Brandon Paul, Brandon Rush and Darius Johnson-Odom are among the free agent veteran guards the Timberwolves brought in for a workout on Monday, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. Monta Ellis is also on the list of players Minnesota is looking at, according to Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Paul, a 27-year-old shooting guard, made his NBA debut last season and appeared in 64 total games for the Spurs, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.1 RPG in 9.0 minutes per contest. He was waived on July 31.
Rush, a 33-year-old shooting guard, played with the Timberwolves in 2016/17, appearing in 47 games, including 33 starts. Rush signed a 10-day contract with the Blazers last season but did not appear in a game and the team declined to give him a second 10-day deal.
Johnson-Odom hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2013/14 season. Johnson-Odom, 28, played in Italy last season.
Ellis, 32, was out of the league last season after the Pacers waived him in July 2017.
With the addition of forward Luol Deng, the Timberwolves have 13 players with guaranteed deals and James Nunnally‘s partially guaranteed pact and are holding open auditions for last spot or two if they don’t retain Nunnally. They brought in wing players Nick Young, Arron Afflalo, and Corey Brewer last week.
They also reportedly would have interest in Joakim Noah should the center hit the open market. Like Deng, Noah previously played under coach Tom Thibodeau when he was coaching in Chicago.
The Pacers waived Ellis because he was arrested on marijuana charges. If the Timberwolves sign him, he will still have to serve a suspension. Rush has also had problems with pot.
I think the Wolves like their Marquette guards
Don’t know why all this guys are bothering working out for Minny, because if Noah becomes free, he will fill the roster spot.