The Timberwolves announced on Tuesday that they have signed both Mickael Gelabale and Chris Johnson to second 10-day contracts.

Johnson has averaged 9.2 points on 72% shooting and 3.8 rebounds in five games for the Timberwolves.

Gelabale has averaged 7.8 points on 55.6% shooting and 3.6 rebounds in five games for the Timberwolves.

Both players' first 10-day deals were set to expire on Tuesday.

Per NBA rule, after a player's second 10-day contract expires, the team must decide whether to re-sign him for the rest of the season.

After missing the past five games with a sprained ankle, Alexey Shved expects to return to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, agent Obrad Fimic told RealGM.

Shved had wanted to come back at some point last week, but he and the Timberwolves ultimately believed that he needed more time to heal his left ankle. The 24-year-old participated in practice on Monday as the team played scrimmage games.

With averages of almost 11 points and five assists, Shved has been one of the top rookies this season.

The Timberwolves also signed both Mickael Gelabale and Chris Johnson to second 10-day contracts on Tuesday.

The NBA has announced the reserves for the 2013 All-Star Game in Houston.

Western Conference Reserves
Tony Parker
James Harden
LaMarcus Aldridge 
David Lee
Zach Randolph
Tim Duncan 
Russell Westbrook 

Eastern Conference Reserves
Paul George
Jrue Holiday 
Tyson Chandler 
Chris Bosh 
Joakim Noah 
Luol Deng
Kyrie Irving 

Fifteen teams have at least one All-Star (Knicks, Heat, Celtics, Bulls, Pacers, 76ers, Blazers, Spurs, Rockets, Warriors and Grizzlies), while 15 teams do not have a representative (Hawks, Nets, Bobcats, Mavericks, Nuggets, Pistons, Bucks, Wolves, Hornets, Magic, Suns, Kings, Raptors, Jazz and Wizards).

The 76ers and Cavaliers each sent a Coaches Vote All-Star despite a losing record, while the Lakers and Celtics have two starters despite a sub-.500 record.

The Nets, Hawks, Bucks, Nuggets and Jazz all have a record over .500 and no All-Stars. 

The All-Star starters are LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.

The Brooklyn Nets are preparing to make another run at Dwight Howard, according to a source.

Playing in Brooklyn with Deron Williams and Joe Johnson was at the top of Howard’s list last summer and the Nets are convinced that he still has a strong desire to make the Barclays Center his home office. The Nets have played well under P.J. Carlesimo and feel like the addition of Howard could be the piece that gets them to the NBA Finals.

Nets general manager Billy King has closely monitored the struggling Lakers and quietly searched for a third team with an attractive piece that would help facilitate a trade that would deliver Howard to the Nets, according to sources.

The Lakers have struggled through injuries, a coaching change and a lack of chemistry this season. The team is currently 17-24 and facing the reality that missing the playoffs seems inevitable. The feeling out of Brooklyn is that Howard can be had for the right price because of the Lakers’ struggles and long-term commitment to a collection of pieces that just don’t seem to fit or complement Howard’s assortment of skills.

The only missing element was a third team with an attractive piece that would force the Lakers to consider the future of the franchise and directly question Howard about the direction he’s leaning at this point of the season. King, according to sources, was confident that he had a trade proposal that was a perfect fit for all teams involved.

According to sources, King was planning to contact the Minnesota Timberwolves in order to gauge their interest in a three-team trade that would send Kevin Love to the Lakers, Brook Lopez to the Timberwolves and Dwight Howard to the Nets. Other small pieces would need to be included, but the proposed trade was thought to be intriguing enough to start conversations in the Lakers front office that would force them to deal with Howard earlier than planned.

That idea, however, was shelved when Love was sidelined 8-10 weeks with a broken hand. The Nets believed the Lakers would be interested in Love, but not an injured Love, even if they’re facing missing the playoffs, according to sources.

King will still look around for an attractive piece for the Lakers, but won’t make getting Howard as big a priority as last season, according to sources. But he will continue to watch the Lakers and explore intriguing trade options, sources said.

After fearing he would miss the next seven days, Alexey Shved came out of Monday’s re-evaluation confident that he’ll return to the Minnesota Timberwolves sometime this week, agent Obrad Fimic told RealGM.

Shved suffered a sprained left ankle last Thursday and didn’t make the trip to Atlanta on Monday when the Timberwolves lost to the Hawks. Nevertheless, Shved wants to come back at some point in the Timberwolves’ next three games this week – most likely Friday or Saturday.

Shved, the impressive rookie out of Russia, is averaging almost 11 points and five assists this season.

The Timberwolves have already been ravaged by injuries this season, but they signed Mickael Gelabale and Chris Johnson late last week to bolster their frontcourt depth.

Chris Johnson has signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves on a 10-day contract.

Johnson was with the Wolves in training camp and was one of the last players cut.

Johnson was averaging 10.9 points and 6.1 rebounds for Santa Cruz in the D League.

David Kahn doesn’t anticipate making a big trade before the Feb. 21 deadline.

“I don't think it will be something significant," Kahn said, when asked about the Timberwolves’ trade prospects.

Kahn recognizes the need to balance the present and the future.

“Whatever we do to address the now, the one thing we have to keep in mind is ... it can't be at the detriment of beyond," Kahn said. "It has to be sensible for now and for the future."

Nikola Pekovic will sit out the next seven to 10 days with a right thigh contusion, the Minnesota Timberwolves announced on Friday.

Pekovic suffered the injury in Thursday's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Timberwolves are already without fellow frontcourt starter Kevin Love.

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Friday they have been granted an injury exception from the NBA that will provide them a 10-day contract.

The Timberwolves currently have four players who will miss a minimum of two weeks, with additional players hurt.

The Timberwolves' plan appears to be to add more players to the roster.

Utilizing an opt-out clause, Mickael Gelabale has signed a 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, his agent told RealGM.

Gelabale will get a legitimate opportunity to be a contributor in the Timberwolves’ rotation, and barring unforeseen injury or ineffectiveness, he’ll almost assuredly sign a second 10-day deal.

“With his cutting and slashing, he doesn't need the ball in his hands to score,” agent Bill McCandless said. “And he can guard three positions.”

Once the second 10-day contract expires, the Timberwolves will make a decision on whether to sign Gelabale for the rest of the season. Should Minnesota elect to part ways at that point, Gelabale will have 72 hours to sign with another NBA team before having to return to Valencia of the European League.

Gelabale moved to Valencia after his contract expired with Croatian club Cedevita, but he wanted to come back to the NBA ahead of the Jan. 30 expiration of his escape clause. His agency had reached out to all 30 NBA teams in December to gauge the interest in Gelabale and the Timberwolves had long been the frontrunner.

Gelabale was supposed to sign with the Timberwolves on Thursday and then play against the Los Angeles Clippers, but he wasn’t able to receive his letter of clearance in time. He worked out alone, breaking a sweat and putting up shots, at the Timberwolves’ practice facility on Thursday.

The Timberwolves have been decimated by injuries all season long – losing Josh Howard and Malcolm Lee to season-ending surgeries; Kevin Love for two substantial hand ailments and Brandon Roy possibly for the rest of the season. Impressive rookie Alexey Shved rolled his ankle in Thursday's loss as well.

Gelabale, 29, averaged 4.5 points on 45 percent shooting in two seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics after being selected in the second round of the 2005 NBA draft.