Newly signed Adrien knows stint with Wolves likely temporary

The Timberwolves on Saturday signed free agent Jeff Adrien via a rarely used exception.

When it comes to the 6-foot-7, 243-pound power forward, that's an appropriate tagline.

Adrien, 28, is a journeyman who's bounced between the NBA, D-League and Europe since his four years at Connecticut. His height precludes him from matching up well with most NBA power forwards, but his length and tenacity render him a viable depth provider, at least in the short term.

So Minnesota knows exactly what it's getting. Adrien, too.

"My role doesn't really change on any team," Adrien said Sunday, shortly before his first game in a Wolves uniform. "I just know that I bring my toughness and my physicality, and also rebounding. . . . That's what this team needs, and that's what I bring."

It's a short-term agreement until some of the Wolves' key rotation players return from injury. Point guard Ricky Rubio remains out indefinitely with a sprained ankle, shooting guard Kevin Martin is on the shelf until at least January with a fractured wrist, center Nikola Pekovic is nursing a sprained wrist, and a sore hip continues to plague backup big man Ronny Turiaf.

So after gaining a league-approved hardship exemption, Minnesota's front office was able to add a 16th man to its roster. The exemption is only allowed when a team has at least four players who are sick or injured for longer than two weeks and miss three or more consecutive games during that time. The exception, commonly referred to as a hardship, only lasts until one of the four players returns to the lineup.

Pekovic is expected to be re-evaluated this week. Turiaf could come back any time, too.

So this is temporary -- something Adrien is well-accustomed to by now.

He was in the middle of a workout when he got the news Saturday. "It's been wonderful, actually, from actually walking into the gym to work out to pretty much cutting my workout short to pack and get ready to leave," he said. "It's been a great 24 hours."

He'd participated in the Rockets training camp, appearing in seven preseason games and averaging 4.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest. But Houston waived him to pare its roster down to 15 before the start of the regular season.

After captaining the Huskies to the 2009 Final Four, Adrien went undrafted. He made his professional debut in Spain before landing a spot on Golden State's final roster ahead of the 2010-11 season. But the Warriors cut him in December, and he went to the D-League before re-signing with them in February. Golden State waived him again the following summer.

That prompted a move to play professionally in Italy until the 2011 lockout ended. Adrien signed with the Rockets but was waived in February and spent the rest of the season back in the D-League.

In 2012, Charlotte -- with whom Adrien spent training camp that year -- called him up from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He spent the rest of the season with the Bobcats, averaging four points and 3.8 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game.

Midway through last season, Charlotte traded him with Ramon Sessions to the Milwaukee Bucks for Gary Neal and former Wolves guard Luke Ridnour.

Adrien dressed but didn't leave the bench in Sunday's loss at Portland. But he can expect playing time at some point, with only Gorgui Dieng, Thaddeus Young and Anthony Bennett comprising Minnesota's entire frontcourt.

"I've just got to watch and got to learn," said Adrien, who has appeared in 136 NBA games. "I was watching film right before I was speaking with you right now. Every second I can, just get with a coach and learn the playbook."

FOX Sports North's Marney Gellner contributed to this story.

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