he signed this summer.
Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that Mo Williams is proving to be a perfect fit on the Jazz' roster.

Western Notes: Petrie, D’Antoni, Collison, Batum

November 20th, 2012 at 4:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are a few of today's noteworthy odds and ends from around the Western Conference:

If the Maloofs are serious about trying to keep the Kings in Sacramento, they need to cut ties with team president Geoff Petrie, argues Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee. According to Voisin, the repeated mistakes made by the NBA's longest-tenured head of basketball operations have "stripped the once-proud franchise of its passion, its identity, its collective soul."
Coach Mike D'Antoni will make his official debut on the Lakers' bench tonight, he confirmed today to the media, including Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.
As the Mavericks prepare to face former Dallas point guard Jason Kidd and the Knicks tomorrow night, the Mavs' new point guard, Darren Collison is struggling, as NBA.com's Jeff Caplan writes.
Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com details how Nicolas Batum's offseason trip to Cameroon gave him a new-found perspective on life during his free agent negotiations.
Andrew Bogut, who has only appeared in four games during his Warriors' career, will miss at least three more contests before hopefully returning to practice next Monday, the team announced today in a press release.
Another injured star in the West, Dirk Nowitzki, is now aiming to return to the Mavericks in mid-December, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.

Cavaliers Offered Batum $52MM

October 28th, 2012 at 8:23pm CST by Sean Highkin

According to a new report by the Oregonian's Joe Freeman, the Cleveland Cavaliers made Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum an offer of four years and $52MM when he was a restricted free agent this summer. That offer is significantly higher than the offer sheet Batum signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, worth $46MM over four years. Portland matched that offer after it was signed.

In Freeman's article, Batum discussed the free-agency process, which was contentious at times between the Blazers and Timberwolves:

"The thing is, I wanted to challenge them," he says. "Because I'm European. And when people say, 'We love you,' they show you they love you. That's a stupid European, French thing. But it's true. After what happened in January, I wanted them to show me they loved me."

Odds & Ends: Batum, Turner, Mavericks, Deng

October 28th, 2012 at 4:48pm CST by Michael Pina

Here's a look around the league this Sunday afternoon.

This offseason the Timberwolves and Trail Blazers were in the news about acquiring Nicolas Batum, but it appears the Cavaliers were heavy in the mix, writes Joe Freeman of the Oregonian.
Sporting News reporter Sean Deveney gives his list of breakout stars for the upcoming season, and Sixers swingman Evan Turner heads the group.
The Dallas Morning News' Eddie Sefko takes a look at four members of the Mavericks who need to step up their play in Dirk Nowitzki's absence.
The Chicago Tribune believes Luol Deng's selfless nature will continue to be a perfect fit with the Bulls.

Western Notes: Blazers, West, Sacre, Iguodala

October 25th, 2012 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey is hoping Nicolas Batum can increase his scoring this season like Eric Gordon did in his third year, when his PPG jumped from 16.9 to 22.3. If Batum can take that sort of step forward, Olshey says he has reason to be optimistic about the Blazers' future.

"I'm not putting a number on Nic, but if Nic can make a jump, if Wes [Matthews] can make a jump, if L.A. [LaMarcus Aldridge] can just be L.A., and Damian [Lillard] can be who we think he has the ability to be, we're not that far away," Olshey said. "And having a lottery pick potentially, and three second [round picks], and having $13MM in room potentially, is a pretty good position to be in eight months from now."

Here are a few more updates from around the Western Conference:

The Mavericks have indefinitely suspended Delonte West again for conduct detrimental to the team, the club announced today in a press release. As Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweets, it seems likely this suspension will last longer than West's last one did.
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News thinks Mavericks rookie Bernard James, the third pick of the second round this June, could use some D-League seasoning.
Robert Sacre is moving closer to locking up a spot on the Lakers roster, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post believes Andre Iguodala, who can invoke an early termination option for 2013/14, will instead sign a long-term deal with the Nuggets.
Even after waiving Eddy Curry and Derrick Brown, the Spurs won't necessarily keep Josh Powell on their regular season roster, but Powell tells Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News that he thinks he's shown the team enough to warrant consideration.

Northwest Rumors: Blazers, Lawson, Miller, Batum

October 11th, 2012 at 10:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Oregonian's Joe Freeman examines the decisions the Blazers face in advance of the October 31st deadline for exercising their 2013/14 team options on Luke Babbitt, Nolan Smith and Elliot Williams. According to Freeman, the team could come within $500K of having enough cap space to sign a free agent to a maximum-salary deal next summer if it declines all three options. Freeman seems to think, given the makeup of the Blazers roster, it would make the least sense to pick up Babbitt's option, despite the injury to Williams that's expected to keep him out the entire season. Check out other option decisions facing teams with our Rookie Contract Option Tracker, and read on for from the Blazers and other Northwest Division clubs.

Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post suggests Ty Lawson and new agent Happy Walters could be in line for a five-year, $65MM extension from the Nuggets before the October 31st deadline. Hochman also passes along some advice for Lawson from new teammate Andre Iguodala, who re-signed with the Sixers in 2008 after failing to come to an extension agreement in 2007.
Andre Miller has been an ironman over his 13-year NBA career, missing only six regular season games, but he's sitting out of select preseason games for the first time, Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com notes. The Nuggets signed the 36-year-old Miller to a three-year, $14.625MM deal this summer that includes a partial guarantee for the final season.
Nicolas Batum told Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune he signed his offer sheet with Minnesota this summer knowing he'd be pleased to wind up with either the Timberwolves or the Blazers. "I chose Minnesota because I knew (Portland) could match," Batum said. "I knew those two teams were going to be the best options for me. I wouldn’t have signed with anybody else. And I wanted to challenge the Blazers, to see if they really like me or not."

Glen Taylor Talks Kirilenko, Roy, Beasley, Batum

October 1st, 2012 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

Last month, Twin Cities Business Magazine published a feature by Britt Robson on Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. While the piece touched on some basketball and roster issues, many of those details were not included. Now, Robson has posted a few of Taylor's more interesting quotes related to the T-Wolves' offseason moves and last season's roster. Here are the highlights from the Wolves owner:

On the team's additions of Andrei Kirilenko and Chase Budinger:

"[Rick Adelman] says, ‘This is the guy I want (Kirilenko). He never talks about scoring, he talks about passing and he talks about defense. I need that player in my system to be successful.’ So that one was clearly the coach…. And Chase Budinger, that’s the coach. Rick knows him. He says, ‘I can put him in the game, he’s going to be smart; he’s not going to be the greatest defensive player, but he can do it. He isn’t going to make mistakes.'"

On signing Brandon Roy:

"You might think that is the coach, but that is more David [Kahn]. I think it is David saying, ‘Let give this player to Rick and get the backup in place in case it doesn’t work out.’ Because Rick keeps saying to me, ‘I don’t know if he can play!’ And I tell him, ‘Rick, I don’t know if he can play either!’ So the Brandon Roy thing is a risk."

On what Adelman thought of Michael Beasley and Anthony Randolph:

"What Rick said about Michael was, ‘Yes, Michael has been good. I get along with him. But I don’t think we’ll be a championship team with him. If I put Michael in, Michael can score, but he doesn’t play any defense and he forgets the other offensive players, and I just can’t tolerate that under my system because the other players are just standing around'…. The coach would have put up with Randolph if we had gotten rid of Beasley. He said Randolph isn’t really a problem, he just can’t remember things. When was going down his list and got to Randolph, he said, ‘I think he should be off the team. But if these things were taken care of and I had to deal with it, I can deal with a kid like him because he is more of an introvert, he’s not a nasty kid.’"

On the team's recruitment of Nicolas Batum:

"Batum recruited us about as much as we recruited him. He was one of a number of guys who said they are interested in coming to us because of Ricky [Rubio]. He said, ‘I like your coach and I like Ricky and Kevin [Love]. I think I can fit in. I don’t need to score a lot; that isn’t what drives me. I like being on the court with players who share the ball.’ There were three teams he was interested in — New Orleans and Toronto were the other ones — but he said they weren’t as far along as we were and that we were his preference right now."

On what the Wolves offered Portland for Batum in a sign-and-trade:

"It never ended up being that we offered [Derrick] Williams. I said to David, ‘We’re not going to offer Williams,’ so I know David never did it. And as far as we know, we never got beyond [offering] one first-rounder. It never got stretched that far because Portland wouldn’t say what they wanted."

On whether a trade could still be in the works for Minnesota:

"There is room to do more [trading] but not right now because of Ricky’s injury. There are like, five guys at the two guards, so I think logically we could do something — and there is something out there — but until we know for sure that Ricky is going to come back healthy, I think you are going to see us set with this group."

Blazers Notes: Lillard, Claver, Freeland, Batum

September 10th, 2012 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

While Dave Deckard of Blazer's Edge thinks there's hope for the Trail Blazers in the near future, he also thinks a number of arguments frequently made by fans, players, or the media don't hold water. A team having a "great attitude" or "flying under the radar" doesn't mean a surprise season is coming, according to Deckard.

We have a handful of other Blazer notes to round up this morning, after GM Neil Olshey talked to Joe Becker on KGW on Sunday. Here are a few highlights from Olshey's comments, which Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge transcribed:

Olshey felt that Damian Lillard was not only the best fit for the Blazers at No. 6 overall in June's draft, but also the best player available when Portland picked. The GM expects the rookie point guard to be productive immediately.
Victor Claver and Joel Freeland should bring a team-first mentality to the Blazers, according to Olshey, who notes that Nicolas Batum is excited about the club's style of play getting some "international flavor."
Olshey on Batum's new contract leading to increased expectations: "I think Nic's going to embrace it. It was one of the reasons we were so anxious to embrace the offer sheet. When we met with Nic prior to him signing it, that was something he really wanted. He wanted to embrace being one of the leaders on the team. Having more responsibility on both ends of the ball."
Olshey praised Blazers owner Paul Allen and said that his experience in Portland has been "incredible" so far.
The Blazers GM mentioned that he was excited to see Blazers players in the gym recently, pointing out that LaMarcus Aldridge, who organized the voluntary workouts, has been a "solid voice of leadership for the young guys."