The Timberwolves’ front office has decided to keep things quiet for this year’s trade deadline. In a statement to reporters after today’s team practice, GM Milt Newton said that he had fielded calls from other teams a matter of professional responsibility, but didn’t see any offers that he and the front office felt were worth a move.
“We have our team intact,” Newton said. “We haven’t made any trades. There was nothing that was presented to us that we thought would make our team better.”
Here’s a look at some of the rumored discussions leading up to the 2 p.m. deadline.
No movement on Rubio
After listening to offers for Rubio earlier this week, ESPN’s Marc Stein reported the Timberwolves had talks with the Milwaukee Bucks regarding a Rubio deal as recently as this morning. Nothing developed however, it appears.
ESPN sources say Minnesota and Milwaukee engaged in fresh Ricky Rubio trade talks today but couldn't find common ground on a deal structure
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 18, 2016
Yahoo sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Timberwolves will likely make Rubio available again during the offseason, however.
KSTP reporter Darren Wolfson shared some of Newton’s post-deadline comments on Twitter.
Milt says he didn't make any Rubio calls. Took enough. No buyout talks on Martin, as I said on @1500ESPN. Milt says maybe later. #twolves
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) February 18, 2016
Kevin Martin doesn’t find any takers
While the Timberwolves have been attempting to move veteran shooting guard Kevin Martin for most of the season, but there appears to be little market value for the 33-year-old. According to Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports, the veteran had hoped to be moved to a contending team.
Wolves' Kevin Martin is hopeful to be traded to a winning team as reward for his professionalism & mentoring of young teammates, source said
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 17, 2016
Martin’s numbers have dropped off noticeably from last season, and his relatively large contract contains a guaranteed player option for the 2016-2017 season. Stein tweeted the Knicks asked about Martin earlier today.
ESPN sources say that New York has made a trade run today at Minnesota's Kevin Martin, but that deal, too, appears unlikely to come together
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 18, 2016
Other Wolves rumors
Wolfson previously reported from sources that the Clippers showed a “fringe interest” in power forward Adreian Payne and Wolves’ sixth man Shabazz Muhammad.
Around the League
This year’s trade deadline proved to be a relatively low-stakes affair, with no star players changing hands. Here’s ESPN’s trade tracker if you’d like to see the results for yourself, but we’ll break down the big moves below.
- Phoenix Suns’ power forward Markeiff Morris moved to Washington in exchange for MN native Kris Humphries and DeJuan Blair, according to Wojnarowski and ESPN’s Zach Lowe.
- The Cavaliers added Channing Frye to bolster their bench as part of a three team trade that sent center Anderson Varejaeo to Portland and Jared Cunningham to the Magic, as reported by the New York Daily News’ FrankIsola.
- Former Timberwolf Randy Foye was acquired by Oklahoma City from the Nuggets for DJ Augustin, Steve Novak and draft assets, according to Wojnarowski.
- The Clippers traded shooting guard Lance Stephenson to Memphis in exchange for Jeff Green, according to the OC Register’s Dan Woike.
