Minnesota Timberwolves waste no time inking Luka Garza to Two-Way

The Minnesota Timberwolves had to be impressed with backup center Luka Garza in their fourth preseason game win over the LA Lakers. Garza showed up in just the fourth quarter against the Lakers and outplayed all but two players on the entire Lakers roster. Long after the game ended, Lakers fans found themselves asking who the heck was that Timberwolves Luka Garza guy.

Now the answer is, he is the latest player to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves on one of their two Two-Way contracts.

But didn’t the Timberwolves have two players signed already? Yes, and that means that a follow-up transaction is forthcoming.

Now it remains to be seen which player the team will rescind their Two-Way contracts with. The Timberwolves had previously offered Two-Way contracts to guard A.J. Lawson and forward Eric Paschall.

Garza is in, now who is out?

You may have thought that the team would be waiving Eric Paschall. Paschall appeared just once for the Timberwolves in five preseason games, playing 13 minutes and scoring one point, getting one rebound, and tossing one assist in the opener against the Miami Heat.

Lawson was signed to the other Two-Way contract, and he has appeared in three preseason games, averaging eight minutes while averaging three points, one rebound, and two assists per game. But it turns out that Lawson will be waived, making room for Garza.

Garza was among the top of the class for the Timberwolves in the preseason. He appeared in four of the five preseason contests, putting up 29 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block.  He likely earned a roster spot with the team by hitting on four of six three-point shots.

Garza is a 6-foot-10 243-pound NBA center who played just one season with the Detroit Pistons last year. He appeared in 32 games with five starts for the Pistons, averaging 5.8 points on just 12.2 minutes of play.

Now with the Timberwolves, he will have time to work on a very promising perimeter shot, as well as learn from both Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns this season. The roster decisions will be tough, as this is just the first of several to be announced over the next several days.