Othyus Jeffers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Sign Brown, Hummel, Jeffers

September 26th, 2013 at 10:22am CST by Luke Adams

With training camp set to get underway next week, the Timberwolves have officially added three players to their roster, the team announced today. 2013 second-rounder Lorenzo Brown, 2012 second-rounder Robbie Hummel, and free agent Othyus Jeffers have signed with the Wolves, according to the club's PR Twitter account.

All three players had been expected to participate in camp in Minnesota this fall, though given the makeup of the roster, it's very unlikely that more than one of the three earns a regular-season roster spot. The Wolves are currently carrying players on 14 guaranteed contracts, leaving just one opening. Based on a report from Darren Wolfson earlier in September, it doesn't seem as if the Wolves will bring additional bodies to camp — at least not to compete for that final roster spot.

In Brown and Hummel, the Wolves are adding the 42nd-ranked players in the 2013 and 2012 draft classes, respectively, based on Chad Ford's lists at ESPN.com. Brown, a point guard was selected 52nd overall by Minnesota this past June, while Hummel was drafted 58th overall a year ago. As our international player movement tracker shows, the former Purdue forward spent last season in Spain.

As for Jeffers, the 6'5" shooting guard went undrafted in 2008 and has bounced around between the D-League and international leagues since then, with a few NBA stops along the way. Jeffers, who appeared in 31 total games for the Jazz, Spurs, and Wizards from 2010 to 2011, averaged 14.7 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 33 contests for the D-League's Iowa Energy last season.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, T-Wolves, Thunder

September 8th, 2013 at 7:36pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jazz have a big decision on their hands this fall as they have until Halloween to extend Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward. Utah is comfortable with heading into the season without new deals for either player, but it might behoove them to lock them up before they see big minutes in 2013/14 and increase their value. In last week's poll, most Hoops Rumors readers said that they expect both players to get extensions ironed out. Here's more from the Northwest Division..

Zach Harper of CBSSports.com sees an extension of roughly $8MM per season for Hayward and the Jazz.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities has reported on multiple occasions that the Timberwolves would likely leave their final regular season roster spot up for grabs between Othyus Jeffers, Robbie Hummel, Lorenzo Brown and another big man, but Flip Saunders tells WCCO that there's no unnamed big man forthcoming, as Wolfson points out via Twitter. So, it appears it's down to Jeffers, Hummel and Brown, though none of the three have inked a camp invite yet.
The Thunder, after relocating from Seattle, had the luxury of being able to build at a slower pace because the fans in OKC were supportive and anxious for basketball. A move to Seattle would have afforded the Kings a similar opportunity, HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram argues.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

T-Wolves Owner On Williams, Roster, Muhammad

September 5th, 2013 at 9:24pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN points out that the Timberwolves will have until October 31st to decide on whether or not they'll exercise Derrick Williams' fourth-year option for 2014/15, in which he would be owed $6.3MM. In a phone conversation with team owner Glen Taylor, it appears that the front office is still undecided:

"We'll evaluate his summer program, and how he looks coming into camp (which starts Oct. 1)…I heard he is looking good."

Wolfson also mentions a point made by Grantland's Zach Lowe, who intimated that picking up Williams' option could potentially carry Minnesota over the luxury tax and prevent them from using their mid-level exception next summer. Here's more of Wolfson's latest in Minnesota via his conversation with Taylor:

It's unlikely that Flip Saunders will bring on a 15th guaranteed contract, meaning that Robbie Hummel, Othyus Jeffers, Lorenzo Brown, and an expected-to-be named big man will compete for the final spot in camp.
Rookies Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng, and veteran Chris Johnson are expected to arrive in town on Monday for developmental work.
Taylor shared that he and Saunders received an apology letter from Muhammad after being dismissed from the league's rookie orientation program, adding that he sent a letter in reply:"I want to get to know him…I wrote to him about first impressions."
As far as renovations for the Target Center, Taylor had this to say: "We have a term sheet with the city. We've agreed to everything. They need to work out a term sheet with AEG (managers of Target Center)."

Wolfson’s Latest: Pekovic, Aldridge, Redick

August 4th, 2013 at 9:56am CST by Chuck Myron

Agent Jeff Schwartz's initial asking price for Nikola Pekovic was around $15MM per year, a source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, and Schwartz and the Timberwolves continue to haggle over the amount of money the restricted free agent center will get in his next contract. Schwartz knows he won't get $15MM a year from the team, Wolfson tweets. The Wolves are offering four years and $48MM, and though they're willing to add some incentives, it's "nearly ludicrous" to expect that they'll budge from the $12MM annual base salary, as Wolfson writes in his Scoops column. Wolfson has plenty more on Pekovic and other Timberwolves issues, so let's dive in:

It's possible that Pekovic could wind up with a fifth year in his deal, but it appears four years is more likely.
A trade that would send Pekovic and Derrick Williams to the Blazers for LaMarcus Aldridge is far-fetched. Minnesota would prefer Kevin Love instead, Wolfson tweets, but Love doesn't appear to be on the market. Schwartz represents Love as well as Pekovic.
J.J. Redick was five minutes away from heading to another team before talks revved up on the three-team trade that sent him to the Clippers, but that mystery team wasn't the Wolves. Redick met with Wolves brass and was prepared to sign with them, but talks never got that far.
Andrei Kirilenko's claim that Wolves president of basketball ops Flip Saunders didn't want to give him a long-term contract is incorrect, writes Wolfson, who hears from two people who say Minnesota offered a three-year, $21MM deal.
The Wolves have not invited Seth Curry to training camp, contrary to a report.
Lorenzo Brown, Robbie Hummel, Othyus Jeffers and another big man figure to be the contenders for the 15th spot on the Timberwolves opening-night roster.

Suns Waive Othyus Jeffers

October 15th, 2012 at 8:44pm CST by Michael Pina

The Suns waived Othyus Jeffers today, reports AZCentral.com's Paul Coro. The 27-year-old Jeffers had been out of the league for a season after knee surgery and was trying to make a Suns team that needs to replace place Channing Frye this season.

Jeffers' one preseason appearance came in a loss to the Kings on Wednesday night. He scored two points and grabbed two rebounds. He did not play in Friday night's game.

Suns To Sign Zeller, Jeffers, Garrett

October 1st, 2012 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

In addition to signing Solomon Jones for their training camp roster, the Suns will add a few more players to the mix to compete for a roster spot, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. According to Coro, Luke Zeller, Othyus Jeffers and Diante Garrett have also received training camp invites from the Suns.

Zeller, the older brother of Tyler Zeller and Cody Zeller, has played overseas and in the D-League since going undrafted out of Notre Dame in 2009. Coro views the big man's outside shooting ability as a skill that could give the 25-year-old a leg up on the battle for a roster spot.

Jeffers, 27, has appeared in 31 career NBA games for the Jazz, Spurs, and Wizards, and has exceled in the D-League in the past. He received a qualifying offer from the Wizards last offseason, but tore his ACL during July workouts, preventing his return to the NBA.

Garrett was ranked by ESPN.com's Chad Ford as the 61st-best player in the 2011 draft class, but went undrafted. The Suns have kept an eye on the point guard though, working him out prior to the 2011 draft, and giving him a spot on their summer league squad in Las Vegas this offseason.

With the new additions, the Suns are now carrying 17 players, though Channing Frye is expected to miss the entire season with a heart condition, leaving room for Zeller, Jeffers, and Garrett to compete for roster spots. Jones' and P.J. Tucker's contracts also aren't fully guaranteed, though I'd imagine they're stronger bets to make the team than the three new additions.