Bonzi Wells Looking to Make NBA Comeback With Timberwolves

The immortal Bonzi Wells is getting another shot to make a comeback to the League, having received a training camp invite from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Reports the Star Tribune: “Now, after playing in China in 2008-09, Puerto Rico in 2009-10 and not at all last season, he is seeking one last chance, mostly so he can leave professional basketball on his own terms. ‘I really didn’t like the way I left the game,’ Wells said. ‘You want to go out and say you’re retired. You don’t want to go out because someone tells you they don’t want you anymore.’ In 2008, Wells couldn’t find a job after his contract with New Orleans — his fifth team in a 10-year NBA career — expired, so he played in obscurity overseas. The Wolves have summoned Wells to camp because he already has played twice for coach Rick Adelman and because he just might satisfy the team’s needs for a 6-5 shooting guard who can defend and play with some muscle. That is, if he’s in shape, a question mark that followed him through a career in which he also fought with coaches, spit on an opponent, made an obscene gesture at a fan and contributed to Portland’s infamous ‘Jail Blazers’ culture when he started his career there. ‘I mean, everybody makes mistakes when you’re young,’ said Wells, who set a Trail Blazers playoff record by scoring 45 points in a game in 2003. ‘People who really knew my story knew I’ve never really been in trouble off the court. On the court, I just played hard and sometimes I played with too much fire. A lot of people thought since I played like that, maybe that’s how I am in real life. That was never the case.’ He came to a mutual understanding with Adelman in both Sacramento and Houston, mostly, he said, because he considers Adelman a ‘straight shooter’ who forms his own opinion on players and demands they behave like a professional and deliver on the court. ‘I’ve had him twice, I know what he can do,’ Adelman said. ‘He’s been through it all. If he’s in shape, he can be a factor because he’s a very physical player and he’s played with our stuff before. He played very good for me. … Different guys mature in different times and at different ages. Hopefully, with the things he has experienced, he is going to have maybe one last shot to play in the league.'”