2024 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Hawks play it safe, Wizards go big, Spurs fill two needs
By Cal Durrett
27) Minnesota Timberwolves-Tyler Kolek
The Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season after finishing with the second-best record in the Western Conference. Not only that but they went to the Western Conference Finals after knocking off the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Still, they will have a lot of work to do this summer to get back there, especially with them needing to shed salary with the largest payroll in the league. They also need a younger point guard to help them long-term and based on that, they could take an NBA-ready guard in Tyler Kolek. Kolek was one of the best playmakers in college basketball this past season while playing for Marquette, averaging 7.7 assists to go along with 15.3 points while shooting a terrific 55.2% from two and 38.8% from three.
He was even a pesky defender and racked up an impressive 1.6 steals per game. Having a point guard who can step in and play minutes on a playoff team could be intriguing for the Wolves, who currently have a 37-year-old starting point guard in Mike Conley. That increases the need for other options at point guard and while Kolek might not be the team's starter at that position in the long term, he may develop into a reliable backup.