Keep your eyes on Timberwolves rookie Leonard Miller in NBA Summer League
By Bret Stuter
The Minnesota Timberwolves are such a fun team right now. The fun part is not necessarily based on the assumption that this team is in play to compete in the NBA Championship series this season. But let’s be honest with ourselves, unlike the uncertainty that accompanied the blockbuster trade for Rudy Gobert, the Timberwolves roster this year has felt calm, and uplifting.
It’s all transformed from a hard pounding surf stirred up by an ocean-based tempest, to the calm still surface of a cool brook-fed lake in the hot summer months. And that serenity, that soft glow inside that comes with a peaceful landscape, gives this Timberwolves roster an almost safe and stable feel.
Well, here comes the NBA Summer League, and with it comes one helluva beach party.
The Timberwolves, win or lose, are throwing one helluva bash. And based on the Timberwolves roster assemble for the event, they have searched the globe to attract and sign some of the best basketball players available to compete in Timberwolves jerseys. And that is what makes this Timberwolves team a must-watch event this season.
Timberwolves roster featuring Leonard Miller
But the main attraction for me each year is to finally have a chance to see how the rookies who have been selected to the Timberwolves roster look in live action. After all, if Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly liked a prospect well enough to name them during an NBA Draft, then they are bound to be worth a watch.
Such is the case for recently-drafted rookie Leonard Miller, who was chosen with the 33rd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, but whose versatility and athleticism projected him to be a lottery pick on some draft boards. The question is, how will the Timberwolves use a player who can slot in at any position? After all, Leonard Miller is a point guard who, thanks to a sudden and dramatic growth spurt, has the 6-foot-10 height to allow him to play as an NBA center.
And he was chosen in Round 2 of the 2023 NBA Draft, too.
Of course, there is an equal level of excitement over rookie shooting guard Jaylen Clark. Unfortunately, due to an Achilles Tendon injury, he will not be cleared to play basketball for several months.
And so, we have some basketball on the horizon. While it is not quite preseason, and definitely not the NBA regular season, it is basketball nonetheless. After all, every feast begins with a course of delectable appetizers, right?