Minnesota Timberwolves: Why each new player fits the Wolves perfectly

Jerryd Bayless

Jerryd Bayless is a passable backup point guard who has only played 42 games since the end of the 2015-16 season. He’s been hurt since training camp this year and has yet to appear in a game.

Bayless was included to match salaries, as his $8.56 million comes off the books in summer. Justin Patton went back to the Sixers to free the roster spot for the Wolves, as Minnesota’s roster is now completely full.

All that said, depending on how quickly Bayless gets healthy, it’s been rumored that the Wolves have explored trading Tyus Jones and they are certainly still trying to get out from under Gorgui Dieng’s three years and $48 million — especially now with Saric to consider extending following the season.

Bayless is a rare case of an expiring salary that could be useful if Jeff Teague‘s knee injury lingers much further. He’s already missed six games, and while Rose has played admirably in his absence, the Wolves still have a relatively thin corp of point guards.

The new Wolf is a 36.6 percent 3-point shooter for his career and has largely been a backup, starting just 93 of 552 career games.

While Bayless was largely a necessary throw-in, he certainly could see some playing time if his injury improves sooner rather than later.