The Minnesota Timberwolves and veteran free agent sharpshooter Joe Ingles have agreed on a one-year contract, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. After leaving the Utah Jazz in 2022 and spending one season with both the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks, Ingles is now set to reunite with former Jazz teammates Mike Conley Jr. and Rudy Gobert on a Timberwolves team that recently made the Western Conference Finals.
Ingles, 36, is nearing the end of his NBA career. As he prepares for his 11th NBA season, the Australian forward will provide some much-needed depth in Minnesota. This is especially true in the wake of Kyle Anderson joining the Golden State Warriors.
Anderson, who had spent the last two seasons playing a pivotal role for the Timberwolves off the bench, is now replaced by a reliable passer and shooter on the wing. Ingles has been a part of teams that finished with the best record during the regular season in the Western Conference, making him the ideal veteran free agent target for a team like the Wolves this offseason.
As his career has progressed, Ingles has fully embraced being a mentor and bench presence for his teams. In doing so, his career has been prolonged in a sense. The new Timberwolves shooter played in a total of 68 games this past season with the Magic, the most Ingles has played since being featured in 72 games during the 2019-20 season that ended in the NBA Bubble due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With Orlando, Ingles averaged 4.4 points and 3.0 assists in roughly 17.2 minutes per game off the bench. He shot 43.6 percent from the floor and 43.5 percent from three-point range.
For his career, Ingles has made 1,224 shots from beyond the three-point line at a 41.0 percent clip, making him just one of four active players to have at least 1,200 made threes while shooting over 40 percent from distance in their career. The other three players are Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Buddy Hield.
Joe Ingles joins Timberwolves' title-contending roster
Despite his minutes decreasing over the last few seasons after tearing his ACL in 2022, Ingles has remained a steady shooting presence and locker room leader for his team. The Timberwolves, who just lost one of their veteran leaders in Anderson, now replace his production with another well-respected leader on the bench.
Expectations shouldn't be too high for Ingles as he prepares to join the Timberwolves. This team's focus remains on Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns leading them to success. While he could potentially be the team's best three-point shooter during the 2024-25 season, it is hard to see a scenario where Ingles truly proves to be the X-factor for Minnesota.
After all, this team was on the doorstep of the NBA Finals this past season when they took down the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets in the postseason. Edwards is a rising star in the league, and he is going to have the Timberwolves in a position to contend as long as he is on the floor. The best way to increase their chances of success is for Minnesota's front office to continue to add shooting depth around Edwards.
In the playoffs, the Timberwolves struggled at times to get things going from the perimeter. Minnesota ranked eighth out of all playoff teams in three-pointers made and three-point shooting percentage, but they were not consistent from the perimeter against the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.
Ingles will supply the Timberwolves with a reliable catch-and-shoot presence on the wing who understands his role. The best part about the Timberwolves acquiring Ingles is that he can still provide value as a secondary playmaker and facilitator on offense next to Conley.
Finding Ingles on a minimum-like contract for the 2024-25 season is a good move by Tim Connelly and the Timberwolves' front office.
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