It was a very eventful first day of the 2024 NBA Draft for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Coming into draft night with the 27th and 37th overall picks, the Wolves did not have a lot of meaningful assets to add league-ready talent readily at their disposal.
But knowing the genius of President Tim Connelly, it is not surprising at all that they managed to put themselves in a very favorable position despite that. Knowing the financial restrictions his team is under, Connelly made a bold play to deal two future picks in order to trade up and acquire the Spurs' eighth-overall pick, which allowed them to gain the services of Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham.
From there, Minnesota kept their 27th pick to select Terrence Shannon from Illinois. All things considered, they came away with an extremely solid return from the first round, with two NBA-ready prospects to add to their roster.
The Timberwolves traded back to acquire pick No. 53
Earlier on Thursday afternoon, it was announced that the Timberwolves had officially traded their 37th-overall pick along with Wendell Moore to the Detroit Pistons, in exchange for the 53rd selection in the 2024 draft. Minnesota will be moving back in the draft in order to save money and potentially still get a prospect they have had their eyes on as well.
As of this writing, the 23rd pick of the second round (53rd overall) is the only pick the Wolves own for the remainder of the draft. Knowing the ingenuity of Tim Connelly, do not rule out a potential second swap if Minnesota has their sights set on a prospect that is can't-miss in their eyes.