Joe Ingles is headed to the Twin Cities.
After spending the 2023-24 season playing an important veteran role for the Magic, Ingles has signed a one-year contract with the Timberwolves, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Minnesota will be the fourth stop in Ingles' 11-year NBA career.
Ingles, who will turn 37 ahead of next season, joins a Timberwolves team that fell three wins shy of reaching the NBA Finals in 2024. As his NBA days wind down, Minnesota is a golden opportunity for the veteran forward.
Here's more on Ingles' decision and the opportunity that awaits him in Minnesota.
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Why did Joe Ingles sign with Timberwolves?
Signing with Minnesota allows Ingles to reunite with former Jazz teammates Mike Conley Jr. and Rudy Gobert while playing a key role in the Wolves' pursuit of an NBA title.
Last season, Minnesota's 56-26 record was good for third in the West and the franchise signaled its arrival with a run to the Western Conference Finals. The expectation is for 22-year-old All-Star Anthony Edwards to continue to improve, Karl-Anthony Towns to perfect his role and Gobert to build on his record-tying fourth Defensive Player of the Year award-winning performance.
With a core trio in place, the Timberwolves' focus has been on adding the right pieces to complement them.
On draft night, Minnesota added a pair of talented perimeter scorers by trading for No. 8 overall pick Rob Dillingham and using the No. 27 overall pick to select Terrence Shannon Jr. With an infusion of youth and scoring, the focus shifted to finding versatile veterans.
Enter Ingles.
Ingles' signing was facilitated in part by free agent Kyle Anderson's decision to leave Minnesota to join Golden State. The two players are far from identical, but Ingles provides his own version of what Anderson contributed in two seasons with the Timberwolves.
While Ingles played a limited reserve role for the Magic last season, he was a deadeye shooter from distance, sinking a total of 70 3s at a 43.5 percent clip — a respectable volume given his role. Ingles also averaged 3.0 assists per game while playing just 17.2 minutes per contest.
Ingles' shooting and playmaking from the forward position — along with his 6-9 frame — make him the perfect connective piece for Minnesota.
Anderson averaged just over 15 minutes per game in the postseason, a very reasonable workload for Ingles to assume during his age-37 season. Ingles' familiarity with both Conley and Gobert should ease the learning curve as he carves a crucial role for a team with high aspirations.
As a bonus, the trio of former Jazzmen have an opportunity to handle some unfinished business after coming up short multiple times in the postseason with Utah.
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Joe Ingles career stats
- 704 games
- 24.7 minutes per game
- 8.1 points per game
- 3.1 rebounds per game
- 3.6 assists per game
- 44.8 percent field goal shooting
- 41.0 percent 3-point shooting
- 77.4 percent free throw shooting
