2016 Draft

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Timberwolves Draft Night Selection - Enter To Win A Kris Dunn Signed Jersey

It’s 2:23 p.m. and the NBA Draft is rapidly approaching. Maybe it’s just me (it could very well be the four Red Bulls I just had), but this has the potential to be one of the most exciting drafts ever.

Look at the moves that have already been made.

A former MVP got traded to New York for a few complimentary players. Jeff Teague, a former All-Star, was traded to the Pacers. The Pacers sent their point guard to Utah, and the Jazz sent their pick to Atlanta. Thaddeus Young will be on his fourth team in two years. And there’s probably plenty of more moves to make.

Because the 76ers, Celtics, Suns, Nuggets, Hawks and Raptors have more than one first-round pick.

76ers: They have the 1st, 24th and 26th picks. Chances are they won’t keep all three and at least one of the picks will be a draft-and-stash type of player. Plus, three of Philadelphia’s best players play the same position. So yeah, that’s kind of problematic.

Celtics: The Celtics are trying to compete with the Cavaliers in the East. They have the 3rd (thanks again, Brooklyn!), 16th and 23rd picks. Keeping three rookies on a playoff team? Good luck.

Suns: The Suns have the 4th, 13th and the 28th picks. The Suns’ roster is kind of a mess right now, so it wouldn’t be shocking if they kept the two lottery picks. That’s actually probably a good way to start, similar how the Wolves did with Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine two years ago.

Nuggets: The Nuggets have the 7th, 15th and 19th picks. Denver has a weird roster. Emmanuel Mudiay is coming off of his rookie season, but guys like Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari are built to win now. There is plenty of talent in the middle to late part of the first round. Another issue to consider when keeping rookies is what type of resources a team has to develop young players. The Wolves were prepared with Wiggins, LaVine and Karl-Anthony Towns because they had Ryan Saunders and David Adelman on the staff. Not all teams are that equipt.

Hawks: The Hawks traded Teague essentially for Utah’s 12 pick. Atlanta also has the No. 21 pick. Reports are that Atlanta wants to get rid of one of the picks.

Raptors: The No. 9 pick (from Denver via New York) is a bonus for a team that won 56 games last season. You can probably expect Toronto to hold onto that pick, but No. 27 could very well be dealt or be draft and stash player.

Timberwolves General Manager Scott Layden told us during the team’s Pre-Draft Press Conference that he anticipates more trades than usual. If the last 24 hours are any indication, he’s absolutely right.

The Wolves have the No. 5 pick and that’s it. No second-round picks. No picks later in the first. Just No. 5. Of course, that could all change.

What will they do with it? It really all depends what Boston does with the third pick. There seems to be popular names in that range including Kris Dunn from Providence, Jamal Murray from Kentucky, Jaylen Brown from Cal, Dragan Bender Croatia and Buddy Hield from Oklahoma. But chances are whatever Boston does at No. 3 will create some sort of domino effect on what other teams will do. Right now, it appears as if the top two picks are set.

There are plenty of options. Keep the pick and draft one of those guys. Trade for a veteran. Trade for a veteran along with a later pick.

In a few hours, we’ll find out. It’s worth noting, that if the Wolves do stay at five, Layden is plenty impressed with the players who could be available.

“I think it’s a very good draft and right in our area when you look at the players that we’re looking at, it has us excited,” Layden said. “I think also the amount of attention we’re getting from other teams for the pick gives you an indication of how good the pick is, so we’ll see in the next 48 hours what that means. We like the range we’re in and the fifth pick looks like it’s going to be a good one.”

YES! There is plenty of borderline first-round talent that will probably slide to the second round. Guys like Diamond Stone, Tyler Ulis, the mysterious Zhou Qi and Thon Maker, Patrick McCaw, Stephen Zimmerman, Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert could become contributors.

My favorite two guys, though? Purdue center A.J.

Hammons and Providence power forward Ben Bentil. Hammons has all the tools to be a defensive force, but also can score. But he’s 24 and his focus hasn’t always been there.

Bentil, on the other hand, averaged 22 points per game last season. He might be undersized for the power forward position, but with today’s NBA getting smaller, that might be OK. The bad? His basketball IQ isn’t the highest and he’s been known to take more than a few “WHY?!” shots.

How valuable can second-round guys be? Draymond Green is the obvious example. But take a look at some of the other players drafted in the second-round of the 2012 Draft. Jeff Taylor, Jae Crowder, Quincy Acy, Khris Middleton, Will Barton, Mike Scott, Kyle O’Quinn and Robert Sacre. True steals.

As always, there will be plenty of content on the site from the Draft. Videos, stories, press releases, galleries. The list goes on.

Also, if you’re like, ‘I have nothing to do for the Draft and I want to be with other fans. I would also like to be at the Target Center.’

Well, what a coincidence! The Wolves are hosting a Draft Party starting at 6 p.m. tonight at the Target Center. You can your seat here.

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2016 Draft Day Primer

If we needed a reminder, the alarm went off yesterday when Derrick Rose, Jeff Teague and George Hill were traded. Chances are there’s plenty more to come today, especially with multiple teams have first-round picks.

Who are the Wolves going to take? Good question. After looking at 1,398 mock drafts in the last month, here are what some of the mock draft experts (how do you become one of these? Is there an application process?) are predicting:

Sharp has the Wolves taking point guard Kris Dunn out of Providence. Sharp thinks Dunn will be able to help from Day One and that Dunn is built like a “tank and plays like it.”

The question is, will Dunn fall to No. 5?

Parrish, in his third mock draft, predicts the Wolves will take NCAA darling Buddy Hield. Like Sharp with Dunn, Parrish thinks Hield will be able to contribute immediately and that his ability to shoot will help the Wolves. It certainly wouldn’t hurt. The Wolves ranked 29th in the league last season with just 455 made 3-pointers last season.

Howard-Cooper also has the Wolves taking Hield. Like Parrish, he has Hield as one of the most NBA-ready players in the Draft.

Side-note: Did you know Buddy’s real first name is Chavano? True story.

Another Wildcat for the Wolves, predicts Bodner. Bodner thinks Murray would help space the floor (40.8 percent from deep last season) for former Wildcat Karl-Anthony Towns.

But do the Wolves need another 19-year-old player to develop?

The mysterious Dragan Bender. O’Connor thinks he’s a “safe pick with upside to be special.” Not many have said Bender is a safe pick, just given the track record for some players overseas, but he would fit a position need for the Wolves.

Another vote for Murray. Torres thinks Murray could be the perfect floor spacer for Andrew Wiggin and Towns. And (get ready for this) Torres thinks that the Wolves will be in the playoffs thanks, in part, to the addition of Murray.

I have no freaking idea, and that’s what makes the Draft so great. Yeah, there are four or five guys who look like the favorites, but nobody really has any idea what Boston is going to do at No. 3, and that will kind of set the tone for the rest of the Draft. I’m not even sure Boston knows what it is doing right now. Someone get Danny Ainge off the phone.

Here’s my bold (and very company line-ish) prediction: It’s going to be a lot of fun and you should probably skip your Thursday-night softball league to watch. Coverage starts on ESPN at 6 p.m. Tune in. 

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Mock Draft Madness | What Are The Experts Saying?

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2016 Draft Prospect Gallery | Malachi Richardson

Measurements from 2014 Nike Skills Academy – Murray did not attend the NBA Combine.

34 games, 33.5 MPG, 16.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.8 SPG, 3.2 TOV, 41.6 FG%, 28.8 3P%, 66.3 FT%

Murray is expected to be a mid to late first-round pick.

In a Feb. 3 95-83 win over Arizona State, Murray finished with a game-high 34 points to go with 11 rebounds, six assists, one block and one steal. He shot 10-for-14 from the field and 14-for-18 from the free-throw line.

He has good size for either point guard or shooting guard. He plays very fluid, almost snake like. He can get above the rim and isn’t afraid of contact inside. He has good instincts and is electric in transition. He’s an above-average ball handler, although some of his moves are a bit unorthodox. He did a great job of attacking passing lanes on defense, leading to nearly two steals per game. Athletically, he’ll be fine and has an extra bounce to his step, keeping defenders on their toes.

Murray needs to add weight, but his frame looks like it will allow that. He relies  a lot on his floater, which is very good, but that’s a hard shot to consistently be great at. He looks for his own shot too often, not something you want out of a point guard. He’s very turnover prone, coughing it up 3.2 times per game. Sometimes he needs to just do less. His biggest challenge in the NBA will be to get a consistent jump shot. Defenses would just let him shoot in college and that won’t change at the pro level unless he improves. He has the tools to be a good on-ball defender, but didn’t show much of that in college.

I kind of wish Murray would have stayed in school another year. Watching him on film, you get some of those, “OMG, he did what?!” moments. You also get a fair share of, “OMG, what is he doing?!” moments.

In time, he can be good. But is he a point or shooting guard right now? He played PG last season, but turned the ball over too often and wasn’t a great distributor. If Murray doesn’t get on the floor much during his rookie season, probably likely, he should work hard to improve his jump shot. If he can hit down a midrange shot, he’ll be dangerous offensively. Right now, defenses can sag off of him.

He’s been rising on draft boards and I can see a team that can afford to be patient taking him.

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2016 NBA Draft Profile | Dejounte Murray

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2016 Draft Prospect Gallery | Dejounte Murray

No measurements available – Sabonis did not attend the NBA Draft Combine

36 games, 17.6 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 61.1 FG%, 76.9 FT%

Sabonis is rising and is expected to be a late-lottery pick.

His best game of the season came in a 102-94 road win over San Francisco on Jan. 2. Sabonis finished with 35 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and one steal. The big man shot 12-for-16 from the field and 11-for-14 from the free-throw line.

Sabonis is a crafty power forward. He can run the floor, is super competitive and is sound when it comes to fundamentals. He’s very efficient offensively, has solid footwork and a nice shooting touch. His passing is off the charts for a power forward. He should be able to stretch the floor a little bit more with time. If a defender closes out on him too fast, he has the ability to drive by. He has great court vision and generally knows what’s going on at all times. He might be the best pure rebounder in the draft despite not being as big as other post players.

He’s somewhat predictable when he gets on the block. Chances are he’ll go over his right shoulder, so he’ll have to mix things up. He’ll need to get stronger. His lack of strength could limit how good of a rebounder he is early on in his career.

He’s not one to protect the rim and he’s not the most athletic defender. He’ll have to find crafty ways, much like he did in college, to stay in front of quicker players. 

I’m growing to love Sabonis, but that might be more because he is the son of Arvydas. He doesn’t have great size, but he has the will, which was on display when he took it to Jakob Poetl in the NCAA Tournament.

The most appealing thing about Sabonis is the fact that he brings it all, all the time. You’re never going to question his work ethic. His rebounding ability has to do with his hustle and knowing where to be at the right time, similar to former Wolves' forward Kevin Love. I could see him getting picked anywhere from 7-15, but there’s a real good chance we’ll look back five years from now and wonder why he wasn't picked higher. He’s a great passer and I could see him developing into a Pau/Marc Gasol type of post player. I can see him being that guy who does the dirty work who other teams might not like. But  whatever. He’s a Sabonis. What does he care?