After bowing out in the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive year, the Minnesota Timberwolves are prepared to make changes this offseason that will determine if they can continue to be a championship contender into the future.
One of those changes will likely be finding a replacement for Timberwolves guard Mike Conley. Conley has spent the last three seasons with Minnesota and has gotten steadily worse statistically over that span, as injuries and age have taken their toll. The veteran point guard averaged 6 PPG in the postseason for the Timberwolves and 8.2 PPG in the 2024-25 regular season.
Conley struggled in the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, averaging 4.4 PPG in the series. In Minnesota's 124-94 loss in Game 5, he scored zero points and tallied one assist in 21 minutes played.
Conley has one year remaining on his contract with the Timberwolves and is expected to stay in Minnesota. But after completing his 18th season in the NBA, Conley's career is coming to a close. The veteran has a goal of reaching the NBA Finals after falling just short the last two years with the Timberwolves. Conley is hoping Minnesota can go all-in next year if he returns, but doing so means finding an upgrade over him to help facilitate for Anthony Edwards.
So it's no surprise that the latest NBA mock draft from Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman has the Timberwolves adding Conley's replacement at the point guard position.
Mike Conley's potential replacement in Minnesota
With 17th pick in this year's draft, Wasserman has the Timberwolves are selecting BYU point forward Egor Demin. In his one season with the Cougars, Demin averaged 10.6 PPG, 5.5 APG and 3.9 RPG. Demin has some positional versaility thanks to his 6-foot-9 frame, with experience playing as a small forward for the Cougars this past season. But his primary selling point is his creativity as a passer and playmaker, per FanSided's Christopher Kline.
"He occupies an extremely appealing archetype as a 6-foot-9 playmaker, but Demin's lack of strength and burst has led to difficulty creating and converting quality looks. He's still a dizzying passer with enough wiggle to get downhill and generate looks for teammates, but Demin's scoring looks borderline nonexistent these days. It's a concern."
There are many aspects of Demin's play style that will help him thrive with the Timberwolves. Like Mike Conley, Demin is an excellent passer and can help the Timberwolves to generate transition offense.
Critics argue that Demin's three-point shooting and shot selection could hurt him at the next level. But with other talent around him, including Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and the potential return of Julius Randle, Demin should be able to fit right in with the Timberwolves' offense and help set the table for the athletes around him.