Scoggins: Timberwolves’ mission during NBA free agency must be to add a point guard

The Timberwolves left the draft in the same place as they entered it. No better, no worse. Just taller and with a few cool accents. If you squint, you might see the outline of Tim Connelly’s vision of the new additions in the distance.

The Wolves selected a pair of 18-year-old developmental center projects, one from France, the other from Australia, neither expected to contribute in a meaningful way for some time.

Connelly borrowed Rick Spielman’s draft playbook and traded back several times. Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez pocketed some of the Los Angeles Lakers’ cash by agreeing to move back in the second round, which should allow the new owners to splurge on dinner this weekend after their $1.5 billion purchase of the team gained league approval a few days earlier.

No team should ever punt on a draft, but the Wolves treated this one as a layaway plan. They already have enough young players waiting for their turn to join the regulation rotation.

The real work begins now, with free agency on deck.

Connelly, team president and roster architect, would like to bring back all three core pieces who have the option of becoming free agents — Julius Randle, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and he landed Reid on Friday with a five-year, $125 million deal. Keeping both of the others is probably not realistic financially. The Wolves are desperately trying to avoid the NBA’s new dungeon of misery, the “second apron” of the collective bargaining agreement. Coaches and executives talk about the second apron as if sharing boogeyman stories around a campfire.

Even if two of their internal targets return — best guess is that Randle and Reid are back — it’s hard to look at the roster and view it as being complete or ready to progress beyond the conference finals.

The point guard position remains too unsettled to assume Connelly doesn’t have something up his sleeve.

“We don’t have anything cooking at the moment,” he said of trade possibilities. “But I think [Friday] morning, you’ll see teams put up their depth chart and then those calls will start more in earnest.”

His depth chart at point guard should spur calls.

Mike Conley turns 38 in October. Rob Dillingham is 20 and played sporadic minutes as a rookie. The Wolves could use someone in between those two extremes.

The question to be answered: Do Connelly and coach Chris Finch trust Dillingham enough yet to hand him the keys to a team that is coming off back-to-back conference finals appearances and operating in a win-now manner?

“I think Rob looks fantastic,” Connelly said Thursday night post-draft. “He had moments when he played last year that were not just impactful for himself but were impactful for team success, which is really the ultimate mark for a point guard. He brings a dynamic element that we lack. The coolest thing about our environment right now is you’ve got to earn it. Finch has done a great job of challenging our young guys.”

Connelly would be a shark at the poker table. He strikes without tipping his intentions. But that appraisal of Dillingham includes an important qualifier.

He had nice moments. A long bridge exists between moments and being the main conductor and sidekick who alleviates some of the pressure on Anthony Edwards. That piece is missing from the puzzle.

Asked if Dillingham has secured that level of trust, Connelly answered, “I think so.”

“We just saw the championship team is very youthful,” he said of the Oklahoma City Thunder. “The [second] youngest team to ever win it all. I think our environment has allowed these guys to grow, even if it’s not always growing in front of our eyes in games. I just trust that a handful of our young guys are ready to take that jump, and I think Finch shares that same faith.”

They know Dillingham’s readiness better than anyone on the outside. If they conclude the risk is too high to stand pat, does Connelly attempt to go big or medium in scale? Another blockbuster trade would require parting with key assets, and if that involved Jaden McDaniels, the answer should be “heck no.”

“Until we win it all, we’ve got to challenge ourselves,” Connelly said. “We’re happy with our team, but we’re still not content with the outcome last year.”

It’s hard to believe they feel content with their point guard situation. That should remain a priority on Connelly’s to-do list.