The Timberwolves were among the teams to reach out to LeBron James after free agency opened on Tuesday and express interest in signing the star forward, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Krawczynski’s colleague at The Athletic, Sam Amick, reported earlier in the day that Minnesota had interest in James.
Team and league sources clarify to Krawczynski that the Wolves don’t believe they’ll be atop LeBron’s list of preferred destinations. The club has very little spending flexibility below a second-apron hard cap, and while James sounds prepared to play outside Southern California, Minneapolis may be a tough sell.
Still, the Wolves believe they can make a compelling basketball case to James if contending for a fifth championship is his top priority. The club will have a loaded backcourt featuring Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, and Ayo Dosunmu, along with defensive stalwarts at center (Rudy Gobert) and on the wing (Jaden McDaniels), but projects to have a glaring hole at the power forward spot after trading away both Julius Randle and Naz Reid.
As Krawczynski writes, trading swingman Josh Green and his $14.7MM expiring contract would be an option for Minnesota if the team wants to create more room under the second apron to pursue James or another power forward. However, the Wolves are “intrigued” by Green and there was nothing happening on that front as of Tuesday, sources tell The Athletic.
We have more news and notes from around free agency:
- After spending the last season-and-a-half the Sixers, unrestricted free agent Quentin Grimes won’t be returning to Philadelphia, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic. That aligns with earlier reporting, which suggested that the Lakers are widely viewed as the frontrunner to land the shooting guard’s services. Grimes spent the 2025/26 season playing on his qualifying offer after failing to reach a longer-term agreement with the 76ers as a restricted free agent last offseason. He settled into a second-unit role, averaging 13.4 points and 3.3 assists per game with a career-low .334 3PT%.
- Nuggets forward Spencer Jones bet on himself, and it sounds like the choice will pay off when he signs his next contract. In a LinkedIn post, Jones said he was offered a multiyear contract during the season that would have paid him around $2MM per year in guaranteed money, but he turned it down in favor of a rest-of-season pact and is now negotiating a deal worth “more than double” what that original offer was worth (hat tip to DNVR’s Harrison Wind, via Twitter). Jones is a restricted free agent after receiving a $2.65MM qualifying offer from Denver.
- Source reiterated to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday that the Bulls have interest in free agent guard Norman Powell. Chicago has also talked to the Cavaliers about a potential trade, according to Cowley, who speculates that the Bulls may be eyeing Illinois native Max Strus. Cleveland has reportedly looked into potential deals involving Strus and his expiring $16.7MM contract, though the team may be less inclined to move the veteran wing after losing Dean Wade and Keon Ellis in free agency.
Eli Cohen contributed to this article.
