Yahoo! sports reported Tuesday morning that the Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to terms with veteran guard Lance Stephenson. While the reported agreement is just for a 10-day contract and has not been confirmed by the team, it would not be shocking to see Stephenson extend his stay in Minnesota after the Wolves lost Zach LaVine to a season-ending torn-ACL injury.
Stephenson, 26, most recently played with the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this season. In six games, Stephenson 9.7 points and 4.8 assists over 27.0 minutes per game. His best season came with the Indiana Pacers in 2013-14 which was highlighted by his task of guarding (among other things) LeBron James in the Eastern Conference finals. Indiana lost the series to Miami in six games, but James was “held” to 22.8 points per game — almost five below his average during that regular season and postseason.
Since his tenure in Indiana, Stephenson received a three-year, $27 million contract with the Charlotte Hornets — where he only played 61 games in the 2014-15 season. He spent last season with Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies. In his 26 games with Memphis, he averaged 14.2 points per game, which would have been his career-best over a full season. He also played in the team’s four playoff games, marking his fourth postseason appearance in six seasons.
While Stephenson has been associated with controversy at different stops throughout his career, the move to bring him to Minnesota would be a relatively low-risk one simply because of the duration only being for 10 days. It also offers significant upside if Stephenson can latch on and find a role on a Wolves team that lacks depth.
Stephenson owns an impressive 103 defensive rating over his career. If he were to match that in Minnesota, he would be the best defender on the roster by that metric
The most obvious area where Stephenson can make an immediate impact is on the defensive end. The Timberwolves currently rank 24th in the NBA with a defensive rating of 111 points per 100 possessions. They are also in the middle of a four-game losing streak where they have allowed at least 115 points in three of the four games. Stephenson, on the other hand, owns an impressive 103 defensive rating over his career. If he were to match that in Minnesota, he would be the best defender on the roster by that metric. The 103 points allowed per 100 possessions is also at least ten points fewer than all four of Minnesota’s other wing players this season: LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, Shabazz Muhammad and Brandon Rush.
Another area where Stephenson can help a young, inexperienced Minnesota roster is being a veteran presence in the locker room. At only 26, he will slide as one of the older players in the team’s rotation (assuming he does crack the rotation.) He has also played in 46 career postseason games, which almost matches the 53 for the rest of the Wolves roster combined.
Perhaps the most underrated aspect of Stephenson’s presence in Minnesota will be his ability to handle the ball. Despite only averaging three assists per game over his career, Stephenson essentially stepped into a point guard role last season with Memphis. He owned a startling 25.0 percent usage rate while only committing 1.8 turnovers per game. Minnesota hopefully won’t need his services at point guard this season, but LaVine was often counted on as the primary ball-handler when Kris Dunn and other members of the second unit on the floor. It is entirely reasonable to expect Stephenson to slide into that role with the second unit.
Of course, it is very possible that none of what is said above comes to fruition and Stephenson is gone by the end of next week like the fate of many players on a 10-day contract. At the very least the Wolves are looking into a low-risk, potentially high-reward shot on a player that can help the team compete throughout the remainder of this season. If completed, the signing could not come at a better time, as the Wolves host Stephenson’s most recent team, the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday and his old “friend” LeBron James next Tuesday — on Valentine’s day.
