The Minnesota Timberwolves are nearing their first preseason contest, but the front office is still active. Not just active as in turning on the lights in the morning and putting the coffee on to brew, but actually active late in the offseason, as in rounding out the Timberwolves roster with a very intriguing player.
And he has strong ties to Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Conelly, who had signed this player to the Denver Nuggets in 2019.
Free agent PJ Dozier is signing a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources tell ESPN. Dozier is coming back from a December 2021 ACL injury. Dozier played with Denver under new Wolves president Tim Connelly.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 17, 2022
P. J. Dozier is a five-year NBA veteran who has struggled to remain healthy, but who is a solid combination guard who can run the floor or play off-ball, in whatever role the team needs him to contribute. Standing 6-foot-6, weighing 205-pounds and boasting an impressive nearly 7-foot-0 wingspan. He was described as the Denver Nuggets’ next unearthed hidden gem in 2020.
This is a low-risk high reward addition to the roster and is becoming a bit of a pattern for Timberwolves President Connelly. Dozier will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Timberwolves, a team that is already very full with a number of very interesting players to sort through.
Solid get on PJ Dozier for #Timberwolves on Exhibit 10 contract. Another reminder: There are more NBA players than standard deals available. I recall Jokic after Den. lost in playoffs citing how much PJ was missed. Had left ACL reconstruction early Dec. pic.twitter.com/vogOYadabD
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) September 17, 2022
Dozier is a strong wing defender, a theme that has been the motivation behind a number of players added by the Timberwolves this year. He suffered a torn ACL, so the hope is that he will be healthy enough to compete for a roster. But even if he is unable to earn a spot on the roster initially, he could play his way to the Timberwolves G-League team, the Iowa Wolves, where he will remake himself back into his NBA form for a potential call-up later in the season.
So where are we with the Timberwolves roster? Well, isn’t that a great question?
The Timberwolves signing PJ Dozier makes it 20 players under contract entering training camp.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) September 17, 2022
- 15 rostered
- 2 two-ways: Lawson + Paschall
- 3 exhibit 10s: Elleby + Garza + Dozier pic.twitter.com/GMdesabxpW
There are multiple players on the current Timberwolves roster who could contribute at multiple positions. For this preliminary depth chart, we moved players into roles that they could fill as well as balance out the roster depth.
Reworking Timberwolves roster once more
The Timberwolves’ revised depth chart currently looks like this:
Point Guard: D’Angelo Russell, Jordan McLaughlin, Austin Rivers, P.J. Dozier (Exhibit 10)
Shooting Guard: Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Nowell, Bryn Forbes, A.J. Lawson (2-way)
Small Forward: Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, Wendell Moore Jr., C.J. Elleby (Exhibit 10)
Power Forward: Karl-Anthony Towns, Taurean Prince, Josh Minott, Eric Paschall (2-way)
Center: Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, Nathan Knight, Luka Garza (Exhibit 10)
Right now, the Timberwolves are solid-packed with current or future NBA All-Stars, surrounded by solid contributors and future NBA talent. The Timberwolves have set themselves for exciting roster competition in preseason games. and the third roster spot at practically all five positions on the team’s roster is up for grabs.
Dozier is a solid signing. In fact, the Minnesota Timberwolves roster is solid from top to bottom. Now, it’s just a matter of sorting through the top players and ensuring that they can contribute effectively to a successful Timberwolves season.