Neal: No moves by Wolves’ Tim Connelly on NBA draft day indicates one thing — he’s not done yet

The Wolves began the most consequential offseason in their history by drafting an 18-year old who has played basketball for four years and likely will spend most of his first year in Iowa.

That makes him a project.

Just a few days earlier, Wolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly stated he would be “all over” a player who could break into their hard-to-crack rotation. This move points toward the 2028-29 season. Beringer is not what the Wolves need now.

I visited the Wolves’ draft headquarters at the Mayo Clinic Center on Wednesday eager to see Connelly work his magic. The man makes blockbuster trades for breakfast, after all. Just three years ago, he joined the Wolves from Denver and announced his arrival with authority, sending five players and five picks for Rudy Gobert, a move that changed compensation for top players ever since.

In his career as an executive, Connelly has been a part of seven three-team trades, three four-team trades and even one deal involving six teams.

In each of his three previous drafts since taking over the Wolves, Connelly made moves that day. Last year, he was able to land Rob Dillingham for two future first-round picks. And he’s part of the near future.

With the Wolves coming off a second consecutive trip to the Western Conference finals, I was ready to see another deal come together. Perhaps a deal to add more scoring? Something to begin the Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez ownership era with a bang.

Instead, we were scouring YouTube looking for highlights of Joan Beringer, a French center who was a role player for his club team in Slovenia.

We waited to see if there was a deal in the works before the draft ended. No dice. Six deals were announced during the first round Wednesday. None involving Connelly. The draft resumes Thursday with the Wolves owning the first pick of the second round.

(Note to the NBA: Holding the second round a day later is dumb.)

“It wasn’t for a lack of trying,” General Manger Matt Lloyd said following the round while Connelly was working phones in his office. “Tim’s one of those guys at the craps table. He likes to roll the dice. He’s the best I’ve ever seen — and I’ve worked with a lot of good GMs and had a lot of good bosses — at knowing what everyone is doing and how he can connect the dots for them to get there.

“So he was on the phone all day. We tried to move up, move down, back, move forward, move sideways.”

OK. Full stop. This is where I come to my senses.

I am confident Connelly will strike at some point. The league new year begins July 1, when free agency kicks off. There’s an entire summer to make deals. Connelly landed Rudy Gobert in July 2022, but he traded Karl Anthony Towns to the Knicks right before training camp opened in 2024. He could make his big move at any point.

Connelly has to figure out whether Julius Randle and Naz Reid are opting in or out for next season. He has to figure out if he can bring back Nickeil Alexander-Walker or must watch him depart as a free agent. Connelly will have to pivot to fill holes if one or more of these players leaves, so he needs to get a read on his roster first.

Honestly, he has until the next trade deadline to make a move to help the Wolves take that elusive next step.

And Beringer could develop into a good player. He’s only played four years, so he still has much to learn. But from a mobility and rim-protecting standpoint, he’s got plenty of potential. He’s athletic and is quick enough to handle the constant switches he will face in the NBA. The Wolves, who were sold on Beringer after working him out last weekend in Chicago, believe there is a reliable 10-15-foot jumper in that 6-foot-11 frame of his.

It will take time, which is hard for us to understand when you want to see a team make a move to help win a title.

Connelly, I believe, will make that move. Wednesday just wasn’t the day for it to happen.