Wolves Sign Nathan Knight to Standard NBA Contract

After playing the first two seasons of his career on two-way contracts with the Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves, Nathan Knight has inked a real NBA deal with the Wolves.

The terms of the deal seem to be two years, for the league minimum (roughly $1.8 million this year) that is partially guaranteed this year, with a team option on the second year. If Nate plays well and is able to fulfill his role, it reasons to stand that the Wolves will pick up his option and bring him back at the minimum again next year. If he either doesn’t play well or another player becomes available that the Wolves would like to sign, the partial guarantee makes it easier for the Wolves to waive Knight and make that move.

As far as I’m concerned, this is a win-win for both the Wolves and Knight.

I’m genuinely very happy for Nathan Knight. Knight is not a G-League player, and beyond that, he’s a really, really neat person and a great teammate. I’d expect him to be a fun presence in the locker room, and would assume he’ll be ready to step in as a backup power forward if needed. Knight has played some center in the past, but it is hard to imagine he sees any minutes there this year with Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Naz Reid already on the roster. I think he is best suited at the 4 anyways, where he will have more of an opportunity to make plays as a cutter and with his handle.

For the Wolves, they retain a nice young player, and do so while maintaining as much roster flexibility as possible right now. I expect this to work out well, but if for some reason it doesn’t, they’re easily able to move on.

All in all, good for Nathan Knight. He’s a fun player and a fun guy, who’s been spending much of his summer in the Twin Cities. Go check him out at the Twin Cities Pro-Am sometime, if you haven’t already.