Minnesota Timberwolves: 6 bold predictions for the regular season

5. Tyus Jones wins the backup point guard role.

Aaron Brooks was brought to the team for a reason this offseason. But that was was to mentor Tyus Jones.

Jones may have been frustrated with the signing at first, but he’s too much of a fighter to give up that easy. As he’s done throughout his whole career, he put his head down and went to work instead of feeling sorry for himself.

During his rookie season, he went back and forth between the D-League and the Timberwolves. When he was with the NBA team, he hardly saw the court until late in the year when he dropped 5 assists in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Two weeks later he was a part of the rotation and played the last 25 games of the season.

Last year, Minnesota brought in Kris Dunn to take over the immediate backup point guard role. Dunn initially won the job, but Jones never quit fighting. He appeared in 60 games last season and proved himself to be a guy who relies on intelligence and hustle. He capped his season with a 17 point, 7 assist performance in the last game of the season against the Houston Rockets.

While it may have looked like Brooks had the inside track to the backup role, Jones has proven throughout training camp and the preseason he shouldn’t be ignored. Now is his time to shine.