April 2014 Minnesota Timberwolves Wiretap

Ricky Rubio, Wolves Agree Upon Four-Year, $55M Extension

Oct 31, 2014 9:18 PM

Ricky Rubio and the Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed upon a four-year, $55 million extension.

Rubio has been one of the NBA's most creative passers since coming over from Spain in the 11-12 season, but his perimeter shot has remained a work in progress.

Rubio was the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

Tags: Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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Ricky Rubio, Wolves Approximately $6M Apart On Extension Talks

Oct 31, 2014 6:44 PM

Ricky Rubio is prepared to accept a four-year, $58 million deal from the Minnesota Timberwolves if he receives the offer.

The Wolves have offered a four-year, $52 million deal and could possibly go as high as $54 million.

Rubio would become a restricted free agent in the 2015 offseason if an extension cannot be reached.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski on early Friday evening, Rubio and the Wolves were making progress on a deal. "There's optimism, but no deal," wrote Wojnarowski.

Darren Wolfson/ESPN

Tags: Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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J.J. Barea Finalizing Buyout From Wolves, Hopes To Re-Sign With Mavs

Oct 26, 2014 4:57 PM

J.J. Barea is finalizing a contract buyout with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, according to sources.

Barea is on course to be bought out as soon as Sunday and Monday at the latest.

Barea is hoping to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks after clearing waivers. The Mavericks would then have to create a roster spot for him.

Marc Stein/ESPN

Tags: J.J. Barea, Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA Waiver

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Wolves Waive Brady Heslip

Oct 25, 2014 2:46 PM

The Minnesota Timberwolves have waived guard Brady Heslip.

The Wolves roster now stands at 16 players.

Heslip, 24, appeared in four preseason games for the Wolves, tallying five points, two steals and one rebound in nine minutes of play. The 6-2 guard saw action in five games (two starts) for the Wolves entry in 2014 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, shooting 61.1% from the field and 70.0% from three-point range.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Brady Heslip, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA Waiver

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Love: My Decision Was About Wanting To Win

Oct 23, 2014 1:51 PM

Kevin Love wrote a first-person essay called "How I Spent My Summer Vacation", which details his trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"I grew up a lot – personally and professionally – during my time with the Wolves," writes Love. "I’ll be the first to tell you that I didn’t always handle things perfectly. We are all unfinished products. It’s not easy to handle the disappointment of losing when you’re in your early twenties. There were times when I wasn’t easy to be around in the locker room. It’s hard to be a leader when you don’t have the model — and when you don’t have a blueprint for what winning in the NBA looks like.

"But I make no excuses. I posted my best personal numbers last season, and we still didn’t make the playoffs. Some of the backlash was pretty hard to take — I learned that there is apparently such a thing as an “empty stat” (I’ll try to remember the importance of that the next time I am boxing out for a rebound against Tim Duncan).

"In the end, I was given the opportunity to move on, and I took it. My decision was about wanting to win. When I think back to being a kid shooting on an eight-foot hoop in my Shawn Kemp jersey, I never dreamed about putting up a triple-double or signing a max contract. I dreamed about holding up a championship trophy. In order to get to that place, I knew that I needed to move on."

The Players Tribune

Tags: Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

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Wolves Waive Kyrylo Fesenko

Oct 20, 2014 5:07 PM

The Minnesota Timberwolves have waived Kyrylo Fesenko.

The Wolves roster now stands at 17 players.

Fesenko, 27, appeared in one preseason game for the Wolves, tallying one rebound and one steal in three minutes of play. The 7-1 center saw action in five games (three starts) for the Wolves entry in 2014 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 8.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per game. Fesenko, originally drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round (38th overall pick) of the 2007 NBA Draft, has averaged 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game over his five-year NBA career.

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Tags: Kyrylo Fesenko, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA Waiver

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Timberwolves Exercise Third-Year Options On Bennett, Dieng, Muhammad

Oct 19, 2014 3:56 PM

The Minnesota Timberwolves exercised the third-year options on forward Anthony Bennett, center Gorgui Dieng and forward Shabazz Muhammad on Sunday.

Bennett, obtained in a trade from Cleveland on Aug. 23, saw action in 52 games for the Cavaliers in 2013-14, averaging 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game.

Dieng saw action in 60 games last season, including 33 of the final 35; he averaged 4.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game
 
Muhammad finished his rookie NBA season by appearing in 37 games for the Wolves, all off the bench, and averaged 3.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Anthony Bennett, Gorgui Dieng, Shabazz Muhammad, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Misc Official Transaction

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RealGM Radio: Arturo Galletti On NBA Season Over-Unders

Oct 17, 2014 12:13 PM

In this two-part episode, host Daniel Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Arturo Galletti of BoxScoreGeeks.com (@ArturoGalletti) go through the over-unders for all 30 NBA teams for the 14-15 season. 

Timestamps for the discussion on each team:

Part One

Atlanta Hawks (40.5 wins)- 

2:10

Boston Celtics (26.5 wins)- 

6:13

Brooklyn Nets (41.5 wins)- 

8:58

Charlotte Hornets (45.5 wins)- 

14:35

Chicago Bulls (55.5 wins)- 

16:58

Cleveland Cavaliers (58.5 wins)- 

25:23

Dallas Mavericks (49.5 wins)- 

33:15

Denver Nuggets (40.5 wins)- 

38:36

Detroit Pistons (36.5 wins)- 

43:05

Golden State Warriors (50.5 wins)- 

48:09

Houston Rockets (49.5 wins)- 

54:25

Indiana Pacers (32.5 wins)- 

1:00:46

Los Angeles Clippers (55.5 wins)- 

1:06:32

Los Angeles Lakers (31.5 wins)- 

1:12:07

Memphis Grizzlies (48.5 wins)- 

1:17:25

Miami Heat (43.5 wins)- 

1:21:13

Lightning Round

1:25:43

Click here to listen or download Part 1 

Part Two

Milwaukee Bucks (24.5 wins)- 

1:20

Minnesota Timberwolves (25.5 wins)- 

4:30

New Orleans Pelicans (41.5 wins)- 

9:25

New York Knicks (40.5 wins)- 

14:15

Oklahoma City Thunder (57.5 wins)- 

22:12

Orlando Magic (28.5 wins)- 

28:50

Philadelphia 76ers (15.5 wins)- 

34:52

Phoenix Suns (42.5 wins)- 

40:11

Portland Trail Blazers (48.5 wins)- 

44:01

Sacramento Kings (30.5 wins)- 

46:46

San Antonio Spurs (56.5 wins)- 

49:31

Toronto Raptors (49.5 wins)- 

54:49

Utah Jazz (25.5 wins)- 

58:26

Washington Wizards (49.5 wins)- 

1:01:20

Other bets on the board-

Click here to listen or download Part 2

You can also click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia Sixers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooklyn Nets, NBA, RealGM Radio

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Chase Budinger Made Available By Wolves In Trade Talks

Oct 16, 2014 5:06 PM

Chase Budinger has been made available in trade talks by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets have shown an interest in Budinger, among several other teams.

Houston and Detroit are reluctant to take on the $5 million player option on Budinger's contract.

The Wolves have an excess of forwards and minutes may be limited for Budinger.

Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

Tags: Chase Budinger, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Trade Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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Andrew Wiggins Being Pushed To 'Come Back At You' From Start

Oct 13, 2014 12:10 PM

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been significant believers in Andrew Wiggins' talent and abilities, going back to his one season at Kansas.

"He could play 60 percent [at Kansas] and still be the best player by far," Newton said.

The Timberwolves' coaching staff has been encouraging Wiggins to push himself and stop trying to blend in.

"Very coachable," said Sam Mitchell, who played for the Wolves for 10 of his 13 seasons. 

Minnesota is attempting to trigger Wiggins' attack mentality from the beginning of the season and start of games, instead of having an event bring it about.

"You saw with this kid, sometimes something has to trigger in him for him to come back at you," a team source said. "What we've been trying to get him to do is be that way from the beginning."

David Aldridge/NBA.com

Tags: Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Rubio, Wolves At Standstill On Extension Negotiations

Charlie Walters/Pioneer Press

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