Recent news might spell the end of the road for forgotten Timberwolves draft pick

It's hard to find good value at the end of the first-round. The Minnesota Timberwolves swung and missed when they drafted Duke wing Wendell Moore Jr. with the No. 26 pick back in 2022. After four forgettable seasons, including two with Minnesota, Moore is now headed to Italy's
Virtus Bologna club.

While Moore could get his career back on track overseas, unfortunately, there's an equally strong chance that this could be the end of his NBA career.

Moore's four years in the NBA have been forgettable

Moore averaged just 8.2 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.7 assists on 46.4/24.6/82.8 shooting splits through four years in the NBA.

With the Wolves, he only saw minutes in garbage time, but didn't really showcase his upside then. His Wolves tenure was so underwhelming that Minnesota had to attach an early second-round pick to him when they traded him to the Detroit Pistons in 2024.

The Pistons would then waive him in February. He would go on to sign a two-way deal with the Charlotte Hornets. Moore would go on to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Boston Celtics before the 2025-26 season, before being waived. He returned to the Pistons on a two-way deal, but only appeared in six games with the team this past season.

At this point, Moore has been given a chance by several teams and has not looked anything close to a rotational-level player, albeit in limited minutes. Thus, it's not a shocker that he is now set to play overseas.

Coming out of Duke, Moore seemed like a fairly safe bet to contribute. In three years with the Blue Devils, he posted well-rounded averages of 10.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 45.9/35.8/81/4 shooting splits.

As a physical wing with versatile defense and general connectivity, Moore seemed like he'd have a future as a role player with the Wolves.

Obviously things didn't work out. Perhaps the No. 1 reason behind these struggles is that Moore's shooting didn't translate at all. He also isn't much of a shot creator or playmaker. Long story short, it was hard for him to carve out an NBA role for offensive reasons, and he showed very minimal flashes of upside in his opportunities.

It's not impossible that Moore rejuvenates his career overseas -- and I'm certainly rooting for him. Without a doubt, though, he'll have to show a lot of offensive growth, and even then, he'll have a long road to get back to the NBA.

Unfortunately, the most likely scenario is that his NBA career is over after four seasons.

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