Minnesota Paid Two Seconds to Create Immediate Cap Room
This July 13, 2012 NBA roster transaction was primarily a salary-clearing move for Minnesota. The Timberwolves sent veteran center Brad Miller's contract and two future second-round selections to the franchise then known as the New Orleans Hornets, receiving only a heavily protected 2017 second-rounder in return. Minnesota's own announcement said the move helped create room for an offer sheet to restricted free agent Nicolas Batum. That context explains why the Wolves accepted a weak asset return: the primary benefit was financial flexibility in July 2012, not the expectation that the incoming selection would become a player.
The Incoming Minnesota Pick Never Conveyed
The protection ultimately erased Minnesota's only incoming draft asset. Basketball-Reference records the 2017 second-round selection as conditional and not conveyed. That left the Wolves with no player or realized selection from this transaction itself. Miller was near the end of his career and did not provide long-term value to the other side, but Minnesota also surrendered the 2013 second-rounder later associated with Lorenzo Brown and a 2016 second-rounder later associated with Rade Zagorac. Even without assigning those players directly to New Orleans, the selections retained transaction value.
New Orleans Reused the Package Two Weeks Later
The Hornets did not simply sit on the outgoing pieces. On July 27, New Orleans rerouted Miller's contract and the 2016 second-round selection to Phoenix while sending the 2013 second-round selection back to Minnesota inside the three-team Robin Lopez-Hakim Warrick transaction. The franchise transaction history confirms that sequence. This is the strongest reason the counterparty grades well: the July 13 package became usable roster-building currency almost immediately, while the protected selection sent to Minnesota never produced anything. The value was transactional rather than a direct on-court contribution from Miller.
The Canonical Grade Reflects the Cost of a Cap-Space Bet
Minnesota's C+ is not an indictment of clearing Miller's contract by itself. The front office was trying to open room for Batum, and salary flexibility can justify attaching draft capital. The hindsight problem is that the only incoming selection disappeared under its protection while the two outgoing seconds remained useful enough to be moved again. The canonical B+ for the Hornets franchise and C+ for Minnesota appropriately captures that imbalance. It was a modest NBA transaction, but New Orleans preserved more practical value from assets Minnesota treated as the cost of creating space.
Final Verdict
Charlotte Win — Minnesota C+, Charlotte B+. The canonical franchise label is Charlotte, although the team was the New Orleans Hornets when the NBA transaction occurred. Minnesota sent Miller's contract plus 2013 and 2016 second-round selections to clear cap space and received a protected 2017 second-rounder that never conveyed. New Orleans then reused the acquired pieces in the July 27 Robin Lopez-Hakim Warrick transaction. Minnesota had a defensible short-term cap objective, but the completed asset record favors the Hornets franchise because its package retained immediate roster-building utility while the Wolves' only incoming draft asset produced no realized value.