It’s notable that the only draft pick Minnesota surrendered in its deal to acquire point guard Monte Morris ahead of the NBA trade deadline was its own second-round selection in 2030.

Minnesota owns second-round picks in each of the next three drafts, all of which could’ve been dealt last week to upgrade the current roster. The Timberwolves have what will be the Grizzlies’ second-round pick in the upcoming draft, which would currently be No. 36 overall.

Early second-round picks are coveted assets in the NBA because a team can acquire a top-40 draft prospect’s rights but have far more flexibility in contract negotiations. The structure of contracts for first-round picks are largely pre-determined by the collective bargaining agreement.

So that Memphis pick is a valuable chip for the Timberwolves, who chose to keep it in their back pocket.

As much as improving the roster now is important for an organization that aims to make a deep playoff run this spring, Minnesota is also cognizant of its future. The Wolves will be in a heavy salary cap crunch as the contract extensions of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels all hit the books.

Re-signing Kyle Anderson in the offseason seems like a long shot, and while the Wolves are likely to make a strong push to re-sign Mike Conley, it will require some salary cap gymnastics to do so. This is the life the Wolves will live on a year-to-year basis unless it sheds some serious salary in the coming seasons.

Being so top-heavy will force Minnesota to round its roster out and build depth through players on cheap contracts. Sometimes, those can come in the forms of frugal free-agent deals, like the one Minnesota inked Nickeil Alexander-Walker to last summer. But more often than not, the Wolves will have to build out their back end through the draft.

And to build through the draft, you need draft picks.

Minnesota is currently armed with first-round picks in all the even years through the remainder of the decade — with Utah possessing all of the Wolves’ first-round picks in odd years, while reserving the right to swap first-rounders with Minnesota in 2026 as part of the Rudy Gobert trade in July 2022 .

The Wolves don’t own second-round picks in 2027 or 2028. Their current stock of second-round selections in the coming years includes Memphis’ this summer, Utah’s next year and the least favorable of San Antonio’s, Miami’s or Indiana’s in 2026. The Wolves don’t own their own second-round pick until 2029.

So it’s one of the barer pick cupboards in the league.

Wolves basketball boss Tim Connelly has proven his ability to find high-level players in the second round dating back to his days in Denver. Nikola Jokic is perhaps the best second-round pick in NBA history. Morris was a second-round pick, as well.

“His first year in Denver, he played one NBA game, and he became one of the elite backups in the league and now he’s been a starter these last couple of years,” Connelly said Friday. “I think it shows the value that you can potentially find in second-round picks.”

Perhaps Minnesota has something in 2023 second-round pick Leonard Miller, though he still appears to be a ways away from being ready to contribute. The more picks you can have, the more opportunities you give yourself to strike gold. Which is why Minnesota has to hold on to the few it has and potentially be creative in finding ways to add more when opportunities present themselves.

Related Articles

Can Monte Morris reach 100 percent in his time with the Timberwolves? ‘I should be able to get back to that in no time’

Timberwolves pummel short-handed Bucks

Timberwolves could be active in buyout market

Timberwolves trade for Monte Morris to address backup point guard position

Timberwolves collapse in second half in overtime loss to Chicago

“It’s always good to have picks than not have picks,” Connelly said. “But the picks were really coveted (the last couple weeks). We had a lot of conversations that we could’ve done initial things, but we didn’t think the price merited the return. It will be fun this offseason to have some of those things at our disposal. We’re going to have a first-round pick, we have a second that can be pretty good. You’re always trying to add. Any team, regardless of where you’re at in the cycle, you gotta replenish with young players.”