http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3086024
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves did some wheeling and dealing on Monday, reaching a buyout with veteran Juwan Howard and making a trade with San Antonio to get to the 15-man roster limit before the deadline.
Howard
The Timberwolves sent a protected 2008 second-round pick to the Spurs for cash considerations and guard Beno Udrih, whom the Wolves immediately waived.
The deal helped both teams.
San Antonio was able to avoid taking a luxury tax hit, while the Wolves were able to get some cash to help them buy out the final two years of Howard's deal.
He could be headed to Cleveland. With restricted free agent Anderson Varejao still unsigned in a messy contract holdout, the defending Eastern Conference champions have been exploring the possibility of signing Howard to improve their depth before Wednesday's season opener against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Cavs made two other moves to finalize their opening-day roster, signing swingman Demetris Nichols and waiving forward Noel Felix.
The club did not disclose contract terms on Nichols, who averaged 4.8 points in five exhibition games with the New York Knicks, who waived him last week.
To get to the 15-man limit, the Timberwolves released forward Wayne Simien, who was acquired from Miami last week along with Antoine Walker and Michael Doleac in a trade for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount.
Monday's transactions ended a whirlwind preseason for vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale, who made the difficult decision to part ways with Garnett after 12 seasons in Minnesota and start from scratch.
McHale acquired five players and two draft picks for Garnett, got rid of James' and Blount's bad contracts and Davis' bad attitude and bought out Howard and guard Troy Hudson to completely reshape the roster.
Just five players -- Marko Jaric, Mark Madsen, Randy Foye, Craig Smith and Rashad McCants -- remain from last year's team that missed the playoffs for the third straight year.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves did some wheeling and dealing on Monday, reaching a buyout with veteran Juwan Howard and making a trade with San Antonio to get to the 15-man roster limit before the deadline.
The Timberwolves sent a protected 2008 second-round pick to the Spurs for cash considerations and guard Beno Udrih, whom the Wolves immediately waived.
The deal helped both teams.
San Antonio was able to avoid taking a luxury tax hit, while the Wolves were able to get some cash to help them buy out the final two years of Howard's deal.
He could be headed to Cleveland. With restricted free agent Anderson Varejao still unsigned in a messy contract holdout, the defending Eastern Conference champions have been exploring the possibility of signing Howard to improve their depth before Wednesday's season opener against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Cavs made two other moves to finalize their opening-day roster, signing swingman Demetris Nichols and waiving forward Noel Felix.
The club did not disclose contract terms on Nichols, who averaged 4.8 points in five exhibition games with the New York Knicks, who waived him last week.
To get to the 15-man limit, the Timberwolves released forward Wayne Simien, who was acquired from Miami last week along with Antoine Walker and Michael Doleac in a trade for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount.
Monday's transactions ended a whirlwind preseason for vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale, who made the difficult decision to part ways with Garnett after 12 seasons in Minnesota and start from scratch.
McHale acquired five players and two draft picks for Garnett, got rid of James' and Blount's bad contracts and Davis' bad attitude and bought out Howard and guard Troy Hudson to completely reshape the roster.
Just five players -- Marko Jaric, Mark Madsen, Randy Foye, Craig Smith and Rashad McCants -- remain from last year's team that missed the playoffs for the third straight year.
