CJ Fulton’s Summer League ends with a basket and a wait

Hope for guard Fulton now is an invite to training camp, likely on a non-guaranteed contract. The Timberwolves have spoken highly of him over the past two weeks

SCORERS: Ireland's CJ Fulton grabbed an historic first bucket for the Minnesota T'Wolves in their NBA Summer league loss to the Houston Rockets. Pic: Tom Maher, Inpho

IRELAND'S CJ Fulton delivered his strongest performance of Summer League on Saturday night, which included his first NBA basket, as the Houston Rockets came from behind to beat his Minnesota Timberwolves.

Despite being one of five teams that went undefeated in group play, the Timberwolves didn’t make it into the semi-finals due to a weaker point differential than the top four teams. This turned out to be a positive for Fulton, as the Timberwolves opted to rest some of their key Summer League players, allowing for a closer look at their bench.

Fulton played 17 minutes, scoring two points alongside two assists and two steals. Heading into Summer League, there were two key questions CJ needed to answer: was he capable of creating offence at the top level, and could he defend elite-level guards?

On the defensive end, Fulton was excellent. He had no issues staying in front of his man, and no one was able to physically overpower him. He navigated ball screens effectively and even picked up two steals as a help defender.

Offensively, he had bright moments, particularly in transition, where he pushed the ball well. His only basket came on his first play, finishing a fast break with a lovely left-handed finish over two defenders. CJ also recorded two assists and created several other quality looks for his teammates. However, the nature of Summer League, with so many players getting minutes and trying to showcase their individual skills, meant the Timberwolves’ offence was disjointed, resulting in 22 turnovers. CJ was responsible for three of them, including two uncharacteristic mistakes he’ll be disappointed with.

Even without Rob Dillingham playing, Minnesota’s depth at the guard spot stood out. The standout performers on the night were Tristen Newton and Amari Bailey. Newton has already played eight NBA games and is a two-time NCAA champion. In 2024, he won the Bob Cousy Award for the nation’s top point guard and was named Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four, as UConn claimed their second consecutive title. Amari Bailey, a former Mr Basketball in California, has also featured in 10 NBA games. This is the calibre of competition Fulton has to contend with. Both guards were aggressive and constantly demanded the ball. CJ’s natural instinct is to make the right play for the team, and whether disjointed Summer League games like this truly showcased his strengths enough remains to be seen.

The hope for Fulton now is an invite to training camp, likely on a non-guaranteed contract. The organisation has spoken highly of him over the past two weeks, so we’ll see whether that results in an invitation to compete with top-level talent for a place on the Timberwolves’ full roster. He has shown he is certainly capable of playing at G League level at a minimum, and a longer stay than expected in the USA could be on the cards.