3 reasons to love the Timberwolves 2023 rookie draft class

Few in number, the Minnesota Timberwolves 2023 rookie draft class will not be difficult to keep track of. But what is there about a pair of rookies to add a positive feeling to the Timberwolves fans?  This was a draft that witnessed some teams dance up and down their draft board with a sense that other NBA teams were almost bending to their will.

Still, you have to hand it to the Timberwolves front office, particularly Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly. This was the type of draft that felt better and better as the night wore on. Rather than reach for a player or position, the Timberwolves clearly brought their A-game to the 2023 NBA Draft. No move was enough to splash the headlines over the Timberwolves’ uncanny ability to sniff out a true bargain.

The Timberwolves drafted G-League Ignite forward Leonard Miller with the 33rd overall pick and then drafted UCLA guard Jaylen Clark with the 53rd overall pick.

• G-League Ignite F Leonard Miller
  – 6-foot-10
  – 7-foot-2 wingspan
  – Very athletic
  – Former guard who grew
  – First-round projection (20-25)
  – Can score points and dominates the boards for rebounds
• UCLA G Jaylen Clark
  – 6-foot-5
  – 6-foot-9 wingspan
  – Defensive Player of the Year
  – High first-round projection before Achilles injury
  – Incredible cutpurse, averaged 2.6 steals per game
  – Solid ball-handling skills

The Timberwolves did not focus on positional needs per se but attacked the 2023 NBA Draft with a specific strategy in mind. But what about the depth at point guard? At center? Believe it or not, those needs are already addressed on the Timberwolves roster.

Where the Timberwolves lacked in the 2022-23 NBA season was the ability to scrap all over the basketball court. The team was particularly vulnerable to a lack of energy at times, a team that seemed to show up in form, but be shaking off the cobwebs that could last into the second half of some games. So how well do you feel that the Timberwolves addressed that in this year’s draft? Here are our thoughts:

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.

Reason II: Two first-round prospects for the cost of two second-round picks

While the ability to ‘know’ how well any prospect will perform and/or fit is still years away, there is a way to get a sense of how effectively the Timberwolves selected compared to where their prospects were projected to be selected. So before we start ticking and tying out those comparisons, keep in mind that the Minnesota Timberwolves entered the 2023 NBA Draft armed with one late second-round pick.

For starters, the Timberwolves selected Ignite forward Leonard Miller in Round 2 of the 2023 NBA Draft with the 33rd overall pick. So how does that compare to his projection? Well, truth be told, Miller was projected to be selected 15th overall by CBS Sports, 20th overall by Tankathon, and 23rd overall by ESPN. Those are all Round 1 grades on a player who the Timberwolves were able to name in Round 2. But it gets much better than that.

Best defender late in Round 2?

While the current state of UCLA G Jaylen Clark was that of a second-round prospect, that was after the impact of his Achilles Tendon injury. Before his injury, Clark was well on his way to projecting as a lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft:

By the end of the night, the Minnesota Timberwolves spent two second-round draft picks but emerged with two first-round talents. Does that mean that both players will be gobbling up minutes in the rotation from the start of the season?

Not at all. But it does mean that the talent pipeline is full of talent to work with and develop for the future once more.

Reason I: Timberwolves added two players with tremendous upside

One of the areas that is easily overlooked in any NBA Draft is the potential for each prospect. After all, there is a tier of prospects that are so gifted by height, strength, natural athleticism, and basketball skills that they stand out from the rest of the group. But then there is that tier of players who, for all intents and purposes, are so well coached and refined that they are truly a plug-n-play type of rookie.

Next, there is the tier of rookie prospects who can add one ability to an NBA team that is NBA ready, but who have work to do to round out their overall game.  These are the players who can surprise, who arrive at the NBA without a lot of fanfare or fuss, and yet have the potential to play more minutes than expected.

Talented enough to play, room enough to grow

How good is Leonard Miller? He is a solid addition.

Both of the players chosen by the Minnesota Timberwolves arrive to the NBA with professional basketball-ready skills, but with plenty of room to grow both upwards with how well they can perform at those skills and outwards in terms of improving upon and adding other aspects to their game.

Adding players in Round 2 of the NBA Draft requires a bit of tightrope maneuvering. The Timberwolves were able to find players who can deliver on Day 1, but who also will become even more valuable to the team as they develop and refine their skills.

The Timberwolves may not have found two surefire NBA starters in the 2023 NBA Draft. But this team did a pretty good job of turning one late pick in Round 2 into two players with Round 1 grades.