Wolves Sign Guard D.J. Carton, Waive Guard Vít Krejčí

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced on Thursday morning the team has signed point guard D.J. Carton to an undisclosed contract, after the team reportedly waived guard Vít Krejčí on Wednesday night.

Fans may remember Carton from his run with the Vegas Wolves, which included this monster poster throwdown on July 13 against the Sacramento Kings.

Carton is a former five-star prospect out of Bettendorf, Iowa who started his college career at Ohio State before transferring to Marquette, where he averaged 13.0 points on 44.6/28.2/74.3 shooting splits, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.4 blocks per game across 31.1 minutes per contest in 27 appearances (24 starts) for the Golden Eagles.

After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft and playing with the Greensboro Swarm G League club in 2021-22, Carton eventually landed with the Iowa Wolves to start the 2022-23 season; he averaged 15.6 points on 52.9/36.5/81.3 shooting splits, 5.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks in 31.0 minutes per game across 25 contests (20 starts). This past July, Carton scored 9.0 points on 45.5/30.0/66.7 shooting splits, 6.8 assists, 1.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 0.4 blocks per game in five appearances for the Wolves’ Summer League squad.

Given that Carton is now likely sixth on the point guard depth chart behind Mike Conley, Shake Milton, Jordan McLaughlin, Daishen Nix and Trevor Keels, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Wolves are bringing him in to compete with Nix and Keels for either the final two-way spot or playing time in Iowa. Nix shined in the the Wolves’ bench showcase on Tuesday night against Maccabi Ra’anana, scoring 19 points on 5/6 shooting from deep and dishing out 10 assists, while Keels has been an intriguing defender so far in the preseason. Either way, the Wolves will retain Carton’s G League rights if they waive him prior to the start of the regular season.

Carton will be available for tonight’s game in Chicago.

Krejčí joined the Wolves back on September 14 and could be a candidate to join the Iowa Wolves now that the club owns his G League rights. He made one appearance for the Timberwolves, scoring four points, collecting a pair of rebounds and recording an assist against the Dallas Mavericks on October 7. He missed the team’s preseason game on Tuesday with a left hand injury.

The 4-0 Timberwolves will conclude their five-game preseason slate on the road tonight against the 1-3 Chicago Bulls. Fans can read our Gabe Schneider’s preview here and watch the 7 PM CT tip on Bally Sports North.