2025 NBA Draft Introductory Press Conference

2025 NBA Draft Introductory Press Conference

[Applause] [Applause] good morning everyone Thanks so much for being here My name is Marne Gelner I’m the TV pregame show and postgame show host for the Timberwolves Thanks for those of you who are in attendance and thanks for those who are watching online at Timberwolves.com We are excited today to welcome two new members to the Twin Cities and our newest members of the Timberwolves family The Wolves added to their talented core by drafting Yawan Baron with the 17th overall draft pick and acquired the draft rights to the 45th overall pick Rocco Zelars excuse me Roco Zakarsski from the Chicago Bulls in a trade that is expected to be finalized at a later date And I’m guessing pronunciation will be a question from several people So let’s make sure we have this right Yawan Baron Roco Zakarsski Hopefully we’re all recording Great Yoan spent last season with Cedvita Olympia in Slovenia where he averaged five points five rebounds and one and a half blocks in 18 minutes per game And he helped his team win the Slovenian National Cup During this past regular season Yuan ranked second in the Adriatic League in blocks per game Prior to joining his team in Slovenia the Zesta France native competed for France in the 2023 FIA U8 European Championship And there he averaged nine points and five rebounds And Yan became the first player from France to be drafted by the Timberwolves Roco appeared in 20 games for the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian NBL this past season averaging five points on 50% shooting three and a half rebounds one block in 12 minutes per game The 18-year-old shot 62% from the floor for the Bullets during the previous season The Queensland Australia native attended the NBA Global Academy in Australia as part of the Next Stars program prior to his time with the Brisbane Bullets Roco is the second NBA Academy alumnist to be selected in this year’s draft the 13th to be drafted or signed with an NBA team This marked the sixth consecutive year that an Australian player has been drafted into the NBA Before opening this up to questions we’ll begin with an opening statement from President of Basketball Operations Tim Connley Um whoever thought that Marne would mess up Rocco’s name Uh you can check that on the bingo card I know it’s a tough name here Sakarsski’s hard Yeah got it
Good work Um super excited to add two really good players Um two really good people wonderful families in the front row Um you know we were guys that we followed closely for several years and both had took really unique paths to the NBA and again just feel really lucky to add these two guys to our team and now you can hear from them We will be opening it up to questions in just a moment I have a quick question for each before we begin that Yoan uh we watched a lot of us did on TV your reaction your family’s reaction now that you’ve had a couple of days to let that all soak in What was it like to hear your name called and to be drafted into the NBA um it’s it’s amazing especially with to to be there with my family my my friends and yeah it’s just a special moment you know And Roco this is not your first time in Minnesota is it you were here last summer Can you describe uh your journey through our great state
uh yeah Yeah So I did like a little pre pre-draft last year and uh got myself out to a couple of T- Wolves games was able to sit in the crowd and and listen to what uh the fans think of the team which mostly is positive Um but yeah no I’ve really enjoyed being here and um I feel like I’m the closest thing to a local which is uh pretty cool as well
Okie dokie You’re going to try to work that in Okay Roco you okay
trying to Okay Uh we’ll begin but we ask you to please uh state your name your media affiliation before you ask the question And if you are asking a question on Zoom use the raise your hand feature and we can call on you We’ll begin with John Krosinski from the athletic
Hey yawn John just wondering just four years ago you really started playing basketball and to get to this point so quickly What do you think has allowed you to just take to the game that you weigh you have and and and get to a point where you’re NBA draft eligible as you know just so so soon after starting I think it’s the atmosphere like with my family my friends and uh yeah also just uh every every day to be hungry uh to come on the practice with the to be ready to just you know to to if I can say to to cook your present and that’s is just to to put the energy you know every day I think this is the most important thing and Roco just how do you see your fit here with the Timberwolves and just your reaction to getting drafted by the Wolves specifically uh yeah no I think it’s a good fit Um I think I’m tall I can I can fit in a lot of places on the floor defensively and um yeah for me it was almost a a big relief to be able to to come back to Minnesota after New York and didn’t have to move very far So helped We do have microphones in the room so we’ll pass those around as the questions begin
Uh Britt Robson with Menost Johan um I hear that defense is the thing that you’ve concentrated on most and are are best at currently but I also hear rumors that you have a mid-range jump shot that uh you’ve been working on Can you talk about that um yes for me it’s really important to you know to put the energy in defense to help my my team with this and and yes also I I work every day on my on my mid-range and uh I want to to have a like regular shirt you know and also to to work on my trip It’s really important for me Joan uh Dave Campbell with the Associated Press We we were told on draft night you learned English very quickly while you were with your Slovenian team How why was it important you to you to do that and and what was your secret to success with that um it’s really important because first on the beginning like when I I’ve been in Slovenia um I didn’t speak English you know on the it was hard for me especially to talk with my teammates on the also on the practice and I think it’s sorry I think it’s really important you know and uh I think um just to to um to watch some series in English helped me and also to yet to read in English I had also some English class last year and um and yes Did you say watch some series like TV series
yes Netflix
What did you watch i I watch a lot of basketball like Court of Gold um Starting Five and Sprint some series some series like this
Starting five starring Anthony Edwards Well done Ahmad Hicks Fox 9 Joan you said you watched Starting Five and you saw Anthony Edwards What was your takeaway from and the Timberwolves and what made you excited to join this team uh first because it’s a player I watch since now two three years and you know it’s really artistic player he can do everything on the court and just to yeah to have this chance to play with a player like him it’s amazing and I hope just to learn a lot about him
Roco for you uh what excites you most about joining the Minnesota Timberwolves and what player has reached out or what player are you most looking forward to meeting uh yeah I think the the thing that excites me the most is the the atmosphere and the way the team plays Like been lucky enough to see a couple of games and I really enjoy watching them out there on the floor So for me it’s just the energy and the camaraderie is sort of what I’m really excited for Um and then I’m really most excited to learn from Rudy You know defensive MVP four times and to me that’s that’s what I like I like playing defense So to learn from him will be awesome Andrew Dook with zone coverage Both of you guys were at the Lynx game last night I just wonder what were your impressions of Minnesota basketball fans and the target center in general johan if you could go first
Um yes it was my first time uh I watch WNBA game It was cool Um and yeah good good experience Um yeah it was loud Um the team’s really good you know we got a blowout win and it was great to to be there and feel that energy You know you’re sitting down near the court and you can really feel the fans getting behind it So it was unreal Rocco Darren Wolson from Channel 5 Can you expound on your connection here to the Twin Cities how that came about is that through your agent
yeah Yeah it came through my agent So uh he messaged me last year and he said come out to Minnesota and train Uh did that and then came back this year So uh shout out to Matt bringing me here Shelby Swanson with the Star Tribune Quan you spoke a lot after you drafted just about Go Bear and his influence on you You kind of try to model your defense after him I’m just curious if you had the chance to speak to him since then and if so what that conversation was like
Uh yes after the draft he he called me and also we we talk a little bit on the WhatsApp and yeah it’s a really really good guy He don’t me give me some advice and yes I’m really excited to start to to learn with him and to to practice with him every day and and you know just to yeah learn about him Tim uh Matt had talked uh on draft night after drafting Yoan about the workout in Chicago that you guys had with him Can you just add a little bit of detail of what you saw there and how important that was just in the evaluation process to kind of nail down your pick here
yeah we were lucky enough to um Gelani his agent as a guy we’ve known for a long time lucky enough to get a a really cool old school you know high school gym workout Um we put him through a really tough oneh hour workout you saw the competitiveness You saw his ability to quickly grasp concepts and quite frankly you’re able to just see how athletic he was in in a one-on-one zero setting So um and then the most important part of it was the conversation afterwards You try to get a sense of is the personality some somebody that we want to bring in the building how motivated he is and those things were obvious So um it it was a really fun Saturday and it was an important part of the process to get him here
Yan what was that experience like for you to just have that private workout what did you learn about the Timberwolves and how did you feel coming out of that
um sorry Can can you say again
yeah How did you feel coming out of that private workout with the Timberwolves just in terms of the connection that you that you had with them
uh yes It was it was a very good workout I I did some some stuff like uh like low post shoots shooting uh pick and roll and also um yeah one 10 one 10 oneonone and it was good uh very good experience especially and to work out you know and yeah I like it It was very good Roco how do you see your kind of path going forward from here now as you try to transition from Australia into becoming an NBA player what’s the key for you in your development
yeah I think the uh the biggest thing is is working on my body and and getting game time You know it’s great to have the team uh Iowa Wolves and you know to be able to get down there and and play some big minutes down there hopefully Um I think it’ll be great for my development and then also just growing into you know my 73 frame Another question for Roco I was curious you spoke about it was last summer so coming to a game here and you were talking to some of the fans You said they had you know mostly good things to say I’m curious what were those conversations like what were they telling you
oh I mean everyone here loves the team You know it’s such a supportive environment You know everyone’s so excited to come out to a game And um the the one thing I do remember is is uh after the game I think uh someone walked past and they’re like “Man you should be down there on the floor.” And um I I told him I’m like “Oh hopefully one day.” And um you know now a year later I guess it’s uh a little more real than I thought But yeah I mean everyone everyone loves it And even yesterday you could feel the love at a Lynx game
Yeah And then if I may just a question for Tim You heard Rocco here just a second ago speaking about you know where he sees himself fitting in long term but just wanted to get your thoughts there and why Rocco
I mean both these guys are so incredibly young Um I mean you guys are both supposed to be in Switzerland right now right for under 20s Um so again we’ve we’ve been very fortunate Um the type of people that we have on the team self-motivated competitive hardworking These guys certainly sick that um or that archetype And um you know we’ve watched Rocco play since you were 14 15 and then his story is a story that like I’ve never seen I mean four years ago you’re playing soccer or football right and now
Yes Yes He says he was good We’ll have to get them over to a loons game to see if that’s factual A lot of guys say they’re good at football and then you give them a ball Actually the workout though we gave him a ball and he he did some tricks and right you put the ball in the back of your head the whole deal We have to make sure the soccer stories are real Um but I think they’re two great guys with tremendous upside and I’m not sure what they’re going to be Um I don’t think they know what they’re going to be as players but we know who they are as workers and who they are as people and we’ll bet on these type of guys all the time Roco just wondering uh what Australian players that you’ve sort of followed or admired over the years in the NBA Yeah Um definitely started with uh Bogurt I think that was the the guy that I watched when I first started watching NBA basketball Um and then even now it’s guys like Jock Landal obviously Dyson and Giddy Um I think those guys are
Yeah Joe Engles as well He doesn’t play a whole lot now but back when he did play it was pretty cool Um and yeah those sorts of guys are the guys that I follow Any other questions i would like to wrap up with one question the same one for both of you because not living in the United States and coming from a different country it’s a big deal and it can be scary and you both have family sitting right here in the front row Yan first what has it meant to you to have your family with you on draft night with you as you’re coming up and with you here today in Minnesota um yeah it’s special feeling you know uh especially because also my my daddy played basketball before and you know he he was the dream it was to to come also in the NBA and you know to to now have this chance and with my dad on the front it’s also very very very good feeling and yeah um I mean for me I I wouldn’t be here without my mom and my grandma and my my dad So for me it’s a great feeling to be able to share this with them and um you know they’ve sacrificed a lot and um yeah I’m ready to sort of to show them that their sacrifice can pay off Wonderful We have a photo opportunity now Let’s get the three of you Let’s get a couple of New Jerseys up here [Applause] Is that good for everyone does anyone need the jerseys higher got it Good Okay
you guys want to do family get up and get a picture let’s bring the family up Go on
You want

The Minnesota Timberwolves will host a press conference in the Target Center Lobby on Monday, June 30, to introduce their 2025 NBA Draft selections, Joan Beringer (17th overall pick) and Rocco Zikarsky (45th overall pick).