While Mike Conley has had a superb career in the NBA, his time is clearly winding down. Two straight scoreless nights from the 38-year-old, and his inefficient scoring all season, have Minnesota Timberwolves fans questioning why he continues to remain in the rotation.
An upgrade is needed for a floor general off the bench (and more bench production in general) in order for the Timberwolves to reach their ultimate goals. It doesn’t even have to be a big name, but just a steadying player who has the ability to score and create each time he enters the game. That sounds like Tre Jones of the Chicago Bulls.
The Timberwolves have been linked to a few players from the Bulls as the February 5 trade deadline is rapidly approaching. Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White are two other names that have been floated around based on Joe Cowley's reporting. White or Dosunmu would certainly be useful to Minnesota as well, but their contracts also expire after the season. As such, Jones is the ideal target of the bunch.
The Timberwolves are showing interest in Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Tre Jones, per @JCowleyHoops
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 21, 2026
“Another trade partner for the Bulls to keep an eye on is the Timberwolves. They have star guard Anthony Edwards and his supporting cast of center Rudy Gobert and forwards Julius… pic.twitter.com/tCjTIGwLpS
Would be somewhat of a homecoming for Tre
Jones, now 26 years old, could be a free agent after next season, but he has a very reasonable $8 million club option. Dosunmu and White will want new deals that pay them substantially more than $8 million per season and will be free agents this offseason.
Point guard play has also been a need for the Wolves all season. Much like his brother and former Timberwolves player, Tyus Jones, Tre excels at taking care of the basketball. He has an assist-to-turnover ratio greater than 4, is making 54.6 percent of his field goal tries, and is getting to the foul line at a greater frequency than he ever has in his career.
Not only that, but it would be a homecoming of sorts. Tre is a born and raised Minnesotan, and he played his high school basketball at Apple Valley.
Tim Connelly is likely to make a move
In order to acquire Jones, it is likely that the Timberwolves would have to either (or both) of Rob Dillingham or Terrence Shannon Jr. Both are having disappointing sophomore seasons and are change of scenery candidates. Dillingham has seemingly reached the point of no return, with Chris Finch recently willing to turn to anyone off his bench but him.
Jones just seems like a perfect fit. With Minnesota so close to the second apron, it makes it rather difficult to trade for higher-salary players, something Tre is not. There are just two weeks left until the trade deadline, and I believe Tim Connelly is chomping at the bit to make a deal, whether it’s for Jones or someone else.