The Minnesota Timberwolves Thread: Timberwolves, Anthony Bennett part ways

[hood17]

I dont think people understand the worth of havinh KG here as a player and future owner. He made Minnesota a top team in a talented West and he can show these guys if you win here people will love you and there wont be that pressure.

I think Rubio now understands and I think it helps Wiggins and the young dudes, I've done this here in Mn

I'm excited as hell. Ill.be back for a game or two for winter break but man I want to be home as a reporter when these guys hit their prime.

 

[jpzx]

The Pioneer Press' Charley Walters (brace yourself) confirmed some things we already knew anyway, but there were a lot of random things in the article I thought I'd share in here in case some were wondering/didn't know:

Garnett returning, Saunders remaining head coach, when he decided on Towns, and Tyus' new car

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- Although it hasn't been announced, pending free agent Kevin Garnett definitely will re-sign with the Wolves, and Saunders definitely will return as coach.

- Counting Karl-Anthony Towns and Tyus Jones, during the three years Flip Saunders has overseen the Timberwolves' drafts, the team has added eight first-round picks.

- Towns, on his hyphenated first name: "My sister named me. My dad wanted me to be like a Karl Towns Jr., but my mom didn't want that. My sister and my mom loved Marc Anthony, if I'm correct. They wanted Anthony in my name, so Karl-Anthony was born."

- Towns, who doesn't turn 20 until November, can expect a guaranteed two-year salary of $11.7 million, Forbes.com points out. Jones' two-year guarantee will be $2.6 million as the No. 24 overall pick. Former Robbinsdale Cooper star Rashad Vaughn will get $3.5 million as the No. 17 pick by Milwaukee.

- The value of the Timberwolves, $625 million according to Forbes.com, should increase with last week's sale of the Atlanta Hawks for $850 million. Last year, the Hawks were valued at $425 million. Glen Taylor bought the Timberwolves for $89 million in 1995.

- After winning the NBA's rookie of the year award, the Timberwolves' Andrew Wiggins is getting a new basketball shoe designed for him by Adidas that includes a white maple leaf silhouette denoting his Canadian roots. Wiggins' apparel deal with Adidas is worth an estimated $2 million annually.

One that I actually think may prove more critical next season:

Timberwolves extend qualifying offer to Robbie Hummel

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By Andy Greder, Pioneer Press

The Timberwolves have extended a qualifying offer to Robbie Hummel, a source told the Pioneer Press on Sunday. The offer makes him a restricted free agent, and the Wolves can match offers from other in July.

Coach Flip Saunders relied on Hummel's versatility and smart play when injuries decimated the team last season. Hummel, a 6-foot-8 forward, played point guard in emergency situations.

Hummel then broke his right hand in late January and missed 29 games through March. He averaged 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 45 games for the Wolves in 2014-15.

Hummel averaged 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 53 games as a rookie with the Wolves in 2013-14.

The Wolves are not expected to be active in pursuing outside free agents. Kevin Garnett, an unrestricted free agent, is expected to come back to the Wolves next season.

Here are the most well-balanced lineups, how I see it:

Starters:

PG - Ricky Rubio
SG - Kevin Martin
SF - Andrew Wiggins
PF - Kevin Garnett (20 mpg)
C - Nikola Pekovic

Why: Rubio (Defense / Setting Up), Martin (Offense, 3pt Shooter), Wiggins (A little bit of everything, not a 3pt shooter), Garnett (Defense), Pekovic (Offense). Extremely balanced, playing the give-and-take of everything you need out on the perimeter and with your big men perfectly.

Backups:

PG - Tyus Jones
SG - (explanation below)
SF - (explanation below)
PF - Karl Anthony-Towns (don't forget the only reason Wiggins started last year's opener was because Martin was a gametime scratch)
C - Gorgui Dieng

Deep reserves: A.Payne, A.Bennett.

On Bennett: He's making north of $5 million annually, I know they want to move that deal but who is taking that realistically? He shouldn't be on the court right now, so I don't know why somebody would deal with us opposed to just waiting to see what Flip decides on the player option that's coming very, very soon. The only thing I can think of is that Flip would deal Bennett's deal for an older player on a longer deal that's equally bad, but at a spot of need (like perimeter defense, especially on the second unit). That's the only scenario I can visualize, because we'd be addressing another need while still paying them more than they deserve, where the team absorbing Bennett and his deal would be taking a chance on Bennett and his tools that don't make him a complete foregone bust.

Why: (SG and SF are tough - because Saunders really likes to get Shabazz in mismatches with SG so he can post them up - so LaVine may be odd man out in the rotation unless he and Shabazz can switch on defense. Flip was intimating the same with PA in an interview. PA asked a question about LaVine, and Flip said at the end of a long-winded answer, 'Younger guys might not be able to play through so many mistakes with the higher expectations and bodies we have coming in. So that tells me he might be thinking about a Bazz-Budinger SG-SF backup line. By the way, can I point out I'm not at all sold on Shabazz yet?) ...

I think at the midway point of the season we could be finishing games with this lineup: Rubio-Martin-Wiggins-Towns-Garnett, but I like the idea of having Towns-Dieng coming off the bench together so we can see right away if they have a future as a frontcourt together. Plus, Towns' ability to extend while Dieng hangs around the paint and cleans up the boards is an improvement, from the outset, from Thaddeus Young's ability to extend with Dieng hanging around the paint. Young has pseudo range, Towns actually has it.


Just saw some interesting quotes from Milt Newton from this video pre-draft, regarding separate things on Garnett and then Payne:





On Garnett's involvement in the draft process: "Kevin's input is to the extent of - when we have top guys, he's come and watch our guys workout, and given his little bits of knowledge while they're here. Can't share too much with them, because if he does come back, he'll have to play against them. Being who he is, I've been told and I've seen -- he'd like to be known as the greatest teammate ever. He has a wealth of knowledge ... [he looks at the guys we have come in] and see if they're willing listeners. That's the role he's taken on."

On if the Timberwolves organization had a jump start on the 2015 NBA Draft because of the midseason trade to pick up Adreian Payne: "Uh, yes, um, Adreian's a player we targeted in last year's draft. Came down between him and Zach [LaVine], we decided to, you know, go for the home run and chose Zach. But when we were in the position to pick up AP, we were really happy, to the point where we said, 'Wow, we got both players that we wanted in the previous draft.' So, we really like his skillset, uh, his tenacity, and he was with us, uh, for the latter part of the season. We feel with the training camp, the summer league, and the vet camp, he'll be better for us. So yes, he did get a leg up, not only for him, but for our other young players, having that group together and seeing them grow. So we're happy to be in the position we're in right now."


Interesting goal for Garnett... wants to be known as 'the greatest teammate ever.' Not one of - the. Who knows how you actually accomplish that but.

And then I had no idea they were THAT into Payne, where they were at No. 13 last year and it was between LaVine and Payne. Some people were on Gary Harris there for us, but Flip/Milt were way onto Payne, Izzo's other guy it seems.

Stop heeding Izzo's advice, Flip. He's half your friend, half trying to hustle you into making one of his recruits into a lottery pick. Izzo recruited Towns (thank god he didn't recruit Okafor...). Had we drafted Adreian Payne outright at No. 13, that would have been awful. Just awful. What we gave up in the trade with Atlanta was terrible too, but at least what they gave up can be reduced based circumstantially.

 

[jpzx]

Marc Stein @ESPNSteinLine 12m
On Euro big Nemanja Bjelica, Wolves coach Flip Saunders tells NBA insiders on @espnradio "we will bring him over" in time for next season

 

[Brownstone]

Not going to lie, I completely forgot Payne was on this team 

If we get that Euro and keep Hummel, that gives us at least two guys who can shoot the 3.

 

[RyGuy45]

Yeah, this playoff talk is

Last year they won 16 games. They would need to bump that up to 45+ wins (in the West) to get into the 8th seed. Not happening in one year.

I really am interested to see how Godfather figures out the roster of this team by opening night.

There are likely going to be changes but right now you are basically looking at:

Pek
Dieng
J Hamilton
Garnett
Towns
A Bennett
Payne
Nemanja Bjelica
Wiggins
Muhammad
Budinger
Hummel
Lavine
Martin
Rubio
TJones

I guess I'm more so wondering about minutes and development. Payne and Bennett (if they keep him) need minutes and development. This Euro kid is not coming over to ride the pine and may end up playing the 3 spot....where you have Wiggins, Muhammad and potentially Chase.

The nice thing about having a young loaded roster is that you have "potential." The draw back is these guys all need minutes, regardless of their star level right now. Health factor is always a key with this team but guys like Adrian Payne are possibly going to be glued to the bench this year.

 

[carver]

Honestly Bjelica will likely get time over Payne and AB.

I want Towns to start but I'm not sure flip will let him right away unless pek isn't ready. Jones Lavine and Shabazz off the bench will be nice energy. I like the team bit we are young and doubt we sneak in..but we will be a fun team to watch and I expect 35+ wins if everyone stays healthy.

 

[jpzx]

Bjelica's 27, no question.

You can stagger rotations, and you should, but Dieng-Pekovic can't play together, meaning Towns-Garnett can't start/be on the same line (but they can and should finish the game).

Considering that, you're not going to bench Garnett, are you? Clearly he's only going to play 20-25 minutes per game, but have him on the floor for the tip, to pump energy into the crowd right away from the outset, etc. Again - only 20-25 minutes per game though, keep him as active as possible by curving his minutes to what he can handle physically.

Let's just assume, too, that at least one of these four - Garnett, Towns, Pekovic, Dieng - will miss a significant portion of the injury. Take four guys on any team, and the odds are that one of them will go down with some sort of injury that will cause them to miss half of a season or so (specifically with the Timberwolves, with Band-Aid Pekovic and late 30s KG in your frontcourt).

Bjelica will get time if he does indeed come over, but because of his ability to extend and spread out the defense, he'd fit good next to Dieng if Pekovic went down, Dieng if Pekovic went down, Towns, who could play down low if KG went down, etc.

If LaVine has a high TO rate from the SG position, don't be surprised if Flip Saunders buries him in the rotation. Don't think people realize how bad his defense is currently, in spite of the fact that he has the tools to one day be a good defensive player.

 

[jpzx]

Apparently the Timberwolves were also equally open to moving up for Jerian Grant, Notre Dame. Score-first upperclassman, meh defense. But here's this:

Flip Saunders: '[We] will bring [Nemanja Bjelica] over' in time for next season

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders told ESPN Radio’s ‘NBA Insiders’ Sunday that Minnesota ‘“will bring [Nemanja Bjelica] over” in time for next season, according to a tweet by one of the hosts of ‘NBA Insiders’, ESPN’s Marc Stein.

RealGM reported Saturday they've been told by league sources that the Timberwolves and Bjelica have been involved in “‘serious discussions … on an approximate three-year, $12 million-plus deal … but the two sides have been exploring all options.’”

Bjelica was the 35th overall selection in the 2010 NBA draft, and the only player from that draft that the Timberwolves still own the rights to.

Bjelica, 27, is currently playing overseas on a three-year deal with Fenerbahçe Ülker, a Turkish professional basketball team from Istanbul, Turkey. He’s a 6-feet-10-inch versatile forward who could play up to three positions at the NBA level – although he’ll likely bounce between the two forward spots for much of his career.

He averaged 11.5 points and 8.5 rebounds for Fenerbahçe this season, and posted impressive shooting efficiencies from the field (54%) and beyond the arc (37.2%).

At season’s end, Bjelica was named Euroleague MVP.

Saunders joined KFAN’s ‘In The Zone’ program on June 20th, and began to say that Bjelica "doesn’t have a buyout and that he’s free to do what he wants"

0:00-1:26 – 6/20, Flip Saunders with In The Zone ("Nemanja Bjelica does not have a buy-, he is free to go and do what he wants. So he's not in a situation with Turkey, you know his contract is basically up July 1, so he has an opportunity to do things that he wants ... hey, the guy was European Player of the Year, so I'm not going to tell you what our things are, but there are definitely conversations to do things.")

1:27-2:43 – 6/26, Flip Saunders with Dan Barreiro ("He's indicated that he wants to come and play ... if I had to compare him to an NBA player, he plays like Detlef Schrempf ... [on if there's a buyout] ... you know in Europe there's always something.")

However in March, Sportnando (a website HoopsHype commonly links to; typically on the forefront of international hoops news) reported that Bjelica does indeed “have an NBA opt-out … [with] the buyout worth 1.2 mln euros."

1.2 million euros equals approximately 1.3 million in U.S. dollars.

Whether there’s a buyout or not, it seems as if Bjelica will be heading from Turkey to the Target Center.

 

[jpzx]

View media item 1606744

 

[Arthur Shelby]

 

[jpzx]

@DWolfsonKSTP: Flip on @1500ESPN on getting Bjelica to Vegas:"I'm not optimistic." But they will try. Maybe get him to fly out for practice. #twolves

@DWolfsonKSTP: @FunkDoobie28 A lot of teams like him. Doesn't mean the Wolves are trading him. The Wolves are in control here, not NY. Don't forget that.


Bjelica's involved in Eurobasket.

 

[jpzx]

Demetris Nichols Talks With Grizzlies, Others About NBA Return

Shams Charania I JUN 30, 2015 9:53 PM

Demetris Nichols — the Euroleague’s reigning leader in three-point shooting percentage — has had discussions with teams, including the Memphis Grizzlies, about a potential NBA return, a league source told RealGM.

Nichols, who played two seasons in the NBA between 2007 and 2009, shot 57.5 percent from three-point range this past season with CSKA Moscow. For Nichols, there is an interest to attempt an NBA comeback from the Euroleague. In CSKA's platoon rotations, Nichols scored 4.6 points per game.

The Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans have also inquired on Nichols, a source said.

Out of Syracuse, Nichols was the No. 53 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft to the Portland Trail Blazers. The 6-foot-6 guard has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, NBA D-League and several overseas clubs.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...-Talks-With-Grizzlies-Others-About-NBA-Return

 

[651akathepaul]

Minnesota definitely could use a sharp-shooter from beyond the arc.

 

[RyGuy45]

What do you mean?

2014-15
Houston Rockets - 2680 3-Pt Attempts (1st in NBA)
Minnesota Timberwolves - 1223 3-Pt Attempts (30th in NBA)


Also:

Former Timberwolf Thaddeus Young, who opted out of $10.2 million owed him next season, will sign a four-year, $50 million deal with the Nets, sources said.

Wow.

 

[hood17]

Please tell me that's wrong! 30th? Damn you Flip!

 

[carver]

Flip prefers long 2s

 

[carver]

Kid wants to be great   

 

[hood17]

So in two years will we know if Wiggins is worth a 5/143 deal?

 

[RyGuy45]

That 4 year, $55 million contract for Rubio close to looking like chump change now after this week

Also:

The Timberwolves announced today that they will host an open scrimmage next Wednesday, July 8. The scrimmage will take place at 7 p.m. and Target Center doors will open at 6:00 p.m. for season ticket holders and 6:30 p.m. for the general public. There will be no cost for attendees.

According to announcement, the scrimmage roster will feature Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, Adreian Payne and Andrew Wiggins in addition to the team's newest acquisitions, 2015 NBA Draft picks Karl-Anthony Towns and Tyus Jones.

 

[jpzx]

Kyle Ratke @Kyle_Ratke 2m
Wolves announce they will have 6 practices (and scrimmage) next week before taking off for Summer League.

Kyle Ratke @Kyle_Ratke 1m
Summer League roster has not been released yet.

 

[hood17]

What could we get for Bennett that yall would find acceptable?

All I could think of is cash, picks and maybe 3pt shooters.

 

[RyGuy45]

^ All that for Bennett or just one of those?

Right now I would be happy with just a serviceable rotation player for him. Bennett's one positive he still has right now is he's still young. But that is about it and to me he has shown he is a below-average NBA player at best. He at times has looked HORRIBLE with no grasp on certain things.

Perhaps he really has been injured this entire time but we're going to have to let another team figure out if that's the case....not us.

Wolves are lookin at basically a 2nd round pick for him IMO. But it's addition by subtraction because there are not enough minutes to go around for all these forwards the team has anyway.

 

[jpzx]

Star Tribune:

The Wolves also signed first-round picks Karl Anthony-Towns and Tyus Jones to contract, formalities given the NBA's slotted rookie pay scale.

Kevin Garnett will return for a 21st NBA season on a two-year contract, according to a league source with knowledge of an agreement that's been considered mostly a formality for weeks.

Like the 3-year deal the Wolves and Nemanja Bjelica agreed to, Garnett's deal can be signed according to NBA rules starting on Thursday.

The agreement likely has a provision that Garnett will move into a managerial role with the team if he is not healthy enough to play the 2016-17 season.

Garnett will join Robert Parish and Kevin Willis as the only player to play 21 NBA seasons.

On the day the team traded for Garnett back in February, Wolves owner Glen Taylor said the move wasn't made for merely the season's remaining six weeks but that he expected Garnett to play another season and quite possibly two more.

Garnett played just five games after that late February because of what the team called knee issues. Coach/basketball boss Flip Saunders said late in the season that Garnett's caution with his body was a sign that he intended to return to play a 21st pro season.

Saunders often has praised Garnett's veteran influence on a team filled with young players and credited his presence for the way Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine finished the season strong.

 

[carver]

Line to get into target center right now

Almost positive there will not be one available chair..and people won't be able to get in.

 

[jpzx]

@Twolves_PR: Final numbers: Towns 24 & 15 reb, LaVine 25, Jones 9 & 8 ast, Wiggins 5, Brown 11, Payne 9, Dieng 8, Stone 10. #Twolves