MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves bolstered their
bench on Tuesday, signing forwards Mark Madsen and Nikoloz Tskitishvili.
Madsen, a free agent who had spent the two previous seasons in
Minnesota, signed a five-year contract. The terms of Tskitishvili's
deal were not disclosed.
Madsen agreed to terms with the Timberwolves in July, but a deal
couldn't be announced officially until Aug. 1. He carved a niche on
the team with his tireless effort and boundless energy.
"Mark brings so much more to a team than just statistics,"
Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale
said. "First and foremost, he brings energy, and a tremendous work
ethic. Plus, he is a good teammate and a great guy to have in the
locker room."
Madsen, 6-foot-9 and 245 pounds, is recovering from surgery in
March to repair a ruptured ligament in his shooting wrist.
Madsen spent his first three NBA seasons with the Los Angeles
Lakers after a standout career at Stanford. He averaged 2.1 points,
3.1 rebounds and 14.7 minutes last season, appearing in only 41
games. A broken thumb sidelined him about six weeks and then the
ruptured ligament kept him out the rest of the season.
"We really missed Mark when he was hurt," McHale said. "All
of his intangibles are off the charts."
While the Timberwolves were adamant about wanting to re-sign
Madsen for most of the offseason, McHale said the 7-foot
Tskitishvili caught them by surprise.
Tskitishvili spent his first two-and-a-half seasons in the
league with Denver before finishing last year with Golden State.
He averaged just 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in his NBA career,
but impressed the Timberwolves at their summer camp before being
injured.
"He was very, very hungry," McHale said. "I was very
impressed with his desire not just to return to Europe and play,
but to play in the NBA."
Tskitishvili turned heads with 25 points, including four
3-pointers, and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes against the Milwaukee
Bucks. But he broke his right hand in the second game against New
York and missed the remainder of the league.
"I thought the kid had tremendous, tremendous upside," McHale
said. "He has very quick feet and he picked up things very
quickly."
The Timberwolves aren't done yet.
McHale said the team is still in discussions with "a number of
free agents." One of those figures to be forward Eddie Griffin,
who enjoyed a solid season with the team last year.
"We have a list of things we're trying to accomplish," McHale
said. "We're moving down the list."
Whatever happens, McHale said he is confident that missing the
playoffs last season was a fluke.
"We're definitely a playoff team," McHale said. "We found
unique and beautiful ways to lose games last year. I'm very
confident things will be different this year."