Ireland's CJ Fulton signs with the Minnesota Timberwolves

The ex Belfast Star guard edges closer to a professional basketball career in the NBA by joining the 'Wolves affiliate in Iowa

NOW A WOLF: Ireland's CJ Fulto  Pic: Tom Maher, Inpho

CJ Fulton has officially signed with the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, becoming the first Irish-developed player to edge closer to a professional basketball career in the United States.

In September, NBA teams often make short-term moves, signing and then quickly waiving players to retain their rights for G-League assignments. The Timberwolves followed this same pattern with Nojel Eastern last week, waiving the guard just 24 hours after signing him. Fulton is expected to follow a similar path, joining the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G-League affiliate.

Fulton impressed the Timberwolves' analytics department during his collegiate career at Charleston and built upon that at the team’s Summer League minicamp. Singled out for praise by the Summer League team’s head coach, his performance was described as "awesome." 

Despite limited minutes during the games themselves, CJ clearly earned the respect of both staff and teammates, with multiple people identifying him as the standout performer who caught the most attention.

He received offers from across Europe, including one from a team in the ACB, Spain’s top league and widely regarded as the best domestic competition outside the NBA. But the potential to stick with an NBA franchise was too big an opportunity to pass up.

The contract is likely an Exhibit 10 deal, an unguaranteed, league-minimum contract used to evaluate potential players before assigning them to G-League affiliates. Most players on these deals end up in the G-League either full-time or, in the best-case scenario, on a two-way contract. NBA teams can carry three two-way players who don’t count toward the 15-man roster, allowing them to split time between the NBA and the G-League, with most of their development coming at the lower level.

Every step of this journey has taken Fulton deeper into the unknown, trailblazing into a world of basketball that the Irish community has never truly needed a reason to understand, until now. While the road to an NBA debut remains long, this signing marks a significant milestone, placing him firmly within the developmental pipeline of one of the league’s most exciting young teams.