Josh Howard will reportedly sign a 1-year veterans minimum contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images)

Free agent forward Josh Howard, who played for the Utah Jazz last season, will reportedly sign a 1-year veterans minimum contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to a tweet Thursday morning from ESPNs Chris Broussard.

The Wolves were left scrambling to fill various deficiencies to their front court in the wake of franchise forward Kevin Love breaking his hand in the preseason while doing knuckle push-ups. The initial timetable for Love’s return was set at five to six weeks, which would put him on schedule for a likely return in early December.

Howard, 32, can defend multiple positions, although at 6’7″ should not be seen as a sure-fire replacement particularly for Love while he rehabs his hand.

Howard reportedly worked out with the Wolves on Monday, two days before the injury-riddled Wolves would lose to the Charlotte Bobcats at home. He should expect to play significant minutes while the team deals with a rash of injuries to its core. In addition to Love, the Wolves are without Ricky Rubio, Chase Budinger, JJ Barea, Nikola Pekovic and Brandon Roy.

Drafted in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, Howard has career averages of 14.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. In 2007, he was voted to the Western Conference All-Star team as a member of the Mavericks.

Minnesota & Josh Howard agree to terms on 1- year, vets minimum deal, sources say—
Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) November 15, 2012

Utah Jazz unrestricted free agent forward Josh Howard is reportedly working out with the Charlotte Bobcats and also has the eye of the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, according to a tweet from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Earlier in August, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.com named the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers as two other teams interested in the swingman:

Howard may ultimately return to Utah, but he’s also receiving interest from the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets among other teams.

Howard insists he’s 100-percent healthy after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last season. He played in 43 games for the Utah Jazz, averaging 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 23 minutes per game.

Though hardly the player he once was from his days of averaging nearly 20 points per game as a member of the Dallas Mavericks, Howard can still provide depth on both ends of the floor and for multiple positions.

He signed a one-year contract with the Jazz in December 2011 worth approximately $2.2 million and is expected to sign with a team for near the veterans minimum next season.

Free agent F Josh Howard, a Winston Salem native, has been working out with Charlotte this week, sources tell Y! CHI, NY amongst interested.—
Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) August 29, 2012