Timberwolves' Tim Connelly talks Beringer, Zikarsky, draft trades, more

The last two nights were busy ones for the Minnesota Timberwolves. On Wednesday, they selected French center Joan Beringer with the 17th overall pick. Then, on Thursday, after trading back twice, they added another developmental young big man in Australia's Rocco Zikarsky. Neither player will be ready to contribute much in the next year or two, but these picks were about long-term upside.

Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly spoke with the media about a number of topics after the draft's second round concluded. We've extracted most of the highlights from that press conference below.

Drafting Joan Beringer at No. 17

The Wolves may have had opportunities to make trades on night one, but they ultimately stayed put at 17 and took Beringer, an 18-year-old who they think has a chance to be special in the future. They were thrilled when he was still on the board at their pick.

"Every time we watched him, we were kind of blown away with his instincts, especially for a guy that's barely played basketball," Connelly said. "Defensively, he was covering five spots. He's very raw, but really bright, and has developed at a pace that quite frankly, I've never seen for a guy that new to professional basketball. He was our guy when the night started and we were very fortunate he was there."

Beringer grew up playing soccer and didn't start focusing on basketball until about four years ago. Since then, he's showed off significant potential as a 6'10" big with a 7'4" wingspan and outstanding mobility. The Timberwolves conducted a workout with Beringer not long before the draft, and one highlight from that session that Connelly noted was that he dunked from the free throw line.

It'll take time and effort to develop Beringer into a quality NBA player, but the Wolves believe all the tools are there. Connelly said he's gained 24 pounds just this year as he works to fill out his frame. He also said he believes Beringer can eventually be "as good of a switchable defender as there is in the league."

"The thing that he can do now is guard," Connelly said. "He's one of the rare elite athletes vertically and laterally, so I think he's going to hang his hat on defensive versatility. And offensively, we don't know what he is. Right now, he's a sprint-the-floor, he's a lob threat, offensive rebounds, kind of a garbage guy around the rim. What's really exciting, especially because we have such great coaches, is he's really malleable. However we want to develop him, we can develop him. It's just exciting to see a guy that has all these crazy tools and really no bad habits."

Trading down twice in the second round

The Wolves entered Thursday holding the 31st overall pick. About an hour before the draft, they dealt that to the Suns for the 36th pick and a couple future seconds (one in 2026 and one in 2032). Then, instead of picking at 36, they traded that pick to the Lakers for No. 45 and cash.

"It was done with our present roster in mind," Connelly said. "We have some free agents we want to retain, certainly we have some first and second apron issues that we want to be cognizant of. There were players we really liked, but you can't get draft fever and just add, add, add. So when we looked at the board and we were aware of what the offseason might look like, we thought moving down and picking up assets — and assets that are down the line, assets that hopefully we can utilize either with a pick or in a trade. We've obviously traded a lot of picks, so any chance we have to kind of restock some of the pick inventory that we were lacking previously."

Going from 31 to 36 allowed the Wolves to add a couple future picks. Going from 36 to 45 and only getting cash in return was a bit more confusing, but part of the reason may have been that it allowed the Wolves to draft a guy who they can put on a two-way contract, thus preserving a roster spot.

Drafting Rocco Zikarsky at No. 45

Zikarsky, also just 18 years old, was the tallest player in this draft at 7'3" without shoes. Once viewed as a potential lottery pick, he didn't have the kind of season he was hoping for with his Australian club this past year, so his stock slipped. But the Wolves remain excited about Zikarsky, who can move well for his size and might have some shooting upside. He largely trained in Minnesota prior to the draft.

"We walked away with a guy in Zikarsky that we had more highly ranked than the 45th pick," Connelly said. "A guy that has a real puncher's chance. He's a really unique prospect and a really good kid. ... I think you'll be surprised to watch his skill set, given his size."

"I was hoping to get like 14.4 (feet of height) combined, and I achieved that goal," Connelly joked about the Wolves' two draft picks.

Despite reports that Zikarsky will be on a two-way deal with the Wolves next season, Connelly said he wasn't sure what the plan is for his immediate future.

"There's a couple different options," he said. "He could stay overseas, there's the G League — we want to maximize Iowa. So we're not sure, but we want to ensure that he's going somewhere where his development continues."

Rob Dillingham in year two

There was some speculation that the Wolves could look to draft a point guard, considering Mike Conley is nearing the end of his career and Rob Dillingham — the eighth overall pick last year — played somewhat sparingly as a rookie. Connelly acknowledged that the Wolves were considering "1s" in the draft, but he also had plenty of praise for Dillingham heading into year two.

"I think Rob looks fantastic," he said. "He had moments when he played last year that were not just impactful for himself, but they were impactful for team success, which is really the ultimate mark for a point guard. So we're excited. He brings a dynamic element that we lack otherwise. I think he'll have a bigger and bigger role."

One interesting thing about this draft is that the Wolves don't really have room in their rotation for additional young players. They've already got Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark who are pushing for real opportunities, not to mention guys like Leonard Miller and Josh Minott. That may have contributed to the approach of drafting a pair of 18-year-old projects who are a few years away from being in the mix.

"The coolest thing about our environment right now is you gotta earn it," Connelly said of the team's young players. "Finchy's done a great job challenging our young guys. They all had moments ... and now how do you build off those moments? I think they've all created a bit more trust with the coaching staff, which should allow them to take on bigger and more prominent roles."

Talks around Wolves' three potential free agents

With the draft in the rearview mirror, the focus turns to the meat of the NBA offseason. Player option deadlines and free agency are coming up next week. The Wolves have one player, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is an unrestricted free agent, and two more, Julius Randle and Naz Reid, who have decisions to make on their player options.

"All deserving of a lot of attention, both here and outside these doors," Connelly said of those three guys. "It's exciting. What's exciting is when you have a good team and the guys want to be back here. So we'll see. We have some limitations, financially. We want to make sure we avoid that second apron. But we're really excited about the direction of our team, we're excited that the guys who are free all want to come back."

Trade rumors

The Wolves have been a team brought up constantly in trade rumors, mostly around Kevin Durant, who ended up being dealt to the Rockets. Connelly has made several big trades during his time in Minnesota. Is anything else in the works?

"We're always talking," Connelly said. "I wouldn't believe all the rumors that were written the last couple weeks, but we're always talking. Until we win it all, we gotta challenge ourselves, right? We're happy with the team, but we're still not content with the outcome last year.

"I think after tonight, the league kind of takes a collective breath and I think a lot of the incumbent free agents will know soon, are they going to stay or are they going to hit the open market? It's an interesting market, there's not a ton of available capital for these guys. But that could spur even more trades. We're always talking, we don't have anything cooking at the moment, but I think tomorrow morning you'll see teams put up their depth chart and then those calls will start more in earnest."