Minneapolis/St. Paul –The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the club has assigned rookie guard Tyus Jones to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League pursuant to the Flexible Assignment Rule. Jones has appeared in two games with the Wolves this season, playing a total of 14 minutes.
“Going to Idaho will allow Tyus to get some game experience at the professional level,” said Wolves general manager Milt Newton. “With our depth at point guard, we haven’t been able to get Tyus the playing time that he needs. Tyus has a great future in the NBA and this assignment will help the development of his game.”
Jones, originally selected with the 24th overall pick, was acquired by the Wolves in a draft-day trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He averaged 11.8 points, 5.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals last season at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to the National Championship. In the NCAA Tournament, Jones averaged 13.0 points and 4.5 assists and was named the Most Outstanding Player. He scored a game-high 23 points in the title game against Wisconsin, including making two key three-pointers in the closing minutes.
The Apple Valley, Minn., native was a three-time Minnesota High School Player of the Year and led Apple Valley to the 2013 Minnesota State High School League Class 4A championship.
The NBA D-League’s flexible assignment system enables the 11 independent NBA teams, including the Wolves, to assign players to the NBA D-League for development or rehabilitation from injury. Upon receipt from an independent NBA team, the NBA D-League will identify any NBA D-League team willing to accept the assigned player. The assigning independent NBA team will then choose the destination for assignment between those teams. If no
NBA D-League team is willing to accept the assigned player, he will be assigned to one of the hybrid affiliate teams pursuant to a lottery.
Idaho, the D-League affiliate for the Utah Jazz, is 3-7 this season and in fourth place in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Stampede’s next game is Dec. 6 at the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in Hidalgo, Texas. Following that, Idaho plays host to the Texas Legends at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho on Dec. 9. The Idaho Stampede website can be found at: http://idaho.dleague.nba.com/