The Minnesota Timberwolves, by many standards, had another successful season in 2024-25.

After reaching the Western Conference Finals for just the second time in franchise history last year, Anthony Edwards and company had a bumpy regular season. Despite earning the No. 6 seed, the Wolves managed to knock off the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors en route to the third WCF appearance in the team’s history.

In the penultimate round of the playoffs, Minnesota was overmatched by the Oklahoma City Thunder, who won the series in five games to secure a spot in the NBA Finals. After another solid run comes to an end in the Western Conference Finals, the Wolves will now turn their attention to the draft.

General Manager Tim Connelly and company currently own the No. 17 and No. 31 overall picks in this year’s class, and could add valuable role players to their team on June 25.

Minnesota’s loss to the Thunder seemingly illustrated that the team needs more creation and playmaking alongside Edwards, as Mike Conley is 37-years-old and coming off a lackluster performance against OKC.

To fill this gap, the Wolves will likely turn to some of the young players on their roster, like Terrence Shannon Jr. and Rob Dillingham, but the team could also use a draft pick on another ball handler.

After being viewed as lottery picks by some analysts early in the season, Egor Demin, Kasparas Jakucionis and Nolan Traore could all be viable options for Chris Finch’s team. All three of the aforementioned prospects offer good size at the postion to go along with strong playmaking ability.

As a freshman at BYU, Demin averaged 10.6 points, 5.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 41.2% from the field and 27.3% from deep. At the NBA Combine, Demin measured at 6-foot-8 and a quarter of an inch with a wingspan stretching 6-foot-10 and a quarter of an inch.

Jakucionis tallied 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 44% from the field and 31.8% from beyond the arc in his lone season at Illinois. The former FC Barcelona standout measured at 6-foot-4 and three quarters of an inch at the NBA Combine with a 6-foot-7 and three quarters of inch wingspan.

Traore, a 19-year-old prospect from France, averaged 11.6 points, 5.1 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game while shooting 39.2% from the floor and 30.4% from 3-point range playing for Saint-Quentin. Listed at 6-foot-5, Traore could be the next French prospect to make an impact in the NBA.

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.

Hundreds of sheep are hard at work this spring in central Minnesota — not on a farm, but beneath solar panels.

At the Serco Solar Array in Clear Lake, more than 600 sheep are being used to manage vegetation around the 1,200-acre site. 

“We have 600 mews and all of them are with lambs, by the end of the summer we will have 1500 adult sheep and by the end of the project 7000 sheep,” said Briana Beck with Minnesota Native Landscapes. 

Part of a growing relationship between Xcel Energy and MNL. 

The sheep graze between rows of solar panels, keeping grasses trimmed and allowing native prairie plants to thrive –— all without using gas powered equipment or herbicides. 

“Its really important for the health of the prairie, to get rid of that vegetation build up and also on solar sights for fire mitigation,” said Beck.

The sight itself is home to dozens of native prairie plants and flowers, one of which is essential to an endangered species.

“Sundial Lupine, that’s a legume species. It is the only known host plant for the Karner Blue Butterfly – Which is an endangered species,” said Beck. “Its fantastic to see the lupine blooming out here.”

“MNL provides the seeds for the pollinator mix that we are using at the Sherco project,” said Luke Molus, Head of Operations at Sherco Solar Array.

The goal of the cooperation is to protect vulnerable prairie lands and animal species. While also keeping the land fertile for any future farming uses.

“The top soil is pretty thin. Restoring the native prairie back to this area,” said Molus. “It’s actually going to help the topsoil become thicker and more healthy so that if the solar project gets decommissioned in say 30 years – If farmers do choose to come back, they’ll actually have better soil to grow on,=.”

In the meantime, the field is part of Minnesota’s broader effort to move away from fossil fuels. The Serco site will eventually try to replace the energy output once generated by the near-by Sherburne County Coal Plant.

“Serco solar one is the first phase of the Serco solar project that Xcel is building to replace the Sherburne County Coal Plant,” said Molus. “All three Serco projects will be a full replacement for the coal plant that retired back in 2023.

Molus says that Serco Solar Array one is providing energy for 150,000 customers. 

Xcel Energy could expand the grazing project to other sites across the state in the coming years.