The Timberwolves have tabbed the point guard to back up and serve as an insurance policy for veteran Mike Conley. It’s a player Tim Connelly knows awfully well.

Minnesota acquired Monte Morris from the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday in exchange for Troy Brown Jr., Shake Milton and the Wolves’ 2030 second-round pick, a source confirmed. The deal was originally reported by The Athletic.

Connelly — the Timberwolves’ president of basketball operations — was with the Nuggets when they selected Morris with a second-round pick in the 2017 draft. Morris spent his first five seasons in Denver, serving as a valuable backup for Jamal Murray for much of his tenure.

Morris, 28, started for Denver throughout the 2021-22 season — when the Nuggets edged Minnesota for the No. 6 seed in the West — when Murray was out with a torn ACL. He averaged 12.6 points and 4.4 assists that season.

Morris will be tasked with conducting the second unit when Minnesota is at full strength and will also be an insurance policy should Conley suffer an injury or simply take a game or two off as the Wolves manage the 36-year-old’s workload.

Morris looks like a slam dunk for such a role considering his experience in it and his career production to date. He’s a 39-percent career 3-point shooter who has never averaged more than one turnover per game while demonstrating playmaking chops. That’s exactly what Minnesota could use to create some continuity between when Conley is on the floor and when he’s not.

The question with Morris is, is he in the same form he’s been in past years? He missed the first three months of this season as he recovered from a right quad strain and has played sparingly in the six games since he was cleared for action.

But if it doesn’t work out, Minnesota only put a very small amount into the pot for the wager. Brown and Milton were offseason signings who simply didn’t pan out through the first 50 games of the season. After a strong training camp and preseason, Milton struggled to find his footing offensively. Brown had highlights and key stretches of production during the season but was unable to cement a spot in the rotation, as Timberwolves coach Chris Finch didn’t seem to trust Brown’s defense.

Finch has also had a hard time putting his full trust into Jordan McLaughlin as the team’s backup floor general. McLaughlin didn’t play in the second half of Minnesota’s recent loss to Orlando — a decision Finch said he regretted — and played fewer than two minutes in the second half of the Wolves’ loss to the Bulls on Tuesday.

The fact the second-round pick is so far down the line is helpful to Minnesota. The Wolves have Memphis’ second-round pick in this summer’s NBA draft, which could be a valuable asset. But Minnesota may need that pick as it attempts to backfill its roster in coming years while managing salary and luxury cap limitations from its top-heavy roster.

Minnesota was reportedly in the market for several available guards, including Apple Valley native Tyus Jones. But Jones’ price tag to be pried away from Washington was too high for Minnesota.

The move leaves Minnesota with 13 filled roster spots. It will eventually have to sign another player, and can ink two. Minnesota could do that by elevating two-way contracts, signing someone from the post-trade deadline buyout market, or making another move before Thursday afternoon’s deadline.

But the Wolves head into the final day of deal-making knowing they’ve at least attempted to fill their biggest need.