After seeing how the Rudy Gobert trade worked out in Year 1, many fans were ready to move on from Tim Connelly by the trade deadline. However, he’s been working his way back into the good graces of Minnesota Timberwolves fans slowly but surely. Connelly has been making moves that have greatly improved Minnesota’s roster. First, it was the Mike Conley trade, then re-signing Naz Reid. Those two moves have taken Connelly off the fans’ hot seat, and he’s doubled down with a strong free agency.
No matter what your opinion is on the Gobert trade, you have to admit Tim Connelly has been on a roll lately. This year’s draft was no different. Connelly played his cards right.
When NBA teams trade multiple first-round picks, it feels like those teams immediately become irrelevant on draft night. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. When teams start mortgaging their future for NBA stars, draft night becomes even more critical. Often, three to four years after an NBA team makes a huge trade for a star, the roster around them falls apart as that star ages.
The key to keeping your team afloat after making such an aggressive trade is finding value on draft night. The key to Minnesota’s future success is being aggressive in the trade market on draft night and taking chances on low-risk, high-ceiling players with late second-round picks. Drafting players who can instantly contribute to their role on a rookie contract can play a huge part in a team’s success, especially a team with three max players like the Timberwolves.
In the 2023 NBA draft, Connelly and the front office followed that script to a T, and the Wolves have already seen their plan come to fruition one game into Summer League.
Leonard Miller is a skilled 6’10” wing player who could contribute significantly to the Wolves within the next two years. Bleacher Report had Miller going 22nd overall in their final NBA mock draft. But Miller fell to 33, where Connelly and the front office traded the 2026 second-round pick acquired in the Mike Conely trade and their 2028 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for the rights to Miller.
Miller had shown considerable strides in the year before the draft. Those strides and Miller’s defensive prowess moved the Wolves to draft him,
Jaylen Clark was Minnesota’s second and final pick of the night.
Clark will be Minnesota’s project this year. Clark is a defensive stud out of UCLA. However, he suffered an Achilles injury on March 5th in their final regular season game against Arizona. Still, Connelly and the front office were high on Clark. “We’re excited, super excited about Jaylen Clark,” Connelly said after the draft. “We had him as a high first-round grade all year.” The Achilles injury he suffered in their season finale is supposed to be a 9-12 month recovery. Four months into that recovery, Clark has as much motivation as ever. “If I don’t make it, it won’t be because I didn’t try,” he said. “I’m gonna pour every ounce of energy I got into this.”
Clark was one of the most talented defenders in college basketball last year. Adding someone of his talent with the 52nd overall pick is a huge selection for a team so low on draft assets. Once Clark recovers from his injury, the Wolves could use him as a rotational player almost instantly.
Although Clark will miss this year’s summer league while he rehabs his Achilles. Josh Minott is one high-ceiling second-round pick will be participating in this year’s Summer League. He was last season’s 45th overall pick, and although he didn’t see many minutes, he still impressed in the time allotted.
Wolves fans everywhere were excited to see how Minott and Leanord would play in their first-ever game together, and neither player disappointed. Both young players showed out in a 102-88 victory against the New Orleans Pelicans. Minott led the way scoring 20 points, and Miller followed him with a 16-point performance with 11 rebounds. The duo even managed to throw in an alley-oop to give the fans even more to get excited about.
It’s still early, but these players showed the foundation of Minnesota’s draft strategy. One second-round, raw prospect who can mold himself into an impactful rotational player with the help of the coaching staff. And one player drafted in the middle of a slide who may have already proven he can affect winning basketball from day one. Both these players on team-friendly deals can help a team like the Timberwolves survive with such little money to play with.
Every contending team has to operate near the margins, but teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, or the Miami Heat typically get the benefit of veterans signing team-friendly deals. Minnesota has never been a hot free-agent destination, so the Wolves are less likely to get these types of players on cheap deals to fill out a championship roster.
Since the Timberwolves are much less likely to have the advantage teams in big coastal markets, the margin for error on draft night is much smaller. Thanks to the Stepien Rule, the Wolves still have their first-round pick every other year until 2029. In the years when Minnesota has a first-round draft pick (‘24, ‘26, and ‘28), they must land an impactful rotational player.
The 2023 summer league is already showing what the Wolves can do if they play draft night perfectly. Despite his lack of assets, Connelly managed to draft Leonard Miller, an impact player falling in the draft. Then he drafted Clark post-injury, allowing the Wolves to have a potential impact player stored for 1-2 seasons. It’s impossible to say what Miller, Clark, or Minott will become in the NBA, but Connelly followed the perfect blueprint for an asset-depleted team in this year’s draft. If the Wolves continue to nail drafts like they did this year, they’ll have no problem recuperating lost talent.
