Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed forward CJ Elleby and Luka Garza. Per team policy, terms of the agreements were not released.
Elleby, 6-6, spent last season with the Portland Trail Blazers where he averaged 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in 58 games (28 starts, including starting 28 of the Trail Blazers’ final 30 games). In two seasons with Portland, he accumulated 407 points and 259 rebounds.
The Federal Way, Wash. native spent two seasons at Washington State, ending his college career with averages of 16.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. His 16.6 points per game rank as the fifth-best scoring average in school history. Elleby was named to the 2019-20 All-Pac-12 First Team and the 2018-19 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.
Elleby was originally selected by the Trail Blazers with the 46th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Garza, 6-11, spent last season with the Detroit Pistons where he averaged 5.8 points on 44.9% shooting and 3.1 rebounds per game in 32 games (five starts). He played in 16 games (all starts) last season for the Pistons’ G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise and averaged 20.6 points on 51.8% shooting and 9.5 rebounds per game.
The Washington D.C. native spent four seasons at the University of Iowa, where he ended his college career as Iowa’s all-time leading scorer (2,306 points), marking the seventh-highest scoring total in Big Ten history. Garza earned unanimous 2020-21 National Player of the Year honors after averaging 24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 31.6 minutes per game in 31 games during his final season. Additionally, he was named a two-time unanimous All-America First Team selection (2020-21 and 2019-20) and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year (2020-21 and 2019-20).
Garza was originally selected by the Pistons with the 52nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.