Former NBDL guard goes from 10-day contracts to 10 minutes per game in the NBA

Wilks Wins Over Wolves

By Rob Peterson, NBA.com

Photo gallery: The Many Uniforms of Mike Wilks
David Sherman
NBAE/Getty Images
March 14, 2003 -- For the past two years, Timberwolves guard Mike Wilks has been a basketball vagabond.

He spent time in the Sacramento Kings training camp in 2001, but was waived. He hooked on with the NBDL's Mobile Revelers, but was waived after six games. Less than two weeks later, Wilks signed with the Huntsville Flight, where he spent the rest of the season and won the inaugural NBDL Sportsmanship Award.

This season, he tried to make the NBA with his hometown team, the Bucks, who cut him just before the season. Again, Wilks returned to the D League to play for the Flight. Then came the callup from Atlanta, where he played 15 games. But after his second 10-day contract with the Hawks expired, it was back to the NBDL.

Then, Wilks joined the Timberwolves on a 10-day contract. After that contract expired, it looked as if he was headed to his fourth, nerve-wracking 10-day contract. But then the Wolves made Mike Wilks' dream come true on Feb. 22 -- they signed him for the rest of the season.

MOVIN' ON UP?
A.J. Guyton (right) hopes to face off against Rafer Alston, now with Toronto, in the NBA soon.
(Kent Smith, NBAE/Getty Images)

ONE SCOUT'S TAKE
While Mike Wilks has been called up twice and the NBA has called up nine different players on 10 occasions, the NBDL still has plenty of talent. We asked a Western Conference scout who has seen more than two dozen NBDL games to give us his take on six guys, in no particular order, who could go from the D League to the Association.

Devin Brown, G, Fayetteville
"I think he's going to be the Most Valuable Player for the league. When he joined the team, they were clearly better. I think he plays under control, he's able to create his own shot, he's sound defensively and can hit the mid-range shot."

Nate Johnson, G, Columbus
"He's excellent one-on-one, he can get his own shot and strokes it very well. He's got good size for a shooting guard. He's probably a little slow on the defensive end, but he'd fit in the NBA in the right situation."

A.J. Guyton, G, Huntsville
"I watched him play last week. He hit the open three when given to him. He ran the club well, and whenever he played, didn't turn the ball over. I think he's got to be in the right place at the right time. He played with Chicago and Golden State. He just needs to get a chance."

Cedric Henderson, G, Mobile
"Played with Cleveland and Golden State in the NBA. I've seen him again. He takes one or two dribbles to get his shot off. Since he's been in Mobile, he's been a great addition to their lineup."

Tang Hamilton, F, Columbus
"He's got the long body. He has the ability to take smaller people inside and he has the ability to shoot outside. He's more physical and leads the league in rebounding, but he needs to stay focused on the game, sometimes during the game he goes in and out."

Jeff Trepagnier, G, Asheville
"For the first three weeks, he played as well as anybody. He's the most athletic of all the guys we're talking about. He leads the league in steals, his shooting has improved but he still [plays] all left handed. I don't know, the way he played that first month, he must be wondering how these other guys got called up and he didn't."


"I almost stared crying," Wilks admitted. "To finally legitimately sign for the rest of the season is a dream come true. When you're on a 10-day, your time in the league is pending.

"Now, I have a little bit more security signing with a great team like Minnesota. I was watching the All-Star Game and KG won the MVP and I wondered what it was like to play in Minnesota."

He's finding out now. Wilks is averaging 10.2 minutes as Troy Hudson's backup for the playoff-bound Timberwolves. Minnesota coach Flip Saunders likes Wilks' control on the court as evidenced by Wilks' 7-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

"One thing, [Wilks] hasn't turned the ball over," Saunders told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Feb. 27. "And he's got a pretty good feel for the game, he's got a lot of court moxie when he's got the basketball, and defensively, I like the way he puts pressure on teams."

Wilks knows pressure. An undrafted free agent, Wilks has had to prove himself everywhere he has gone since graduating from Rice University in 2001. And for the better part of his first two years after college, it looked as though Wilks might not get a shot at the NBA.

But then the Hawks called with a present on Christmas Eve by asking Wilks to guide their team. Three days later on Dec. 27, Wilks made his NBA debut against the Spurs -- as a starter.

"It was amazing," Wilks said. "It was above anything I ever dreamed of. I was familiar with the [Hawks] new coach Terry Stotts and he started me against San Antonio after two practices.

"He told me, 'I'm not starting you because it's a nice thing, but because I think you can help us win this game.' It made me feel good and we went out and in the first game, we got our first win together.

When Wilks finished his second 10-day contract, Atlanta had to decide whether to sign Wilks for the season or let him go.

"Atlanta was very up front with me," Wilks said. "Mr. [Pete] Babcock said, 'We love you and we really want to sign you but the trade deadline is coming up, we want to have flexibility to make some trades, once the trade deadline is passed, we want to sign you for the year.'"

But then the Timberwolves came calling and Wilks was ready to answer the call.

"Once you taste the NBA, it's like the best steak to a good hamburger," Wilks said. "The NBDL is not bad. It develops you, helps you mature for the NBA.

"But there's nothing like the NBA. It was good to go back to the D league. I went back more hungry and you think, 'I have to get back.' It makes you work even harder, if that was possible for me."

And now, he's in the middle of a playoff race, playing along side guys like Troy Hudson, Wally Szczerbiak and MVP candidate, Kevin Garnett, who bought 10 tickets for Wilks' family so they could see him when the Wolves recently played in Milwaukee. Wilks, who wears the No. 29 to honor the street where he grew up in Milwaukee, now can see Garnett, who calls Wilks "Young Fella:" in action up close.

"Aw, man it's unbelievable the way he's able to destroy teams," Wilks said. "It's just so fun to watch.

"I'm truly enjoying it. This is what it's all about, playing against the best night, in night out."