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Timberwolves Waive Four Players

October 13th, 2018 at 4:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves have parted ways with four players, the team announced on Twitter. Gone are Darius Johnson-Odom and Jonathan Stark, along with Canyon Barry and William Lee, who were both signed earlier today.

The moves trim Minnesota’s roster to 16, including a pair of two-way players. The Wolves may keep one spot open on the regular roster for luxury tax purposes.

Johnson-Odom is 29 but hasn’t played in the NBA since 2013/14, when he spent three games with the Sixers. He has extensive international experience, playing in Italy, Turkey and Greece.

Stark is a rookie from Murray State who was named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year last season. After going undrafted, he played for Minnesota in the Las Vegas Summer League. Barry played in Finland and the Czech Republic after going undrafted out of Florida in 2017. Lee is a rookie out of Alabama-Birmingham.

All four players may be given opportunities to join the Wolves’ G League team if they clear waivers.

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Wolves Rumors: Noah, Butler, Jones, Towns

October 13th, 2018 at 3:13pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks’ long-awaited roster move involving Joakim Noah finally happened on Saturday, resulting in a flurry of speculation about the Timberwolves‘ interest in the veteran center. However, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) that Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau has shown no interest in adding Noah to his roster.

Thibodeau hasn’t hesitated to stack his Minnesota squad with several of his former Bulls players, including Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson, and Luol Deng, and reports earlier in the offseason indicated that he might be interest in Noah as well. Apparently that’s not the case though. For now, Thibodeau has his hands full with another one of those ex-Bulls, as he attempts to determine what to do with Butler.

Here’s more out of Minnesota:

  • Asked on Friday for the first time about Butler’s now-infamous performance in practice on Wednesday, Thibodeau downplayed its importance, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “It’s not uncommon when players scrimmage that there will be some talk,” Thibodeau said. “It was competitive.”
  • Thibodeau also offered this assessment on confrontations during practices and scrimmages, per Hine: “It’s OK to confront. That’s not an issue. The way you confront that’s important. But if you do confront, don’t beat down. The big thing is to lift people up. You make other people better.”
  • We haven’t heard much else on the Butler front since reports indicated he was likely to start the season with the Wolves and that the Heat weren’t making an effort to re-engage the Wolves in trade talks.
  • There have still been no rookie scale extension discussions between Tyus Jones and the Timberwolves, Jones confirmed on Friday (link via Hine). “I’d like to be here, but I know it’s a business,” said Jones, who will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2019 if he doesn’t get an extension. The deadline is Monday.
  • Karl-Anthony Towns expressed plenty of frustration following another bad preseason loss on Friday, calling the team’s recent showings “unacceptable.” Chris Herring of ESPN.com has the details and the quotes from Towns.
  • Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN confirms (via Twitter) that Canyon Barry and William Lee received Exhibit 10 deals today and are expected to join the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate, after they’re waived.
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Timberwolves Sign Canyon Barry, William Lee

October 13th, 2018 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have signed a pair of players, issuing a press release to announce their deals with free agent guard Canyon Barry and rookie forward William Lee.

Barry, who finished his college career in Florida, joined the Knicks for Summer League action in 2017 after going undrafted, then played for teams in Finland and the Czech Republic. As for Lee, the former Alabama-Birmingham forward averaged 10.4 PPG and 6.8 RPG in his senior year in 2017/18 before going undrafted this spring.

Neither player figures to stick with the Timberwolves once the team sets its roster for the regular season — I imagine we’ll hear very shortly that both players have been waived. However, signing Barry and Lee to Exhibit 10 contracts will allow the Timberwolves to award them bonuses worth up to $50K apiece if they play for the Iowa Wolves – Minnesota’s G League affiliate – for at least two months this season.

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Draft Workouts: Sixers, Grizzlies, Pacers, Hornets, T-Wolves

June 18th, 2018 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers will host Kentucky forward Kevin Knox and Texas Tech guard Zhaire Smith for the second time on Tuesday, according to a team release. Knox’s workout will be separate from the other six players they will bring in, including Smith. The Sixers hold the No. 10 selection in the lottery. Knox is currently ranked No. 9 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, while Smith is slotted at No. 16.

The other members of the group workout are all guards, including B.J. Johnson (La Salle), De’Anthony Melton (USC), Tyler Nelson (Fairfield), Malik Newman (Kansas) and Landry Shamet (Wichita State). Melton (No. 24, Givony) is a possibility for the Sixers with their other first-rounder at No. 26.

We have numerous other draft workouts to pass along:

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Draft Notes: Grizzlies, Magic, Nuggets, Gabriel

June 18th, 2018 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Teams near the top of the draft continue to explore trade options as Thursday approaches. The Grizzlies are one of those teams, as they continue to receive significant interest in scenarios that would see them send out Chandler Parsons along with the No. 4 pick, per Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). According to Stein, it seems clear that remaining in the lottery is crucial to the Grizzlies, who are believed to be taking more calls than they’re making.

Meanwhile, a couple spots down the draft order, the Magic are also having “exploratory” trade talks, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said on Monday.

“We’re having discussions above us and below us, but I wouldn’t comment more specifically than that,” Weltman said, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. “It’s our job to explore every possible option, get to know the draft as well as we possibly can. And, obviously, the draft isn’t just about the draft. It’s about other roster moves that you could potentially look at as well. So there’s not a team we don’t talk to. There’s not a stone we don’t turn over.”

As Robbins notes, Weltman made similar comments leading up to last year’s draft. In that case, the Magic kept their lottery pick, but traded a couple of their other selections later in the draft.

Here’s more on the 2018 NBA draft:

  • The Nuggets‘ Monday workout with potential first-round pick Mitchell Robinson was canceled, according to an announcement from the team. No reason for the cancellation was provided.
  • Kentucky’s Wenyen Gabriel is working out for the Cavaliers today, then the Hornets on Tuesday, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Gabriel is a candidate to be drafted in the second round.
  • The Warriors continued to take a closer look at prospects on Monday, bringing in Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State), Xavier Cooks (Winthrop), Ben Emelogu (SMU), Melvin Frazier (Tulane), Terry Larrier (UConn), and William Lee (UAB) for workouts (Twitter link via Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News).
  • Kerem Kanter, the younger brother of NBA veteran Enes Kanter, was in Oklahoma City on Monday to work out for the Thunder, writes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. The younger Kanter brother isn’t considered likely to be drafted.
  • Loyola-Chicago guard Donte Ingram is scheduled to work out for the Knicks on Tuesday, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.com.
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Draft Workouts: Walker, Knicks, Kings, Lakers

June 5th, 2018 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Potential lottery pick Lonnie Walker IV has workouts on tap with the Bulls and Knicks, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Zagoria tweets that Walker’s audition for Chicago is scheduled for Wednesday, while his workout with New York will happen “down the road.” Walker previously worked out for Charlotte.

Both the Bulls and Knicks hold top-10 picks and could go in a number of different directions, depending on who’s available, so it’s no surprise that both clubs have been active in terms of pre-draft workouts. Trae Young, Kevin Knox, Mikal Bridges, and Wendell Carter Jr. are among the other prospects earning a look from both Eastern clubs.

Here are more updates on various pre-draft workouts from around the NBA:

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Draft Notes: Dozier, McIntosh, Key

April 17th, 2017 at 9:46pm CST by ChrisCrouse

P.J. Dozier is staying the draft and signing an agent, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Dozier had previously said he would test the draft waters. Wojnarowski notes that the South Carolina product is considered a second-round prospect who will contribute on the defensive end before being able to produce offensively.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

  • Illinois State’s MiKyle McIntosh will declare for the draft, but will not hire an agent, according to Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports. McIntosh will graduate this fall and should he return to college, he’ll be eligible to transfer to any school without having to sit out a year.
  • Alabama’s Braxton Key has declared for the draft, but won’t hire an agent, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Key is not ranked in Givony’s Top 100.
  • William Lee will test the draft waters, Drew Champlin of Alabama.com relays. “UAB has provided me with an unbelievable opportunity to play college basketball against some of the best players and teams in the nation,” Lee said in a UAB release. “It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the NBA, and this decision allows me to safely see where I am projected at this point in my career without jeopardizing my last year of eligibility.”
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