On a two-way deal, Johnny Juzang has seen action in two straight contests. While it hasn’t been a lot of time in either game, it has also come outside of garbage time, which is where Juzang has previously seen most of his playing time this season.
The 24-year-old, being in the team’s rotation (albeit barely), may be coming to an end, though. Come Sunday, when the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Los Angeles Clippers, they should have Ayo Dosunmu in uniform. That would give Minnesota its new trade acquisition and likely glue Juzang back to the bench.
Juzang played 10 minutes on Friday
Prior to Minnesota’s last two games, Juzang made 19 appearances on the year. Remarkably, in 18 of them, he received no playing time prior to the fourth quarter (meaning he only saw garbage time).
It was a surprising scene on Wednesday when Juzang checked into the game with 2:23 remaining in the third quarter against the Toronto Raptors. At the time, the Timberwolves were down 11 in a contest they came back to win. It wasn’t a very long stay on the court for the fourth-year player as he remained in the game until three seconds were left in the third.
While Friday was a disappointing loss to the bottom-feeding New Orleans Pelicans, Chris Finch once again let Juzang play when the game was still in question. Altogether, he played about 10 minutes, with his time nearly being equally split between the second and third quarters. His first stint in the game saw him connect on a 3-pointer and hustle back on defense to garner a block at the rim.
Johnny Juzang outstanding transition block pic.twitter.com/YvHJnm3nBx
— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) February 7, 2026
It’s been great to see Juzang get minutes when the game isn’t completely out of reach. With Dosunmu (and Julian Phillips) likely available the next time that the Timberwolves play though, Juzang may again be on the outside looking in.
Decision on his contract needed soon
On the day of the trade deadline (February 5), the Timberwolves acquired Dosunmu and Phillips from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and 4 second round picks. Dosunmu is expected to get large minutes off the bench as soon as possible for the Wolves.
Barring injuries, that could once again send Juzang into a non-playing role. Minnesota also has a decision to make regarding his contract. As a two-way player, Juzang can only be active for the NBA team for 50 games. Juzang has been active for 49, meaning they would need to convert him to a standard deal for him to continue to be with Minnesota.
The Timberwolves currently have two open roster spots. One seemingly is earmarked for Mike Conley’s eventual return to the team. I believe the other will go to Juzang, as the Timberwolves have likely waited until the last minute to convert his deal to save some money.