Jamal Murray

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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?

The draft is just two days away. That’s hard to believe with the NBA Finals ending on Sunday, but such is life.

Wolves President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Tom Thibodeau addressed the media along with General Manager Scott Layden on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the upcoming draft in which the Wolves hold the No. 5 pick.

There were plenty of solid nuggets in the 20-minute press conference held at Mayo Clinic Square. I’ll do my best to highlight them in this notebook. I’ve also just finished about seven cups of popcorn, so we’ll see how this goes. Lots of butter on the keyboard. We’ll have to overcome the adversity.

Not exactly. Layden told us there’s been plenty of talk with other teams about the No. 5 pick, which shows the value the pick has. But right now, it’s probably too early to tell what will unfold. Layden did say the draft was a very talented one, especially early in the lottery.

“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.”

And as a reminder, when it comes to the NBA Draft, just because there’s smoke, doesn’t necessarily mean there’s fire.

“I think this time of year, it’s a lot of things that are thrown out (there),” Layden said.

With the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics (thanks again, Brooklyn!), Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors having multiple first-round picks, it’s probably going to be a pretty exciting night as far as trades are concerned. As much as fans might want a team to keep two or three rookies, the roster makeup of certain teams doesn’t allow that. For example, it’d be extremely hard for a playoff team like the Celtics to find room on their roster for three rookies.

“I think it has the making for a fun day with teams with multiple picks,” Layden said. “Probably more trade activity than usual.”

Thibodeau was asked about two players who could be on the board when/if the Wolves pick at No. 5.

There’s Jamal Murray, the guard from Kentucky who has a sweet stroke. There are questions, however, if Murray is strictly a shooting guard or if he can play the point as well. Thibodeau didn’t sound like he cared, though, about what label others gave Murray.

“To me, he’s a basketball player,” Thibodeau said. “He played off the ball at Kentucky. He played with the ball at team Canada, so he’s a good basketball player.

And then there’s point guard Kris Dunn from Providence. Dunn, a junior, decided not to do individual workouts with teams leading up to the draft. While Thibodeau said in the press conference that individual workouts are a good step as far as relationship-building goes, he doesn’t see it as a necessity.

“You know, the individual workouts, like I mentioned, I feel they’re good for the players to come into your facility, Thibodeau said. “They get a chance to interact with some of your staff, but it’s not a necessity. I think the body of work is the most important thing.”

Thibodeau assured everyone that his staff has done its due diligence on all players in the draft, including Dunn.

“Of course our staff has seen a number of his games and have been to a number of his practices,” Thibodeau said. “Scott has watched all the prospects extensively, so he has a very good understanding of who they are.”

Thibodeau told us that his conversations with Kevin Garnett on whether he will play next season will be kept private. And rightfully so. Garnett has definitely earned that.

A player who will play next season, Ricky Rubio, was in town earlier this month and was able to chat with Thibodeau. Rubio lost his mother earlier this offseason and understandably is going through a very difficult time. Thibodeau said Rubio was “about as well as can be expected.”

Layden said the team hasn’t added more staff members yet, but it has been a work in progress. Some candidates for positions are likely wrapping up draft work with other teams, but Layden said the team will continue to talk with candidates about openings.

“We have gone out and talked to a number of people as potential hires and that’s a process that will be ongoing,” Layden said. “Again, the focus on the draft and what’s after that and as that’s going along, we have been looking at our staffing and will make hires as we move along.”

That’s all I’ve got for today. Be sure to check out the site leading up to and during the draft. The next few days should be pretty fun.

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Notebook | Thibodeau And Layden Address Media Before 2016 NBA Draft

7.2 percent body fat, 6’6.5 wingspan, 8’1” standing reach

*Numbers from Kentucky. Murray did not participate in NBA Combine.

36 games, 35.2 MPG, 20 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 45.4 FG%, 40.8 3P%, 78.3 FT%

Murray’s best game came in a Feb. 6 80-61 win over the Florida Gators in Kentucky. Murray finished with a season-high 35 points to go with six rebounds and one assist. He showed off a little bit of everything, shooting 7-for-12 from the field and 2-for-3 from the 3-point line.

Murray is a solid shooter and showed that last year, hitting more than 40 percent of his 3-point shots. That’s something that should translate to the next level. He can hit shots as a spot-up shooter, but is most impressive coming off screens.

He’s not the most athletic player, but he has great touch when he’s driving and a great feel for scoring the ball. He was solid at drawing fouls while driving to the basket in his only year at Kentucky.

Murray was kind of a one-dimensional player during his freshman year. He wasn’t a great facilitator, ending with more turnovers than assists.

He’s not a great defender, although he got better with rotations throughout the season. Basically, right now, a team would draft Murray on his talent as a scorer and the potential that he could possibly turn into a combo guard.

Devin Booker’s success in his rookie year with the Phoenix Suns has us thinking differently about how good a Kentucky guard can be. The difference between Booker and Murray, though, is that Booker was an under-the-radar pick, while Murray could be a top-5 pick.

For me, Murray is an intriguing player because he’s very, very gifted offensively. When it comes to being a natural scorer, not many players are as developed as Murray. But he’s not a combo guard yet. He wasn’t asked to facilitate the ball at Kentucky. With his skill set and his ability to draw fouls, he reminds me of Kevin Martin. Martin, of course, had a great career in the NBA, but if you’re taking a guy in the top-10, don’t you want his ceiling to be higher than that?

Murray is only 19, though, so it’d be foolish to think he can’t improve. He’s Canadian. If you recall, the Wolves have a pretty good Canadian on their roster.

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2016 NBA Draft Profile | Jamal Murray

2016-draft-prospect-gallery-jamal-murray

2016 Draft Prospect Gallery | Jamal Murray

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