Timberwolves assign rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. to G League's Iowa Wolves

Shannon will be able to get consistent playing time with Iowa.

Will Ragatz | 5 Minutes Ago

Nov 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (00) warms up for the game against the Denver Nuggets at Target Center. / Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves have assigned rookie guard Terrence Shannon Jr. to the Iowa Wolves, their NBA G League affiliate, the team announced on Tuesday.

NEWS: @Timberwolves assign guard Terrence Shannon Jr. to G League affiliate @iawolves.
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) November 19, 2024

Shannon was Minnesota's second of two first-round picks in this year's draft, selected 27th overall out of Illinois. He's played just 15 minutes of garbage time across four games this season, scoring four points. Shannon got his first NBA points on a dunk against the Bulls in his home city of Chicago earlier this month, which was a cool moment.

Terrence Shannon Jr with the steal and hammer pic.twitter.com/XBW7NLVg5F
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) November 8, 2024

The reality is that there's simply no room for Shannon to crack the Timberwolves' rotation right now. Their top eight is set: Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker. After that, the players next in line for minutes are Josh Minott, rookie Rob Dillingham, and Joe Ingles.

So it makes sense to send Shannon to Iowa, where he can get big minutes and stay prepared for his next opportunity with Minnesota. He's on a standard NBA rookie contract, not a two-way deal, but it's possible he'll bounce between the two teams over the course of this year.

It feels like a pretty safe bet that Shannon is going to put up impressive numbers in the G League. At 24 years old, he's NBA-ready and would likely be in the rotation on a lot of teams that aren't contenders like Minnesota. He was a first team All-American last season as a fifth-year senior at Illinois, averaging 23 points per game.

Shannon's arrival will only make a stacked G League team even better. Iowa is 4-1 to start this season, led by two-way players Leonard Miller (25 points, 14 rebounds per game) and Daishen Nix (24.8 points, 7.8 assists). Trevor Keels and Jaylen Clark are also averaging double figures in scoring for the Wolves.