The Timberwolves made big news the last couple of days.
In a mild surprise, they re-signed talented big man Naz Reid, giving them a chance to have one of the best frontcourts in basketball.
In a larger surprise, on Monday, their top draft pick, Leonard Miller, made NBA history by calling the Timberwolves "Prestigious."
Who knew?
Miller was 1 year old — 1 — and living in Canada the last time the Timberwolves won a playoff series.
Miller made the comment in the Target Center lobby on Monday, as the Prestigious Timberwolves introduced their two 2023 draft picks, the 6-10 Miller and UCLA guard Jaylen Clark.
Both are intriguing prospects.
The more significant move, for this season, was the signing of Reid.
He was due to enter free agency on Friday. Instead, he signed a three-year, $42 million deal, giving the Wolves as strong a roster as they could have hoped to carry into the 2023-2024 season.
There were valid basketball and financial reasons for Reid to re-sign with the Wolves. That's a hefty price for a backup. He might not have done better on the open market. He clearly likes the Wolves' coach, Chris Finch, and his teammates.
Still, not many players get to the cusp of free agency and choose familiarity over funds.
This was an easy decision for the Wolves. I think it was the right decision for Reid.
If he had signed for more than $14 million a year elsewhere, he probably would have been used as a starter. As a starter, his defensive deficiencies would have been highlighted, and he would have been under pressure to justify his salary as an incoming player.
With the Wolves, he gets to play in a three-big rotation with Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, giving Finch an opportunity to find ideal matchups for him.
Connelly did not address the Reid signing or take questions after the news conference. During the news conference, he was asked about Miller's addition to a group of quality big men.
"Yeah, I don't really know what position Leonard is," Connelly said. "He grew up as a forward, so I think he can — I know he can — guard three positions. Then, offensively, I'll let coach Finch determine where he can best be deployed.
"What's neat about the flexibility of our bigs is that while Rudy is a pure [center], we have some other guys who can play both [forward and center]. Offensively, we have a bunch of guys that their skill set allows them to do things all over the court than, generally, most bigs can."
Connelly turned to face Miller and said, "Specific to Leonard, you're going to figure out what you are — or Coach is going to figure out what you are. That's one thing we're really excited about with Leonard — we just think he's a basketball player."
The Wolves' recent moves indicate Connelly is operating on two levels. He's trying to give the Gobert experiment every chance to succeed over the next year or two before breaking up his best core players. He's also trying to infuse the organization with inexpensive young talent that could either supplement the current roster or speed rebuilding if Gobert again plays like he is made of ill-fitting Legos.
The Wolves' current rotation features Towns, Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, Kyle Anderson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Reid and Taurean Prince. For all of the trauma the Wolves caused their fans last season, that's a winning group that lacks only a pure backup point guard.
The Wolves should be better next season. They will also face new challenges.
The Utah Jazz — home of former Wolves draft pick Walker Kessler — traded for talented Hawks forward John Collins on Monday, making the Jazz almost certain playoff contenders.
The San Antonio Spurs chose Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in last week's draft, and Wembanyama, playing for Gregg Popovich, makes the Spurs instant contenders.
The Wolves will also have to deal with a full season of Kevin Durant in the West, with the Phoenix Suns.
It's nothing one of the three or four most prestigious sports franchises based in downtown Minneapolis can't handle.
