The Minnesota Timberwolves are relatively intact coming off their Western Conference Finals appearance, minus the departure of Kyle Anderson to the Golden State Warriors. However, the team still felt the need to add shooting depth to their training camp roster, so the Timberwolves signed former college sharpshooter Jaedon LeDee to an Exhibit 10 deal. The sweet-shooting forward averaged 44.4% shooting from three-point land in his last year with San Diego State.
News of this signing came from Michael Scotto of Hoopshype.com. After college, LeDee played for the Timberwolves in Summer League, and he must have impressed the front office enough to give him a shot in training camp. The forward had also received the 2024 Karl Malone Award at San Diego State, given to the best power forward in the nation.
The Timberwolves make moves
What does an Exhibit 10 deal mean for the Timberwolves and Jaedon LeDee? An Exhibit 10 contract is good for one year, offering players a minimum non-guaranteed salary with an optional bonus of $75,000. However, players can only receive this bonus if they manage to spend at least 60 days with an NBA team's G League affiliate before their team waives them.
Each NBA team can have six Exhibit 10 deals at one time, and these players will have the chance to compete for a spot on the team's main roster or its G League affiliate.
If a player performs well, the team can convert their contract to a two-way deal that guarantees their bonus money. This time, a team can only have three active two-way contracts, and they must do the required conversions prior to the start of the regular season.
Likewise, if LeDee plays well and stays on the 15-man roster well into the regular season, his contract becomes a standard minimum deal, which counts against the team's salary cap. Many reliable role players in the NBA have come from two-way contracts to breakout players, like the Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves and Alex Caruso.
Caruso was the first player to enter the NBA straight from the G League (still the D League at the time) via a two-way contract. Still, perhaps this means the Lakers have the magic sauce in getting capable role players from two-way deals?
What to expect
However, the Timberwolves are getting size and shooting from LeDee, who has also had a solid college career. In 36 games, he averaged 21.4 points and 8.4 rebounds, on shooting splits of 56.0% from the field and 44.4% from range.
With three-level scoring at such a high premium in today's NBA, LeDee could provide a boost to the Timberwolves or another NBA team that badly needs his services. He could become a respectable bench shooter for the Wolves, a stand-in for Karl-Anthony Towns when he rests or a floor spacer for Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert.