NBA Rumors: Celtics' Greg Stiemsma Now Timberwolves Top Target?

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been rather active over the last few weeks as they've acquired Brandon Roy, Chase Budinger and sent a contract to restricted free agent Nicolas Batum. The latest rumors involve someone with quite a bit less clout in NBA circles, but is still an interesting thing to think about.

The Timberwolves pushed their meeting with Boston Celtics shotblocker Greg Stiemsma from Friday to Saturday and, according to WEEI's Paul Flannery, the meetings went well.

The Timberwolves remain "very serious" about restricted free agent center Greg Stiemsma, according to a league source, despite not making an offer at this point. The Wolves have other free agent business with forward Nic Batum and there cap issues to juggle.

Minnesota has been talking with Stiemsma since free agency began and those talks picked up on Saturday. The 26-year old Stiemsma grabbed the Celtics' backup center job at midseason and emerged as one of the league's most prolific shot blockers. The Celtics extended a qualifying offer worth just over $1 million and can match an offer if one is extended.

Stiemsma was actually signed by the Timberwolves out of the D-League a couple seasons ago, but was never given a serious look and ended up instead making a decent impact this season with the Celtics.

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NBA Free Agency: Brandon Roy Was Impressed By Timberwolves' Strong Sales Pitch

How did Brandon Roy end up in Minnesota? Playing time, salary and roster fit all clearly played a part. But according to Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Roy was also impressed by how serious the team's pitch was:

The Wolves were the only team that sent a full contingent to Seattle to visit him -- owner included -- on owner Glen Taylor's private jet.

[Roy's agent Greg] Lawrence called the excursion "a real sign they were serious."

"They not only expressed their interest face-to-face, they presented their vision," he said. "It was compelling, having Rick Adelman tell you what his vision is for the team and where you fit in."

Zgoda also offered a small update on Roy's health. According to Lawrence, Roy has seen improvement in his knees after receiving injection therapy in May, the same kind recently popularized by Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez. The treatment uses the anti-inflammatory proteins in a patient's own blood to reduce joint pain.

There's no repair for a knee that has no cartilage left, but Lawrence said Roy is experiencing less pain and swelling after workouts already, even though the process usually requires three months for full effect.

"Look, it's not a magic potion he rubs on his knees and all of a sudden he feels great," Lawrence said. "But there is small, incremental improvement."

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Brandon Roy Contract: 2-Year Deal Reportedly Not Fully Guaranteed

Despite legitimate concerns about his knees and questionable durability over the course of a season, the Minnesota Timberwolves still look to have found a vital asset in former All-Star guard Brandon Roy.

And although it initially appeared to be a considerable risk-reward situation for the T-Wolves to toss out a two-year deal to a man who just retired from the sport because of injuries, 1500ESPN.com's Darren Wolfson is reporting that the second year of the contract is not guaranteed, which is quite significant:

A source with knowledge of the contract said it's a two-year deal for $10.4 million, but the second year is non-guaranteed.

In other words, if Roy's knees, which contain no cartilage, force him to retire again, the Wolves won't owe him any money beyond the $5.2 million in the first year.

Paying $5.2 million to see what Roy has in the tank is considerably different than paying $10.4 million to see the exact same thing. While it's hard to imagine that the T-Wolves could have agreed to a deal that didn't include some sort of opt-out clause or exit plan after one year, it's still good to see that Roy's attempted "comeback" won't cost the organization in future years if he abruptly retires again.

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Brandon Roy Signing Was a Must for Minnesota

Wolves finally get the veteran guard they desperately needed with Brandon Roy

NBA Free Agency: Brandon Roy Hopes To Return Strong After Treatment For Knee Injuries

So far, one of the most surprising moves of the off season for the Minnesota Timberwolves when it comes to free agency has been their reported signing of retired Portland Trailblazers favorite Brandon Roy. Despite a long history of knee injuries and a recommendation from a team orthopedist that he never play again, he has decided to make a comeback in the game and it's the Wolves that he'll be joining.

According to Roy's agent Greg Lawrence, he has been working hard to make sure that he makes an impact in his first season back after a couple of procedures to get his knee ready for playing:

"He just wants a chance to earn what he can," Lawrence said. "If he is playing at a starter level, he wants to start. If he is playing at a sixth-man level, he will come off the bench. But Brandon is not going to come back and be the 13th man on the roster. He wouldn't do all this hard work to come back unless he felt he was going to make an impact."

There's also particular intrigue involved in watching when the Wolves head out to play Roy's former team, the Portland Trailblazers. The Wolves are in the same division, so the teams are guaranteed to meet several times:

"We talked about that, that there will be a lot of games in the Rose Garden," Greg Lawrence, Roy's agent, said. "And he said, 'That's going to be weird.' So I'm sure that will be a big night the first time it happens."

Adding in Roy, if he can stay healthy, is a big coup for the young and talent filled Wolves team. For a small contract considering how hard the supremely talented Roy has been working to get back into shape to play in the NBA once more, it might be the piece that takes the Wolves over the top from playoff bubble to playoff contender.

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NBA Free Agency: Brandon Roy Agrees To Join Minnesota Timberwolves, According To Report

One of the more intriguing free agents in the NBA the summer is Brandon Roy, a shooting guard with all-star talent and a history of knee injuries. But talent is hard to pass up and several teams have expressed an interest in signing Roy this summer after his latest knee injury forced him to leave the Portland Trail Blazers due to retirement.

According to Jason Quick of The Oregonian, Roy has decided to join Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love and the Timberwolves in the upcoming season.

Brandon Roy has come to a verbal agreement with Minnesota according to a person in Roy's family

— Jason Quick (@jwquick) July 6, 2012

Roy will fill a big need for the Wolves if he can provide stead production from the shooting guard spot. Roy last played in the 2010-11 season when he played 47 games and averaged 12 points, 2.7 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game. For his career, Roy has averaged 19 points, 4.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Quick went on to say he did not know any details of the deal.

UPDATE: Quick's report was confirmed by NBA.com's David Aldridge who also had the terms of the deal.

Reporting in real time, folks: impeccable source just texted of Brandon Roy, "It's minn". @jwquick had it first. Deal is 2 yrs, $10.4M.

— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 6, 2012

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Timberwolves Free Agency 2012: Minnesota Target Brandon Roy Meets With Warriors, According To Report

Former Portland Trail Blazer Brandon Roy, who the Minnesota Timberwolves are reportedly interested in signing this offseason, met this week with the Golden State Warriors, according to an article from the Associated Press.

Roy, the sixth-overall pick in 2006, has played his entire career in Portland, but the three-time All-Star retired prior to last season because of lingering knee issues, which have crippled him the past few seasons.

From the AP article:

The Golden State Warriors and Roy met earlier this week about him joining the team in the free agent's attempted comeback, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were preliminary, said the Warriors met with Roy on Sunday and were hoping to meet with the former Portland guard again this week. Nothing was scheduled yet.

The article says that while it's unclear how much money Roy is seeking, it is unlikely that he would sign the veteran minimum of about $1 million per year.

Bob Myers, Roy's former agent, is now the general manager of the Warriors.

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NBA Free Agency: Timberwolves Meet With Brandon Roy, According To Report

The Minnesota Timberwolves continue their pursuit of free agent guard Brandon Roy in advance of the July 1st date when teams can sign free agents. 1500 ESPN reported earlier in the week that the Timberwolves were ready to offer Roy a two-year contract to entice him out of his injury-forced "retirement" from the Portland Trail Blazers.

The latest news according to this tweet from Darren Wolfson reveals that Minnesota has expressed its interest to Roy in person.

Just heard the #Twolves met with FA Brandon Roy earlier today. Another sign that they want him badly. They like their chances to get him.

— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) June 30, 2012

If Roy signs elsewhere it won't be for lack of effort by the Timberwolves and David Kahn in particular as they have put the full-court press on Roy to resume his career in the Minnesota back court.

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