HoopsHype.com Rumors

Marc Mundet: Ricky Rubio to RAC1: "We knew Pau had physical problems. In this case, he'd be a little bit selfish but he's given a lot to Spain NT. We'll wait Pau for next summer". Twitter @MarcMundet78

Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Pau Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Spain 

4. Minnesota Timberwolves. "Low expectations. That's a huge deal because they were going to be a good team this year. They got decimated by injuries. They definitely would have made the playoffs; they would have been in the mix for one of those sixth, seventh or eighth seeds. They have a bunch of guys that fit that market. If they get everybody healthy, that team's ready to win. They've taken their beatings. Now it's time for them to get some of the value out of those beatings. "Nobody's going to be talking about them in the offseason. Ricky Rubio and Alexey Shved are good players. If they re-sign [Nikola] Pekovic, they have a chance to be good. I like [new president of basketball operations] Flip Saunders. He's a plus for what they're doing. The owner Glen Taylor is also a good man. He's going to let Flip work. The bad part is they're in the West, which always makes it tough." ESPN.com

Minnesota Timberwolves, Coaching 

Ricky Rubio on Kahn's firing: He had a lot of confidence in me. And when a person has so much confidence in you, you have to feel bad about it. I've talked with Flip Saunders, he has a lot of experience and knows a lot about basketball, so I like him very much. TuBasket.com

Minnesota Timberwolves, Ricky Rubio, David Kahn 

Why did the Wolves fire Kahn? Rubio: Well, results. They look at results and this year we had some goals that we didn't accomplish. It's not like there must be a scapegoat, but it's obvious that changes had to be made. TuBasket.com

Minnesota Timberwolves, Ricky Rubio, David Kahn 

New Timberwolves boss Flip Saunders went to work Wednesday, reshaping his front office by firing five scouts when he wasn’t holding all-day meetings with coach Rick Adelman. Saunders fired scouts who were working without a contract or whose contract was due to expire this summer and retained scouts who have years remaining on their contracts. Gone are international scouting director Pete Philo, regional scouts J.T. Prada, Curtis Crawford and Steve Gordon and special-assignment scout Will Conroy. Regional scouts Milt Barnes, who briefly was an assistant coach alongside Saunders with the Gophers in the mid-1980s, and Derek Pierce will remain. Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Minnesota Timberwolves, Flip Saunders, Will Conroy, Steve Gordon, Pete Philo, Curtis Crawford, JT Prada, Milt Barnes, Derek Pierce 

Philo had been with the team the longest -- eight seasons -- and his knowledge in international scouting helped reshape the Wolves roster into one that's now filled with players and prospects from Europe and South America. He ran the annual pre-draft EuroCamp for years -- and he had a young player named Alexey Shved there for three straight years. The Wolves, of course, last summer signed Shved to a three-year contract. He also was instrumental in wooing Ricky Rubio to sign with the Wolves after the team drafted him in June 2009 and influenced decisions to draft European players Nemanja Bjelica and Henk Norel as well as international prospects Paolo Prestes and Tanguy Ngombo. Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Minnesota Timberwolves, Pete Philo 

Philo called himself a "little bit shook up" by the brief call from Saunders informing him today and said "what hurts most" is all the "great" seasons that wait ahead for a team he and fired president of basketball operations David Kakn helped assemble. He said he is "very, very thankful" to the organization for the opportunity. "It hurts to go through all those years, painful seasons, knowing we had a plan and things started to shape up,'" he said. "I'm very proud to be part of that. It was a lot of hard work and now not to be part of it..." Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Minnesota Timberwolves, Pete Philo 

Darren Wolfson: Heard J.T. Prada, #Twolves scout, let go as well. Heard that after posting the four names I originally heard on the 1500ESPN site. Twitter @DarrenWolfson

Minnesota Timberwolves, JT Prada 

Darren Wolfson: The Flip-Rick Adelman pow-wow at Target Center happened today. Lots to discuss heading into Chicago next week/the offseason. #twolves Twitter @DarrenWolfson

Minnesota Timberwolves, Coaching, Flip Saunders, Rick Adelman 

Flip Saunders has started the restructuring expected when he took over as Minnesota Timberwolves president last week. Saunders fired international scouting coordinator Pete Philo, regional scout Curtis Crawford and Will Conroy on Tuesday. The moves were made as Saunders clears room to get a staff together for next month's draft. Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Minnesota Timberwolves, Flip Saunders, Will Conroy, Pete Philo, Curtis Crawford 

Ernest Macia: Ricky Rubio: "I haven't proved anything yet in the NBA" Twitter

Minnesota Timberwolves, Ricky Rubio 

Jon krawczynski: #TWolves scouts Pete Philo and Curtis Crawford among those let go today by Saunders. Philo was essentially a de-facto asst GM under Kahn Twitter

Minnesota Timberwolves, Flip Saunders, Pete Philo, Curtis Crawford 

The Timberwolves' relationship with Kevin Love will undoubtedly improve with the ouster of David Kahn, but how will it impact Ricky Rubio? Sources say the Rubio family is disappointed in the decision, largely because Kahn is the one who stuck his neck out and drafted Rubio knowing he couldn't come over right away and did a lot of the legwork to expedite the start of Rubio's NBA career. Maybe it blows over -- Rubio wouldn't be the first player who disagreed with a decision yet eventually put it behind him -- but it bears watching. Sulia

Minnesota Timberwolves, Ricky Rubio, David Kahn, Kevin Love 

Would the Cavs go for broke with free agents like Utah center Al Jefferson or Minnesota center Nikola Pekovic? The 6-10, 289-pound Jefferson made $15 million this season. Pekovic, a 6-11, 290-pounder, had a breakthrough year in 2012-13 with 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds. He made $4.6 million this season, and could vault up to the $8 million-$10 million range. The Cavs probably won't take on that kind of commitment from either player, even though they desperately need scoring from the post. They might pursue free-agent role players like Matt Barnes or Corey Brewer to round out the roster. News-Herald

Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Free Agency, Al Jefferson, Matt Barnes, Nikola Pekovic, Corey Brewer 

In the quiet of the losing locker room, Rivers gathered Garnett and Pierce and told them that they would talk privately sometime soon. The sorrow of the night hung too heavily. Around the NBA, there's belief that the arrival of Flip Saunders as general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves will start the process of Garnett's old coach and franchise eventually offering KG the opportunity to invest in the franchise. Yahoo! Sports

Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett, Flip Saunders 

In 2010 Kahn said he wanted compensation from the Trail Blazers because they traded him Martell Webster with, he said, an improperly disclosed back injury. (Webster has since moved on to play for the Wizards.) ESPN.com

Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Martell Webster, David Kahn 

Today, two sources directly involved in the talks tell me that in fact the dispute led to depositions in preparation for a hearing, and those depositions did not go well for the Blazers. As a result, Portland agreed to pay Minnesota $1.5 million -- said to be one of the largest such agreements in league history -- to settle the matter before it reached the hearing stage. The Trail Blazers declined to comment. ESPN.com

Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Martell Webster, David Kahn 

Jerry Zgoda: Flip on ESPN job: "You know, it’s interesting. On ESPN, all you have to do is know about five teams. This wasn’t one of the five." Twitter @JerryZgoda

Minnesota Timberwolves, Flip Saunders 

Restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic's camp isn't upset with David Kahn's dismissal. However, the ultimate call on whether to pay Pekovic $12 million a year on a long-term deal will be Taylor's. That negotiation will be as fascinating as any to follow. 1500 ESPN

Minnesota Timberwolves, Free Agency, Nikola Pekovic, David Kahn 

If and when Saunders has to hire a head coach, those close to him point to a few names. Among those: Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and Houston assistant J.B. Bickerstaff. That likely won't happen for at least a year, as Taylor told 1500ESPN.com on Tuesday that Adelman's return appears "very favorable." 1500 ESPN

Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Coaching, Tom Izzo, Owners, Flip Saunders, Glen Taylor, Rick Adelman, JB Bickerstaff