Grading the Minnesota Timberwolves' offseason moves

Grading the Minnesota Timberwolves’ offseason moves

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 20: The first round draft board is seen during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

23RD PICK – Leandro Balmaro

The Minnesota Timberwolves took another swing with the 23rd overall selection in Leandro Balmaro, a foreign player that likely won’t come over to the NBA for a few seasons.

Balmaro, a 6-foot-7 guard, has an intriguing skill set that should translate pretty well into meaningful basketball. While he hardly received any minutes for Barcelona’s squad in Liga ACB (Spain) or EuroLeague, Balmaro was an interesting player for their B team.

Balmaro is a really skilled big guard that can facilitate an offense, push the ball in transition, and defend at a high level. He is a really good ball handler and is generally pretty athletic and long for having the skills that he does.

Still, there are some concerns about his shot – It simply has to be better if he wants to play guard at a high level in the NBA. Balmaro’s competition is also a question mark, as again, he was on the b-team of Barcelona, and hardly got run in ACB/EuroLeague. If you go back and watch some of his film, he is quite literally playing in an open gym environment.

Balmaro is also probably not going to be apart of the Timberwolves in the short-term. He recently signed an extension with Barcelona and will be there for at least another season.

Grade: B

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