Draft Prep
Jonah BallowRelated Images
Fan Forum
Without a doubt Stephen Curry. We have been lacking a strong consistent guard for a long time. Foye has been too inconsistent, he's either on fire or he's not. Wayne Ellington would be great, he is a great player and he's good under pressure as we have noticed. I just think that our perimeter needs work and the boys in the paint need to be left alone.
---Andrew Hagberg, Maple Plain
I really hope the Wolves draft a promising big guy because the team's relatively small size has been exploited by opponents this season.
---Jonathan Czeck, St. Paul
The Wolves need someone to guard the basket, too many uncontested points in the paint. That seems to be Hasheem Thabeet's forte. Anyway, Jefferson's best position is PF.
---Geno, St. Louis Park
Obviously Blake Griffin is going to be the first pick, he is a very dominant player and any team would benefit from him. I've always had the belief of "take the best player you can." If the best player you can take is a toss up between a couple guys, then pick what you need. Ricky Rubio is a fantastic player and we really could use him. That way we can have Ricky and Bassy play the point and Randy Foye can concentrate at playing the 2 and being the great shooting guard that he is. Assuming Griffin is out of the picture, Ricky is my pick. If Rubio and Griffin are both snatched up, my choice would be Hasheem Thabeet. Big Al and K-Love have already proved they can get the points in the paint. However, (no offense to either player), but I think we need some more defense down low. Also when we go up against teams like L.A. we just don't have the size down there. Thabeet plays excellent defense and would be great to match up against anyone down low. If we've got Thabeet covering defense, Big Al can do what he does best and concentrate on scoring.
---Andrew Lamers, University of Minnesota student
Choose Ty Lawson or Jonny Flynn, we need a point guard bad.
---Kathy Fast
Ricky Rubio - Absolutely a can't-miss talent. Rubio plays with poise and leadership beyond his years, has unreal court vision and timing, and showed in the Olympics that he can be a tenacious defender as well. He gave Deron Williams and Chris Paul fits in the championship game. He has a supreme skill level handling and distributing the basketball. Hasheem Thabeet - Defense wins championships, and very rarely will a defender of Thabeet's caliber enter the league. Hasheem has tremendous size and length that belies surprising quickness and agility, and possessed video game-like shotblocking ability. His offense is raw and very much a work in progress, but by no means is he a liablility on that end of the floor. For a team that lacks height, athleticism, and defense in the post, Thabeet is another can't-miss talent. Tyreke Evans - Looks a lot like Rodney Stuckey. Big, athletic shooting guard with great point guard skills and a tough mentality. Memphis won 27 straight games after he made the switch to point guard, which says everything anyone should need to know about his skill and leadership. If the team wants an athletic wing who can put the ball on the floor and make things happen, this is the guy. Jrue Holiday - Big potential pick here. UCLA's system really held him back, with the need to defer to Darren Collison all the time. He's raw and will need a lot of work, but he's a natural leader, a point guard, is athletic and can defend. He's a much better player than his numbers would lead one to believe, and he has all the tools to be a great NBA player. Brandon Jennings - A big potential pick and a big gamble. There are Euro players who swear he's better than Rubio. Jennings is a confident and flashy player, and the payoff could be huge if he pulls it all together. The culture shock and all the upheaval his Lomattica Roma team went through has really matured him on and off the court.If we're not picking top 3, we HAVE to at least consider Jennings. Workouts will be very telling for him. Stephen Curry - A lot of his stock will depend on whether any given team feels he can be a competent NBA point guard, which I think he can. Anyone who can double his assists average on command without doubling his turnovers or dropping off in his scoring has natural point guard ability somewhere in him. One thing no one will argue is that he can flat out shoot. From any angle, anywhere on the floor. Curry also is in a unique situation where he might legitimately be better in the pros, as he won't be facing the constant double and triple teams he did at Davidson.
---Bryan Anderson
TWolves just need to choose between Griffin and Rubio...here's the reason why...
PG - Telfair.....PG - Rubio
SG - Foye.......SG - Foye
SF - Miller......SF - Miller
PF - Griffin.......PF - Love
C - Jefferson....C - Jefferson
and on the bench you may have Gomes, Brewer, Carney, Smith and then just pick talented players in the pool...opinion...try acquiring Morrison from the Lakers...he will be of good help and a good back to Miller... a young talented core that will be the team of the future..go WOLVES!!!
---John Tayag
Key Dates
- May 19 NBA DRAFT LOTTERY
- June 15 Players who have not signed with agents can withdraw from draft
- June 25 NBA DRAFT
Wolves 2009 Draft Picks
First Round:
- No. 6
- No. 18 (Miami's Pick protected Top 10)
- No. 28 (Boston's Pick protected Top 3)
Second Round:
- No. 45 (from 76ers)
- No. 47 (from Heat)
Top Players Who Have Officially Declared For The 2009 NBA Draft
Centers:
Hasheem Thabeet, C, Uconn VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
B.J. Mullens, C, Ohio State VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Forwards:
Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Jordan Hill, PF, Arizona VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
James Johnson, F, Wake Forest VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
DeJuan Blair, PF, Pittsburgh VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Guards:
Ricky Rubio, PG, Spain VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Brandon Jennings, PG, Italy VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
James Harden, SG, Arizona State VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
DeMar DeRozan, G/F, USC VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Jonny Flynn, PG, Syracuse VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Stephen Curry, G, Davidson VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Wayne Ellington, SG, North Carolina VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Share your draft opinions with timberwolves.com and we will post comments on the site
For more news and notes on the team follow the Minnesota Timberwolves and Jonah on Twitter.
Without a doubt Stephen Curry. We have been lacking a strong consistent guard for a long time. Foye has been too inconsistent, he's either on fire or he's not. Wayne Ellington would be great, he is a great player and he's good under pressure as we have noticed. I just think that our perimeter needs work and the boys in the paint need to be left alone.
---Andrew Hagberg, Maple Plain
I really hope the Wolves draft a promising big guy because the team's relatively small size has been exploited by opponents this season.
---Jonathan Czeck, St. Paul
The Wolves need someone to guard the basket, too many uncontested points in the paint. That seems to be Hasheem Thabeet's forte. Anyway, Jefferson's best position is PF.
---Geno, St. Louis Park
Obviously Blake Griffin is going to be the first pick, he is a very dominant player and any team would benefit from him. I've always had the belief of "take the best player you can." If the best player you can take is a toss up between a couple guys, then pick what you need. Ricky Rubio is a fantastic player and we really could use him. That way we can have Ricky and Bassy play the point and Randy Foye can concentrate at playing the 2 and being the great shooting guard that he is. Assuming Griffin is out of the picture, Ricky is my pick. If Rubio and Griffin are both snatched up, my choice would be Hasheem Thabeet. Big Al and K-Love have already proved they can get the points in the paint. However, (no offense to either player), but I think we need some more defense down low. Also when we go up against teams like L.A. we just don't have the size down there. Thabeet plays excellent defense and would be great to match up against anyone down low. If we've got Thabeet covering defense, Big Al can do what he does best and concentrate on scoring.
---Andrew Lamers, University of Minnesota student
Choose Ty Lawson or Jonny Flynn, we need a point guard bad.
---Kathy Fast
Ricky Rubio - Absolutely a can't-miss talent. Rubio plays with poise and leadership beyond his years, has unreal court vision and timing, and showed in the Olympics that he can be a tenacious defender as well. He gave Deron Williams and Chris Paul fits in the championship game. He has a supreme skill level handling and distributing the basketball. Hasheem Thabeet - Defense wins championships, and very rarely will a defender of Thabeet's caliber enter the league. Hasheem has tremendous size and length that belies surprising quickness and agility, and possessed video game-like shotblocking ability. His offense is raw and very much a work in progress, but by no means is he a liablility on that end of the floor. For a team that lacks height, athleticism, and defense in the post, Thabeet is another can't-miss talent. Tyreke Evans - Looks a lot like Rodney Stuckey. Big, athletic shooting guard with great point guard skills and a tough mentality. Memphis won 27 straight games after he made the switch to point guard, which says everything anyone should need to know about his skill and leadership. If the team wants an athletic wing who can put the ball on the floor and make things happen, this is the guy. Jrue Holiday - Big potential pick here. UCLA's system really held him back, with the need to defer to Darren Collison all the time. He's raw and will need a lot of work, but he's a natural leader, a point guard, is athletic and can defend. He's a much better player than his numbers would lead one to believe, and he has all the tools to be a great NBA player. Brandon Jennings - A big potential pick and a big gamble. There are Euro players who swear he's better than Rubio. Jennings is a confident and flashy player, and the payoff could be huge if he pulls it all together. The culture shock and all the upheaval his Lomattica Roma team went through has really matured him on and off the court.If we're not picking top 3, we HAVE to at least consider Jennings. Workouts will be very telling for him. Stephen Curry - A lot of his stock will depend on whether any given team feels he can be a competent NBA point guard, which I think he can. Anyone who can double his assists average on command without doubling his turnovers or dropping off in his scoring has natural point guard ability somewhere in him. One thing no one will argue is that he can flat out shoot. From any angle, anywhere on the floor. Curry also is in a unique situation where he might legitimately be better in the pros, as he won't be facing the constant double and triple teams he did at Davidson.
---Bryan Anderson
TWolves just need to choose between Griffin and Rubio...here's the reason why...
PG - Telfair.....PG - Rubio
SG - Foye.......SG - Foye
SF - Miller......SF - Miller
PF - Griffin.......PF - Love
C - Jefferson....C - Jefferson
and on the bench you may have Gomes, Brewer, Carney, Smith and then just pick talented players in the pool...opinion...try acquiring Morrison from the Lakers...he will be of good help and a good back to Miller... a young talented core that will be the team of the future..go WOLVES!!!
---John Tayag
Key Dates
- May 19 NBA DRAFT LOTTERY
- June 15 Players who have not signed with agents can withdraw from draft
- June 25 NBA DRAFT
Wolves 2009 Draft Picks
First Round:
- No. 6
- No. 18 (Miami's Pick protected Top 10)
- No. 28 (Boston's Pick protected Top 3)
Second Round:
- No. 45 (from 76ers)
- No. 47 (from Heat)
Top Players Who Have Officially Declared For The 2009 NBA Draft
Centers:
Hasheem Thabeet, C, Uconn VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
B.J. Mullens, C, Ohio State VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Forwards:
Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Jordan Hill, PF, Arizona VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
James Johnson, F, Wake Forest VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
DeJuan Blair, PF, Pittsburgh VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Guards:
Ricky Rubio, PG, Spain VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Brandon Jennings, PG, Italy VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
James Harden, SG, Arizona State VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
DeMar DeRozan, G/F, USC VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Jonny Flynn, PG, Syracuse VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Stephen Curry, G, Davidson VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Wayne Ellington, SG, North Carolina VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina VIDEO COLLEGE PROFILE
Share your draft opinions with timberwolves.com and we will post comments on the site
For more news and notes on the team follow the Minnesota Timberwolves and Jonah on Twitter.
