What does Matt Lloyd bring to the table as he joins the Timberwolves front office?
Krawczynski: Some Timberwolves fans may say, wait a second, Connelly’s first big hire is a guy who oversaw scouting for the Magic? Why should I be excited about that? Can you provide some context into what he accomplished there and why Connelly may have been so interested in bringing him aboard?
Robbins: Lloyd is a well-regarded talent evaluator and a keen manager of information. He communicates well. My guess is that Connelly has known Lloyd for a long time and trusts Lloyd implicitly. Having that trust is crucial. Citing the Magic’s lack of success since 2012 is an understandable criticism, though. After all, that franchise has posted a winning record just once in Lloyd’s 10 seasons with the team.
The team made some solid (but not great) draft picks:
Victor Oladipo (No. 2 in 2013) and
Aaron Gordon (No. 4 in 2014). It dramatically overvalued other players it drafted: Mario Hezonja (No. 5 in 2015) and
Mo Bamba (No. 6 in 2018). I should note that
Franz Wagner, the eighth pick last year, might develop into one of the best picks in that draft.
But — and it’s a significant “but” — Lloyd never made the final call on any of those picks. Throughout his tenure, he was always third on the pecking order of the Orlando basketball operations department, either under the Hennigan/Perry tandem or the Weltman/Hammond tandem. In other words, the buck stopped with either Hennigan or Weltman since they were the final decision-makers on the draft.
It was telling, however, that Lloyd always publicly and privately backed all of the Magic’s choices, even if the choices were busts. He never, ever even hinted anything along the lines of “Oh, if I had been in charge, I would’ve picked So-and-So instead of So-and-So.” To Lloyd’s credit, it was impossible to know if his opinion ever differed from Hennigan’s or Weltman’s; in other words, he remained loyal to his bosses. I think that tells a lot about his character.
What I do know via Magic sources is that Lloyd saw potential stardom in
Donovan Mitchell when Lloyd was the interim GM in 2017. Mitchell went 13th that year, while the Magic went with
Jonathan Isaac at No. 6. I wonder if Lloyd would have selected Mitchell over Isaac if Lloyd had remained in charge.
Also worth noting: The Bulls drafted
Jimmy Butler 30th in 2011, when Lloyd was the Bulls’ director of college scouting. Again, the buck stops with the person who was in charge of the Bulls at that time, and not Lloyd. But if Minnesota fans are going to fault Lloyd for the Magic’s draft record, then they should be consistent and cite the positives in the Bulls’ draft record during his tenure there.
The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski and Josh Robbins discuss Lloyd's accomplishments, background and overall fit in Minnesota.
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Howl Wolves!!
