It’s that time of the year in the NBA, as the season is winding down to the point where 10-day contracts actually mean “signed for the rest of the regular season”. The latest occurrence of that has taken place in Minnesota, as the T-Wolves have called up Othyus Jeffers from the D-League on Wednesday.
Footnote on Othyus Jeffers to Wolves: Any deal signed now is rest-of-the-season deal since we're inside final 10 days of the regular season
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 8, 2014
The 28-year-old Jeffers has had tours of duty with three different teams (Jazz, Wizards, Spurs) during his career, but he is a classic example of a guy with one skill and little else. At 6-foot-5, Jeffers is a monster of a wing defender to the point where he may be one of the very best in the NBA if deployed regularly. However, he is a virtual disaster offensively by NBA standards, simply because he doesn’t have any semblance of a jump shot from the shooting guard spot.
In this case, though, I would wholeheartedly endorse this move for the Wolves. They are firmly out of the playoff picture, but while Jeffers doesn’t present traditional “upside”, there is a real argument that he could help someone out if deployed in a way to hide his faults.