<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/timberwolves-rumors-kevin-garnett-return-expected-with-glen-taylor-beef-irrelevant');   ga('set', 'title', 'Timberwolves rumors: Kevin Garnett return expected with Glen Taylor beef irrelevant');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Garnett-at-a-ceremony.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Timberwolves rumors: Kevin Garnett return expected with Glen Taylor beef irrelevant</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-03T10:45:16-07:00">April 3rd, 10:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-03T10:45:16-07:00">April 3rd, 10:45am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Minnesota Timberwolves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Recently, the years-long saga regarding the future <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/timberwolves-news-magic-johnson-alex-rodriguez-timberwolves-purchase">ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves</a> came to an end when it was revealed that Glen Taylor had agreed to sell the team, along with the Minnesota Lynx, to the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/timberwolves-news-marc-lore-alex-rodriguez-finalize-full-ownership-glen-taylor">Marc Lore-Alex Rodriguez group</a> for $1.5 billion, per Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst of ESPN. The price is the same number the sides initially agreed upon in 2021, before various disputes delayed the process over the ensuing years.</p><p>Now, there is hope that a relationship <a href="https://hoopshype.com/rumor/wolves-will-try-to-rekindle-relationship-with-kevin-garnett/" rel="noopener">could be rekindled</a> between the Timberwolves and former league MVP Kevin Garnett, who has not always seen eye to eye with Taylor on things, per HoopsHype.</p><p>“One more thing to keep an eye on: they’re going to work to rekindle that relationship with Kevin Garnett. Garnett still hasn’t had his No. 21 “Big Ticket” jersey retired,” said Charania during a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “He refused to do so with Glen Taylor as owner. I expect that to change, and I expect more conversations about a potential role for Garnett within the organization alongside A-Rod and Lore.”</p><p>In the last couple of years, the Timberwolves have ushered in their first real era of success in the post-Garnett era, having shocked many by making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals in 2024.</p><p>This season hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the Timberwolves, who traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks shortly before training camp began, but the team has picked up steam as of late, picking up a huge double overtime road win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.</p><p>Rodriguez and Lore have made a habit of appearing at Timberwolves games over the last couple of years, including during their epic playoff run a season ago, and Timberwolves fans have reason for optimism that the team is in good hands moving forward.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Timberwolves rumors: Kevin Garnett return expected with Glen Taylor beef irrelevant

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/ayesha-howard-anthony-edwards-1m-child-support-rumor');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ayesha Howard claps back at Anthony Edwards $1M child support rumor');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Ayesha-Howard-claps-back-at-Anthony-Edwards-1M-child-support-rumor-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Ayesha Howard claps back at Anthony Edwards $1M child support rumor</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-02T18:49:19-07:00">April 2nd, 6:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-02T19:37:21-07:00">April 2nd, 7:37pm</time><address><a>Autumn Hawkins</a>Autumn Hawkins is an Associate Entertainment Editor at ClutchPoints. She enjoys writing about music, lifestyle, film, and television. When she's not writing, she is trying the newest makeup trend, reading a romance novel, or planning her next trip. She is also a proud member of the BeyHive.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Minnesota Timberwolves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Anthony Edwards went viral for allegedly giving Ayesha Howard her child support for 18 years of their child’s life in advance.</p><p>A user’s post on X <a href="https://x.com/PrincessM___/status/1906907558549328382" rel="noopener">went viral</a>:</p><p>“Anthony Edwards’s really told the judge he wanna pay the whole 18 years of child support upfront is absolutely insane he hates that girl omfg like the WHOLE 18 years in 1 Payment? He wants that s— to be over with immediately,” the fan wrote.</p><p>A few days later another user claimed he gave Howard a little over $1 million for child support.</p><p>“Anthony Edwards confidently paid $1,080,000 in child support all at once to cover 18 years’ worth of payments. I never knew basketball players make a lot of money like footballers,” the user wrote.</p><p>Users on X commented on the rumor trying to guess why Edwards would want to do pay for the child support ahead of time.</p><p>“He wants to settle it before he signs that half a billion dollar extension that he’s due for in a couple years lol … they’d be right back in that courtroom readjusting the numbers,” one user predicted.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">He wants to settle it before he signs that half a billion dollar extension that he’s due for in a couple years lol … they’d be right back in that court room readjusting the numbers</p><p>— “ (@Embiitch) <a href="https://twitter.com/Embiitch/status/1907384751981269253?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Have a baby by me baby, be a millionaire, i’ll write da check before da baby comes who da hell cares,” another user wrote quoting 50 Cent’s “Baby By Me.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Have a baby by me baby, be a millionaire, i'll write da check before da baby comes who da hell cares" <a href="https://t.co/TxePDCAo38">pic.twitter.com/TxePDCAo38</a></p><p>— OH Mealy (@MealyOh) <a href="https://twitter.com/MealyOh/status/1907397361829065188?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Another user commented comparing the situation to <a href="https://x.com/theonejaywill/status/1907279268276510769" rel="noopener">paying off a mortgage.</a> “Nah never have I ever heard someone want to pay the whole 18 years in 1 payment he treating that s— like he paying off a house,” the fan wrote.</p><p>While the interaction online lasted for a few days it was shut down by Howard who welcomed their daughter Aubri’ Summers in October 2024. Howard shares a son, Jason, with rapper Lil Baby. Edwards also shares daughter Aislynn with girlfriend Shannon Jackson, Aris with Daja Carlyle. The model <a href="https://theshaderoom.com/ayesha-howard-rumors-anthony-edwards-request-pay-18-years-child-support-up-front-exclusive/" rel="noopener">denied the social media rumors </a>about the child support with a statement to the Shade Room.</p><p>“There are no court documents, motions, or proceedings that have occurred, nor have I been offered or agreed to such terms,” Howard told the outlet.</p><h2>Anthony Edwards Goes Viral Over Abortion Statement</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Anthony-Edwards-1.jpg"><figcaption>© Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>This is not the first time that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celebrity/anthony-edwards-alleged-texts-reveal-abortion-request-ayesha-howard" rel="noopener">Timberwolves star has gone viral</a> for something he’s said off the court.</p><p>Howard wrote in an alleged text message to Edwards informing him of her pregnancy.</p><p>“I’m pregnant… wanted to tell you in person but you gave me no other choice,” Howard allegedly wrote. “We probably should have kept it cordial but we’re here now.”</p><p>“Ok lol. Get da abortion lol,” Edwards allegedly wrote back.</p><p>In another conversation between the two, Howard asked the NBA star if he hated her which he responded, “[Yes]. Because you bringing a child in the world that’s gone be without a father.”</p><p>Edwards took some heat for allegedly responding to Howard the way he did and <a href="https://x.com/theantedwards_/status/1736787455691407764" rel="noopener">wrote a statement </a>online condoning his choice of words.</p><p>“I made comments in the heat of a moment that are not me, and that are not aligned with what I believe and who I want to be as a man,” Edwards began in his statement. “All women should be supported and empowered to make their own decisions about their bodies and what is best for them,” he continued.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Ayesha Howard claps back at Anthony Edwards $1M child support rumor

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/nba-rumors-knicks-spurs-among-5-teams-kevin-durant-has-mutual-trade-interest');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks, Spurs among 5 teams Kevin Durant has ‘mutual’ trade interest with');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Knicks-Spurs-among-5-teams-Kevin-Durant-has-mutual-trade-interest-with.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks, Spurs among 5 teams Kevin Durant has ‘mutual’ trade interest with</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-02T14:25:44-07:00">April 2nd, 2:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-02T15:20:23-07:00">April 2nd, 3:20pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Trade speculation surrounding Kevin Durant has intensified as the Phoenix Suns face an uncertain offseason.</p><p>According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Durant and the Suns are <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1907527747821301888" rel="noopener">expected to work together</a> on a potential trade this summer, with mutual interest already existing between the former MVP and five NBA teams: the New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Houston Rockets.</p><p>Charania discussed the situation during Wednesday’s broadcast of NBA Today, highlighting the growing belief that Phoenix’s current core of Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker has not produced the expected results.</p><p>“Matt Ishbia, the Suns owner, has shown already in his ownership that he’s aggressive; he’s willing to make moves,” Charania said. “He’s gonna make a million swings as Suns owner, but this iteration of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker just has not worked.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Reporting for NBA Today with <a href="https://twitter.com/malika_andrews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@malika_andrews</a> on the potential summer of change coming to the Phoenix Suns: <a href="https://t.co/73BB8aQdYP">pic.twitter.com/73BB8aQdYP</a></p><p>— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1907527747821301888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>He added that the Suns are expected to reshape their roster this offseason, and any changes are likely to begin with Durant.</p><p>“One thing to keep in mind, back at the NBA Trade Deadline in February, Minnesota, Miami, New York, San Antonio, and Houston were among the teams, I’m told, there was mutual interest between Durant and those teams,” Charania said. “I expect those teams and potentially others to be back in the fray this summer.”</p><h2><b>Kevin Durant’s injury, Suns’ playoff struggles fuel offseason uncertainty</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Kevin-Durant-35-brings-the-ball-up-as-Minnesota-Timberwolves-guard-Anthony-Edwards-5.jpg"><figcaption>© Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Durant is under contract for one more season, and his status is expected to be a key storyline entering the offseason. According to Charania, the postseason will also play a factor as early exits could increase pressure on front offices to pursue high-impact moves.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-why-love-is-keeping-devin-booker-in-phoenix-despite-tumultuous-season">Suns, currently 35-41, are clinging to playoff hopes</a> but have lost four straight games. They sit 1.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings (36-39) for the final Play-In Tournament spot.</p><p>Phoenix will face tough challenges in the coming days, including matchups against the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks, before closing the season with a potentially decisive game against the Kings on April 13.</p><p>Adding to the uncertainty, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-kevin-durant-out-one-week-ankle-injury">Durant recently suffered a left ankle sprain in a loss to the Rockets</a> and is expected to miss at least a week, according to reports. With the Suns’ postseason fate hanging in the balance, there’s growing speculation that Durant may have already played his final game with the franchise.</p><p>Despite being in his 17th NBA season, the 36-year-old remains one of the league’s most potent offensive weapons. He is currently averaging 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 52.7% from the field and 43% from three over 62 games.</p><h2><b>Multiple teams circling as Durant trade buzz grows</b></h2><p>Earlier this year, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/timberwolves-rumors-minnesota-plans-to-make-another-kevin-durant-trade-pursuit">Minnesota Timberwolves had made an aggressive push to land Durant</a> at the trade deadline but refused to part with franchise stars Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels.</p><p>In addition to the five teams mentioned by Charania, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/how-nba-new-208-million-second-apron-impacts-trades-free-agency-siegels-scoop">Brett Siegel recently reported that the Atlanta Hawks</a> were a “surprising” team to express interest in Durant’s availability, further underscoring the league-wide attention surrounding his future.</p><p>Another team to monitor is the Dallas Mavericks, who recently traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. However, Dallas may be a less likely landing spot for Durant following Kyrie Irving’s recent ACL tear, which casts doubt on their short-term competitiveness and potential trade ambitions.</p><p>With the Suns likely heading into the offseason without a postseason berth, all signs point to Durant’s status becoming one of the most closely watched storylines of the summer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Knicks, Spurs among 5 teams Kevin Durant has ‘mutual’ trade interest with

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/nba-rumors-mavericks-timberwolves-luka-doncic-anthony-edwards-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Mavericks asked Timberwolves about Luka Doncic-Anthony Edwards trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mavericks-asked-Timberwolves-about-Luka-Doncic-Anthony-Edwards-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Mavericks asked Timberwolves about Luka Doncic-Anthony Edwards trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-28T05:56:55-08:00">February 28th, 5:56am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-28T05:56:55-08:00">February 28th, 5:56am</time><address><a>Tim Crean</a>Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined ClutchPoints in 2022. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL, NBA, soccer, sports media, and more. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie, it is a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York and when he’s not enjoying a round of golf he's probably coaching youth soccer or flag football. You can catch all of his sports-related musings on Twitter at @twcrean.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Waking up to news of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/nba-players-lose-it-over-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-trade" rel="noopener">Luka Doncic trade on Feb. 2 shocked the NBA world</a>. But before <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/lakers-news-rob-pelinka-thought-nico-harrison-joking-luka-doncic-trade">Nico Harrison made the league-altering deal with the Los Angeles Lakers</a>, he reportedly did call one other team. However, when the Dallas Mavericks general manager reached out to the Minnesota Timberwolves about Anthony Edwards, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6166120/2025/02/28/luka-doncic-lakers-timberwolves-trade/" rel="noopener">they quickly said no</a>.</p><p>“While this spicy what-if scenario never gained any traction, league sources tell The Athletic that the Mavericks and Timberwolves informally discussed the prospect of swapping Doncic for 23-year-old, three-time All-Star Anthony Edwards in the weeks before the Lakers deal went down,” NBA insider Sam Amik revealed.</p><p>“More specifically, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison reached out to the Timberwolves and asked if there was any chance they’d be willing to trade Edwards,” Amik continued. “He was promptly told no. The Timberwolves, league sources say, were stunned that Dallas was contemplating parting ways with Doncic.”</p><p>This isn’t the first <a href="https://woelfelspressbox.com/2025/02/bucks-rejected-mavs-overtures-for-antetokounmpo/" rel="noopener">report of this rumor</a> to hit the internet. Longtime Wisconsin-based NBA reporter Gery Woelfel had in it a Feb. 11 piece about the Milwaukee Bucks rejecting a Luka Doncic trade involving Giannis Antetokounmpo.</p><p>Ultimately, this report does seem to dispel the notion that Harrison only went to his longtime professional acquaintance, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, with the Doncic deal. However, informally inquiring about two of the league’s biggest, most entrenched superstars (and one of the youngest in Edwards’ case) and then quickly settling for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick is still not good business.</p><p>For anyone not following the fallout from the Luka Doncic trade, the Lakers are 7-2 since acquiring the Slovenian superstar, while the Mavericks are 5-4, including a 107-99 loss to the Lakers on Tuesday night. Also, Davis is out injured and possibly done for the season with a left adductor strain suffered in his one and only game played for his new team.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Mavericks asked Timberwolves about Luka Doncic-Anthony Edwards trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/nba-rumors-timberwolves-potential-relief-naz-reid-pending-free-agency');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Timberwolves see ‘potential relief’ in Naz Reid’s pending free agency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/NBA-rumors-Timberwolves-see-potential-relief-in-Naz-Reids-pending-free-agency.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Timberwolves see ‘potential relief’ in Naz Reid’s pending free agency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-24T12:47:25-08:00">February 24th, 12:47pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-24T14:00:58-08:00">February 24th, 2:00pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Minnesota Timberwolves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Timberwolves and Naz Reid have some things to clear up this offseason. There’s nothing bad between the two, but Reid is set to hit free agency. After all, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/naz-reid-leads-timberwolves-stunning-thunder-upset-nba-all-star-break">Reid led the Timberwolves to a shocking upset</a> against the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><p>The backup center has been pivotal throughout multiple points in the season. He’s been the stretch five that the Timberwolves need since Karl-Anthony Towns was traded.</p><p>Still, he remains on the bench but has gotten some quality minutes. As a result, he was an early name for the Sixth Man of the Year award. Although that award might or might not be in his hands, Minnesota has an interesting decision to make.</p><p>He has a $15 million player option for this upcoming season. However, he could likely reject it and seek a higher number. If that’s the case, then the Timberwolves <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/jake-fischer-latest-on-the-timberwolves?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=157777475&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">have some tough moves to make</a>.</p><p>Edwards’ own five-year, $244 million max contract — with Gobert likewise still a $44 million player this season while Jaden McDaniels is just in Year 1 of his significant contract extension</p><p>They don’t want to land in the second tax apron. If that’s the case, draft picks can be frozen, as well as some trades not happening because of it.</p><h2><b>Naz Reid could do a lot for the Timberwolves</b></h2><p>Once the offseason hits, then it will be known for certain what will happen. Once again, Reid has a $15 million player option he can accept or decline. He’s made it clear that he wants to remain in Minnesota. Plus, the franchise would do whatever they can to keep him.</p><p>His numbers have improved since <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/timberwolves-news-naz-reid-wins-2023-24-nba-sixth-man-of-the-year-award-over-malik-monk">Reid won the Sixth Man of the Year award</a>. Not to mention, his percentages have skyrocketed. Although Towns is in the Big Apple with the New York Knicks, Reid has been a quality replacement for the current All-Star. Either way, the Timberwolves will need to make a decision.</p><p>They <a href="https://sports.betmgm.com/en/blog/nba/what-is-the-second-apron-explanation-nba-bm06/#:~:text=The%20NBA%20second%20apron%20is,may%20suffer%20draft%20pick%20penalties." rel="noopener">could land in the second tax apron</a> if they are not careful. Furthermore, the ongoing contracts of Edwards, Gobert, and McDaniels only make matters more pressing. Plenty of teams would be more than willing to spend extra on Reid. Some of those teams might offer a contract solely so that Minnesota can’t bring him back.</p><p>At the end of the day, there are decisions upon decisions. If the Timberwolves and Reid continue their friendship, they could bring back the reigning Sixth Man of the Year winner on a hometown discount.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Timberwolves see ‘potential relief’ in Naz Reid’s pending free agency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/nba-rumors-timberwolves-kevin-durant-trade-pursuit-deadline');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: How ‘serious’ Timberwolves’ Kevin Durant trade pursuit was at deadline');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/NBA-rumors-How-serious-Timberwolves-Kevin-Durant-trade-pursuit-was-at-deadline.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: How ‘serious’ Timberwolves’ Kevin Durant trade pursuit was at deadline</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-24T08:24:34-08:00">February 24th, 8:24am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-24T12:52:25-08:00">February 24th, 12:52pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Minnesota Timberwolves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After the buzz surrounding the stunning Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade subsided to a degree, the biggest storyline in the final hours leading up to the NBA trade deadline in early February was the barrage of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/grading-kevin-durant-trade-warriors-suns-heat-kd-rejected">rumors surrounding Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant</a>.</p><p>Durant was linked to a possible reunion with the Golden State Warriors, and those talks continued to heat up until Durant put out the fire by saying that he had <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/warriors-news-kevin-durant-trade-talks-done">no desire to go back to the Bay Area</a>. After that, there wasn’t a lot of noise surrounding Durant, but there were other teams that were trying to get the 36-year-old on their team.</p><p>One of those teams was the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves have had a fairly disappointing season after reaching the Western Conference Finals last year, and they <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/jake-fischer-latest-on-the-timberwolves?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=157777475&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">were trying their hardest</a> to land Durant from the Suns just before the deadline according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.</p><p>“Once those talks [with the Warriors] ultimately fizzled, thanks largely to Durant’s disinterest in that reunion, Minnesota’s own approach for Durant was serious enough, sources say, that the Timberwolves were calling rival teams over the final few days before the Feb. 6 deadline buzzer sounded,” Fischer reported. “The Wolves were working the phones in hopes of finding avenues to get under the NBA’s second luxury tax apron and then be able to aggregate contracts, all with the intent of landing Durant and his $51 million salary this season next to his Olympic running mate Anthony Edwards.”</p><p>Durant and Edwards would be a great fit together on paper, and the two would undoubtedly get along after playing together at the Summer Olympics in Paris. Durant is Edwards’ favorite player in the league, which has led to some great soundbites and moments from the young Minnesota superstar during their matchup in the first round of the playoffs last season.</p><p>Purely from a basketball standpoint, Durant would give the Timberwolves a second shot creator, which is something that they desperately need in the playoffs. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/timberwolves-news-julius-randle-drops-eye-opening-claim-about-biggest-change">Julius Randle has had his moments</a> this season, but he hasn’t consistently been able to live up to that role. He would have likely been included in a deal for Durant, so this deal would have solved that problem.</p><p>Durant isn’t the same all-world defender that he was during his Golden State days, but he can still be a plus on that end when he is locked in like he would be in a playoff series. Even if the Timberwolves would have had to give up a lot of key supporting pieces to get Durant in the building, it’s easy to see how they could get better from that move. Maybe it’s something that can be revisited this offseason.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: How ‘serious’ Timberwolves’ Kevin Durant trade pursuit was at deadline

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/minnesota-timberwolves/nba-rumors-kevin-garnett-return-timberwolves-franchise-sale');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Kevin Garnett to return to Timberwolves after franchise sale');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/NBA-rumors-Kevin-Garnett-to-return-to-Timberwolves-after-franchise-sale.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Kevin Garnett to return to Timberwolves after franchise sale</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-24T06:04:09-08:00">February 24th, 6:04am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-24T06:04:09-08:00">February 24th, 6:04am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Minnesota Timberwolves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The future of the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise has been up in the air for the past couple of months, with owner Glen Taylor engaging in a feud with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/timberwolves-news-alex-rodriguez-marc-lore-ownership-glen-taylor">prospective buyers Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez</a> over the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/timberwolves-news-alex-rodriguez-marc-lore-ownership-amid-glen-taylor-battle">potential sale of the team</a>. However, it seems like Lore and Rodriguez are closing in on purchasing the team, which could lead to a unique return for beloved former big man Kevin Garnett.</p><p>Garnett spent 13-and-a-half seasons of his career in the NBA with the Timberwolves, but he became estranged from the team due to his poor relationship with Taylor. Now that Taylor appears to be headed for the exit door, Garnett could end up finding his way back to Minnesota as <a href="https://www.twincities.com/2025/02/22/charley-walters-not-so-fast-on-twins-sale-by-pohlads/" rel="noopener">part of their front office</a> if Lore and Rodriguez do end up completing their purchase of the team.</p><p>“A little birdie says Kevin Garnett will become part of the Timberwolves’ front office as soon as it’s official that Lore and Rodriguez get ownership,” Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press reported.</p><h2><b>Kevin Garnett could be close to making triumphant return to the Timberwolves</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Former-Timberwolves-center-Kevin-Garnett.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: John Leyba-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/celtics-news-jaylen-brown-reacts-kevin-garnett-bill-russell-shoutout-all-star-weekend">Garnett is very involved with the Boston Celtics</a>, who he helped win a title in 2008, the same isn’t true with the Timberwolves because of Taylor. With a potential ownership change in the works, that could open the door for Garnett to get involved with his longtime team again as part of their front office.</p><p>Of course, Lore and Rodriguez still need to actually be approved as Minnesota’s new owners, but should that happen, it will set the stage for Garnett to make a triumphant return to the Timberwolves.</p><p>On the court, the T-Wolves are fresh off suffering a 130-123 loss at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night. They won’t have to wait long for a shot at revenge, though, as they will be facing off against the Thunder again on Monday night at 8 p.m. EST.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Kevin Garnett to return to Timberwolves after franchise sale

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-timberwolves-tried-acquire-kevin-durant-before-trade-deadline');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Timberwolves tried to acquire Kevin Durant before trade deadline');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Timberwolves-tried-to-acquire-Kevin-Durant-before-trade-deadline.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Timberwolves tried to acquire Kevin Durant before trade deadline</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-06T17:13:49-08:00">February 6th, 5:13pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-06T17:16:16-08:00">February 6th, 5:16pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Minnesota Timberwolves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Only a short while ago, the Phoenix Suns were expected to make serious noise at the 2025 NBA trade deadline. Although they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-grade-suns-jusuf-nurkic-cody-martin-trade">dealt Jusuf Nurkic to the Charlotte Hornets</a>, no major moves occurred in The Desert. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-bradley-beal-family-first-priority-discussing-no-trade-clause">Bradley Beal refused to waive</a> his no-trade clause and Kevin Durant wanted no part of a Golden State Warriors reunion, putting the franchise in limbo. The Minnesota Timberwolves still tried to get the Suns to budge, however.</p><p>They <a href="https://x.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1887634116331323434" rel="noopener">made a late push</a> to acquire Durant ahead of Thursday’s deadline, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes. But Phoenix obviously did not waver. Trading the two-time Finals MVP and six-time All-NBA First-Team selection would probably have signaled a rebuild, which is something the organization is clearly not ready to launch.</p><p>The Suns are 25-25 and occupy the 10th slot in the Western Conference. Their inability to land a two-way star like Jimmy Butler could limit their postseason ceiling. The chances of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-suns-prepared-for-full-evaluation-keeping-kevin-durant-at-trade-deadline">the Durant-Devin Booker-Beal core</a> meeting the lofty expectations that were first set in June of 2023 are rapidly declining. Pulling the plug on this experiment is not an easy thing to do, however.</p><h2><b>Kevin Durant, Suns are stuck in a tricky spot</b></h2><p>Since Phoenix ostensibly has no immediate path to championship contention or complete roster reconstruction, it might make more sense to stand pat for a little longer. The Oklahoma City Thunder are ruling the West with an iron fist at the moment, but the rest of the conference is unpredictable enough to inspire an iota of optimism among Suns fans.</p><p>Even so, the Timberwolves’ Kevin Durant inquiry is completely understandable. They are only two and half games above Phoenix in the standings and face great pressure to build on their playoff success from last season. Pairing Anthony Edwards with one of the greatest scorers in NBA history would have been a smart way to re-establish their championship ambitions while also helping the franchise cornerstone take the next step.</p><p>The Suns cannot rush this process, though. They must do damage control with both Durant and Beal and hope that the squad can awaken in the second half of the season. Phoenix has lost four of its last five games but returns home to the Footprint Center for a Friday night matchup with the Utah Jazz (12-37). Meanwhile, the Timberwolves will move forward with its current group and attempt to topple the third-place Houston Rockets (32-18) on Thursday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Timberwolves tried to acquire Kevin Durant before trade deadline

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-raptors-timberwolves-linked-deaaron-fox-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Raptors, Timberwolves linked to De’Aaron Fox trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NBA-rumors-Raptors-Timberwolves-linked-to-DeAaron-Fox-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Raptors, Timberwolves linked to De’Aaron Fox trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-31T12:39:30-08:00">January 31st, 12:39pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-31T21:39:39-08:00">January 31st, 9:39pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Minnesota Timberwolves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Days removed from Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox’s trade demand and one week from the NBA trade deadline, sources have linked a potential deal between the Toronto Raptors and the Minnesota Timberwolves. While Miami Heat forward <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-kings-not-pursuing-jimmy-butler-deaaron-fox-trade-talks">Jimmy Butler’s future is uncertain untied to the Kings</a>, according to a new report. However, the Raptors and Timberwolves are potential suitors, according to ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel.</p><p>The Timberwolves and Raptors have both <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jimmy-butler-deaaron-fox-warriors-nba-trade-deadline-intel-siegels-scoop" rel="noopener">reached</a> out to the Kings. However, it won’t be an easy move to make for the former, according to Siegel.</p><p>“Sources said other teams to inquire about Fox’s availability in Sacramento include the Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors,” Siegel writes. “A path to possibly landing Fox would be extremely difficult for the Timberwolves and is unlikely since they’d have to move Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels to get out of the second apron. McDaniels does have a lot of fans in the Kings’ front office, sources said.”</p><p>Pairing Fox with forward Scottie Barnes makes the potential move enticing for the Raptors.</p><p>“One should never count out the Raptors from pulling off a big, unexpected move for a star,” Siegel writes. “Executive Masai Ujiri is always very precise when it comes to setting his organization up to make big moves, and it’s become clear that the Raptors want to find another young star to pair with Scottie Barnes.</p><p>“Could Fox be that guy and end up in Toronto, similar to how Kawhi Leonard did in 2018? Don’t count out the Raptors from making a significant addition in the near future.”</p><p>Fox is averaging 25.1 points on 46.8% shooting, 25.1 points, 6.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game for the Kings this season.</p><h2><b>De’Aaron Fox’s cryptic response amid Kings trade request</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Kings-guard-DeAaron-Fox-1.jpg"><figcaption>Bill Streicher-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Kings guard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kings-news-deaaron-foxs-cryptic-unexpected-response-recent-trade-rumors">De’Aaron Fox addressed his trade request recently</a>, and without mentioning specific teams, addressed his future.</p><p>Fox <a href="https://x.com/ChrisBiderman/status/1884678772219158670" rel="noopener">says</a> he’s ready for whatever the future holds, per Kings reporter Chris Biderman.</p><p>“In this league, I expect the unexpected,” Fox said. “I think crazier things have happened.”</p><p>Fox was also asked if he had a preferred destination of where he’d like to go.</p><p>“For sure, I think everybody has a preferred destination,” Fox said. “I think everybody has a preferred destination if they’re not in the place that — or if they’re not going to be in the place where they are in the moment.”</p><p>Fox and the Kings have until February 6’s NBA trade deadline to strike a deal.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Raptors, Timberwolves linked to De’Aaron Fox trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-timberwolves-julius-randle-could-be-included-in-jimmy-butler-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Timberwolves’ Julius Randle could be included in Jimmy Butler trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NBA-rumors-Timberwolves-Julius-Randle-could-be-included-in-Jimmy-Butler-trade.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Timberwolves’ Julius Randle could be included in Jimmy Butler trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-28T12:13:47-08:00">January 28th, 12:13pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-28T14:41:13-08:00">January 28th, 2:41pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Miami Heat</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Miami Heat’s ongoing efforts to move Jimmy Butler have reportedly involved discussions with the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Julius Randle potentially being a key piece in a trade package. According to SNY’s Ian Begley, the Heat <a href="https://sny.tv/articles/knicks-karl-anthony-towns-julius-randle-jimmy-butler" rel="noopener">remain interested</a> in the Timberwolves’ star forward as part of the trade saga surrounding Butler.</p><p>Begley noted that Miami had expressed interest in acquiring Randle during the past offseason, prior to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/how-karl-anthony-towns-trade-helps-knicks-timberwolves-hornets">Minnesota’s trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks</a> in exchange for Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.</p><p>Additionally, Begley reported that the Heat and Timberwolves have been in communication regarding potential trades involving Butler.</p><h2><b>Heat lower Jimmy Butler’s trade value</b></h2><p>The latest developments come after the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/heat-news-jimmy-butler-suspended-indefinitely-amid-trade-rumors">Heat suspended Butler for the third time this season</a>, this time indefinitely. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Butler left the team’s shootaround on Monday after learning Haywood Highsmith would start over him in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/heat-news-miami-battles-through-jimmy-butler-suspension-to-take-down-magic-in-ot">Miami’s 125-119 double-overtime victory against the Orlando Magic</a>.</p><p>ESPN’s Brian Windhorst added further context to the Heat’s approach, reporting that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-heats-jimmy-butler-traded-insider-claims">Miami has lowered its asking price for Butler</a>, indicating a stronger push to complete a deal.</p><p>“I wasn’t sure about that maybe 7 or 10 days ago, but I really am more sure than ever that it’s going to happen,” Windhorst said. “The Heat are trying to make it happen. More teams are going to wade in here because the price on Butler is going to be lower.”</p><p>According to Begley, the Suns and/or Heat have also engaged several teams in discussions about potential three-, four-, or even five-team deals involving Butler. With the trade deadline just one week away on Thursday, February 6, Miami is running out of time to finalize a resolution for their disgruntled star.</p><h2><b>Julius Randle’s potential inclusion adds intrigue to Timberwolves-Butler trade talks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Julius-Randle-30-shoots-a-three-point-basket-against-the-Denver-Nuggets.jpg"><figcaption>© Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Recent reports indicate that Butler’s trade request comes with certain conditions. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-jimmy-butler-wants-trade-literally-anywhere-besides-grizzlies">Butler has reportedly said he is willing to go anywhere but Memphis</a>, further narrowing the field of potential destinations. While no specific reason has been given for his exclusion of the Grizzlies, this stance adds another layer of complexity to ongoing trade discussions.</p><p>NBA insider Brett Siegel highlighted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Minnesota’s potential pursuit of Butler would <a href="https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1884304671441052155" rel="noopener">come with complications</a>. As a second-apron team under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, the Timberwolves would need to shed significant salary to make a trade work.</p><p>This could include parting ways with both Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels to meet financial requirements.</p><p>Randle, currently averaging 18.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 46.6% from the field, has been a solid contributor for the Timberwolves this season.</p><p>The 29-year-old forward is making $33 million this season and holds a $30 million player option for 2025. His inclusion in a potential trade would be necessary to align with the league’s salary-matching rules.</p><h2><b>Suns remain as preferred destination, but trade complexities persist</b></h2><p>While the Timberwolves remain a potential trade partner, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/the-4-known-teams-interested-facilitating-jimmy-butler-trade">Butler has expressed a preference to join the Phoenix Suns</a>. However, such a deal would present significant challenges. The Suns would need to move Bradley Beal, who holds a no-trade clause, to facilitate a trade for Butler.</p><p>However, Phoenix’s limited assets and salary cap constraints further complicate the possibility of a direct deal with the Heat, making multiteam trades a more likely scenario.</p><p>The possibility of Butler returning to the Timberwolves also brings an added layer of intrigue, given his history with the franchise. Butler played for Minnesota during the 2017-18 season and part of the 2018-19 campaign before requesting a trade and being dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers after a turbulent exit.</p><p>With the trade deadline fast approaching next Thursday, February 6, the Heat’s willingness to lower their demands for  Jimmy Butler could accelerate negotiations with interested teams. Whether the Timberwolves potentially make a serious push for Butler — and whether Julius Randle ultimately becomes part of the deal — remains uncertain.</p><p>As Butler’s future hangs in the balance, the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, and potentially the Minnesota Timberwolves remain at the center of one of the NBA’s most closely watched trade sagas this season. The outcome of these negotiations will not only shape Butler’s career trajectory but could also impact the balance of power across the league.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Timberwolves’ Julius Randle could be included in Jimmy Butler trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-timberwolves-willing-get-involved-jimmy-butler-trade-talks-with-a-catch');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Timberwolves willing to get involved in Jimmy Butler trade talks, with a catch');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Timberwolves-willing-to-get-involved-in-Jimmy-Butler-trade-talks-with-a-catch.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Timberwolves willing to get involved in Jimmy Butler trade talks, with a catch</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-19T14:53:30-08:00">January 19th, 2:53pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-19T16:31:07-08:00">January 19th, 4:31pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Minnesota Timberwolves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-honest-admission-after-warriors-loss">Minnesota Timberwolves have been up and down</a> through the first half of the 2024-25 NBA season, currently sitting at 22-20 following Saturday evening’s blowout home <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavaliers-vs-timberwolves-prediction-odds-pick-spread-1-18-2025">loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers</a>. Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo still don’t look completely comfortable in their new threads, and Anthony Edwards’ new three-point centric style of play hasn’t translated to much success thus far.</p><p>The big story of the offseason for the Timberwolves was the team’s shocking decision to trade Karl-Anthony Towns in exchange for Randle and DiVincenzo; however, now, there is speculation that the team could look to make further moves to try to save their season.</p><p>One of the hottest names on the trade market currently is that of Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, who played for the Timberwolves in 2018, and the team was recently linked to the star in trade talks once again — but <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/sunday-best-all-my-nba-trade-season?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60" rel="noopener">not in the way</a> you might think.</p><p>“The Raptors are volunteering to participate in an eventual Butler trade as a third- or fourth-team facilitator that doesn’t land Butler but takes part in the transaction,” reported Marc Stein on his Substack, citing intel from Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.</p><p>“When I relayed that to one well-placed source, I was told that ‘about half the league’ has made similar feelings known to the Heat as they try to concoct a trade that brings this saga to an end.</p><p>That group is believed to include the Timberwolves … but, again, in the role of trade facilitator and not with the intent to bring Butler back to Minnesota.”</p><p>At this point, it’s unclear what contracts or players the Timberwolves would be looking to absorb to help facilitate such a trade.</p><h2><b>Are the Timberwolves cooked?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Edwards-complains.jpg"><figcaption>Matt Krohn-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Ordinarily, a team that is just eight months removed from the Conference Finals with their best player being 23 years old would be in one of the more enviable situations in the entire league.</p><p>However, that isn’t necessarily the case for Minnesota, who puzzled their fans by trading franchise cornerstone Towns in September and have seen regression up and down the roster so far this year.</p><p>Of course, there’s still plenty of time to turn things around, and the Western Conference hasn’t been quite as elite as many anticipated so far this year.</p><p>The Timberwolves will next take the court on Monday vs the Memphis Grizzlies.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Timberwolves willing to get involved in Jimmy Butler trade talks, with a catch

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-teams-monitoring-anthony-edwards-long-term-status-timberwolves');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Teams monitoring Anthony Edwards’ long-term status with Timberwolves');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Teams-monitoring-Anthony-Edwards-long-term-status-with-Timberwolves.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Teams monitoring Anthony Edwards’ long-term status with Timberwolves</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-17T12:51:23-08:00">January 17th, 12:51pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-17T14:24:25-08:00">January 17th, 2:24pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Minnesota Timberwolves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Timberwolves are not having the season that they expected, and it could be due to multiple reasons. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-expresses-frustrations-double-teams-season">Anthony Edwards has not been shy</a> of calling his teammates out for how they’ve been playing this season, and teams around the league have been keeping their eye on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/are-bucks-serious-jimmy-butler-trade-deadline-suitor-siegels-scoop">what his future could look like</a> for him, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.</p><p>“Expectations for the 2024-25 season have not been met to this point, which obviously leads to questions about what their future looks like,” Siegel wrote. “A lot more answers will be given when the ownership face-off between Glen Taylor and the new ownership group of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez finally ends, but league personnel are quietly keeping an eye on Anthony Edwards and what Minnesota does to assure him that he’s their top priority.</p><p>“It is clear that Edwards has been frustrated this season. Aside from being fined four different times for language and gestures directed toward officials, Edwards has called out his teammates multiple times to the media.”</p><p>The Timberwolves most likely are not even thinking about the idea of trading Edwards at the moment because it doesn’t seem like a situation that can get out of control. Edwards is still a young player in the league, and after just making it to the Western Conference Finals last year, the Timberwolves probably think that their window to compete is wide open.</p><h2><b>Anthony Edwards frustrated with Timberwolves’ play</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Anthony-Edwards_b45133.jpg"><figcaption>Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It feels like almost every time the Timberwolves lose a game, Anthony Edwards goes on a rant to the media about how they need to get better, and he doesn’t bite his tongue. In their most recent loss against the Golden State Warriors, Edwards was at it again, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-honest-admission-after-warriors-loss">he called out the entire starting lineup</a>.</p><p>“The starting five, we are terrible. Every game we come out low energy and the second group comes in and gives us energy. I would say the starting group gotta come out with more energy like we want to play the game of basketball, like we love the game,” Edwards said.</p><p>The Timberwolves are still trying to fit Julius Randle in the fold as he was traded for Karl-Anthony Towns right before the season. That move shook up the team, especially after coming off of a Western Conference Finals appearance, and everybody thought that they would try to run it back. Edwards has also come out and said that he doesn’t want to have to always pass the ball, which is hurting the Timberwolves offense.</p><p>It’ll be interesting to see if things can get better as the season progresses and what will the temperature be on Edwards.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Teams monitoring Anthony Edwards’ long-term status with Timberwolves

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/timberwolves-news-donte-divincenzo-fire-back-outside-noise-trade-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Donte DiVincenzo fires back at ‘outside’ noise amid trade rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Donte-DiVincenzo-fires-back-at-outside-noise-amid-trade-rumors.jpg"></figure><h1>Donte DiVincenzo fires back at ‘outside’ noise amid trade rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-04T14:43:57-08:00">December 4th, 2:43pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-04T14:43:57-08:00">December 4th, 2:43pm</time><address><a>Nathan Yasis</a>Nathan Yasis is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, specializing in the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Minnesota Timberwolves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Whatever one’s thoughts may be about the Minnesota Timberwolves and their high-stakes, franchise-shifting trade just before training camp, there’s no denying the profound impact it had on their team’s direction. The Timberwolves are now gradually rediscovering their rhythm. Adjusting to the dynamics brought by <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-timberwolves-reason-for-acquiring-julius-randle-donte-divincenzo-in-blockbuster-trade">Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo</a> hasn’t been without challenges, but progress is becoming evident.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Timberwolves have found themselves at the center of widespread scrutiny. From fans to analysts, Minnesota has become a regular topic in NBA debates and a popular target for strong opinions.</p><h2><b>Donte DiVincenzo blocking off the noise outside the Timberwolves</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Timberwolves-Donte-Divincenzo-against-the-Lakers.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Rempel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>“There’s a lot of outside noise,” remarked Donte DiVincenzo, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5964997/2024/12/04/donte-divincenzo-breakout-timberwolves-optimism/" rel="noopener">recently addressing the ongoing discourse</a> via Jon Krawczynski of the New York Times, sharing his perspective on the current narratives surrounding his team. “A lot of people want to dissect everything that’s going on over here. Like I said, we win games, everybody shuts up … We lose, everybody keeps talking.”</p><p>The Wolves have secured two consecutive wins, and it’s no surprise that DiVincenzo has played a key role in both victories.</p><p>“Let you guys decide how we fit in with the numbers. That’s not for us to talk about. What’s for us to talk about is staying together. Keeping everything in our circle and win games,” he continued.</p><p>DiVincenzo contributed 11 points (4-of-8 shooting, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc), five rebounds, nine assists, and two steals in 28 minutes during Monday’s 109-80 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.</p><p>The Timberwolves guard fell just one assist short of a double-double in what was one of his standout performances of the season. This strong showing could give his confidence a much-needed lift, especially after a challenging campaign. Through 20 regular-season games, he’s shooting 36.0 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three-point range.</p><p>DiVincenzo is approaching the situation with the right mindset, even if fans might not agree. After playing in major markets like New York and Golden State, he recognizes that winning solves most problems.</p><h2><b>The new look Timberwolves finally getting things together?</b></h2><p>Winning will quiet the intense scrutiny over every move this roster makes. The team is already showing progress, securing back-to-back wins after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-goes-off-collapse-kings">Anthony Edwards called them out for their struggles</a>.</p><p>The 27-year-old is spot-on about keeping things in-house. Building trust among teammates is essential, and the team has started to show signs of that growth as the season progresses.</p><p>The players don’t need to concern themselves with opinions from people who will never set foot in their locker room or even in Target Center.</p><p>Minnesota had established a solid foundation after reaching the Western Conference Finals, but everything shifted when the front office opted for a full reset. While the decision raised some eyebrows, it wasn’t entirely without merit.</p><p>The logic behind the trade may have been debatable, but it carried a certain level of rationale. Minnesota faced a tough predicament under the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, which rendered Karl-Anthony Towns’ June 2022 contract unsustainable.</p><p>The revised CBA rules significantly complicated roster construction, leaving the Timberwolves with no choice but to dismantle a championship-level team in the Twin Cities.</p><p>As the Timberwolves work through their new look, their primary focus is on building chemistry and cohesion. While integrating new players into a restructured roster remains a challenge, the back-to-back wins and the growing sense of unity show that Minnesota is heading in the right direction.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Donte DiVincenzo fires back at ‘outside’ noise amid trade rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-donte-divincenzo-trade-shut-down');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Donte DiVincenzo trade ‘chatter’ shut down');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/0Donte-DiVincenzo-trade-chatter-shut-down0.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Donte DiVincenzo trade ‘chatter’ shut down</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-24T13:06:25-08:00">November 24th, 1:06pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-25T14:50:16-08:00">November 25th, 2:50pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Minnesota Timberwolves</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-rudy-gobert-julius-randle-mishap">Minnesota Timberwolves have had a rough start</a> to the 2024-25 NBA season, currently sitting at 8-7 heading into Sunday afternoon’s road <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-vs-celtics-prediction-odds-pick-11-24-2024">matchup with the Boston Celtics</a>. Newly acquired pieces Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo have put up some stats but still don’t seem quite comfortable in their new threads after being traded from the New York Knicks to Minnesota this past offseason.</p><p>Recently, there were some rumblings that DiVincenzo could be a candidate to be on the move once again if things don’t turn around quickly, but now, NBA insider Marc Stein is hitting those rumors with <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/sunday-best-all-my-latest-from-the-c5f?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=152086116&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">a reality check</a>, per his account on Substack.</p><p>“I saw all kinds of Twitter chatter Friday about the supposed status of Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo as a trade target for contending teams,” reported Stein. “That runs counter to everything I’ve heard about the Wolves, who wanted DiVincenzo for more than a year before they actually acquired him and are said to have zero interest in fielding inquiries for him not yet three full months into his Wolves tenure.”</p><p>DiVincenzo was brought in along with Randle in a trade centered around Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, who has gotten off to an excellent start to his tenure with his new team.</p><h2><b>Can the Timberwolves turn things around?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/DiVincenzo-vs-the-Suns.jpg"><figcaption>Nick Wosika-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Of course, there is plenty of time for the Timberwolves’ new weapons to get acclimated to their new team and start to turn things around. However, the early returns haven’t been particularly encouraging, as the team currently sits just a game over .500 following a frustrating recent loss to the Toronto Raptors on the road.</p><p>In that game, there appeared to be some potential chemistry issues out on the court, as center Rudy Gobert sealed his defender on a late possession but didn’t receive a pass from Randle, then got called for a three second violation, prompting a brief scolding from star player Anthony Edwards. It was the Timberwolves 20th (!) straight loss on the road vs the Raptors, dating back to the 2004 season.</p><p>DiVincenzo has had a bit of a cold start to the season beyond the three point line, where he was one of the league’s best last year, but there is still plenty of time for those percentages to go up, particularly as he gets more comfortable with the offense that head coach Chris Finch is trying to run.</p><p>In any case, after the game vs the Celtics, the Timberwolves will next take the field on Tuesday at home vs the Houston Rockets.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Donte DiVincenzo trade ‘chatter’ shut down

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-timberwolves-seeking-trade-help-keep-tim-connelly-favorite');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Timberwolves seeking trade to help keep Tim Connelly ‘favorite’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0Timberwolves-seeking-trade-to-help-keep-Tim-Connelly-favorite0.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Timberwolves seeking trade to help keep Tim Connelly ‘favorite’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-20T13:36:48-07:00">October 20th, 1:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-20T13:36:48-07:00">October 20th, 1:36pm</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/bingeable">Sonny Giuliano</a>Sonny Giuliano is an experienced sports writer for ClutchPoints who has been covering the NFL, NCAA Football, NBA, and NCAA Basketball for well over a decade. Originally from the small town of Elba, New York, Sonny received his degree from Florida Gulf Coast University and currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The start of the 2024-25 NBA season is just about 48 hours away, and the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/major-offseason-timberwolves-win-2025-nba-finals" rel="noopener">Minnesota Timberwolves enter the year with championship expectations</a> after making the Western Conference Finals for just the second-time in franchise history last season. The Wolves have already made their one big move, trading franchise cornerstone <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-how-long-knicks-were-working-massive-karl-anthony-towns-trade" rel="noopener">Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo</a>.</p><p>But the Timberwolves are still working around the margins to get their final opening night roster in place, and that includes working on potentially finding a new home for Keita Bates-Diop.</p><p>According to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski, Keita Bates-Diop <a href="https://x.com/JonKrawczynski/status/1847711568244695210" rel="noopener">wasn’t at Timberwolves practice</a> on Sunday afternoon. “Appears he’s the odd man out in the final roster moves before the season begins,” Krawczynski speculated on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>Keita Bates-Diop was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2nd Round of the 2018 NBA Draft, traded to Denver just over a year later, and has since bounced around the league, playing for the Nuggets, Spurs, Suns and Nets. Last season, splitting time between Phoenix and Brooklyn, the Ohio State product averaged 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.</p><p>On Threads on Saturday, longtime NBA writer Jake Fischer noted that Keita Bates-Diop <a href="https://www.threads.net/@thepeoplesinsidershow/post/DBS6DC1RtxJ?xmt=AQGzTW3WOkYHOXxxxyZ7pqDN2LVDaWWkCXxm5VlgMLpScw" rel="noopener">was being shopped by the Timberwolves</a> for one specific reason.</p><p>“The Timberwolves have looked to find a trade for veteran Keita Bates-Diop, sources said, to allow Minnesota to keep a personal favorite of president Tim Connelly on the roster: PJ Dozier.”</p><p>Dozier spent two and a half seasons in Denver while Tim Connelly was still with the Nuggets, initially signing in the Mile High City on a two-way contract before it was eventually converted to a multi-year NBA contract. Dozier signed a one-year, partially guaranteed $2.6 million deal with Minnesota in July.</p><p>In three seasons under Connelly’s watch in Denver, PJ Dozier averaged 6.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Last year, Dozier for Partizan Belgrade in Serbia. Assuming the Timberwolves find a way to make space for Dozier, he’ll likely just be a depth piece deep on Minnesota’s bench.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Timberwolves seeking trade to help keep Tim Connelly ‘favorite’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-timberwolves-facing-100-million-loss');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Timberwolves facing $100 million loss this year');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBA-rumors-Timberwolves-facing-100-million-loss-this-year.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Timberwolves facing $100 million loss this year</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-01T10:02:44-07:00">October 1st, 10:02am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-01T10:02:44-07:00">October 1st, 10:02am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Minnesota Timberwolves have been the talk of the NBA for the wrong reasons. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-finalizing-shocking-karl-anthony-towns-trade-with-knicks">they shockingly traded away Karl Anthony-Towns</a>, reports have circulated about the Timberwolves <a href="https://hoopshype.com/rumor/timberwolves-facing-100-million-dollar-financial-loss-season-this-year/" rel="noopener">facing a $100 million loss</a>. On ESPN, NBA Insider Brian Windhorst dropped a truth bomb for the NBA world to see.<br><br>“ESPN understands that the Wolves are facing a 100-million dollar financial loss season this year, in the bottom line that they were going to be in the red nine figures,” Windhorst said. “Now like I said, a team accountant could come on here and hold up a bunch of spreadsheets and say that’s not true. I’m not like slamming my name on that and saying it’s assured but from what I understand, they’re facing a hundred million loss season. This is a team that has operated relatively frugally for decades.”<br><br>Windhorst makes a solid point about Minnesota being frugal. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-alex-rodriguez-marc-lores-majority-ownership-bid-expires">Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor made the team no longer for sale</a> after Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore’s attempt at buying the team. Despite the ongoing battle between Taylor and the potential new ownership group, it’s much more than two billionaires going at each other.</p><h2><b>Why do the Timberwolves have a $100 million loss?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Timberwolves-face-100-million-loss.jpg"><figcaption>© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Minnesota has one of the most expensive rosters in the entire NBA. They have the <a href="https://hoopshype.com/salaries/" rel="noopener">second-highest team salary across the league</a>, only trailing the Phoenix Suns. The $218 million roster doesn’t factor in Anthony-Towns, who was traded on Friday. In return, the Timberwolves acquired Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Regardless, part of the trade could be due to Minnesota not having enough money to pay Anthony-Towns.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/players/abec099d/karl-anthony-towns/contract">Anthony-Towns has four years and roughly $200 million</a> left on his contract. Nearly $60 million of that is a player option that he’ll likely accept. His former running mate, center Rudy Gobert has nearly $100 million left on his two-year contract. $46 million of it is a player option for the 2025-26 season that he’ll likely take.</p><p>However, the Timberwolves haven’t committed to Gobert or Mike Conley Jr. who is on a two-year, $21 million contract. Not to mention, franchise guard Anthony Edwards is under contract until the 2028-29 season. Mismanagement was why Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett requested a trade in the 2007 offseason.</p><p>The instability is proving to be worrisome for a franchise that had its first taste of legitimate success in nearly two decades. When the public finds out specifically why they are down $100 million, fans could call for a new ownership group leading Minnesota.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Timberwolves facing $100 million loss this year

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-1-behind-the-scenes-reason-knicks-karl-anthony-towns-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: 1 behind-the-scenes reason for Knicks making Karl-Anthony Towns trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/NBA-rumors-1-behind-the-scenes-reason-for-Knicks-making-Karl-Anthony-Towns-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: 1 behind-the-scenes reason for Knicks making Karl-Anthony Towns trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-30T16:14:07-07:00">September 30th, 4:14pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-30T16:14:07-07:00">September 30th, 4:14pm</time><address><a>Matt De Lima</a>Matt De Lima is an Associate Editor for NFL and college football at ClutchPoints. He has been covering sports for over 12 years at sites like Sports Illustrated, The Game Day, and countless others. Born and raised in California, he is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a diehard Hokies fan who now resides in southern Maryland.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-finalizing-shocking-karl-anthony-towns-trade-with-knicks">New York Knicks trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns</a> had <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/this-week-in-can-only-marvel-at-the" rel="noopener">one major proponent behind the scenes</a>, as highlighted by NBA insider Marc Stein.</p><p>Gersson Rosas, the Knicks senior VP of basketball operations, was formerly with the Timberwolves from 2019 to 2021 as their president of basketball operations.</p><p>Stein noted that Rosas is to “have been pushing for a Towns trade even before this summer’s free agent departure of Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson’s subsequent slow recovery from an ankle injury heightened the Knicks’ need for immediate help at center.”</p><p>The Knicks traded Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick from Detroit in exchange for KAT. New York’s projected starting-five are Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Towns.</p><h2>Projecting into the Knicks’ future with this roster</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Knicks-Jalen-Brunson-speaking-at-NBAs-media-day.jpg"><figcaption>© Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>ESPN’s Bobby Marks, while on The Hoop Collective, explained how he’s <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-nba-insider-foresees-one-major-concern-after-knicks-karl-anthony-towns-trade">worried about the team’s depth</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1004&amp;v=2ls0Grlba3o&amp;feature=youtu.be">limited cap</a> to add any other pieces.</p><p>“You look at their depth, and it’s Deuce McBride. You’ve got Tyler Kolek, Cameron Payne. You know, we’ll see what happens in front of the Court. Robinson’s out. You still have Achiuwa. It’s a mixed bag, and you’re so restrictive,” Marks said. “You know, when this trade gets finalized, you know they’re going to be a couple hundred thousand, maybe even $100,000 below the second apron.”</p><p>In trading for Bridges, the Knicks sent Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton, Mamadi Diakite, and five first-round draft picks to the Nets. New York gains a three-point shooter in Towns but also loses a great spot shooter in DiVincenzo.</p><p>It remains unclear when Mitchell Robinson will return or if the Knicks are <a href="https://x.com/krispursiainen/status/1840189610275594710?s=61&amp;t=ESTTaN6TmqKssUw0qXSmYw" rel="noopener">possibly shopping him</a>, according to Knicks Film School’s Kris Pursiainen.</p><p>After the KAT trade, Robinson took to Instagram to share several posts about his loyalty to the Knicks and his impact on defense.</p><p>ClutchPoints’ Drew Maresca may have <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-mitchell-robinson-posts-cryptic-messages-karl-anthony-towns-trade">said it best about a possible Robinson trade</a>.</p><p>“The “receiving and taking calls” news is a surprising development for two reasons: Robinson’s trade value is lower than the Knicks would like given his string of ankle injuries between December 2023 and May 2024; and more importantly, who would replace Robinson in the team’s rotation? Sure, Towns is a seven-footer, but he’s far from an ideal defensive center. Conversely, Robinson is a defensive menace, even slowing down former MVP Joel Embiid in last year’s playoffs. So, the idea of parting ways with Robinson seems tenuous at best.”</p><p>The Knicks’ regular season begins on the road against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m. EST.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: 1 behind-the-scenes reason for Knicks making Karl-Anthony Towns trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/timberwolves-traded-karl-anthony-towns-stayed');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: 2 Timberwolves who would’ve been traded if Karl-Anthony Towns stayed');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/2-Timberwolves-who-wouldve-been-traded-if-Karl-Anthony-Towns-stayed.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: 2 Timberwolves who would’ve been traded if Karl-Anthony Towns stayed</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-29T09:48:19-07:00">September 29th, 9:48am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-29T09:48:19-07:00">September 29th, 9:48am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The dust is still settling after the Minnesota Timberwolves chose to trade Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks. As it settles, it has left two different outcomes for either fanbase. New York fans are still celebrating since the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-karl-anthony-towns-stunned-timberwolves-knicks-trade">Knicks have obtained a bonafide star</a>. However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/anthony-edwards-wont-love-the-karl-anthony-towns-trade-per-social-media">it’s shocked Minnesota fans</a>, considering Towns spent nearly a decade with the Timberwolves. Sadly for Minnesota fans, while the memories with Towns are priceless, keeping him on the roster was costing ownership. It <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryantoporek/2024/09/28/money-fueled-the-timberwolves-decision-to-trade-karl-anthony-towns/" rel="noopener">got even more expensive</a> when factoring in Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. So, unfortunately, someone from Minnesota’s big three had to go.</p><p>Mind you, this wasn’t a case of ownership being cheap. Instead, much blame should go toward the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Edwards is beginning a five-year max contract this season, Gobert has two years remaining on his max, and Towns was starting a four-year, $220 million max extension this season. Add the raises for Jaden McDaniels this season and Naz Reid last season, and the Timberwolves had entered the dreaded second apron that brings with it luxury tax penalties and obstacles for team-building meant to strongly discourage teams from crossing that threshold for more than a couple of seasons.</p><p>However, hypothetically speaking, Minnesota could’ve not traded Towns to New York. But if they chose to keep their Big Three together, the Timberwolves would’ve had to say goodbye to some other essential pieces instead.</p><h2><b>Who would the Timberwolves have to have given up to keep Karl-Anthony Towns?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Naz-Reid-and-Karl-Anthony-Towns-Chat-Timberwolves-Timeout.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Keeping Towns would’ve meant Minnesota <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5800924/2024/09/28/why-timberwolves-trade-karl-anthony-towns/" rel="noopener">saying goodbye to</a> Reid instead. Reid, a crucial player off the bench, won NBA Sixth Man of the Year last season and is wildly popular in Minnesota. The backup big man is only making $15 million this upcoming season and is bound to get a mammoth long-term extension with the Timberwolves. So, while Reid is making less right now than Towns, Minnesota had future financials in mind with this trade.</p><p>According to the same report, the Timberwolves would’ve had to let go of Nickeil Alexander-Walker. While Alexander-Walker is only making $4.3 million this season, he’s blossomed into a bonafide three-and-d roleplayer for Minnesota. Like Reid, Alexander-Walker is set for a significant extension as well. The Timberwolves had to be frugal elsewhere because of how tight things are financially for Minnesota.</p><p>The question ultimately boiled down to whether or not the Timberwolves wanted to remain top-heavy or be flush with depth. As well-run organizations should do, Minnesota wants to build a sustainable contender rather than one with a limited financial shelf life. It’s still a tough pill for Minnesota fans to swallow. Towns has been a major part of the organization and the community. But as they say, the NBA is a business. The Timberwolves are in the business of winning.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: 2 Timberwolves who would’ve been traded if Karl-Anthony Towns stayed

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-knicks-real-reason-for-karl-anthony-towns-blockbuster-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Knicks’ real reason for Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Knicks-real-reason-for-Karl-Anthony-Towns-blockbuster-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Knicks’ real reason for Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-27T22:49:51-07:00">September 27th, 10:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-27T22:52:26-07:00">September 27th, 10:52pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-finalizing-shocking-karl-anthony-towns-trade-with-knicks">New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves caused a major shakeup</a> in the NBA on Friday when Minnesota flipped Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick.</p><p>Shortly after the deal was done, reports began to leak out around the motivations for each team doing the deal. The Knicks were after Towns in the trade in order to <a href="https://x.com/IanBegley/status/1839863976332513770" rel="noopener">address the center position</a> and add some star power at a position of need, according to Ian Begley of SNY.</p><p>“Knicks, per league sources in touch with team, feel they had a great opportunity to address their biggest need at C in trading for a 4 time All Star &amp; 2-time All NBA player in Karl Anthony Towns,” Begley reported on X, formerly Twitter. “They see Towns, 28, as a great fit with their other high-end talent and someone who complements the rest of the core well, those league sources say.”</p><p>Towns’ combination of size and shooting will certainly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grading-karl-anthony-towns-julius-randle-knicks-timberwolves-trade">bolster a Knicks offense</a> that lacked some punch from beyond the arc last season. The Knicks will be sad to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-timberwolves-trade-ends-villanova-knicks-run">break up their core “Villanova Knicks”</a>, but this is a move they had to make to take another leap forward in the Eastern Conference.</p><h2><b>How will Julius Randle fit in with the Timberwolves?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Julius-Randle_cfa4ad.jpg"><figcaption>Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Timberwolves clearly wanted to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-karl-anthony-towns-instant-reaction-shocking-knicks-trade">shake things up with the Karl-Anthony Towns trade</a>, and they did a good job to add shooting and depth with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo.</p><p>The Julius Randle addition is a curious one, only because of the fit with the rest of the team. It’s hard to envision Randle playing next to Rudy Gobert without killing the spacing for Minnesota’s offense. Where will the driving lanes be for Anthony Edwards if Gobert and Randle are both clogging the paint, or if defenders are willing to sag off of Randle? Randle’s iso-heavy style may not blend with Edwards either.</p><p>You could play Randle with Naz Reid, but both of them are undersized for a center and the unit would suffer defensively unless the perimeter defenders were absolutely hounding ball handlers.</p><p>Randle’s contract is also an important factor here, and one that may drive him to perform well. Randle will play out this season and then has a player option on his deal for 2025-26 that is worth about $31 million. However, if he plays some of his best basketball this year, he can opt out and try to get more money either from the Timberwolves or someone else.</p><p>Randle has shown the ability to be an All-NBA player in the past. If he can bring that level of play to Minnesota, he can earn himself a new deal and help the Timberwolves compete for a championship.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Knicks’ real reason for Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-timberwolves-reason-for-acquiring-julius-randle-donte-divincenzo-in-blockbuster-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Timberwolves’ reason for acquiring Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo in blockbuster trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/NBA-news-Karl-Anthony-Towns-Julius-Randle-trade-between-Timberwolves-Knicks-sends-shockwaves.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Timberwolves’ reason for acquiring Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo in blockbuster trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-27T22:30:25-07:00">September 27th, 10:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-27T22:30:25-07:00">September 27th, 10:30pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After nine seasons with the team, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-finalizing-shocking-karl-anthony-towns-trade-with-knicks">Minnesota Timberwolves finally decided to trade away</a> Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a heavily-protected first-round pick from the Detroit Pistons. This move is bittersweet in many ways; Towns was the face of the franchise for nearly a decade, and the team has been through plenty of ups and downs with him at the center of it all. And just like that, his stint with the franchise is over.</p><p>There is no question that Randle and DiVincenzo, in a vacuum, are downgrades from Towns in terms of individual player caliber. Towns is one of the greatest big-man shooters the league has ever seen, and the Timberwolves have managed to make a partnership between him and Rudy Gobert work — nearly resulting in a trip to the NBA Finals in the process.</p><p>But it’s clear why the Timberwolves felt as though they needed to make this trade; per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Minnesota saw the Towns trade as an <a href="https://x.com/JonKrawczynski/status/1839863534932394224" rel="noopener">opportunity to add depth</a> and lengthen their “window of competitiveness” in the process. They are confident that they can “lean on” Anthony Edwards, Naz Reid, and Jaden McDaniels to lead the team moving forward, while adding two quality pieces in Randle and DiVincenzo.</p><p>In particular, DiVincenzo <a href="https://x.com/TimBontemps/status/1839863918967304677" rel="noopener">has long been a target</a> for the Timberwolves, as per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. They reportedly had interest in signing DiVincenzo last year in free agency, but were eventually priced out. Now, they view his three-point shooting as an indispensable addition to the roster especially after losing one of the best shooters in the league in Towns.</p><p>However, the Timberwolves fanbase is rife with cynicism. They believe that this trade is nothing more than a cost-cutting maneuver, and perhaps there is strong merit to this belief.</p><h2><b>Did the Timberwolves trade Karl-Anthony Towns just to save a few bucks?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Karl-Anthony-Towns_29a8ac.jpg"></figure><p>There should be no question that this is a financially-motivated move for the Timberwolves. Karl-Anthony Towns’ four-year, $224 million extension is set to kick in this upcoming season, and it would have been difficult for Minnesota to hang on to its core moving forward due to the punitive restrictions imposed upon teams over the second luxury tax apron under the new CBA.</p><p>Fans are enraged, and perhaps rightfully so. But this is merely a consequence of the new rules in place that would have necessitated a trade down the line anyway. (Rudy Gobert will be due for a new contract soon, and given how much the team gave up for him, it’s likely that they keep him for the long haul.) This is just the Timberwolves’ way of ripping the band-aid off.</p><p>But given this <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grading-karl-anthony-towns-julius-randle-knicks-timberwolves-trade">impending financial crunch</a>, the Timberwolves did as well as they could. Randle and DiVincenzo are making less money combined than Towns does; the latter’s contract might be the biggest bargain in the association (he’ll be making an average of $11.9 million for the next three years — a pittance for one of the best three-point shooters in today’s NBA).</p><p>Randle does not come close to being the floor-spacer Towns is, that’s for sure. But he can create shots for himself and make plays for others as well. As a stop-gap option, Randle isn’t too bad, as long as he recovers fully from the shoulder injury that ended his 2023-24 season prematurely.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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MinnesotaTimberwolves RUMORS

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