The Minnesota Timberwolves made the right moves in setting up the Timberwolves roster for the 2022-23 NBA season. Well, in theory anyways. With one of the most impressive front courts in the NBA right now, this team knew well in advance that the success of the team was in adding a battery of long-range artillery to the roster.
The Timberwolves front office felt that the additions of long-range shooters like veteran forward Kyle Anderson, shooting guard Bryn Forbes, guard Austin Rivers, and even the return of guard Jordan McLaughlin would be enough to keep the team’s three-point shooting at least at the median accuracy of the NBA. Well, the team is among the NBA’s worst, shooting a pathetic 32.6 percent from beyond the arc, which is only good enough for 28th place out of 30 NBA teams.
And so, the Timberwolves have made a move, waiving A.J. Lawson for the second time to make way for a slot to sign a new addition. This time, that addition is promising ex-Lakers forward Matt Ryan:
The Minnesota Timberwolves are signing ex-Lakers wing shooter Matt Ryan on a two-way NBA contract, sources tell me and @JonKrawczynski. Ryan had a solid stint for the Lakers, making 13 three-pointers over 12-game stretch.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 7, 2022
The reason? Matt Ryan can nail those long three-point shots at the most pressure-packed moments in an NBA game.
Ryan is in, and Lawson is out
While Ryan is still quite raw, and as such had only appeared in 10 games for the LA Lakers, the 6-foot-7 small forward has been very effective in those limited appearances this year. In just 10.8 minutes per game, he has averaged 3.9 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. But when the heat and pressure are turned up, he ices the game with clutch shooting like this:
This slo-mo of Matt Ryan’s shot 🤯 pic.twitter.com/AdBK4H8ei8
— NBA (@NBA) November 3, 2022
It’s no wonder the Minnesota Timberwolves have shown some interest. I found it curious that Matt Ryan was reportedly driving for Door Dash just one year ago. Now, he is joining the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Ryan is signing a Two-Way contract just vacated by waiving A.J. Lawson. Lawson, who has now been waived twice by the Timberwolves this season, is the player who scored his first NBA points on the day that he signed with the Timberwolves previously. Hopefully, he will land on his feet soon, as he also showed promise so far.
Ryan has shot 37.2 percent from the arc so far this season, a mark that would slide him in as the fourth most accurate three-point shooter on the Timberwolves roster this year.