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Timberwolves Waive Phil Jones, Seth Tarver

October 14th, 2012 at 8:09am CST by Chuck Myron

The Timberwolves waived training camp invitees Phil Jones and Seth Tarver to bring the roster down to 18 players, the team announced via Twitter. Both were believed to have been on non-guaranteed minimum-salary deals, having been signed right before camp began. Neither made an appearance in any of the three preseason games the Wolves have played so far.

Jones, a 6'10" center, played in Romania in 2011/12 after he was ruled academically ineligible midway through his senior season at UNC Charlotte in 2010/11. Tarver is a 6'5" swingman who averaged 10.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 28.2 minutes over the past two seasons for the Idaho Stampede of the D-League. He was in camp with the Blazers in 2010 and 2011.

The moves leave Jermaine Taylor, Mike Harris, Chris Johnson and Will Conroy to battle for the final roster spot, since all 14 other players on the roster have fully guaranteed contracts. Conroy would appear to have a slight edge, since his deal is partially guaranteed for $100K. The 6'11" Johnson, from LSU, is not to be confused with the 6'6" Dayton product of the same name in camp with the Magic.

T-Wolves Sign Six To Finalize Camp Roster

September 28th, 2012 at 4:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves formally announced today that they have signed six players to fill out their roster for training camp. Besides Will Conroy and Seth Tarver, whose signings had been previously reported, Minnesota has also added Jermaine Taylor, Mike Harris, Chris Johnson, and Phil Jones, according to the team (Twitter link).

Of the four additions that we're hearing about for the first time, Taylor, Harris, and Johnson all have previous NBA experience, though only Johnson logged NBA minutes in 2011/12. Taylor, the 32nd overall pick in 2009 appeared in 65 games for the Rockets and Kings, while the undrafted Harris played for the Rockets and Wizards in parts of three seasons. Jones, meanwhile, played his college ball for the Charlotte 49ers, where his senior year was cut short in 2011 after he was ruled academically ineligible for the second half.

Conroy has a small guarantee on his contract, which should give him a slight advantage over the other five players for the T-Wolves' 15th and final roster spot. However, I expect the team would be happy to eat the $100K owed to Conroy if one of the other non-guaranteed players excels in training camp and preseason action.

With Minnesota's roster now at 20 players, it appears the T-Wolves are officially out of the running for Sean Williams, Hassan Whiteside, and various other big men that have been linked to the team in recent weeks.