With the bodies mounting like a mission in Black Ops 2, Minnesota needed some fresh blood, and even if Josh Howard is anything but fresh, the 32-year-old makes sense with the Timberwolves. After getting interest from a few teams throughout the offseason and preseason, Howard finally has a home: ESPN’s Chris Broussard reports the two sides have agreed to terms on a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum.
Minnesota does have a full 15-man roster, so Will Conroy, who’s on a partially guaranteed contract, will likely be the one released to make room for the former All-Star. Last season in Utah, Howard averaged 8.7 points on sub-40 percent shooting, starting in 18 games and playing 23 minutes a night. But one game after having only nine healthy players available in a loss in the final seconds to Charlotte, the T’Wolves had to make a move.
Brandon Roy missed the past three games because of chronic knee trouble, and even though he hopes to play tomorrow night, it’s quite obvious the Wolves can’t count on him moving forward. If he can play, it’s a bonus. Chase Budinger is out three months with a torn meniscus in his left knee, which is a bigger blow than you might expect. Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio are already out, J.J. Barea has missed time as well, and even the indestructible Nikola Pekovic has injury issues.
Jerry Zgoda of The Minneapolis Star Tribune contends this deal was made to hopefully cut into Andrei Kirilenko‘s workload. Even as AK-47 has been the team’s best player, and in fact one of the best players in the entire league this year, he played at least 44 minutes in each of the last two games. With Howard in the mix, even if many of his skills are redundant, Kirilenko hopefully won’t wear down.
Is this a good move?
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