The Curious Case Of Jordan Hill
Jordan Hill was an interesting acquisition for the Timberwolves last summer, especially in light of how sparingly he was used throughout the season.
When the Timberwolves added Jordan Hill to the roster late last summer, they already had a number of big men in the fold, including Karl-Anthony Towns, Gorgui Dieng, Adreian Payne, Nemanja Bjelica and the injured Nikola Pekovic. Many saw the signing of Hill as unnecessary, and struggled to see where he would get minutes.
With Pekovic officially ruled out for the season in late September, the Timberwolves had one less big man ahead of Hill; however it remained unclear if Hill or Minnesota native (and fellow new signing) Cole Aldrich would see more of those minutes.
Hill played three years of college ball for University of Arizona before entering the NBA Draft in 2009, where the New York Knicks selected him with the eighth pick.
After splitting his first two seasons with the Knicks and Rockets, Hill was traded to the Lakers, where he would stay until 2015.
Hill’s last season with the Lakers saw career-bests from the big-man, who had shifted from power-forward to centre. Hill managed 57 starts in 70 appearances, averaging 12 points per game in 26.8 minutes.
He signed with the Pacers for the 2015-16 NBA season, where he started 11 of his career-high 73 games, averaging 20.7 minutes and 8.8 points, before the Timberwolves signed him to a two-year deal before the 2016-17 season.
The first game of 2016-17 came around, and in a three-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on opening night, only three of the Timberwolves 13-man active roster did not receive any minutes: Jordan Hill, Tyus Jones and Adreian Payne. Off the bench, Bjelica contributed three points, a rebound and a block in 15 minutes, and Aldrich added four points, two rebounds, a steal and a block in 10 minutes.
Hill would sit in the next game as well before earning his first game time in the Timberwolves first home game of the season. Hill played 4 and a half minutes, scoring four points and adding three rebounds while committing two turnovers.
Throughout the 2016-17 NBA season, Hill only played in seven games for the Timberwolves. Only two of these games came back-to-back, as he followed up a season-high 19 minutes in a loss to the Thunder with six minutes against the Hawks. He followed that up with 36 games of sitting before earning a single minute against the Heat in March for his first game of the 2017 calendar year.
These facts beg the obvious question: if the Timberwolves were not all that interested in playing Jordan Hill, then why sign him? Hill signed a 2-year contract, with 2017-18 non-guaranteed, for a reported $8 million. Considering Adreian Payne is the only big man who is a restricted free agent at the end of the year, I can’t imagine the Timberwolves seeing too much playing time for Hill in the future, either, unless they thought his production would be more than it has turned out.
Compared to Hill’s seven games, Aldrich played in 61 games for the Wolves. Hill had career lows in points, minutes, field goal percentage, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. This isn’t to say Hill is a bad player, of course, he just hasn’t had the opportunity to succeed on a roster drenched in big men awaiting their turn.
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When the off-season rolls around and the Timberwolves start making moves, don’t be surprised to see Jordan Hill released by the Wolves in order to make moves for veteran players who will get minutes next season. Hill also could be included in trade deals if paired with a higher-caliber Wolf, should any trades happen, as the Wolves look to create a playoff-contender of a team for next season.