The Minnesota Timberwolves did not make any moves at the Feb. 6 trade deadline, but they have now added an additional player to their roster. On Wednesday afternoon, Shams Charania reported that the Wolves would be adding Bones Hyland on a two-way deal. He will be re-united with Tim Connelly, who drafted him during his time with the Denver Nuggets.
Hyland played in 20 games with the LA Clippers this season, averaging 7.2 points on 39% shooting. He was not consistently featured in Tyronn Lue's rotation, and he got just 11.1 minutes per night when he did play. Bones was dealt from the Clippers to the Atlanta Hawks in the trade involving Bogdan Bogdanovic and Terance Mann ahead of the trade deadline. After that transaction was completed, the Hawks opted to waive him.
Connelly clearly wanted to give one of his former draft picks another shot, but it is hard to say this signing was a slam dunk. Saying that Hyland has been up-and-down in his career so far would probably be a compliment. He has struggled to find playing time on a consistent basis ever since departing Denver in his second NBA season.
My take is he doesn’t play over Rob or anyone, hes signed to a two way, so he won’t be eligible for the playoffs.
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) February 26, 2025
My assumption is he’s the guard version of Jesse Edwards and Leonard Miller.
Break glass in case of emergency. https://t.co/JtOB35tENG
Minnesota has signed Bones Hyland
There are things to like about Bones' game, without a doubt. He is crafty with the ball in his hands and can create his own shot, but he struggles with efficiency. Outside of the flaws in Hyland's game, the bigger question mark here is the overall fit on the Timberwolves' roster, and what vision the front office really sees with adding him. They converted Jaylen Clark to a standard deal to open up a two-way contract, but was this move really worth the trouble?
We can not reasonably expect Hyland to play over Rob Dillingham, or anyone else on a standard contract for that matter. It is hard to envision a scenario where this signing really has a chance of paying dividends. As Zone Coverage's Andrew Dukowitz points out, Bones will not be eligible for the playoffs, so this is essentially just a signing to create an extended evaluation period.
Effectively, Hyland is a "break in case of emergency" player. If crucial players sustain injuries during the remainder of the regular season, he will be able to step in as a ball-handler. Otherwise, there does not seem like much of a chance he is on the roster beyond a few short weeks.