Timberwolves sign Bones Hyland to 2-way contract and give Jaylen Clark a new deal

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves shored up some depth for their push for the playoffs on Thursday by signing breakout guard Jaylen Clark to a new contract that makes him eligible for the postseason and signing guard Bones Hyland to a two-way deal.

Clark was on a two-way deal that was converted to a standard contract through next season. With the Timberwolves missing several regulars to injuries in recent weeks, Clark has emerged as a key performer in what’s essentially his rookie year. The 2023 second-round draft pick sat out last season while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Clark was averaging 5.1 points and 15.7 minutes in 17 games — including three starts — on 45.5% shooting entering Minnesota’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

“He’s just kind of matured really quickly, understanding who he is in the league, what he needs to do and doubles down on his strengths,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “He has played an extremely smart and controlled style of play basketball for us. And then he just makes a bunch of winning plays for us.”

Hyland, a first-round draft pick in 2021 by the Denver Nuggets when they were run by current Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, played in 20 games this season for the Los Angeles Clippers. Hyland was traded to the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 6 and waived two days later.

Hyland has averaged 9.7 points and 2.7 assists over 182 games in four years in the NBA.

“We just got to get him up to speed and comfortable in the things that we do and see where it goes from there. But a good pickup, no doubt,” Finch said.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA