The 2025 NBA Draft is just over three weeks away and the Timberwolves currently hold picks No. 17 and No. 31. If we’ve learned anything about the Wolves’ front office decisions under Tim Connelly, there’s a real possibility they’re aren’t picking at those spots, but here are five players that could make a lot of sense for Minnesota to add on June 25 and 26.
This time last year, Minnesota had Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid under contract, but after this year’s playoff run, it’s clear they could use another young big man. Niederhauser has a lot of Gobert in his game. At 7-feet, he averaged 2.3 blocks per game last season at Penn State, and he could make a lot of sense for the Wolves if they move on from of their main frontcourt players this offseason.
Kalkbrenner is a very similar player to Niederhauser, but he probably has a little more of an offensive game. He averaged 19.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game last season with Creighton. He’s already 23 years old, but he could contribute very quickly in an NBA rotation.
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Rob Dillingham is the Wolves’ point guard of the future, but he’s still only 20 years old. They could use an older 23-year-old rookie like Jones to take some pressure off Mike Conley Jr. and Dillingham in the frontcourt next season. He averaged 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game last season for Marquette. He’s a realistic second-round target.
Nembhard is arguably the best pure passer in this year’s draft. He’s another older prospect at 22 years old, but he led the country with 9.8 assists per game last season at Gonzaga with only 2.5 turnovers a night. He also shot 40.7% from beyond the arc, and he could very easily end up being one of the most overlooked players in this draft.
Terrence Shannon Jr.’s performance in the conference finals showed that the Wolves aren’t in desperate need of more wing scoring, but you never can have 6’5″ to 6’8″ guards/forwards in the NBA. Clifford averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game last season at Colorado State. He’s already 23 years old and a very similar player to Shannon.
