Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Jimmy Butler Day, more workouts

Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Jimmy Butler now has his own day at his old stomping grounds, and the Wolves continue to bring more veterans into town for workouts.

Despite signing Luol Deng this week, the Minnesota Timberwolves continue to stay active in terms of exploring the remaining free agent market for any veterans that could come in and help the team.

They have one roster spot remaining, and they should have a solid book on who might be the best fit for that spot when they decide to pull the trigger on filling the roster.

The Wolves recently had a trio of recognizable veteran names present at Mayo Clinic Square in Corey Brewer, Nick Young, and Arron Afflalo. Now, Darren Wolfson reports that there are at least three others in town this week.

Brandon Paul is career journeyman who made his NBA debut last year with San Antonio at age 27, appearing in 64 games but only averaging nine minutes per contest. He’s a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who has shot 38.8 percent in 47 games over three seasons at the G League level and 37.3 percent from deep over three seasons in Europe.

He played his college ball at the University of Illinois and averaged 16.6 points as a senior but was never a long-range threat at the collegiate level.

Brandon Rush appeared in 47 games for the Wolves two years ago, starting 33 contests following a season-ending injury to Zach LaVine. He shot 38.6 percent from beyond the arc but was a poor defender and didn’t contribute in any other areas.

Rush is a 40.2 percent 3-point shooter but was never able to latch on with a team last year.

Darius Johnson-Odom is about to turn 29 years old and has played 21 total minutes over seven NBA games, last appearing for Philadelphia during the 2013-14 campaign. He has yet to score a point in the NBA.

Back at that time, Johnson-Odom was a D-League star, scoring 21.7 points per game over two seasons. Since then, he’s been playing in Europe. Last year, he put up 18.7 points per game in Lega Basket while shooting 40.6 percent from beyond the arc.

It’s a less-inspiring group of names than the previous trio, but at least the Wolves are doing their due diligence.

Elsewhere, Jimmy Butler had a lobby named after him at Tyler Junior College, where he started his collegiate career before latching on at Marquette. And not only that, there’s now a Jimmy Butler Day…

Kudos to Jimmy for the honor. For a player whose roots matter so much, this is no doubt an exciting honor.

We’ll have a few season preview pieces for you in the coming days here at Dunking With Wolves. Stay tuned.