Early this preseason, whenever Johnny Juzang got into a game for the Timberwolves, it seemed like he couldn’t miss.
The Wolves took note, and as training camp comes to an end, the Wolves want to keep Juzang around. He is joining the team on a two-way contract, the team announced Saturday.
To make room for Juzang with one of the team’s three two-way slots, the Wolves waived guard Tristen Newton.
Juzang, 24, will join the Wolves after spending the past three seasons with Utah, where he shot 36% from three-point range with the Jazz. The 6-5 shooting guard from UCLA averaged 7.9 points in 102 NBA games.
The Wolves will enter the regular season with 14 players on their main roster and three two-way players, who will split their time between the NBA and Iowa of the G League: second-round draft pick Rocco Zikarsky, former Pacers forward Enrique Freeman and Juzang. Their first game is Wednesday at Portland.
Juzang had a strong showing from three-point range in the preseason, especially a 20-point performance against Indiana in which he helped ignite a second-half Wolves comeback. He was 6-for-8 from deep in that game. He followed that by going 2-for-4 against the Knicks in the next game in New York, and then he went 3-for-6 on Monday against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions.
Newton, a second-round pick by the Pacers last season out of Connecticut, was claimed off waivers by the Wolves in January and played for them in three games.
