Lance Stephenson, known for his playing days with the Indiana Pacers, is signing a 10-day deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is just days after finding out Zach LaVine tore his ACL on Sunday, first reported by Shams Charania.
Lance Stephenson is signing a 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 7, 2017
According to Jace Frederick, head coach Tom Thibodeau says there hasn’t been an official deal made with Stephenson just yet.
Thibs said Stephenson is a guy wolves are strongly considering, but no final decision yet
— jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) February 7, 2017
The loss of the 21-year-old LaVine could have a huge impact on the Wolves scoring as he was averaging 18.9 points, 3 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per game. LaVine accounted for about 15 shots per game and hit them at a 45.9 percent clip. Of those 15 shots, he took 6.6 threes and shot 38.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Lance Stephenson hasn’t played an NBA game since November 4, 2016, with the New Orleans Pelicans. In the last four seasons, Stephenson has played for five different teams. He has been known for his on-court antics when he tries to mess his opponents heads. Stephenson played six games with the Pelicans but averaged 27 minutes per game. In those minutes, he averaged 9.7 points, 4.8 assists, 3 rebounds, shot 47 percent from the field, and just 10 percent from three.
The Pelicans waived Stephenson in early November after he had surgery on a torn groin. The recovery was supposed to take about two months to recover from, and the Pelicans needed a guard with Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday already out.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had Lance Stephenson attend their free agent mini-camp last week. If Stephenson performs well enough, the Timberwolves have the option to sign him to another 10-day contract. After the second contract, Minnesota has to decide if they want to sign him for the rest of the season or let him go.
