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Minnesota Timberwolves Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale today announced the NBA club has signed free-agent forward John Thomas to a 10-day contract and has placed forward Mark Madsen on the Injured List (fractured left thumb). Per team policy, no financial terms of Thomas' agreement were disclosed. Madsen must remain on the Injured List a minimum of five games and will not be eligible to be activated until Jan. 18.

Thomas, a University of Minnesota graduate, appeared in six preseason games for the Wolves this season, averaging 3.7 points (.500 FG%) and 4.2 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game. Thomas was signed as a free agent by Minnesota on Oct. 4 and was waived by the team on Nov. 1. He then signed with the Continental Basketball Association's Sioux Falls SkyForce, where he averaged 16.3 points (.559 FG%), 10.1 rebounds and 35.4 minutes per game in 20 games (started 19).

Thomas (6-9, 255) was drafted 25th overall by the New York Knicks in the 1997 NBA Draft. He was traded by New York with Walter McCarty, Dontaé Jones and Scott Brooks to the Boston Celtics for Chris Mills on Oct. 22, 1997 and then traded by the Celtics with Chauncey Billups, Dee Brown and Roy Rogers to the Toronto Raptors for Kenny Anderson, Zan Tabak and Popeye Jones on Feb. 18, 1998. His best NBA season came in 1998-99, when he averaged 4.3 points (.577 FG%) and 3.4 rebounds in 15.2 minutes in 39 contests for Toronto. Thomas spent the 2003-04 season with Casademont Girona of the Spanish Basketball League, averaging 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 31 contests.

Madsen underwent successful surgery on his left thumb Saturday (Jan. 8). The fifth-year veteran has averaged 2.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 13.9 minutes per game for Minnesota in 31 games (13 starts) this season.