Building a consistent playoff team often requires savvy maneuvering around the edges of the roster, especially when you are paying your most valuable players hefty contracts. Luckily, the Minnesota Timberwolves have two professionals who excel in this department. Tim Connelly and Sachin Gupta have excelled at filling out rosters with team-friendly contracts. Recently, they may have found another cheap option for the future. The Wolves announced that they had signed Jaylen Clark, who they took 53rd overall this year, to a two-year two-way contract.
Clark is in a unique scenario after tearing his Achilles. A couple of times a year, we see a player comes into the season with a long-term injury. The New Orleans Pelicans took EJ Liddell in the second round last year after he suffered a torn ACL in last season’s Summer League. Liddell spent the rest of the season on a two-way contract to remain with the team, then became a restricted free agent the next season. As a result, he could negotiate a rookie-scale three-year deal this offseason.
Clark suffered this injury against Arizona on March 4, the final game of the regular season last year. Therefore, the Timberwolves knew what they were getting themselves into when they drafted him. Still, it’s a tricky situation because of the risk still involved in signing an unproven player like Jaylen. If the Timberwolves signed him to a two-way deal for one season, it could become tricky to find a middle ground on negotiations moving into the next off-season. That’s especially true with an injury that can take an entire season to recover from. It is much easier to give each side a happy balance and buffer, allowing it to be beneficial for both parties.
Fortunately, the new CBA allows a third two-way slot. That allows the increasingly more talented league to hand out more flyers on players who may need some work done to their game or would benefit from more development in an NBA organization. The Wolves have already filled a two-way roster slot with Luka Garza, who will be a two-way player again this season. But with the new CBA, they still have another one, even with the injured Clark occupying a two-way spot. Overall, that puts them in a similar situation to last year, allowing Minnesota two possible players as depth who are playable from the two-way slot.
Clark, specifically, is a tough prospect to project because of his unique traits and the areas he still has to develop. Clark shined on the defensive end as a point-of-attack (POA) defender and was crafty away from the ball, wreaking havoc on offenses. He has a great resumé, a two-time All PAC-12 Defensive Team honoree, and the 2022-23 PAC-12 defensive player of the year. He racked up 1.1 steals per game in his sophomore season and an impressive 2.6 steals per game as a junior.
However, Clark needs to work on his offense to succeed at the next level. He earned a lot of on-ball reps for UCLA and did well. However, Clark will not have that same role in Minnesota. Therefore, he will need to overall adapt his game to be more suited off the ball. He is a career 30.2% shooter from three. Even in his best year, he was a subpar 32.9% shooter from three on a career-high 2.6 attempts per game as a junior. Clark will have to find ways to not be a complete black hole offensively to flourish in a rotation.
Jaylen may have gone higher in the draft if it was not for his unfortunate late-season injury. However, he still had enough stock to feel comfortable entering the draft. Clark was betting on himself, believing he could find his way back to that level once he earns his roster spot. That allowed the Wolves to swoop in with the 53rd selection and find a bargain in a player that need more work, like many other late second-rounders, but still getting great value for where they were sitting with draft assets.
Clark’s two-way contract over two seasons is a perfect match for success. The Timberwolves are giving Clark the team’s resources to recover from his injury and rehab under their watch. They also don’t have to worry about the timelines regarding the injury because Clark can start the clock on his contract next season with the two-year deal that he signed. Clark will still be a restricted free agent after his contract runs out. That will give him more than enough time to develop real game reps with the Iowa Wolves – or if all goes well, see time in Minnesota. It will take some time, but the Wolves could have another low-risk, high-reward opportunity for a role-playing contributor in Clark.
