Timberwolves Recall Rookie Wing Hours After Demotion; Claim Another Rookie Off Waivers
The Minnesota Timberwolves are not what we thought they were. Remember how naive we were prior to the start of the 2024-25 regular season. After just one trip to the Western Conference Finals, many of us (myself included) thought we were on the doorstep of being a West contender for the next decade, as long as we had Anthony Edwards.
Fast Forward a couple of months and the Wolves are struggling to stay above .500 and we are finding out that Karl-Anthony Towns was more important to what this team did both on and off the court, that they are really struggling to find the right vibes around his replacement, Julius Randle.
On Thursday, Minnesota lost their second-straight game. They are now 17-16 and Ant is growing so frustrated that he might have to start turning down postgame interviews, for his own good. Next up, the Timberwolves will play in Detroit against the Pistons on Saturday. On their day off, they have been moving a shaking the roster in some interesting ways.
Terrence Shannon Jr lands in Iowa… for about 7 hours
This morning, they designated 1st round rookie Terrence Shannon Jr to G-League Iowa, which isn’t out of the ordinary for a No. 27 overall pick who isn’t seeing any playing time in the NBA. What was weird came about seven hours later, when they recalled the former Illinois star, before he could even play a game with the Iowa Wolves.
NEWS: @Timberwolves assign guard Terrence Shannon Jr. to G League affiliate @iawolves.
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) January 3, 2025
NEWS: @Timberwolves recall guard Terrence Shannon Jr. from G League affiliate @iawolves. https://t.co/BsPV6s7mdx
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) January 3, 2025
As a rookie, Shannon Jr has appeared in 10 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is averaging 1.5 points and .2 rebounds in those games. Terrence has played only two games down in the G-League. There, the 24-year-old is averaging 33 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, in 38 minutes per game.
Minnesota Timberwolves sign Tristen Newton
But sending Terrence Shannon Jr to and from Des Moines weren’t the only roster moves made by the Wolves on Friday. They also signed another rookie guard, according to Dane Moore, 2nd round pick out of UConn, Tristen Newton, who was recently waived by the Indiana Pacers.
Related: Does a Jerami Grant for Julius Randle Trade Make Sense for the Minnesota Timberwolves?
In 5 NBA games, Newton has struggled to find his footing in The League. He’s scored just one field goal all season, to go along with one assist. In total, he has played just 8 minutes. Most of Tristen Newton’s professional basketball experience so far has been played in the G-League.
If you haven’t seen Tristen Newton play before, here are his offensive possessions from a game against the Iowa Wolves back in November. https://t.co/eSKYkuuthQ pic.twitter.com/WalQtjb4dP
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) January 3, 2025
The 23-year-old 6-5 guard has 10 games under his belt for the Indiana Mad Ants in 2024-25. There, Newton has played 36.1 minutes per game, scoring 17 points per night, while adding 5.9 assists and an impressive 6.8 rebounds. Tristen was the No. 49 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
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