David Kahn calls Atkins’ contract “valuable,” suggests another trade featuring him and his contract is on the horizon.
Kahn referred to the deal and Atkins’ contract as “savings we hope to realize in another way shortly, the next couple of days.”

All three players’ contracts expire after this season.

Wilkins, 29, is expected in the Twin Cities on Friday for a four-day stay when the Wolves will work out him and start to determine just what they have in the 6-6 shooting guard, a position of need for them.

• Kahn is on the West Coast conducting second interviews to find a new coach. He is expected to choose from former NBA point guard Mark Jackson and L.A. Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis after interviewing perhaps more than a dozen candidates, including Wolves assistant Jerry Sichting. Houston assistant Elston Turner also likely will be, or has been, interviewed.

• Kahn is interested in bringing back unrestricted free agent Rodney Carney but will not do so until he can make other roster moves.

A source close to Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik told ESPN.com that Bzdelik talked with Minnesota Timberwolves general manager David Kahn about becoming a top assistant, not the head coach, for the franchise. The talk took place two weeks ago while Bzdelik was in Las Vegas to watch some former players in the NBA’s summer league. The source said Kahn discussed with Bzdelik that he could be the trusted aide to whoever lands the job. The source said he was told that the list featured mainly ESPN/ABC analyst Mark Jackson, Houston assistant Elston Turner and Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis. Bzdelik is still actively recruiting for Colorado, but if Kahn comes back with an offer that Bzdelik can’t refuse sometime in the next month, the Buffaloes’ coach likely will take the gig.
Agent Bill Duffy emailed the Star Tribune to clarify comments he made in Sid Hartman’s Sunday column. Here’s what he said:

“I want to elaborate a little more extensively on comments related to me in a recent Sunday article in the Star Tribune. I meant no disparagement toward Ricky Rubio. He is inarguably an immensely talented young man with a very bright future. I do know that both his agent and the Timberwolves organization are working feverishly for a solution. Having been in similar situations before, I wish them nothing but success in their pursuits.

“Additionally, I have no real insight into the coaching selection process being conducted by the Timberwolves organization…”

From Chris Mannix/SI.com: Durant, Love hope winning form in Las Vegas pays off with U.S. team

Kevin Love: Whomever makes the final roster will likely be a role player on the star-studded U.S. team, and Love seems the most equipped to fill that need. Love was a beast on the boards during the two days of practice and he rarely made a wrong decision with the ball. “We’re all trying to do all the intangible stuff and fit into that role player mentality that they are looking for,” said Love.

I do think that Kurt would coach an up-tempo and hard-nosed style of play which would be well appreciated by the Minnesota Fans.  I saw reports months ago that Rambis turned down the Sacramento King head coaching job due to a variety of factors.  Kurt Rambis is a complete family man, and a man whose knowledge of the game is huge.  If David Kahn names Kurt Rambis as the head coach, I think both the players and the fans are going to like the decision.

From Michael Rand/Star Tribune:

Kyle MacDonald became an Internet sensation a few years back when he set out to prove he could start with one red paperclip and, though the course of many trades, eventually wind up with a house in the span of a year. MacDonald succeeded on his mission, constantly upgrading with a series of 14 moves until he actually was able to make a trade for a house in Kipling, Saskatchewan.

In MacDonald’s honor, we would like to propose a nickname for Wolves boss David Kahn: The Red Paperclip.

Kahn’s signature move so far — aside from dumping Kevin McHale — was the swap that sent Mike Miller and Randy Foye to the Wizards in exchange for role players and the No. 5 pick that became Ricky Rubio. But if the early months are any indication, he will also hone in on any minor deal that he feels offers even a marginal upgrade. Hence, the red paperclip approach.

At one end of the Seeds of Peace field house basketball court, former Duke star Gerald Henderson directed a group of 15 Arab and Jewish teenagers through defensive drills. At the other end, former University of North Carolina star Wayne Ellington engaged another group in a shooting contest, with the loser obligated to do five push-ups.

The arrangement wasn’t an accident. Organizers of the Seeds of Peace International Camp’s annual “Play for Peace” basketball clinic hoped some of the campers, at least the ones who were basketball fans, would realize that if two sworn enemies of college hoops could coexist on a sultry summer morning in Maine, other forms of cooperation were possible on a more global, and important, level.

From Mike Anthony/Courant.com:
Every year, with the enthusiasm of the high school and NCAA players that surround him, Ryan Gomes laces up his shoes in Hartford and gives the Greater Hartford Pro-Am a constant NBA presence.

All winter, he’s a starting forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves. All summer, he’s just another guy from Waterbury getting in a good run at the Pro-Am.