It was late in the offseason when the Minnesota Timberwolves officially re-signed guard Bones Hyland. Many wondered why that was the move Minnesota wanted to make, especially since he only got into four games for the team after signing a two-way contract with them last February. Hyland also fell out of favor in his previous stops, the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers.
For much of the season, Hyland has remained firmly in the rotation, not something that was expected heading into the year. After the trade for Ayo Dosunmu last week, it was thought that he might take the 25-year-old’s backup point guard minutes. Instead, Bones is having his number called by Chris Finch and receiving more than minimal playing time.
Bones Hyland continues to get his fair share of minutes
It has now been two games since the 26-year-old Dosunmu joined the Timberwolves. The first game was a disastrous loss against the Clippers, but on Monday, Minnesota bounced back nicely with a blowout win over the (short-handed) Atlanta Hawks. Brought in to bolster the bench, Dosunmu has already totaled 55 minutes in his two outings.
What has been surprising is that Ayo’s presence hasn’t really messed with Bones’ spot in the rotation. Hyland has combined to play 35 minutes in the last two outings. Those 17.5 minutes per game are slightly more than the 16.8 he has averaged since the ball dropped for 2026.
While neither game was in question at the end, it's not like Hyland's minutes are all coming in garbage time. He has played about 20 minutes in the first half in the team's last two games.
Hyland’s play also hasn’t made it seem like he is nervous about potentially losing his spot in the rotation. The 6-foot-2 guard made 5 of his 7 shot attempts on Monday and was 4-8 against the Clippers (5-10 from beyond the arc in the two contests). Bones has seven assists to just two turnovers.
Now, at some point, Mike Conley will be back with the squad. Conley has been a part of Finch’s rotation for the whole season (prior to being traded last week) despite many in the fanbase questioning why he continued to play while not being very productive. One would think Conley would return and be behind Hyland in the pecking order, but with Finch, you never know.
Finch risks alienating all of the Timberwolves fans, though, by putting Conley in over Hyland. Bones can certainly be inconsistent, but the team still outscores the opposition by 3.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the court.
Hyland’s play has been a great story after his re-signing drew little fanfare. Bones has 27 regular season games (plus the playoffs) remaining to continue writing that story this year.