While the Minnesota Timberwolves have lost five players via the trade to acquire Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, and then lost one more former player, forward Josh Okogie, when he signed on to play for the Phoenix Suns. Now, another Timberwolves free agent, McKinley Wright IV, is dangling his toes in the waters of joining Okogie on the Suns’ roster but signing up to play on their Summer League team.
While it’s not uncommon for young NBA players who are looking to sign with a new team to end up playing in the Summer League, it is a bit of a surprise to see Wright’s name appear on the announcement for their 2022 Summer League roster
Your 2022 Summer Suns! pic.twitter.com/vbou7IhRXS
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) July 6, 2022
Wright was a four-year point guard for Colorado in NCAA basketball. Standing 6-foot-0 and weighing 196-pounds, he had a very well-rounded, if not overly impressive, game that included solid shot-making, a sometimes solid perimeter shot, decent enough rebound and assists, and a solid foul shot .
Wright has potential, but no opportunity with Timberwolves
The team signed Wright to a two-year contract in 2021, which led to his appearing in just five games for the Minnesota Timberwolves and only minimal minutes.
He played 18 games for the G-League team, the Iowa Wolves, where he played 18 games, averaged 19.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. Those are quite promising numbers, and no doubt had an effect on the Phoenix Suns signing him to their Summer League team to get a closer inspection of him.
Despite the need for a point guard to develop and have as depth insurance for the 2022-23 season, it’s quite clear that the Timberwolves coaching staff and front office are moving on from the young man. Now, he is working hard to catch on with the Phoenix Suns. If everything goes well, he could very likely be joining his former teammate, Josh Okogie, on the Suns 2022-23 regular-season roster.
