Tim Connelly says Timberwolves not likely to move into 1st round of NBA draft
MINNEAPOLIS -- The NBA draft starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, but the Minnesota Timberwolves will likely be waiting a while to make their first pick.
The Wolves are currently slated to pick 53rd overall, having traded this year's first-round pick as part of the package that brought Rudy Gobert to Minnesota. While it's not impossible they could swing a trade to move up, they've got limited capital due to the aforementioned trade. President of basketball operations Tim Connelly himself said it's unlikely the team makes it to the first round.
Below is a collection of other tidbits from Connelly's pre-draft press conference on Wednesday.
On drafting 53rd
"When you're drafting 53rd, I think we have to be realistic with expectation level. I don't know if you guys have looked at the 53rd picks historically, it's a not a murderer's row of NBA guys. But we think we can add someone that can eventually help us ... And 53, there will be one or two guys that drop and we gotta figure out why they're dropping, are the concerns enough for us to pass them at 53."
On trading into the first round
"We've had a lot of conversations, I don't think anything is close for us to get into the first round ... Generally you see the trades really happen the day of ... 99 percent of those calls go nowhere and maybe 1 percent can lead to something."
On point guard, a potential position of need
"Hopefully Mike Conley can play until his wheels fall off, but you're always looking to have two deep and looking for long-term answers there. It's a position we thought we got real productivity out of last year, but given the age of some of our guys, you're always looking to backfill and have young guys learn under really good vets."
On how the draft has changed
The NIL has changed some of the depth. I think a lot of guys went back that wouldn't have gone back in years past. College basketball has become pretty lucrative. There's a handful of names that we pulled out. Internationally, I don't think it's the strongest draft. When you're picking post-45 I think you always have to have a special eye out for international picks. I think the third two-way's changed things. So I don't know if the stash options are as plentiful as they once were."
On whether Rudy Gobert will play in France this summer
"He's still back and forth. We've kind of shared what we thought, but we're gonna be fully supportive of whatever he decides. I know how much it means to him to play, i also know how much it means to him to be in optimal shape come October.
On last year's rookies Wendell Moore Jr. and Josh Minott
"Those guys have been great. I think both of those guys really made the most of their time in Iowa. They both had some positive moments certainly with the Timberwolves. They lived in the gym. Those guys took 10 days off maybe and they were right back here. So it should be positive pressure. I mean it's the NBA, every year there's another 60 guys coming for your job. But I think we're really excited about their development and in terms of work ethic and approach those guys have been A+."