Minnesota Timberwolves president David Kahn provided an update to reporters on his team's ongoing pursuit of Portland Trail Blazers restricted free agent forward during a Friday afternoon conference call. Kahn said that Batum's offer sheet will be signed and delivered to the Blazers on Sunday afternoon. The delay, Kahn said, was created by a 48-hour waiver period that must pass after some of Minnesota's cap space-clearing moves on Friday. Kahn said that he would continue to pursue sign-and-trade possibilities until that time.
Here are Friday's events (from Ben's fanshot) that led to this:
- The Timberwolves released forward Martell Webster.
- The Timberwolves traded center Brad Miller and two second-round picks to the New Orleans Hornets for a future second-round pick
Here is a summary of Friday's other Blazers news:
- Forward JJ Hickson officially signed with the Blazers
- Forward/center Joel Freeland officially signed with the Blazers
- Rookie guard Damian Lillard and rookie center Meyers Leonard officially signed with the Blazers
- Forward Victor Claver officially signed with the Blazers
- Jerry Sloan declined to join the Blazers, but they are interviewing many coaches in Las Vegas during Summer League
Believe it or not, from the end of the free agency moratorium, to the time of this writing, we've amassed 11,652 comments just in the front page posts related to the free agency frenzy and Nicolas Batum! That's not even counting stuff about other Blazers. For some recent history, see the previous chat threads here, here, here, and here, with the poll here. So, hang out, add to the total, and enjoy our day of quiet before the Sunday storm. Any other Blazers/NBA news is fair game to discuss as well. -- Tim