Grading the NBA 2010 Minnesota Timberwolves Draft

When a team goes 15-67, the draft is what fans look forward to in an attempt to land a star player. Hoping to land the #1 or #2 selection in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Timberwolves settled with the #4 pick thanks to the wonderful draft lottery. In Minnesota's 13 opportunities to select in the lottery, they have either stayed the same or fallen back all 13 times. This year, Minnesota had the second worst record and thus the second best chance of landing the #1 spot. Luckily, Minnesota had three 1st round picks to work with, the most in the draft.

Fast forward to Thursday, June 24. The Timberwolves selected Syracuse small forward Wesley Johnson fourth overall. The debate was between Johnson and power forward/center DeMarcus Cousins of Kentucky. Time will tell which player the Timberwolves should have selected but as of right now Johnson was the pick Minnesota needed to make. Minnesota desperately needs athleticism and shooting, and Johnson best fits that need. Minnesota holds the right to Nikola Pekovic from the 2008 NBA Draft who could potentially play center. Factor that in with Al Jefferson still currently on the roster and you can see there are two players who could play center if needed. By the way the team still might bring back Darko Milic, a center who finished the season last year with Minnesota. The power forward position minutes should be given to Kevin Love, the smooth-rebounding 21 year old with endless potential. With Cousins, it could have potentially taken away minutes from Love.

The second pick Minnesota had in the 1st round was #16. After picking Luke Babbitt from Nevada, Minnesota traded him and Ryan Gomes to the Portland Trailblazers for another small forward in Martell Webster. This one was the head scratcher. Always keeping it interesting on draft day, Minnesota did not feel any players left at #16 were worthy of making an immediate contribution. Webster is 23, having being drafted out of high school so he has already been in the league for 5 years. Last season he averaged 9.4 points and 3.3 rebounds. He will get his chance to prove himself in Minnesota so we will see if the production comes that wasn't there in Portland.

The third pick Minnesota had in the 1st round was #23. With smooth shooting Jordan Crawford on the board and center Hassan Whiteside, I thought Minnesota would take one of these two players. Turns out we packaged the pick to Washington for the #30 and #35 picks. Crawford was off the board then by 30, and Minnesota selected Lazar Hayward from Marquette, another small forward/shooting guard. He seems to be an athletic type and has a good head on his shoulders, so the hope is he can be a contributor off the bench. With the #35 pick, Minnesota selected Serbian Nemanja Bjelica, a hybrid 6'10 forward.

The final pick was #45 Paulo Prestes, a 22 year old Brazilian center. New Assistant GM Tony Ronzone is considered one of the best international scouts and had to have had a hand in the final two selections. Hopefully Bjelica and Prestes can get the minutes overseas and pan out someday for the Timberwolves. I would rather have second round draft picks play overseas than either being cut by the team or playing in the NBA-Developmental League.

Overall, you can't put a grade to a draft until you see how the players play. I hope with Johnson, Webster, and Hayward, the Minnesota Timberwolves have improved their shooting and athleticism. Second round picks are always a toss up, but Prestes and Bjelica could maybe join the team down the road and contribute. Free agency begins July 1st and with General Manager David Kahn, you never know what to expect.

More Bad Luck for Wolves

The Wolves string of bad luck in the annual NBA Draft Lottery continued last night when the Wolves dropped two spots to get the 4th pick in the upcoming draft. That's the 7th time out of the 12 years the Wolves have partcipated in the lottery that they have dropped a spot. In their history, the Wolves have never moved up in draft position. This means that if they want to get their hands on Ohio State's Evan Turner, they will be forced to trade some assets in order to get their. That all depends on if the Wolves believe he is the answer to their problems and it also depends on how much the Wolves are willing to give up to get him. Expect the Wolves to try very hard to move up in this draft and use their other two first round picks as trade bait. Al Jefferson or Kevin Love might also be used as trade bait, depending on which of the two the front office prefers. If the Wolves stand pat with the 4th pick, expect them to take long looks at Wesley Johnson, DeMarcus Cousins, Derrick Favors, and Cole Aldrich.

John Wall Could Save the Team

Like Evan Turner of Ohio State, John Wall has the ability to save the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise. Many former players and general managers in the NBA believe that John Wall is the most sure thing in this draft. The guys a freakish athlete. He just flies down the court and posseses explosive leaping ability. Not only is he an explosive athlete, he sees the floor very well and is an excellent. He led the Kentucky Wildcats numerous times during critical stretches. Here's what Chad Ford wrote about Wall.
Draft Projection: No. 1 pickSimilarities: Derrick Rose meets Jason KiddNotes:
Celebrations were a recurring theme for John Wall in his freshman year.(AP Photo/Ed Reinke) Wall announced on April 7 that he will enter the 2010 NBA Draft.
Positives:
Freakish athletic point guard
Great size for his position
Explosive leaping ability
Very quick first step
Flies up and down the court
Big-time penetrator and finisher at the rim
Solid passer, can be creative
Decent midrange jumper
Great rebounder for a guard

Negatives:
Needs to improve his 3-point jump shot
Still needs to improve his decision-making skills with the ball
Needs more intensity on the defensive end

John Wall would provide a building block for the franchise. The perrenial all star that the team is lacking.

Evan Turner Player Profile

I believe that Evan Turner has the ability to turn around the state of the Timberwolves. Turner has the ability to do it just based off of his numbers this past season. He averaged 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists. In college basketball's history, only two players have averaged 20/10/5 and that is Larry Bird of Indiana State, and the only player to do it from a major conference was Bill Walton in the 1972 season. Andy Glockner of SI wrote an amazing article about who else has come close to averaging 20/10/5. The list of players who didn't get as close as Turner is unbelievable. Grant Hill (17.4/6.9/5.2) Dwayne Wade (21.5/6.3/4.4). Tim Duncan (20.8/14.7/3.2) all weren't able to do it. The other two who came as close as Turner are two of most freakishly multitalented stars of the modern era: Magic Johnson (17.0/7.9/7.4 and 17.1/7.3/8.4 in his two seasons) and Jason Kidd. Turner is the most complete college basketball player to come through in awhile. The players I just mentioned have had success in the NBA to say the least. Turner is a fantastic leader and is said to be an extremely hard worker. Although criticized for his lack of elite athleticism, the truth of the matter is that Turner flat out knows how to play. Most importantly, Turner makes all of his teammates better. He never presses to score. All of his points come in the flow of the game and so do all of his rebounds and assists. With the state of the Timberwolves in shambles, the Timberwolves need someone who can do a little bit of everything.

Minnesota Timberwolves in the process of a huge rebuilding project as the 2010 NBA draft draws near

The 2010 NBA draft is just over a month away and the Minnesota Timberwolves are clearly preparing for some big Timberwolves Roster changes. David Khan has made it clear that he wants to bring in the talent that the team is lacking.

"We don't have THE block," Kahn said. "That one block where you can build everything else around."

Coach Kurt Rambis seemed to agree, because he arranged the roster in order to make financial room for some big players. Most experts say that the Minnesota Timberwolves have no shot of signing a player from free agency... Free agents are looking for teams they can win with. The Timberwolves aren't in the running for a player like LeBron or Chris Bosh. Instead the Timberwolves are going to have to find their lead Wolf from the NBA Draft.

With 3 first round picks, the Minnesota Timberwolves are positioned to make some strong moves in June. Favorites overall for guards include John Wall from Kentucky and Evan Turner from Ohio State.