Minnesota Timberwolves: 10 players you forgot played for the Wolves in the 2010s
By Ben Beecken
10 players you forgot played for the Minnesota Timberwolves: Ryan Hollins
. Center. Minnesota Timberwolves. Ryan Hollins. 6. player. 86
- Played in 73 games with the Wolves in 2009-10
- Averaged 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game
Raise your hand if you thought that Ryan Hollins played in more than 73 games in a Timberwolves uniform.
Go ahead and file this one under “players that are forgettable, but when you see their name you assume they were on the team for at least three seasons”. That’s why he qualifies here.
Hollins was signed in restricted free agency by the David Kahn regime and was seen as an ultra-athletic, bouncy big man who could catch alley-oops from Jonny Flynn and, eventually, Ricky Rubio. Alas, he only had one, Rubio-less season in Minnesota before being traded away.
The former second-round pick of the then-Charlotte Bobcats had spent two-plus seasons as a bench player in Charlotte before he was traded to Dallas. Hollins showed enough to apparently be coveted by Kahn and the Wolves front office, and he signed in Minnesota.
In a recent podcast appearance, Hollins discussed his decision to sign in the Twin Cities and how awfully-constructed the Timberwolves roster was at the time. There’s quite a bit of … candor in the interview, so check it out if you want some laughs. And head shakes. And eye-rolls.
Hollins was given the opportunity to start 27 times in his 73 appearances for the Wolves, averaging 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game. He struggled with foul trouble and was playing behind second-year big man Kevin Love and a 25-year-old, emerging Al Jefferson. Additionally, Kahn acquired Darko Milicic in-season, further cutting into Hollins’ playing time.
In the summer of 2010, Hollins was traded along with Ramon Sessions to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While Hollins never came anywhere near realizing the potential that Kahn and Co. thought he may reach, he had a few seasons as a fringe rotation player on playoff teams, including the 2011-12 Boston Celtics team that took Miami to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Ultimately, Hollins played for nine teams in a 10-year career that ended with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2015-16.