The Minnesota Timberwolves traded 38-year-old point guard Mike Conley Jr. at the NBA trade deadline, not only to create some financial flexibility but also to open the door for forward Ayo Dosunmu. After being traded again and ultimately released by the Charlotte Hornets, Conley is officially returning to Minnesota for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, as first reported by HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.
Since the trade deadline, re-signing Conley has been a foregone conclusion for the Timberwolves. As a result of Minnesota having 13 players on its active roster for 14 days, it will have to fill at least one of its two open roster spots on Tuesday per league rule.
That's why Conley has officially signed his contract and is rejoining the team he has spent the last four years with.
The reason Conley was allowed to re-sign with that team is because after being traded to the Chicago Bulls, the veteran guard was once again redirected to Charlotte. He was then released, allowing the Timberwolves to re-sign him.
Although his numbers and effectiveness have declined in his 19th NBA season, Conley is still a respected player, and has played an important leadership role for the Timberwolves over the past few seasons. Anthony Edwards, Chris Finch and many others in Minnesota have always praised his character and ability to help the team move forward.
After the trade deadline, Edwards advocated for Conley to return to the team, making it clear that everyone in the Timberwolves locker room wanted to see the veteran return.
"I keep hearing he might come back, so hopefully he comes back, and I hope he sees it," Edwards said, via Chris Hine of the Minnesota Star Tribune, after a 128–126 win over the Toronto Raptors on February 4. "We want you back, Mike. He knows we miss him."
In 44 games with the Timberwolves this season, nine of which he started, Conley has averaged 4.4 points and 2.9 assists while shooting 32.1 percent from 3-point range in about 18.5 minutes per game.
Conley will see less minutes on the court in this matchup with Minnesota, especially now that Dosunmu plays a key role in the backcourt behind Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo. The Timberwolves are currently 34-22 and find themselves in sixth place in the Western Conference coming out of the NBA All-Star break.
