3 reasons to love the Timberwolves 2023 rookie draft class

Reason III: Two solid additions to the Timberwolves roster

If you want to hit home runs in an NBA Draft, then you had better start with a minimum of at least one lottery pick. The Minnesota Timberwolves did not hold a lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. In fact, this team did not hold a first-round pick. So that dictates the type of draft for the Timberwolves from the onset.

But it proved not to be a limiting factor for the Timberwolves after all, as we had suspected to be the case. As we had predicted in the week leading up to the draft, the Timberwolves did make two selections during the draft. And if you tuned in, you were part of the excitement in real-time.

The Timberwolves are not a team that is searching for stars. They have them in the form of C Rudy Gobert, PF Karl-Anthony Towns, and SG Anthony Edwards, and to a lesser extent in SF Jaden McDaniels and PG Mike Conley Jr.  This is a team that needs to bolster depth, to round out the roster’s financial balance, and to fill in the cracks with niche players.

The Timberwolves got stronger in this draft

I think that the Timberwolves did exactly that in the 2023 NBA Draft. To improve their frontcourt, the Timberwolves traded for the 33rd overall pick to select Ignite forward Leonard Miller, a young man who can put up points in the pain as well as grab a ton of rebounds. In the backcourt, the Timberwolves added arguably the best defensive player in the draft by selecting Bruins’ guard Jaylen Clark with the 53rd overall pick.

The  Timberwolves wanted to continue to improve their defense, add to their ability to rebound, and give a booster shot to their transition game. Amazingly, the team checked all those boxes this year.