Timberwolves to release veteran forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

Veteran forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will be among the players waived by the Timberwolves in advance of the regular season, sources tell Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

While most of Saturday’s roster cuts are moves that had been anticipated, Hollis-Jefferson’s release comes as a surprise. He had played fairly well in three preseason games — including a 17-point outburst on 6-of-6 shooting on Monday — and the Wolves aren’t exactly loaded with depth at the power forward spot.

According to Krawczynski, the decision to part ways with Hollis-Jefferson is a “flexibility play” for the Wolves, who will enter the season with an open roster spot. Krawczynski hears that there’s a possibility Minnesota will bring back RHJ at a later date, but for now the club wants to keep that 15th spot open in case an injury replacement is required or an opportunity for a two-for-one trade arises.

Hollis-Jefferson, who will turn 26 next month, played for the Raptors last season, providing energy and defense off the bench. He averaged 7.0 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 60 games (18.7 MPG) for Toronto.

Since Hollis-Jefferson was on a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum-salary contract, a team with interest would be able to claim him off waivers on Monday using the minimum-salary exception. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll return to the free-agent market.

The Timberwolves will have to cut a few more players — likely Tyler Cook, Zylan Cheatham, and Charlie Brown Jr. — to set their regular-season roster.