| 30 Teams, 30 Days: Minnesota Timberwolves Authored by Jason M. Williams - May 30, 2007 - 6:24 pm
2006-2007 Finish: 32-50
Draft Picks: 7th, 41st
What they do well
The Minnesota Timberwolves are equipped with one of the game’s best players of the past decade. However, Kevin Garnett has been surrounded by front office ineptitude and has seen his career fly by with only one Western Conference Finals appearance to show for it. Despite the fact that he just turned 31 years old, the wear and tear of being a 12 year veteran has to be fast approaching. The Timberwolves are stuck in mediocrity and need to deal him while he still commands a very high value. If they decide to hang on to him, they can anticipate yet another underachieving lottery-bound season in which Greg Oden and Kevin Durant are sure to enter their already stiff divisional competition.
Aside from superstar Kevin Garnett, the Wolves also have some young talent. Randy Foye emerged as a great Draft-day trade acquisition and averaged 15.4 points and 3.8 assists over the final month of the season. The return of Rashad McCants can only be a stepping stone towards developing one of the fastest backcourts in the league.
Second round pick Craig Smith came out of nowhere and had a very solid 7.4 points and 5.1 rebounds off the bench in his first season, including 11.3 points and 8.1 rebounds over the final month with extended playing time.
Aside from The Big Ticket and the youth movement, Ricky Davis has increased his trade stock by putting up 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists per game last season and is entering the final year of a very reasonable $6.8M contract. An interesting trade scenario the Wolves should explore is a straight up trade of Ricky Davis for defensive menace Ron Artest.
The youthful backcourt is under construction, but the glut of similar players and lack of complimentary big men has doomed this Minnesota team.
Where do they need improvement?
The Minnesota Timberwolves need improvement from their front office. Looking at their roster, it is often difficult to understand why this team was built with these personnel. They have no true point guards, with Kevin Garnett and Ricky Davis being their leading assist-men. Instead, they are built with five guys who all basically rotate at point guard and off guard positions throughout the game, including Mike James, Troy Hudson, Randy Foye, Rashad McCants, and Marko Jaric. Then, they have two guys who rotate between two-guard and small forward, which are Trenton Hassell and Ricky Davis.
Then they basically have KG, Craig Smith and Mark Blount as serviceable big men, and Mark Madsen is good for six fouls per night. Does this sound like a solid team to you? No. Kevin McHale needs to reorganize this roster, but unfortunately he has no roster flexibility because every single player is under contract for next year. Even worse, all of them but Ricky Davis and Craig Smith are under contract for the 2008-09 season.
Without clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and even positions, the Timberwolves will be unable to compete in the Western Conference. They need to disperse the surplus of wing players and bring in a real point guard like Steve Blake and add some big men to protect the paint. The sad thing is that they will be picking in a position where wing players are at a premium, and passing on a player like Jeff Green, Corey Brewer, or Julian Wright will be a near impossibility for McHale and the Wolves. Instead, they should cross their fingers and hope that one of the following prospects fall into their laps with the seventh pick.
Who should they target?
- Mike Conley, Jr., Ohio State:
Conley is not expected to still be available at seven, but neither was Rudy Gay last year or Gerald Green the year before. So, assuming the top point guard in this year’s Draft is still available, it would be a near impossibility for Minnesota to pass on him. He would team with Randy Foye, Mike James, and Rashad McCants to create one of the youngest most dynamic backcourts in the league. This would then give McHale the opportunity to deal Ricky Davis for some help and size at the three position, and possibly ship Marko Jaric to Detroit for never-used Nazr Mohammad.
- Al Horford, Florida:
Horford was a force for the back-to-back National Champion Florida Gators, being named to the All-Tournament Team at the Final Four in both his sophomore and junior seasons. The 6-10 junior averaged 13.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks on his way to 16 double-doubles in 36 starts in the rugged SEC. He also played twice against consensus number-one overall pick, Greg Oden. He managed to put up 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks despite being very ill with mono in a dominating early season victory, and then poured on 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks against Oden and the Buckeyes in the National Championship game.
- Joakim Noah, Florida:
Despite the overwhelming talent at the small forward position that will be available at this pick, the Wolves should grab an energy guy who can grab rebounds, push the ball on the break, and literally annoy opposing players in the paint. If Brandan Wright, Yi Jianlian and Al Horford are already off the board, Joakim Noah is the best option. He would best be utilized next to Garnett, because they both have a competitive fire that only cares about winning, and Noah would compliment Garnett’s offensive abilities by cleaning up the boards and putting balls back in the hoop. Hopefully, Garnett’s veteran leadership will also be able to morph the rather childish demeanor of this back-to-back champion Gator into a mature leader on the floor.
- Jeff Green, Georgetown:
Green may be the best fit of the three main options at the wing. He is a very physical player who can pull down rebounds and create shots for his teammates on offense. His 6-9, 235 lb frame enables him to play physical around the hoop and would be a strong upgrade over Hassell and allow Davis to stay at the two guard spot. He was also the leader of the Georgetown team that reached the Final Four and he averaged a healthy 14.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists during his junior season.
Picks since 2000
The Timberwolves have probably been the single-worst drafting team of the past decade. They had to forfeit picks in 2001, 2002, and 2004 due to an illegal secret contract agreement between the Timberwolves and Joe Smith in violation of the NBA’s salary cap rules. Based upon an arbitrator's original ruling, the Minnesota Timberwolves forfeited their own first-round draft picks in the 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 NBA Drafts, were fined $3.5 million, and the contract between Joe Smith and the Wolves was voided. Eventually the league awarded the Timberwolves their first-round picks in 2003 and 2005 due to sustained excellent behavior in their operations. However, as expected, their draft picks have been very poor since this violation was originally punished.
2006
Brandon Roy, 6th (traded to Portland)
Craig Smith, 36th
Bobby Jones, 37th (traded to Philadelphia)
Loukas Mavrokefalidis, 57th
2005
Rashad McCants, 14th
Bracey Wright, 47th
2004
Minnesota forfeits first rounder
Blake Stepp, 59th
2003
Ndudi Ebi, 23rd
Rick Rickert, 55th
2002
Minnesota forfeits first rounder
Marcus Taylor, 52nd
2001
Minnesota forfeits first rounder
Loren Woods, 46th
2000
Igor Rackocevic, 51st
Who do you want the Timberwolves to draft at number 7? Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts. He can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments or questions. |
