The Timberwolves and President Gersson Rosas were trying to move up from No. 11 in this year's draft _ and they finally did.
About an hour before the draft was set to take place, the Wolves traded with the Suns to grab the No. 6 pick in the draft. The price? Dario Saric.
Saric will head to Phoenix as the Wolves moved up five spots in the draft, a source confirmed to the Star Tribune. With that pick, the Wolves selected Texas Tech guard Jarrett Culver.
Culver helped lead the Red Raiders to the national championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Culver took a leap in scoring during his second season with Texas Tech, increasing his scoring from 11.2 points per game to 18.5, but he's also known as a strong defender, something that helped the Red Raiders build one of the best defenses in the country. It's unclear if the Wolves will hang on to Culver as ESPN reported they were in discussions with multiple teams for the pick.
Saric came to the Wolves in the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia. After coming off the bench under Tom Thibodeau, Saric eventually became a starter when Ryan Saunders became the coach.
Saric averaged 10.5 points in 68 games with the team but never quite seemed comfortable fitting in with the Wolves on the court, despite professing he was happy here.
Saric had one year remaining on his rookie deal, which was due to pay him around $3.5 million this season before he became a restricted free agent. The Wolves likely would've had to pay him a significantly higher salary once he hit restricted free agency after next season, and since they're already up against the cap this season ($106.5 million committed to seven players with the cap at $109 million), it might've been difficult to keep Saric long term, especially with the maximum contracts of Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins locked in for five and four years, respectively.
Rosas had been trying to move up in the draft all day, sources said, and finally found a dance partner. The Wolves had been trying to move up to No. 4, where New Orleans acquired the pick from the Lakers in the Anthony Davis trade, but Atlanta struck a deal with the Pelicans for that pick.
A few minutes later, ESPN first reported the Wolves had struck a deal with Phoenix.
