Neal: How rookie Wendell Moore Jr. could contribute to Wolves this season
Wendell Moore Jr.'s basketball IQ kicks in even before Kevin Burleson is done designing a play. The Wolves rookie quickly determines what his responsibilities are, impressing Burleson with how quickly he picks things up.
"Dell has that old man's soul to the game," said Burleson, the former Gopher and current Wolves player development coach who is running the Wolves' NBA Summer League team. "He's got that calmness, like. 'Okay, I got this.' "
When the "old man's soul' remark was relayed to Moore, the Wolves' first-round pick out of Duke said with a chuckle "I'm not really sure what that means."
After being told it was a positive take on his hoops knowledge, he laughed and said, "Alright, I like that then."
Moore, a three-year starter at Duke, hasn't taken long to show the Wolves during the Summer League in Las Vegas how he can contribute. He is 6 feet, 51⁄2 inches in shoes, has first-step quickness, defends well, has a 7-0 wingspan and looks like a rookie who can play multiple positions.
But he must apply that hoops IQ and find a way to make the Wolves roster sooner than later. That will require versatility. The Wolves are aware of how he plays off the ball, but Burleson wants to see how Moore creates with the ball in his hands.
"We're putting them in situations where we think they need growth in," Burleson said. "Like Wendell, we're putting him on the ball a lot. I think he has more playmaking ability than he has shown."
That was a response after practice the day before the Wolves' Vegas opener against Denver on Friday. Burleson brought up Moore on his own while answering a question about challenging his group of prospects.
The next night, Moore brought the ball up and initiated the offense frequently. If he makes the roster. Moore will have to play two or three positions, put his wingspan to use on defense, hit a few threes and be a playmaker at times.
He stood out among other players in his Wolves debut, scoring 10 points and collecting four rebounds in 26 minutes. He showed how much he worked on his shooting during his final season at Duke, swishing his first two three-point attempts before missing a third.
With Wolves veterans D'Angelo Russell, Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels sitting at one end of Cox Pavilion and coach Chris Finch and staffers seated at midcourt, Moore also showed a willingness to crash the boards, attack the basket and finish strongly at the rim.
Two days later, Moore scuffled on Sunday, scoring just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting. But he did contribute his first two assists of the Summer League. More of that please, the Wolves said.
"He still needs to develop a little more vision on certain things because he's playing the point," Burleson said. "He's missing a couple passes, but that's just because he's getting pressure. This is a position he's not always at."
Wolves fans shouldn't fret that their first-round draft pick scored just 17 points and provided just two assists in two games. Randy Foye and Jaylen Nowell averaged over 20 points a game in past Summer Leagues. But Foye's 12-year career fell short of what was expected from a seventh overall pick, and Nowell enters his fourth season hoping to be a role player on an ascending Wolves team. You can't get too wound up over Vegas successes or failures.
Since Moore was the 29th overall pick, not much is expected of him right away. Finch, in fact, hinted during a radio interview on Monday on KFAN that Moore might not be ready to help them until January. That suggests a stint in the G-League.
As teams seek adaptivity and flexibility with their lineups, being able to play different positions is a plus. Moore can diagnose plays on a whiteboard, but channeling his inner point guard will get him on the roster.
