NBA free agency: ‘Good conversations’ between Nikola Pekovic, Minnesota Timberwolves

Negotiations are ongoing between the Minnesota Timberwolves and their impressive center, Nikola Pekovic, but Flip Saunders believes that there are “good conversations” going on between them.

From the Associated Press:

"He termed the talks with Pekovic’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, as cordial. Saunders has met with Schwartz in person to try to get a deal finished, but with no other offers on the table and training camp still more than a month and a half away, there hasn’t been real sense of urgency to get a deal done.“Jeff and I have had very good conversations,” said Saunders, who has been adamant since taking over for the fired David Kahn that the Wolves would do whatever it takes to keep Pekovic. “Nothing’s been adversarial. There’s things that we’ve agreed upon. There’s things we’ve agreed to disagree upon. I think we’re moving in the right direction.”"

Pekovic has stepped up his game at center these past two seasons, filling in the void for Kevin Love as he’s been injured most of the time during that span. Last season, Pekovic started in all 62 games he played in and averaged 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

Back in early July, it appeared that both the Wolves and Pekovic were nearing a four-year, $50 million deal. The latest reports indicate that Pekovic wants a little bit more, increasing his worth to $15 million per year.