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| Bonjour, Mickael! (Getty Images) |
With the Minnesota Timberwolves riddled with injuries throughout their roster, they might be looking to a former NBA and current Spanish league player to help bolster their ranks.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein tweeted that Valencia's Mickael Gelabale could be leaving the Spanish league to join the Timberwolves this month.
My Spanish spies say injury-riddled Timberwolves most likely destination for Mickael Gelabale after Valencia allows ex-Sonic return to NBA
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) January 13, 2013
If you tally up the Wolves' injuries, they could really use someone on the wing. Kevin Love is out with a broken hand, Chase Budinger is recovering from a lateral tear of his meniscus, Brandon Roy is out indefinitely with his chronic knee issues, Malcolm Lee is having surgery on both his knee and his hip this coming week and J.J. Barea is having back issues that have kept him out the last two games.
They also have Ricky Rubio on a minutes restriction as he works his way back from an ACL tear. The Wolves could definitely use a body who is used to playing both positions on the wing. They recently signed Lazar Hayward to a 10-day contract after releasing him from a non-guaranteed one-year contract last week. However, Hayward doesn't give the Wolves the versatiliy that they need right now on the wing.
In Gelabale's contract with Valencia, the French native has the ability to travel and find a team in the NBA to sign him during January. And he has been on the Wolves' radar for a month or so. He played in 109 games with the Seattle SuperSonics from 2006-2008, averaging 4.5 points and 2.1 rebounds in 15.6 minutes. He did shoot 43.2 percent from 3-point range in his second season, but he's a career 32.1 percent 3-point shooter on just 84 career attempts.
In five games with Valencia, Gelabale is averaging 11.0 points in 20.3 minutes. He's making just 40.7 percent of his field goals but has made five of six 3-pointers and is shooting 94.7 percent from the free throw line.
