Joe Ingles back with the Timberwolves on a one-year deal

Joe Ingles will be back in Minnesota for a second season.

On Monday, the Timberwolves and Ingles agreed to a one-year deal worth the minimum $3.6 million, a source confirmed.

Ingles, 37, didn’t play much for the Wolves last season, but coaches and teammates praised his leadership in the locker room and on the bench during games. He got in only 19 games and averaged 0.8 points per game. But coach Chris Finch frequently praised Ingles for how he dealt with not playing much and the contributions he made to the team despite little playing time.

“He’s been always ready, his voice in the locker room and his presence and his personality on this team, his leadership has meant everything,” Finch said in March.

The Wolves had a larger role carved out for Ingles prior to making the trade for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo just before training camp began last season. That trade rearranged the depth chart ahead of him.

Ingles will be entering his 12th season after playing for Utah, Milwaukee and Orlando before the Wolves. His family spent most of last season in Orlando, but they were in attendance during the lone start Ingles made last season, which came March 21 against the Pelicans. Ingles’ son Jacob is autistic and had not been able to watch his dad play a game in person.

“It’s something I’ve always thought about,” Ingles said after that game. “But at this point in my career, if it happened it happened, and if it didn’t, it didn’t.”

Finch decided to surprise Ingles by putting him in the starting lineup for that game.

“Sometimes you’ve got to do the human thing,” Finch said. “We always talk about all these minutes matter, and those minutes matter for another reason.”

During the playoffs, Ingles mimicked the role of Luka Doncic as the Wolves prepared for their series against the Lakers. He then played a role in helping Julius Randle calm down on the bench during Game 2 of the Warriors series when Randle got frustrated.

“Joe’s able to pull me to the side in a moment like that when I’m frustrated in the third quarter and keep me level-headed,” Randle said. “Let me get my frustration out, but keep me level headed and know that when we get back in the game, like, go to work.”

The Wolves currently stand at 13 players signed to the main roster for next season as free agency opens Monday night. There is a possibility they could bring back Luka Garza after declining the team options for Garza and Josh Minott on Sunday.

Center Jesse Edwards will sign a qualifying offer to return to the team on a two-way contract, a source confirmed. He joins second-round draft pick Rocco Zikarsky as two of the Wolves’ three two-way contracts next season.