Tyus Jones: 'Minnesota will always be home – that will never change'
Outside of one year at Duke, Tyus Jones has always been a stay-at-home basketball star in Minnesota.
Until now.
Jones signed a reported three-year, $28 million contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Wolves had the right to match the offer but declined to do so, allowing Jones the opportunity for a bigger role in Memphis' backcourt.
Once the deal was finalized, Jones wrote a brief thank you letter to his home state and fans.
"Tall the fans and supporters of the Minnesota Timberwolves, my teammates, coaches, staff and especially Glen Taylor-I want to thank you for all the support and dedication you have shown me and my family since I turned pro. I'm especially thankful to the late Flip Saunders for allowing me to be able to play in my home state.
"The last four years have been such a blessing having the opportunity to play where I grew up. For that, I am extremely grateful. Minnesota will always be home – that will never change. Now I get to take that next step in my journey and career and I'm excited for what's ahead."
Jones starred at Apple Valley High School for five years as a starting point guard and after winning the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Final Four award while at Duke, he was drafted by the Wolves with the 24th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Wolves point guard situation without Jones
Minnesota has options at point guard, but it's yet to be seen if President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas will stick with what's on the roster between now and the start of the season.
Jeff Teague remains, but his $19 million expiring contract makes him an attractive trade candidate. Behind Teague the Wolves have Shabazz Napier, who backed up D'Angelo Russell in Brooklyn last year.
The latest addition to the roster is Tyrone Wallace, a 6-foot-5 combo guard with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. He was the 60th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and came off the bench for the Clippers the last two seasons.
At this point, Teague appears to be the only tested, starting-caliber point guard on the roster, but you never know what a new regime has planned.
Also keep an eye out for Andrew Wiggins and Jarrett Culver to bring the ball up the floor on occasion, as Minnesota attempts to find creative ways to get Wiggins, Culver and Robert Covington on the floor at the same time.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.