When the Minnesota Timberwolves finally release their summer league roster, there was a bit of confusion. Multiple NBA reports named Duke Theo John as one of the players who was signed to represent the Timberwolves in the event. Theo John himself confirmed the report on Twitter, replying that he ‘Can’t wait!’ when the information about his participation with the Minnesota Timberwolves summer league team was made public.
But after looking at the official 15-player roster, there was no mention of Theo John anywhere.
Can’t wait! @Timberwolves let’s get to it🙏🏽🙏🏽 https://t.co/wPICzgi9HZ
— Theo John (@Theojohn123) June 24, 2022
And that was quite disappointing.
So I watched for news of what might have happened. Did he change his mind, and sign on with another team? Did he opt to play in the Euroleague? In the end, I found my answer. He re-aggravated a previous injury to his back in one of his pre-draft workouts.
Feel horrible for former Champlin Park, Marquette, and Duke big Theo John. He needs another 3ish weeks to recover fully from a lower body injury (back of his knee) that happened in one of his team pre-draft workouts. So he won't be playing in Vegas for the #Timberwolves. https://t.co/9wFGKEUuHu
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) June 30, 2022
Re-aggravated? So it seems, as he initially had a back injury that was first reported in mid-December 2021. From that point on, his minutes per game seemed to be impacted significantly. Before signs of a back injury, he averaged over 17 minutes per game. But by the time his season ended, he only averaged 11.3 minutes per game.
The ‘injury’ was reported as unspecified back tightness at the time. Even when he returned to their rotation, the back was not right, as he described it as ‘tight’ and
Theo John getting treatment with the new @therabody equipment by @BestCutManInMBB to get him back on the court pic.twitter.com/YW73iSITVM
— Adam Rowe? (@AdamRoweTDD) December 16, 2021
So that seems to be a lingering matter for the young man.
That could explain the noticeable drop-off in his production on the court as well. That’s a bit disappointing because his physicality and attitude are quite promising. Will the Minnesota Timberwolves and Theo John cross paths in the future? I hope so. But for now, it doesn’t appear to be happening.