Who was on draft board as Minnesota Timberwolves selected?

The Minnesota Timberwolves stepped up to make their selection with the 19th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Kentucky PG Tyty Washington, Ohio State power forward E.J. Liddell, and Euroleague’s small forward Nikola Jovic’ were all on the board. By the time the 19th overall was chosen, all three players remained on the draft board.

The Minnesota Timberwolves traded their 19th overall pick to the Memphis Grizzlies, who entered the draft with the 22nd, 29th, and 49th overall picks.

And thus the Timberwolves’ 2022 NBA Draft began.

So what did the Timberwolves get from the Grizzlies for moving back three spots? A nice haul, that’s what.

As a result of this trade, the Minnesota Timberwolves now have picks:

Round One

Pick 22 (from Memphis)
Pick 29 (from Memphis)

Round Two

Pick 40
Pick 48
Pick 50

The Timberwolves pulled no punches with their off-season plans. The team planned to be aggressive, wanted a big to help absorb minutes in the front court and wanted to target defense.

In the end, the Minnesota Timberwolves passed on three players who were highly regarded not once, but twice in the first round. Clearly, the Timberwolves valued other players moreso than these three:

Euroleague forward Nikola Jovic’

Kentucky point guard TyTy Washington

Ohio State forward E.J. Liddell

Team President Tim Connelly has already admitted that his front office is quite capable of making ‘informed mistakes.” But perhaps the most refreshing part of that story is the fact that he openly admits that he and his group may make errors.

We won’t know how well the Timberwolves drafted for years to come. But by identifying promising players who the Timberwolves ignored on the NBA Draft board as the team made two selections, we will maintain a clearer picture of how well the team truly did on draft night.