NBA insider extremely high on Timberwolves rookie Leonard Miller

Will the 33rd pick in the draft be so good that the Wolves feel comfortable trading KAT?

Author:
Joe Nelson
Publish date:
Oct 25, 2023 4:37 PM EDT

How good is Timberwolves rookie Leonard Miller going to be? If you ask Kevin O'Conner of The Ringer, he's going to be so good that he forces Minnesota into trading Karl-Anthony Towns just so Miller gets more playing time.

"Leonard Miller will be such a draft steal for the Timberwolves that they will determine that it's time to trade Karl-Anthony Towns," said O'Conner on the Oct. 20 episode of The Mismatch podcast. "He looked really, really good in preseason. I know it's just preseason but he looked -- let's go back in time with Leonard Miller, his last 10-12 games of the G League season, something clicked with his jumper. He became a knockdown guy.

"I was told from people around the Ignite he was changing his mechanics all year long and then it just clicked. That carried over to their Summer League, it's carried over to preseason, he's shooting the heck out of it. He looks like a perfect fit in a frontcourt next to either Rudy Gobert or Naz Reid.

"He's just going to be so good, it's like 'We gotta get this guy more minutes. Let's trade KAT to the Knicks. I think Leonard Miller is a draft steal, second-round pick, 33rd pick in the draft and I expect that he's going to be so good that Minnesota's going to have no choice..."

That good now?

"Yeah, as a rookie. I think he's really good," O'Connor said.

O'Connor's commentary was part of the show's "semi-bold predictions" segment, but he was adamant that he doesn't think Minnesota can afford so many high-priced players and Towns makes the most sense to trade.

"If I'm the Wolves, at some point you gotta say, 'Hey are we better without KAT, with considering what we can get for him from the Knicks or some other mystery team?'" O'Connor concluded.

Miller averaged 13.6 minutes per game in five preseason games and scored 7.8 points per game on 54.8% shooting, including 44.4% from 3. He also grabbed 4.8 rebounds and averaged nearly a steal and a block in that limited action.