The 2023 draft was expected to be uneventful for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 16th pick in the draft was the first of four first-round picks the Wolves sent to the Utah Jazz in the Rudy Gobert trade. The Timberwolves weren’t slotted to pick until 53rd overall, where it can be difficult to find players who can stick in the league. However, before the draft, Tim Connelly was asked if there was any possibility that they would trade up into the early second round. “We have a board,” he said, “and if we think a guy has dropped to an area we can move up into and we think he’s undervalued, we’d be pretty aggressive.”
Connelly joked about getting draft fever, and thinking almost every prospect is great. But he got very serious when he talked about moving up for a player the team valued highly, which was somewhat of a surprise because he doesn’t often give away many of his plans. However, Connelly called his shot and followed through. On draft night, Leonard Miller fell out of the first round and into a spot where the Timberwolves could trade up to get him for only two future second round picks.
The athletic 6’10” forward from the G League Ignite, Miller had been mocked in a wide range of places by draft analysts. But most of them projected that he would get drafted in the first round. CBS sports had him mocked at 16 to the Utah Jazz, ironically at the place the Wolves would have drafted. The Ringer, Yahoo Sports, Bleacher Report, and three of The Athletic’s mock drafters had Miller projected between 20 and 24. However, several of these outlets had him ranked even higher on their prospect big boards, an estimate of where a draft analyst ranks a player purely on perceived talent rather than where they predict they will be taken in the draft. Kevin O’Connor (The Ringer) ranked him 18th, CBS ranked him 15th, and Sam Vecenie (The Athletic) ranked him 13th.
While these rankings are ultimately predictions, these analysts pore over hours of game tape, and have a vested interest in being right for both their career and bragging rights. Only time will tell if Miller is a top-20 player in the draft class. However, it seems safe to say that Connelly didn’t trade up for Miller because of draft fever. Many others viewed him as an incredible value pick at 33.
Vecenie called the pick a “home run for Minnesota” during his epic four-hour live coverage of the draft with fellow draft expert Adam Spinella. He said that Miller is “One of the best finishers in the class, one of the most productive players in the G League to close the year over his last 15 games or so. Just a tremendous player who’s a teenager and is still learning how to play basketball. This is insane to me that he fell to 33, it’s a no brainer to take him here.”
Upon watching some of Miller’s highlights and looking at his G League stats, it’s easy to see why analysts were so high on him. During the G League regular season, Miller averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. Miller was third in the league in rebounds per game, and had a double-double in 14 of the 24 games in the Ignite’s regular season.
His scrappiness and hustle stand out as skills that will immediately translate into the NBA. However, Miller is not just a glue guy. The multitude of skills he possesses makes Miller an exciting prospect. Similar to Kyle Anderson, he grew up playing point guard but hit a late growth spurt and grew to 6’10” late in high school. As a result, Miller has highly developed ball skills for a player of his height. He is effective at leading fast breaks off of rebounds and has enough speed with the ball to go coast to coast by himself. Miller also shows flashes of being able to take defenders off the dribble, especially when other bigs are guarding him, as he has above average burst for his size.
Once Miller gets to the rim, he is a very strong finisher. Miller is ambidextrous, and he can dribble and score with both hands. He shot 60.2% from 2-point range in the G League on almost 11 attempts per game. Miller also has an impressive bounce and can sky for emphatic dunks. He has a muscular build and can use his strength to fight through contact. Last season, Miller dunked over 7’1” Jay Huff, the G League’s blocks leader in 2022-23, on his way to a 30-point, 12-rebound night.
Outside shooting is his biggest weakness offensively. Miller shot just 32.7% from beyond the arc on 2.2 attempts per game. Because Miller excels at so many other areas of the game, his ability to develop an outside shot shouldn’t make or break his career. Still, if he can become a more consistent shooter from distance, it will open up more space for him on offense and raise his potential to be a star. Miller shot 79.2% from the free throw line, and a high free throw percentage often means a player can eventually develop his outside shot.
Miller is a solid on-ball defender, and he has the size and speed to be switchable to many positions. His 7’2” wingspan allows him to reach into passing lanes and get steals when opponents don’t expect them. Like many young players, he’ll need to learn how to be more attentive off-ball when he reaches the NBA. However, in the G League he has shown an ability to rapidly improve in many areas.
This ability to soak up knowledge and implement it quickly may perhaps turn out to be his strongest skill. All of Miller’s G League coaches have spoken highly of his work ethic, and Hakim Warrick praised his coachability, calling Miller a “sponge.” “A lot of kids think they know it all,” he added. “He’s not one of ‘em. He listens.”
Miller’s coaches encouraged him to do extra workouts during the season to make the most of his time in the G League and get more ready for the draft. Miller not only obliged, but he enjoyed the work. “I fell in love with the process because I trusted [my coach],” he said. “He knew — and I knew as well — that doing the extra stuff is going to prepare me for these games. Fifty games is a lot of games, so, getting my body right, making sure I’m in the right shape, condition, getting stronger. … I needed it.”
Connelly often talks about wanting to draft high character players who are self-motivated to learn and improve. All the praise Leonard Miller’s former coaches give him suggests that he is exactly that kind of guy. Miller should provide a burst of energy to the Timberwolves rotation right away. With the proper development, he has all the physical tools and the drive to become a two-way star. Though Miller may have a long climb before he gets minutes in a loaded Wolves front court, he has the type of long-term upside that makes him a home run pick early in the second round.
Fans will get their first chance to see Miller perform in a Wolves jersey on July 7 when the Timberwolves kick off their Summer League schedule against the New Orleans Pelicans. Miller will play alongside the members of last year’s draft class, Josh Minott, Wendell Moore Jr., and Matteo Spagnolo, as well as a few of this year’s potential UDFA prospects like Brendan Adams and Kok Yat. While we can only take so much from summer league, it’ll be a chance for Miller to show off his skills against some of the best players in this year’s draft class — and perhaps make a few offseason headlines with some highlight dunks.
