Sometimes, a player just needs a change of scenery to kickstart their career. For one reason or another, it just doesn’t work out for them with the team that drafted them.
Perhaps someone like Jett Howard can be another player like this. After three uneventful seasons with the Orlando Magic, he is now an unrestricted free agent. As a club that won’t be able to spend a lot on outside free agents, the Minnesota Timberwolves may want to take a look at Howard as someone who can give them scoring off the bench.
Can Howard be a reclamation project?
It was during the 2023 NBA Draft when the Magic took Howard with the 11th overall pick after the 6-foot-8 forward played one year collegiately at Michigan. He is the son of 19-year NBA veteran and current Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Juwan Howard.
The younger Howard doesn’t turn 23 years old until September 14, so the jury is still out on how his NBA career will go. If we just base it on his first three seasons, it wouldn't be seen in a positive light.
He barely played as a rookie, then got a bit more playing time in 2024-25 (11.7 minutes) and 2025-26 (12.6 minutes). While not a huge sample size, 2025-26 was easily Howard’s best shooting year as he made 37.2 percent of his 3-point tries and went nearly perfect from the foul line (37-for-39).
It doesn’t seem likely Orlando will bring him back, though. Howard hasn’t been trusted in any of his three years to get meaningful playoff minutes. The team declined his fourth-year rookie club option prior to the season beginning.
That’s where a team like the Timberwolves can swoop in and potentially grab Howard on the cheap. As mentioned by John Hollinger of The Athletic in his small forward free agent rankings, Howard is also two-way eligible if Minnesota is interested in going that route.
The Timberwolves will need some shooting and more 3-point volume, particularly with Donte DiVincenzo out with a torn Achilles. Howard doesn’t shy away from tossing it up from deep, as evidenced by his 8.8 3-point attempts per 36 minutes for his career.
The Wolves don’t even have to sign Howard as a sure rotational player, but as a depth piece in case of injuries. He’s coming off his best season, and while it still wasn’t what the Magic hoped, his career arc looks as if it may be on the upswing.
