The Minnesota Timberwolves have a plan for Irish college star CJ Fulton even if they passed him in last night’s NBA Draft.

Belfast native Fulton won nine All-Ireland titles at underage level with St. Malachy’s before beginning his journey through the ranks of the US college basketball scene.

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After starting out with Lafayette, Fulton burst through with the Charleston Cougars, and his senior year last year saw him average eight points and 6.5 assists per game.

On Friday Charleston confirmed Fulton would be joining the T-Wolves Summer League team.

Reports earlier this month stated that Fulton was being monitored by NBA sides the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets. Fulton was said to have attended workouts with both teams, as the 30 NBA sides prepared for the 2025 draft.

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Minnesota Timberwolves look to bring in CJ Fulton for NBA summer league

The 2025 NBA draft took place across Wednesday and Thursday, with the Minnesota Timberwolves picking Frenchman Joan Beringer and, after a series of trades, Austrian Rocco Zikarsky.

Tim Connelly when asked if he came into the draft thinking he was going to take two 18 year-old 7-footers:

“I was hoping to get like 14.4 feet combined. And I achieved that goal.” pic.twitter.com/gGzhZdJbdM

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) June 27, 2025

Immediately after the draft, Timberwolves president Tim Connelly was asked whether his goal had been to bring in two such young and tall players (both are only 18 and around 7 foot tall).

Connelly joked that he was trying to grow his team’s fanbase in France and Austria, before joking that he was trying to do the same in acquiring an “Irish kid.”

I was hoping to get like 14.4 combined and I achieved that goal! I’m really trying to grow both our Austrian and our French audience.

Trying to get the Irish kid right now for summer league. He’s asleep right now.

Given the recent reports linking CJ Fulton with the Minnesota Timberwolves, it doesn’t take a sleuth to figure out who the “Irish kid” Connelly refers to might be.

The NBA’s Summer League will take place in Las Vegas early next month.

A summer showcase of basketball, it brings all 30 NBA teams to Vegas to play at least five games each over the course of 10 days, with a championship game to conclude the tournament.

Teams typically do not use their full rosters for the Summer League, with the tournament seen as an opportunity to try out new talent and test young players who have not been selected in the draft.

The only Irish player to play a regular-season NBA game is Pat Burke, who spent three seasons with the Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns around the turn of the century.

Though it is still some way off for CJ Fulton, it is encouraging to see that he remains on the radar of the NBA’s biggest teams.

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