There was a lot of noise surrounding Zyon Pullin during July’s summer league action with the Minnesota Timberwolves. His play during the five games seemed like further proof that he deserved a standard NBA contract, something he has not yet received in his career.
There has been little chatter regarding Pullin since summer league, though. The 25-year-old remains on a two-way contract with Minnesota.
The Timberwolves have one open roster spot and enough cap space to fill it while remaining under the second apron. This is a notable change since, before trading Josh Green and signing Jonathan Kuminga, it looked like the Wolves would enter the season with 14 players on standard contracts. Still, Pullin doesn't look like he will be the one to earn it.
Pullin doesn’t appear to be heading to a standard contract with the Timberwolves
First off, Minnesota isn't even required to sign anyone else this offseason to a standard deal. Its 14-man roster is at the minimum, and that’s what the team went with last season as well.
If the Timberwolves do decide to fill the spot, Pullin should certainly be a candidate. Signed to a two-way deal in March, the 6-foot-4 guard appeared in five games with Minnesota after an excellent year in the G League with the Iowa Wolves.
He was also consistently one of the best players on the court during summer league, and he was named to the All-Summer League Second Team. In five games, Pullin averaged 21.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 7.8 assists. He finished just one rebound shy of a triple-double in a game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Pullin looks like an NBA player and likely deserves a standard contract. It just doesn’t seem as if it will come from Minnesota this offseason.
Looking at the roster, another big who can play minutes at center seems to be the team’s biggest need. The Timberwolves don't really have anyone to protect the rim and be a backup center if Rudy Gobert or Joan Beringer were to miss time. Keeping an available roster spot also allows for more flexibility in potential trades or if a player becomes available who interests Minnesota.
Now, perhaps the Timberwolves decide to stage a training camp battle for the last roster spot. That could give Pullin some hope. Show out during the six-game preseason slate, which begins on October 5, and Minnesota could decide to give him that standard deal. It's unclear, though, if the Timberwolves are considering going this route.
Since going undrafted out of Florida in 2024, Pullin has appeared in only eight regular-season games in the NBA: five with the Timberwolves last season and three with the Memphis Grizzlies in February of 2025.
Unfortunately, the Timberwolves haven’t been a team that utilizes their two-way players much at the NBA level, so it could be another year of spending a lot of time with Iowa.
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