Did the Minnesota Timberwolves outdraft the Utah Jazz?

By the time the Minnesota Timberwolves were finally able to make a draft pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, 32 players had already been chosen and removed from the Timberwolves’ options. And just for the record, the Utah Jazz had chosen three times. So you have to ask yourself: What I am up to daring to compare the Timberwolves rookie draft class to that of the Utah Jazz, right?

The reality is that there should be no comparison, at all. The Timberwolves not only did not have their first-round pick in this draft but had traded that pick to the Utah Jazz as one installment payment for center Rudy Gobert. The only good news is that the Jazz, not Wolves President Tim Connelly, would be making that pick. That would play a factor in the 2023 NBA Draftr results, but we’ll just put that in a sidebar for now.

With the 33rd pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select . . .

And so, the Timberwolves first pick occurred with the 33rd overall pick in the draft. That’s not an ideal sport to start at. Still, with 30 teams, the Timberwolves knew that any key to succeeding, to emerge with impact players, depended on a steady and patient hand. This was a draft that would have moments that required utmost patience, and at the same time, unfettered aggressiveness.

To get better overall, the Timberwolves needed to stay within themselves, focusing on improving and optimizing their own team. What the other teams have done, are doing, and will do will be addressed by the Timberwolves on the basketball court.

But there is a link between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Utah Jazz that, for the next eight basketball seasons, will be impossible to ignore. It’s the blockbuster trade that sent five players and four draft picks to the Utah Jazz for center Rudy Gobert that has placed so many NBA Pundits and analysts on the warpath.