The Lance Stephenson 10-day contract: Day 7
By Ian Levy
Lance Stephenson is back in the NBA, proud owner of a 10-day contract from the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, this is a tenuous toehold. In two weeks, he could be on the road to redemption or he could be on a plane to China. Since we don’t know how many more days of NBA Lance Stephenson we have, each must be treated as a precious snowflake. Catch up on Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Days 5 and 6.
Day 7: The fact that none of the article in this series have featured an USA Today image of Lance Stephenson in a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey should speak volumes about the kind of impact he’s had.
Day 7 featured Lance (and, I suppose, the rest of the Timberwolves) against an old nemesis — LeBron James (and, I suppose, the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers). Lance made his first two buckets but left after playing just over three minutes in the first quarter after tweaking his ankle. He did not return and his status has not been updated for tonight’s game against the Denver Nuggets. If the injury is serious, we may have seen the last of Stephenson in a Timberwolves jersey. Ostensibly he has three more days on his contract but after tonight, the league scatters for the All-Star Break.
If Lance’s ankle is fine, he may come back from the break to find another 10-day contract waiting for him. If it’s more serious than that, the Timberwolves may move on while the healing process unfolds.
Regardless, Lance has no gone seven full days without melting down the chemistry of the Timberwolves or single-handedly running them out of a game with wild shots and turnovers. He’s been, dare I say it, useful. At the very least, Lance has probably proven that he’s a worthwhile pick-up for some team for this last part of the season. So, if this is the end, let’s take stock of what we have.
Lance as a Timberwolf: 49 minutes, 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, zero international incidents.