Timberwolves could have pair of steals in Leonard Miller, Jaylen Clark
In the wake of last summer’s trade to acquire Rudy Gobert, it didn’t appear that the Minnesota Timberwolves would be able to do much in this year’s NBA Draft. But despite entering with just the No. 53 overall pick, the Wolves were able to add Leonard Miller and Jaylen Clark – two players that have ample upside and could be the type of steals that Tim Connelly made his trademark with the Denver Nuggets.
The Timberwolves’ first move was rooted in February when the Timberwolves made a deal that sent D’Angelo Russell to the Los Angeles Lakers and brought Mike Conley to Minnesota. While the deal helped solidify Minnesota’s backcourt down the stretch, it also gave Connelly extra second-round draft picks to play with.
Using the Utah Jazz’s 2026 second-round pick and their own 2028 second-round pick, the Timberwolves were able to trade into the second round via a deal with the San Antonio Spurs. That’s where Minnesota took Miller with the 33rd overall pick.
At 6-foot-10 and 210 pounds, Miller is the lanky developmental forward teams are looking for late in the draft. Although he originally declared for the 2022 draft, the Toronto native pulled out and joined the NBA G League’s Ignite team, which allows developmental prospects to play against G League competition.
Miller flourished playing next to three lottery picks in Scoot Henderson (No. 3 overall to the Portland Trail Blazers), Amen Thompson (No. 4 overall to the Houston Rockets) and Ausar Thompson (No. 5 overall to the Detroit Pistons), averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds in 24 games with Ignite.
He also got better as the season went along, averaging 20 points, 13 rebounds and shooting 55.6 percent from the field, 37 percent on 3-point attempts and 82 percent from the line in his final 14 games.
While his outside shot will need work, Miller’s length and defensive upside are tantalizing for NBA scouts which is why The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie had him ranked 13th on his top 100 prospects board.
“His physical tools are absurd,” Vecenie wrote. He came in at 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and a 9-foot standing reach at last year’s combine. But his rare blend of athletic traits make him interesting. … If you’re going upside-hunting in this class, Miller is a worthwhile bet I’d invest in.”
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves used their original pick to find another high-upside player in Clark. Clark averaged 13 points, six rebounds and 1.9 assists for UCLA but his calling card was his defense, which made him a potential first-round pick before tearing his Achilles’ tendon last March.
“You don’t have to watch much video to see the way that guy locks people down defensively,” Connelly said on Thursday night. “He’s got great positional size. Excellent rebounder. We think that he’s an emerging [shooter]. Super smart, super tough and just an unbelievably competitive guy.”
Clark was also the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, an avert that has been given out to players such as Russell Westbrook (2007-08), Taj Gibson (2008-09), Gary Payton II (2014-15, 2015-16) and Evan Mobley (2020-21) since being re-issued in 2008.
While his Achilles’ injury sunk his draft stock and will keep him out for the next 9-12 months, Connelly said the Timberwolves viewed him as a high first-round draft pick.
“We think there’s no better wing defender in the draft,” Connelly said. “He brings an aggression and toughness, intelligence that allows guys like that to make it. We’re super excited to add him. He’s not physically there and we’re going to be very patient with him but prior to the injury we felt the guy was an easy first-round pick…We didn’t draft him for the short term.”
If either player turns out to be a viable piece of the Wolves’ future, it will follow the blueprint Connelly built in Denver. The Nuggets led the Western Conference from wire-to-wire on the way to capturing their first NBA title and they were fueled by players drafted in the middle to late parts of the draft including Christian Braun (21st overall in 2022), Michael Porter (14th overall in 2018) and Nikola Jokić (41st overall in 2014).
With four more first-rounders possessed by the Utah Jazz as a result of the Gobert trade, Connelly will have to deploy a similar strategy with the Wolves. With their core locked in, finding late gems could be crucial to building around Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels as Minnesota looks to advance in the playoffs for the first time in over 20 years.
