Will Conroy Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Notes: Conroy, Oden, Budinger

October 26th, 2012 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

While starting the season without Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love, who are both recovering from injuries, will be a challenge for the Timberwolves, the early-season schedule may help keep the team afloat. Nine of the T-Wolves' 15 November games are against clubs that played sub-.500 ball last season, while three more come against the Magic, Bulls, and Mavericks, teams whose '11/12 stars have either been traded away or injured. As the Wolves prepare for the regular season to get underway, let's check out a few updates out of Minnesota….

A source close to Will Conroy is convinced the point guard will earn a spot on the Wolves' opening night roster because of the $100K guarantee on his contract, says Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
The Timberwolves have brought aboard longtime NBA consultant Steve "Hat Man" Gordon, according to Wolfson, who notes that Gordon had plenty of influence in Portland when he worked for the Trail Blazers.
Gordon has a good relationship not only with Conroy and Brandon Roy, but also Greg Oden, who could be on the Wolves' radar when he gets healthy, says Wolfson.
There have been no talks about a contract extension between the Wolves and offseason acquisition Chase Budinger, reports Wolfson. Budinger will hit unrestricted free agency next summer.
With Rubio and Love out to start the season, Budinger will be tasked with carrying more of the scoring load, writes Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Western Notes: Roy, Conroy, Jefferson, Bogut

October 10th, 2012 at 7:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

Brandon Roy's knee appears to be holding up so far for the Timberwolves, an early sign that his $10.4MM contract might prove a shrewd gamble by GM David Kahn. We've heard about the influence Roy's friend and current teammate Will Conroy had on channeling him to the Wolves, but that's not the only push Conroy gave him.

Roy wasn't sure about coming back at all until Conroy sold him on the idea, Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes. "He was one of the main influences for me to take it serious," Roy said about Conroy. "I was kind of playing around at first, but he was the one who told me, 'You're not done.' He was real big for my confidence."
In the same piece, Conroy insists to Richardson that Roy's presence isn't the reason why he was invited to Wolves camp. "I'm here because they thought I could help the team," said Conroy, who was also in camp with the Wolves last year. "Kahn and (coach Rick) Adelman know what I can do."
Richard Jefferson said he experienced "culture shock" after his trade from the Spurs to the Warriors last season, according to Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group. Jefferson says the laid-back atmosphere that disturbed him last year has changed with the additions of Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry, the return of Andrew Bogut from injury, and a stricter attitude from coach Mark Jackson.
As for Bogut, the big man expects he'll be ready for game action when the regular season opens, but Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com says there's a legitimate chance he could need more time.
Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune shares initial observations from some of the Hornets about top-pick Anthony Davis, two preseason games into his NBA career.
Though to a smaller degree than Davis, 25th overall pick Tony Wroten is also making his presence felt for the Grizzlies, as Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal examines.

T-Wolves Sign Six To Finalize Camp Roster

September 28th, 2012 at 4:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves formally announced today that they have signed six players to fill out their roster for training camp. Besides Will Conroy and Seth Tarver, whose signings had been previously reported, Minnesota has also added Jermaine Taylor, Mike Harris, Chris Johnson, and Phil Jones, according to the team (Twitter link).

Of the four additions that we're hearing about for the first time, Taylor, Harris, and Johnson all have previous NBA experience, though only Johnson logged NBA minutes in 2011/12. Taylor, the 32nd overall pick in 2009 appeared in 65 games for the Rockets and Kings, while the undrafted Harris played for the Rockets and Wizards in parts of three seasons. Jones, meanwhile, played his college ball for the Charlotte 49ers, where his senior year was cut short in 2011 after he was ruled academically ineligible for the second half.

Conroy has a small guarantee on his contract, which should give him a slight advantage over the other five players for the T-Wolves' 15th and final roster spot. However, I expect the team would be happy to eat the $100K owed to Conroy if one of the other non-guaranteed players excels in training camp and preseason action.

With Minnesota's roster now at 20 players, it appears the T-Wolves are officially out of the running for Sean Williams, Hassan Whiteside, and various other big men that have been linked to the team in recent weeks.

Wolves To Sign Will Conroy

September 11th, 2012 at 10:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

Guard Will Conroy hinted at a deal with the Timberwolves earlier tonight on Twitter, and it appears that's exactly what's happening, as Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News reports that he'll receive a partially guaranteed contract from the team (Twitter link). It will likely be a minimum-salary deal for the former University of Washington teammate and close friend of Brandon Roy.

The 6'2" Conroy has had stints with the Grizzlies, Clippers and Rockets, the last of which came in 2009/10. He's totaled just six points and 16 assists in 12 NBA games, but has played extensively in the D-League since going undrafted in 2005. He averaged 12.6 points and 9.0 assists with a 14.7 PER in 23 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers last year.

The Wolves have been focusing their attention on big men of late, so the move may be largely a favor to Roy, much as the Knicks' signing of Chris Smith was seen as a favor to his brother, J.R. Smith. Roy used Conroy's Twitter account back in June to announce his intention to come back from retirement.

Northwest Rumors: Williams, Stotts, Roy, Conroy

September 11th, 2012 at 8:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Blazers caught a tough break today, as guard Elliot Williams tore his left ACL during a voluntary workout, The Oregonian's Joe Freeman reports. He'll have surgery, but there's no date set for that and no timetable for his recovery (Twitter links). Williams missed his entire rookie year because of surgery on both knees, and this past season ended prematurely for him because of a dislocated left shoulder. He's played in only 24 games since the team drafted him 22nd overall in 2010, and though the $1.443MM he'll receive on his rookie scale contract this year is guaranteed, the Blazers have until October 31st to decide whether to pick up their option on his $2.374MM for 2013/14. There's more out of Portland tonight, along with news on other Northwest Division clubs:

Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge speculates that the Blazers could choose to waive Williams now and pay his guarantee anyway, as they did with Jeff Pendergraph in 2010 (Sulia link).
New Blazers coach Terry Stotts spoke with the team's broadcasters and had plenty to say about LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard and the transition into his new job, and Golliver has a transcript of the video that's on TrailBlazers.TV.
Mark Remme of Timberwolves.com checks in on Brandon Roy, who's begun workouts with Wolves coaches.
Will Conroy, Roy's close friend and former college teammate, tweeted about his excitement to join Roy in Minnesota, perhaps indicating that a training camp invite from the Wolves is in the offing (hat tip to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News). Conroy briefly spent time with the Grizzlies, Clippers and Rockets, but only has 12 career NBA games and hasn't appeared in the league since 2009/10.
The Idaho Stampede, the Blazers' D-League affiliate, has hired Michael Peck, a high school coach at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada, as its new coach, Golliver reports (Twitter link). He beat out former Blazers assistant coach Dan Dickau, who was also reportedly a candidate for the post.
Thunder GM Sam Presti shared his thoughts on an extension for James Harden, as we noted earlier today.