MINNEAPOLIS — New Minnesota Timberwolves General Manager Tim Connelly continues the process of putting his stamp on the club's roster, announcing the signing of two young forwards with significant upside.
On Tuesday the Wolves revealed that they have inked CJ Elleby and Luke Garza to contracts. Per team policy, details of the deals were not released.
Elleby, a 6-foot 6-inch forward, played in 58 games for the Trail Blazers last year, starting 28 of them. He averaged 5.8 points, nearly 4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He was originally selected by Portland out of Washington State with the 46th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.
Minnesota fans will recognize Garza, who terrorized the Gophers while playing for the University of Iowa. He piled up 2,306 points as a Hawkeye, finishing as the school's seventh all-time leading scorer.
Selected by the Pistons with the 52nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, Garza averaged 5.8 points and just over 3 rebounds in 32 games last year with Detroit, starting 5 of them.
The team says Elleby will wear jersey no. 22 for the Wolves, while Garza will wear 55.
Since coming from Denver to take the franchise in a new direction, Connelly has engineered a major roster remake, acquiring center Rudy Gobert from Utah in exchange for guards Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley and Leandro Bolmaro, forward Jarrod Vanderbilt, draft rights to center Walker Kessler, 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks and a 2026 first-round pick swap.
The Timberwolves have also signed forward Kyle Anderson and guard Austin Rivers, among other moves.
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