Luka Garza will return to the Timberwolves on a two-year contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). It’ll be a minimum-salary deal, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.
The 25-year-old center saw limited playing time in 25 games last season, averaging 4.0 points and 1.2 rebounds in 4.9 minutes per night. He’s stuck behind Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid in Minnesota’s frontcourt.
Garza was one of the top players in college basketball at Iowa in 2021, but he wasn’t drafted until the 52nd pick because of concerns about how his game might translate to the NBA.
He spent his first season with Detroit, then joined the Wolves in 2022 on a two-way contract that was converted to a standard deal in April.
While Garza hasn’t seen a ton of playing time at the NBA level, he has excelled in the G League, averaging 31.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game with a .618/.442/.778 shooting line for the Iowa Wolves in 18 NBAGL outings over the past two seasons.
The agreement with Garza leaves Minnesota with five remaining free agents: Kyle Anderson, Monte Morris, T.J. Warren, Jordan McLaughlin and Daishen Nix.