When the Minnesota Timberwolves finished their playoff run, focus immediately turned to the 2024 NBA Draft and the offseason. President of basketball operations Tim Connelly knew he would have limited resources, due to their 2nd apron luxury tax reality , but he still had some tricks up his sleeve.
Derek Falvey and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah join Tim Connelly in Minnesota Timberwolves draft room
Despite being arguably the most successful president of basketball operations that the Minnesota Timberwolves have ever had, Tim Connelly doesn’t operate with a ‘smartest man in the room’ complex. He’s known for his ability to value, and appreciate informed opinions, where he can get them.
That’s why he invited Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Minnesota Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey to join him and the Wolves draft team, in their 2024 war room.
While neither Falvey or Adofo-Mensah have intimate knowledge of NBA Draft prospects, they do think analytically and have an understanding of valuations. Not only that, but this was the first year that the
NBA used a two-day draft process, another major reason why he wanted them in the room.
The Vikings traded up twice during their recent draft, and while draft trades aren’t straightforward for Major League Baseball, Falvey understands how Sean Johnson (vice president of amateur scouting) evaluates potential picks.
A front row seat to the Minnesota Timberwolves madness
The way in which an NBA Draft works is substantially different than either the NFL or MLB. Tim Connelly had significantly less time to operate between picks, and his sport encompasses the full process in just two rounds. With the NFL going seven rounds and MLB being spread across 20, each sport is a different animal.
Falvey noted it was “wild” to see how fast Connelly’s brain was working. The Major League Baseball Amateur Draft is largely a groupthink process that Falvey overseas, but differs to Johnson and those he has in place to make such decisions.
Despite having just the 27th overall pick last night, Connelly was able to trade into the top ten and land Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham with the 8th overall selection . He also held onto his 27th overall pick and grabbed Terrence Shannon Jr. Adofo-Mensah has experience moving around the draft, and could have been consulted on the value proposition of acting in such a manner. For Falvey, the maneuvering had to be a wild process to see up close.
Related: Confirmed: Rob Dillingham Will Get Run with Timberwolves Immediately
The trio working together is a pretty significant advancement in the world of cross-sport collaboration. With the Twins currently successful, and Vikings transitioning into a new era, all three local teams being on the precipice of something special is plenty exciting. It remains to be seen if this becomes some sort of standard practice going forward, but more knowledge and potential ideas from smart people is hardly ever a bad thing.
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