Minnesota T-Wolves Blog – Page 62 – NBA Blog

Ricky Rubio arrives in Minnesota, ready for rookie season

On his first winter morning in Minnesota, Ricky Rubio could have taken one of the many skyways that connect his downtown hotel to Target Center to avoid the cold.

Instead, Rubio decided to walk the couple of blocks outdoors to take in all the sights, sounds, and goose bumps that his new home brings with it.

“When I came to Target Center I decide to come in the street because I want to feel the weather,” Rubio said on Wednesday before going through a light workout. “It was a cold, a little.”

The NBA’s owners and players are still ironing out the details of a tentative labor agreement they reached over Thanksgiving weekend that would end the five-month lockout. In the most obvious sign yet that there are still wrinkles to be taken care of, Rubio was locked out of the arena when he arrived on Wednesday.

Literally.

“I was knocking on the door and nobody was opening,” he said with a chuckle. “I was like, `Cmon man.”’

Several Minnesota Timberwolves trickled into Target Center for voluntary workouts on Wednesday, two days before training camp is tentatively scheduled to begin. Wes Johnson, Anthony Tolliver, Michael Beasley, Darko Milicic and Nikola Pekovic joined All-Star Kevin Love, who has been in town for a couple of days.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Kevin Love lost 25 pounds during NBA lockout

Kevin Love has used the extra offseason time created by the lockout to reshape his body, a grueling regimen that will have him reporting to training camp 25 pounds lighter than he was last season.

Entering the final year of his rookie contract, his bank account is poised to get a lot heavier.

Love worked out at the Minnesota Timberwolves facility on Sunday for the first time since NBA owners and players reached a tentative labor agreement, and he said he was encouraged by the changes the Wolves have made as he prepares to enter into talks on a contract extension.

“I love Minneapolis, I love the Twin Cities,” Love said when asked if he hoped to sign a deal that would keep him here for the long term. “Really this is all I know. It’s the first NBA city I fell in love with. This is all I know. Maybe we’ll keep it that way, maybe we won’t.”

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Kevin Love turns down Besiktas offer

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love informed Besiktas of Turkey on Sunday that he’s turning down its offer to sign with the Istanbul-based club and team up with New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams.

“I didn’t feel it was the right decision for me at this time,” Love told ESPN.com.

Love, though, said playing abroad if the lockout drags on “is still very much an option” he’s considering.

NTV Spor of Turkey reported Friday that Love and Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng were Besiktas’ top two targets in its search for an elite forward to play alongside Williams.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Ricky Rubio may return to Spain

Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio says he will consider playing for his former team Barcelona if the NBA season is canceled because of the ongoing lockout.

Rubio told Catalan radio ONA FM that “I want to wait until I see there is no chance of resolving the situation, and then I will sign with another team.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

InsideHoops.com editor says: Well, it’s really been great getting to know you, Ricky! But seriously folks, I’m not sure Ricky is ready for the NBA anyway. Another year overseas might do him some good, despite Ricky having an off year last season in Spain.

Michael Beasley sues ex-agent, AAU coach over improper benefits

Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley is accusing his former agent and an AAU coach of conspiring to forge a relationship with him from the age of 14 and giving his mother improper cash benefits while Beasley starred at Kansas State, all in an effort to land the basketball prodigy as a client.

Beasley laid out the allegations in a lawsuit filed in Maryland a month ago in response to agent Joel Bell’s wrongful termination lawsuit against him. Beasley said Bell gave his mother, Fatima Smith, living expenses when he went to college, which likely would violate NCAA rules and federal regulations governing sports agents.

The Associated Press left messages for attorneys representing Beasley and Bell seeking comment. An attorney for AAU coach Curtis Malone and Malone himself vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

“The allegations of impropriety against Mr. Malone are baseless as a matter of law and he denies them,” attorney Bill Heyman said.

— Reported by the St. Paul Pioneer Press wire services

Michael Beasley slims down, takes up ballet

Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley has kept busy during an extended, locked-out NBA summer when he played ball everywhere from China to Manhattan’s famed asphalt playgrounds.

He has also taken up ballet to transform his body and hired a public- relations agency to improve his image.

“I want everyone to know that I’m not this monster that they perceive,” he said. “I’m a really nice guy.” …

He has played with childhood pal Durant and Wall in exhibition games across the country and also has incorporated elements of yoga, karate and, yes, ballet into summer workouts intended to make his body stronger, more limber and help ensure a long, productive career. He has dropped about 15 pounds after playing last season at 240 pounds.

— Reported by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

Mike Beasley All-Star Classic coming to Minnesota Oct. 21

They can’t get into Target Center these days, so NBA stars John Wall, Joakim Noah and DeMarcus Cousins are among those expected to play in Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley’s “All Star Classic” at Osseo High School — of all places — next week.

Beasley’s Wolves teammates Derrick Williams, Wes Johnson, Martell Webster, Wayne Ellington and former Wolf Sebastian Telfair are scheduled to play as well in the Friday night, Oct. 21 exhibition game.

So, too, are Boston’s Jeff Green, Detroit’s Greg Monroe, L.A. Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan, Chicago’s Keith Bogans and Beasley’s longtime pal, former Dukie Nolan Smith.

— Reported by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune

WNBA-champion Minnesota Lynx have a bright future

Looking ahead was not high on the priority list late Friday night as the Minnesota Lynx basked in their three-game sweep of the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA championship series at Philips Arena.

And really, why should it?

Celebratory cheers and toasts lasted well into the early morning Saturday in tribute to a whirlwind season of dominance that led to the ending of a 20-year championship drought by major professional sports teams in Minnesota.

Perhaps equally impressive, the Lynx’s 27-7 regular-season record and 7-1 run through the postseason brought heightened awareness throughout the region, so much so that it was difficult to get through a day without hearing about the Lynx on sports radio or on television news.

The Lynx averaged nearly 9,000 fans a game this season, and during their playoff run, they sold nearly 1,000 season tickets. Crowds of more than 15,000 attended the first two games of the championship series.

“Next year?” point guard Lindsay Whalen asked incredulously. “I’m not even thinking about that right now. We deserve this (celebration) and are going to enjoy it.”

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve refused to look ahead as well.

“That’s not necessary right now,” she said.

— Reported by Tim Leighton of the St. Paul Pioneer Press

Timberwolves will hire Terry Porter as an assistant coach

The Minnesota Timberwolves won’t be hiring any of new coach Rick Adelman’s assistants until the NBA lockout is resolved. But when it is, former Wolves guard Terry Porter will be among them.

Porter, 48, who coached the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, played for Adelman for six seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. He also interviewed for the Wolves’ head coaching job.

— Reported by Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press

Isaiah `JR` Rider arrested for violating his probation

Former NBA 1st round draft pick Isaiah “J.R.” Rider was arrested in Arizona this week for violating his probation … TMZ has learned.

Rider — who played in the NBA from 1993 to 2001 — is currently behind bars in Maricopa County on a no-bail hold. It’s unclear why police believe Rider violated his probation.

Rider’s probation stems from a 2010 incident — where he fled from police after they tried to pull him over for driving erratically. He pled guilty to unlawful flight from a law enforcement vehicle.

— Reported by TMZ.