After drafting Jaylen Clark out of UCLA in 2023, the Minnesota Timberwolves guard has emerged as a defensive specialist and been promoted to an NBA contract. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

LOS ANGELES — When Jaylen Clark played his first significant minutes in the Timberwolves rotation on Jan. 29 against the Suns, he initially thought coach Chris Finch called for another player — Jaden McDaniels.

Clark wasn’t used to hearing his first name come out of Finch’s mouth, and in a loud arena, you could forgive him for thinking Finch was asking McDaniels to re-enter the game.

But since that night, Clark has been a mainstay in the Wolves rotation thanks to his defensive tenacity. Because of that, the Wolves rewarded Clark, who was on a two-way contract, with a fully guaranteed NBA minimum contract for the rest of this season and next season, a source confirmed. Clark’s promotion to the main roster now means he will be eligible for postseason play.

“I love being in Minnesota, I’m excited,” Clark said. “It feels like I’m officially a part of everything. I can play in the playoffs. It’s been cool. The journey has been long, but it’s been well worthwhile.”

With the open two-way slot, the Wolves are signing guard Bones Hyland, who has played four seasons with the Nuggets and Clippers.

Clark’s contract represents a deserved reward for the way he has helped the Wolves navigate a tricky stretch in this season where injuries have caused players like Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards to miss various amounts of games.

The Wolves drafted Clark 53rd overall out of UCLA in 2023 a few months after he tore his Achilles late that season. He spent all of last season rehabilitating the injury, which was a frustrating process that contained a few setbacks along the way.

“It doesn’t really feel like you’re going anywhere until the weeks, months and a year goes by,” Clark said. “Then you’re like, now I’m just back at the base level. I have to start running, lifting. It’s a long process, man. I don’t wish that on nobody.”

But he has emerged on the other end with an NBA contract. Clark said he never doubted himself that he would get to this point and he was grateful that a silver lining of the situation was the Wolves drafting him late. If the injury hadn’t happened, he might’ve ended up on another team that could have been a worse fit for him.

“I’m not here, more than likely,” Clark said. “So I’d be stuck in another situation, and I feel like this is really ideal for me. ”I wasn’t one of those kids where I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is so bad.’ I was sitting there looking up people’s averages after they tore their Achilles."

Players like Dominique Wilkins, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, though unlike them, Clark made his way into the NBA thanks primarily to his defense. The Wolves played the Thunder in three of their last four games, and in each game Clark handled the responsibility of guarding potential MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Wolves won two of those games. In the other on Sunday, Clark was a plus-20 before he had to leave the game because of a neck injury. He was able to return to the lineup Monday in Oklahoma City.

“It starts with him being a high character, mature individual,” Finch said of Clark’s contributions. “What he’s had to endure to come back from injury. It was a long road, a few setbacks along the way, but you can never tell by his approach. His attitude was always great.”

Hyland, 24, now reunites with the person who drafted him, Wolves President Tim Connelly.

When Connelly was in Denver, he drafted Hyland 26th overall in the 2021 draft. He has averaged 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He shoots 40% for his career overall, 36% from three-point range. The Nuggets dealt him to the Clippers in 2023, where he spent parts of the last three seasons. Hyland averaged 7.2 points in 20 games this season before the Clippers dealt him to Atlanta at the trade deadline. The Hawks then waived him.

Wolves at Lakers

9:30 p.m. Thursday; FanDuel Sports Network Extra, iHeart app

Wolves update: Donte DiVincenzo (toe) was able to practice Wednesday while Rudy Gobert (back spasms) was not. Julius Randle (groin) is currently not with the team as he works his way back to full health.

Lakers update: Luke Doncic is averaging 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists since joining the Lakers. The Lakers are 3-2 in those games. After dealing with foot injuries, former Wolves forward Jarred Vanderbilt has rejoined the Lakers rotation and is averaging 3.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.