The Minnesota Timberwolves won the NBA Draft
The Minnesota Timberwolves traded back, and they traded up, but in the end, Tim Connelly and company landed a lot of talented players.
The Timberwolves made some noise Thursday night. They entered the draft with picks 17, 40, 48 and 50. They ended the night with picks 22 (Walker Kessler), 26 (Wendell Moore Jr.), 45 (Josh Minott) and 50 (Matteo Spagnolo).
I wrote in a previous article that the Wolves should move back and draft Kessler. They did exactly that and because of it, they’re gaining the best defensive player in the draft.
During his sophomore season, he was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and blocked the most shots per game (4.6). He also averaged 11.4 points and 8.1 rebounds. His shot is still a work in progress, but he did shoot 60.8 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from 3 and 59.6 from the line.
I’m not worried about his 3-point efficiency because it is a nice stroke.
During that Memphis Grizzlies series, Kessler would have helped on the glass and limited Brandon Clarke and Ja Morant at the rim. He probably plays 10 to 15 minutes a game for the Timberwolves next season, but that will be big when Karl-Anthony Towns is in foul trouble.
Minnesota traded up to grab Moore Jr., and he’s exactly the type of player you want on your roster. He can come off the bench and provide 3-and-D play.
Last season he averaged 13.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He also shot 50.0 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from 3 and 80.5 from the line.
A lot of people will read about Moore Jr.’s game and assume he’s just a good spot-up shooter and defender. While that’s true, he’s also extremely athletic and will throw down some nasty hammer dunks.
He’s someone that can come in, compete every day and make a difference late in games.
The Timberwolves didn’t make another selection until pick 45 when they grabbed Josh Minott out of the University of Memphis.
Minott is a low-risk/high-reward player and will likely spend next season playing for the Iowa Wolves. He has a lot of developing to do and he didn’t get much playing time in college. During his freshman season, he averaged 6.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists. He only logged 14.6 minutes a game and started in five of the 33 games.
If he can develop a shot, that would go a long way, but for now, he’s a super athletic 6’8 forward with defensive upside. This is a good pick, and it’s the home run type of selection you make in the second round.
The final pick for the Timberwolves was Matteo Spagnolo. It’s easy to see this being an overseas stash, but he’s a great shooter. At 19 playing in Italy’s top division, he shot 44.1 percent from 3.
He’s not very athletic and isn’t fast. He was selected at pick 50, so you’re more than likely not finding a future MVP player like Nikola Jokić. Hopefully, Spagnolo will develop and potentially become something special. He’s very young and has a long way to go before he can contribute at the NBA level.
The Timberwolves were busy on draft night and came away with a lot of young talented players that fill a lot of needs. Let us know in the comment section below if you like who Minnesota selected.
