The Minnesota Timberwolves had the first pick in the second round of the NBA draft, fully prepared to field multiple offers for the 31st overall selection.
After keeping their first-rounder at No. 17 for Joan Beringer, the 6-foot-11 shot-blocking project from France, the Timberwolves couldn't resist the trade calls on Thursday night.
That 31st pick went to the Phoenix Suns in a proposed swap that gave them No. 36, which was then sent to the Los Angeles Lakers in a separate trade agreement that landed them at 45th overall. There, in a spot originally belonging to the Chicago Bulls, the Timberwolves wound up with another international big man, the 7-foot-2 Rocco Zikarsky from Australia.
For a team in win-now mode that has made consecutive Western Conference finals, even Minnesota's first-rounder was bound to be an exercise in player development, especially with an 18-year-old in Beringer who only began playing basketball at age 14.
But even while draft picks outside of the lottery range rarely make an immediate impact in the NBA these days, the second round has become more valuable under the recently altered luxury tax rules. The Wolves played this season above the second apron with the second-highest payroll in the league, resulting in a stiff tax bill and other transactional limitations, and simply need rostered players who count little against the cap.
"The team-building rules are restricted a little bit," general manager Matt Lloyd said late Wednesday after Beringer was drafted. "We have to get our draft picks right, and then we have to be a part of player development."
That's where 2024 draft picks Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon were focused this season, rarely cracking coach Chris Finch's eight-man rotation. But Shannon showed enough improvement and value on both ends of the floor that he began to get meaningful minutes during the playoffs.
Beringer will be in that same mode next season, when the Wolves will lean on center Rudy Gobert, a fellow Frenchman, to ease him into the NBA and provide an ideal example of how to effectively protect the paint.
After arranging a private workout with Beringer last weekend, the Wolves were sold on his character, potential and skills enough to stick at No. 17 to pick him.
"He's like a ball of clay. He was the third-youngest player in the draft. He plays an incredibly vital role in the league right now. His basket-protection is incredible," Lloyd said. "What really kind of helped us solidify the final evaluation is just getting to meet him. He's a very serious person. He's very dedicated. He's very focused. He learned English in the last seven months."