People have joked that the current Minnesota Timberwolves are really the Minnesota Jazz, and it is pretty jaw-dropping how many Utah Jazz alumni went on to join them. Not all of them worked out - like Johnny Juzang - but a fair amount of them have helped, and now, the Timberwolves are reuniting with a familiar face that was once a Jazzman not too long ago: Kyle Anderson.
ESPN's Shams Charania confirmed that Anderson will re-join the Timberwolves once his buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies (another former team of his) gets finalized.
Kyle Anderson has agreed to a contract buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and plans to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves after clearing waivers, sources tell ESPN. Anderson spent two seasons with the Timberwolves (2022-24) and gets an opportunity to rejoin the West contender. pic.twitter.com/lzdq2lDayL
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 26, 2026
Besides Juzang, the following Jazz alumni have becomes Timberwolves since 2022: Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, Joe Ingles, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Only Juzang proved to not be quite so useful for them. Ingles might not be the Jazz version of Ingles, but he's sticking with the Timberwolves because of the veteran influence that he is.
And now, Anderson gets to go to a winning squad. Or, more accurately, he gets to re-join the winning squad he was once very much a part of. Utah may not have meant for this to happen, but they inadvertently let it happen because of Anderson's inclusion in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade.
Plus, it wasn't like he was coming back to the Jazz next year anyway with his non-guaranteed deal, so, hey, good for him, and good for the Timberwolves.
There's some hidden irony to this
Besides the fact that Anderson is another name in a growing list of Jazz alumni to join the Timberwolves in almost four years time, the irony in this reunion is that Anderson's relationship with Gobert got testy at times in their first go-round as teammates.
It's amazing how that was three years ago, and it was perhaps during the only season where Minnesota had issues working out their kinks. The two were still teammates the next year, and evidently, both sides moved past it.
Even funnier is that since leaving the Timberwolves in 2024, Anderson has been on four teams between now and reuniting with them: Golden State, Miami, Utah, and Memphis. It's amazing that after spending a lofty amount of time with multiple teams, Anderson is suddenly a journeyman.
He deserved this, as he was wasting away on a team like the Jazz and needed another shot on a good team like the Timberwolves. Will this push them over the top? Probably not, but buyout season is notoriously the leftovers from the NBA Trade Deadline, so any move is an exciting move nonetheless.
Here's to hoping there won't be any more fights on the Timberwolves' sideline going forward.