How the Minnesota Timberwolves can Improve in the 2025 NBA Draft

The Minnesota Timberwolves, by many standards, had another successful season in 2024-25.

After reaching the Western Conference Finals for just the second time in franchise history last year, Anthony Edwards and company had a bumpy regular season. Despite earning the No. 6 seed, the Wolves managed to knock off the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors en route to the third WCF appearance in the team's history.

In the penultimate round of the playoffs, Minnesota was overmatched by the Oklahoma City Thunder, who won the series in five games to secure a spot in the NBA Finals. After another solid run comes to an end in the Western Conference Finals, the Wolves will now turn their attention to the draft.

General Manager Tim Connelly and company currently own the No. 17 and No. 31 overall picks in this year's class, and could add valuable role players to their team on June 25.

Minnesota's loss to the Thunder seemingly illustrated that the team needs more creation and playmaking alongside Edwards, as Mike Conley is 37-years-old and coming off a lackluster performance against OKC.

To fill this gap, the Wolves will likely turn to some of the young players on their roster, like Terrence Shannon Jr. and Rob Dillingham, but the team could also use a draft pick on another ball handler.

After being viewed as lottery picks by some analysts early in the season, Egor Demin, Kasparas Jakucionis and Nolan Traore could all be viable options for Chris Finch's team. All three of the aforementioned prospects offer good size at the postion to go along with strong playmaking ability.

As a freshman at BYU, Demin averaged 10.6 points, 5.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 41.2% from the field and 27.3% from deep. At the NBA Combine, Demin measured at 6-foot-8 and a quarter of an inch with a wingspan stretching 6-foot-10 and a quarter of an inch.

Jakucionis tallied 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 44% from the field and 31.8% from beyond the arc in his lone season at Illinois. The former FC Barcelona standout measured at 6-foot-4 and three quarters of an inch at the NBA Combine with a 6-foot-7 and three quarters of inch wingspan.

Traore, a 19-year-old prospect from France, averaged 11.6 points, 5.1 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game while shooting 39.2% from the floor and 30.4% from 3-point range playing for Saint-Quentin. Listed at 6-foot-5, Traore could be the next French prospect to make an impact in the NBA.