MINNEAPOLIS — About 36 hours before the NBA Draft started, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly made a promise.
“Certainly we have a board and if we think a guy has dropped to an area we can move up to get him, we think he’s undervalued, we’d be pretty aggressive,” Connelly said on Wednesday.
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As the board unfolded on Thursday night, the Timberwolves saw several players they really liked start to slip. Not content to sit at No. 53 and hope for some luck, Connelly swung a deal with San Antonio to add the 33rd overall pick and grab Leonard Miller, a springy, 6-foot-10 forward from G League Ignite.
The seeds of this transaction were planted in February. Connelly had discussions with Utah and the Lakers for days leading up to the trade deadline surrounding D’Angelo Russell and Mike Conley. Connelly pressed for as many second-round picks as he could get before signing off on the deal, eventually landing three of them in the deal, which gave him a stockpile to make him comfortable to offer two seconds — Utah’s 2026 and their own in 2028 — to the Spurs to get No. 33 and grab Miller.
Miller was ranked No. 13 on The Athletic draft analyst Sam Vecenie’s big board. He averaged 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds in his lone season for Ignite, showing himself to be an athletic, rim-running big man with a solid handle and a good feel for passing in close quarters.
“Miller has a terrific intersection of skill level and size. … Elite size for a player who can handle the ball, make plays and get out on the break,” Vecenie wrote.
Miller is a bit of a late bloomer who will turn 20 in November. He grew up in the Toronto area and didn’t start playing seriously until his teens. He spent one season after high school at a prep school, declared for the 2022 draft, but then decided to pull out and play one more season in the G League, where he excelled alongside No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson.
“By the end of the season, he was one of the best players on a nightly basis as a ballhandling big forward who could lead the break and live at the rim,” Vecenie wrote.
Miller fits a similar profile to last year’s second-round pick Josh Minott, a lanky, athletic, multi-faceted forward who was still there at No. 45. Both are on the raw side with tantalizing physical traits. Minott spent most of last season playing for Iowa in the G League and one would think Miller will spend a fair bit of time down there next season as well. But his combination of size and athleticism are intriguing for the long term.
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“It’s hard to overemphasize how terrific Miller’s finishing acumen is,” Vecenie wrote. “He has superb touch. Because of his ball skills, he’s very
versatile in the actions in which he can be used. Has an enormous bag of tricks on the interior.”
Miller will have to work on his jumper to be a real threat in the league. He shot just 30.4 percent from 3-point range and did most of his damage in transition getting to the rim.
“Seems to still be a bit mechanical and not quite as fluid as you want to see someone you hope develops into being a point forward,” Vecenie wrote. “He is kind of indecisive. Again, this improved throughout the season, which offers real upside hope long term. But he needs to showcase it over a longer stretch in real games.”
In sending the two future seconds to the Spurs for 33, the Wolves were able to hold on to the 53rd pick. They selected UCLA guard Jaylen Clark, the national defensive player of the year who injured his Achilles before the NCAA tournament. He had surgery after the season and is expected to be out at least another six months, per Vecenie. The Wolves will be patient with Clark, believing his upside as a lockdown defender is worth the wait.
Connelly called Clark “the best perimeter defender in the draft,” a skill the Wolves will need more of to advance in the playoffs.
“We’re going to be very patient with him,” he said. “Prior to the injury we thought the guy was an easy first-round pick.”
He averaged 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game as a junior for the Bruins last season. Connelly spoke to the media before the trade became official, so he was unable to comment on Miller. But the Wolves believe his big frame and explosive hops give them a body type they do not have enough of on the roster right now. His rebounding is also intriguing, with a nose for the ball similar to Jarred Vanderbilt, whom Connelly drafted in Denver before trading him to Minnesota.
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“We know that we’ve given up a lot of firsts, so how can we creatively kinda find value and find young players that hopefully can play up to that level,” Connelly said.
The Timberwolves had trade talks all week leading into the draft and those carried forward into Thursday night. It became pretty clear days earlier that there was no viable path to a top-five pick. The Wolves weren’t shopping Karl-Anthony Towns to try to get up that high, and it is unclear if there even would have been an opportunity for them to make that jump even if they were ready to make such a significant move. Towns is a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA player who had his best season in 2021-22, but he missed 52 games this season with a calf injury, shot his lowest 3-point percentage (36.6) since his rookie season and was up and down in the playoff series against Denver.
The Wolves have stated time and again that their plan all along has been to run it back with their existing core, believing that Towns, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards have the talent to push them into the thick of a wide open Western Conference playoff race if they just get some more time together on the court. Towns missed almost all of training camp in October because of a throat infection, then played 19 games before going down with his calf injury. The Wolves believe he will resume his mantle as one of the best offensive players in the league next season and will enjoy improved synergy with Gobert in their second season together.
Even if they were ready for a big change, would dealing Towns now bring maximum value? Given what they gave up for Gobert last summer, selling on one of their best players when Towns’ value is not at its highest could compound their issues. And the Wolves do not have to immediately make a decision on Towns or Gobert or anyone on their roster. The new collective bargaining agreement, and its more stringent limitations on spending and team building, does not become pressing until next season. Towns’ four-year, $235 million extension does not kick in until 2024. Running it back would give the Wolves a long look at the team at the start of the season. If things do not work out, they could make a move or two before the February trade deadline to reconfigure the roster.
“It was a lot of calls and on draft night, you’re just trying to ensure that you potentially add good young pieces,” Connelly said, “and we think we did that tonight.”
The Wolves may have been able to flip Taurean Prince in a deal, but ultimately did not move one of their trusted veterans and best 3-point shooters. He is under contract for $7.5 million next season, but it is a non-guaranteed deal, which gives teams plenty of flexibility. Those with designs on a playoff run could use an affordable, versatile wing who could guard multiple positions, shoot 3s at a 38 percent clip and finishes effectively on the break.
The Wolves could still waive him to give themselves a little more wiggle room under the luxury tax line as they try to re-sign Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, but he remains on the team.
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The Wolves received a ton of interest in Jaden McDaniels, league sources say, with teams all over the draft board calling and inquiring on his availability. The Wolves rebuffed every offer, viewing McDaniels as a huge piece of the team’s long-term future.
If the Wolves do essentially stand pat this summer and make changes on the margins rather than to their foundation, that core is going to have to be ready to bring it. The Western Conference was wide open this season outside of the champion Denver Nuggets, who essentially led the conference wire to wire. It figures to be much more challenging next season. The San Antonio Spurs added No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama and have money to spend in free agency, Utah had a great night with rookies Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George and Brice Sensabaugh joining a young, talented roster and Golden State ditched the youth movement to go all-in on another run with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson by trading Jordan Poole for Chris Paul. Maybe Zion Williamson will be healthy in New Orleans. Maybe Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will be healthy with the Los Angeles Clippers. Maybe the Los Angeles Lakers really found something with the trades that helped propel them to the Western Conference finals.
The Wolves have to be ready. On the bright side, Edwards has been in town for much of the summer, along with McDaniels, Reid, Wendell Moore Jr. and Josh Minott, among others. Gobert joined them this week and Towns got some work in at the practice facility last weekend and is expected back in July.
“We like our team. We’re not good enough, as evidence by our early exit,” Connelly said. “We’re not where we want to be or need to be, but we feel like we have a pretty good core, a great coach and I kind of like where we’re trending.”
GO DEEPER
Analysis, fits for all 58 NBA Draft picks from John Hollinger and Sam Vecenie
(Top photo of Leonard Miller: Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
