No matter what level you play, meeting your former team is always an important moment of the season for a player. In the NBA, too, players are eager to meet their “ex” and Jordan McLaughlin is no exception to the rule since he has already surrounded his first game against the Wolves.
With his new team, the Kings, Jordan McLaughlin will meet the Wolves very quickly, since on the first night of the regular season. Even if he left on his own, it remains an opportunity for the backup leader to show his former team what they have lost. “People usually have to wait a few games and they circle the date late in their calendar”, McLaughlin explains. “It’s the first game, and it’s going to be fun and there’s going to be a lot of energy.”
Between nostalgia and excitement
Last season, the former Wolves player did not particularly shine, notably because of an injury. It was probably his worst season in his career with 3.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2 assists in 11 minutes of play on average per game.
Beyond the desire to show himself against his old team and earn his place in the new one, it will above all be an opportunity to see old teammates again. “You put down roots wherever you stay for more than a year or two. So, having been there for five years, I have a lot of knowledge there. You know, I can’t wait to go back there,” recognizes the leader, who has therefore also checked his first match in Minnesota. It will be on November 28.
For McLaughlin, this meeting will be an opportunity to conclude a chapter of his career, he who has only known the Wolves in the NBA. He had arrived as ” two-way contract ” in the franchise in 2019 and did not sign a classic contract until 2021.
“It will be a mixture of emotions”he believes “I’m excited to experience something new here in Sacramento. But I’m sad to leave a lot of great relationships that I’ve built over the last five or six years that I’ve been in Minnesota. It’s been great. I’ve been able to establish myself in this league. I’m looking forward to moving on with the Kings, we’ve got some great things to do here.”
Two-way contract : Designed to create a new bridge between the NBA and the G-League, this type of contract allows each team to secure the services of two or three additional players, to have them play mainly in their affiliated development league franchise but also up to 50 matches in the NBA.
