Exit Survey: 3 goals for the young-and-hungry Minnesota Timberwolves

3 of 4

MIAMI, FLORIDA – MARCH 12: Josh Okogie #20 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on prior to the game against the Miami Heat at FTX Arena on March 12, 2022 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

3 goals for the young-and-hungry Minnesota Timberwolves: 2. Get better at drafting late

If there is one area where the Timberwolves are not helping themselves, it is in the draft. A look at their selections for the last five years (and beyond that) makes for some tough reading. But this summer is a great opportunity to change the narrative around the draft history of this franchise and take a flier on some hungry players.

The team has four picks, with one in the first round (19th) and three comings late in the second (40th, 48th & 50th). Those second-round picks are interesting because the team could go in a number of different directions with them. Do they trade out of the draft completely with a couple of those picks?

Perhaps package the three of them together to get a guy already in the league, but whose stock is low? If the Timberwolves stick with the picks, however, they now have somebody in the recently acquired Connelly who has a decent track record during his time with the Nuggets of making the right selection in the draft.

He was the person who took Nikola Jokic in the second round, and he is now a back-to-back league MVP. That’s not going to happen again, but finding a couple of versatile wings to help a defense that ranked 13th during the regular season (111.0) would be nice. In fact, a couple of defensive-minded players could take some of the pressure off Towns and Edwards there.

Using one of the picks on a sharpshooter would be a good idea as well. The Timberwolves had the seventh-best offensive rating (113.8) and were second overall in three-point shooting (38.8 percent), which goes some way to explaining how they reached the playoffs. But Towns isn’t going to shoot a superb 41 percent from deep every year.

The next highest percentage from three-point range on the team? Jaylen Nowell at 39.4 percent. He averaged 15.4 minutes in the 62 games he played, of which only one was a start. He is only 22, but if the Timberwolves can add another scorer who can create for themselves, as well as some wing depth, they are going to be in a very good position heading into next season.

Home/Minnesota Timberwolves