Minnesota Timberwolves: Leandro Bolmaro drops double-double in G League debut

Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Leandro Bolmaro was assigned to the Iowa Wolves on Friday and impressed in his G League debut.

Bolmaro dropped a double-double and will apparently be back in the Twin Cities to be on the bench for Timberwolves-Nuggets on Saturday night.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Leandro Bolmaro double-doubles in G League debut

Bolmaro was acquired on draft night in 2020 as the Wolves traded up to select the Argentinan forward. He played in the Euroleague last year and signed with the Timberwolves prior to training camp this year, appearing in all four preseason games and late in the opening night blowout win over the Houston Rockets.

With the Wolves’ strong start to the season and more depth than they’ve had in recent memory, the 20-year-old rookie is one of the odd men out in the rotation. He won’t receive regular minutes with the Timberwolves for the time being, and the front office is making the most of their minor-league club that resides just a few hours south on I-35.

Iowa played their lone preseason game on Friday night against the G League Ignite, winning by a final score of 98-87. Bolmaro put up 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, 10 rebounds, and three assists. He made four of his nine 3-point attempts.

Bolmaro’s calling card is his defense, and he did grab a steal and have a blocked in this one as well.

His path to receiving regular rotation minutes at the NBA level is going to be continued improvement shooting the ball from the perimeter and solid play on the defensive end of the floor. It will be important for Bolmaro to show that he has a handle on the defensive concepts that the Timberwolves want to implement this season both in Des Moines and Minneapolis.

The biggest question mark when it came to Bolmaro’s game as a prospect was his perimeter shooting, but he converted on over 40 percent of his long-range attempts last season in Europe and continued that pace in his G League debut.

Bolmaro’s also a great passer and will be a strong secondary creator for the Wolves at some point, whether that’s later this season or in 2022-23.

Darren Wolfson of KSTP and SKOR North reports that the big club plans to have Bolmaro back at Target Center on Saturday and available for Wolves-Nuggets. Expect the Timberwolves to continue bouncing their lone rookie back and forth to the G League as the schedule allows, giving him as much professional experience in the NBA/G League style of play as possible.

The Iowa Wolves had two other players drop 20 points: Brian Bowen II and Matt Silva, both Exhibit 10 players who spent training camp with the Timberwolves. Two-way player McKinley Wright IV struggled offensively, shooting just 4-of-13 en route to 10 points, six assists, and five rebounds.

Iowa’s first regular-season game is in a week, a home tilt next Saturday against Sioux Falls.