[外電] It should be about quality over quantity for Wolves at D
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When it comes to the Timberwolves and the Draft, they're what the Clippers
are to catastrophic injuries, Karl Malone to a championship, LeBron James to
Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks to money management and
Allen Iverson to practice.
They just have a hard time making a connection. Yes, that about nails it.
If it's late June, then it's a very awkward time of year in Minnesota, where
they're wondering what the home team can do to top last June. The Draft is
always an adventure with the Wolves, and a dangerous one, too. In most NBA
cities, the Draft arrives with optimism. As in: Hey, we might get so-and-so!
In Minnesota, there's a thick fog of skepticism. As in: Hey, we just drafted
two point guards?
And they weren't Brandon Jennings and/or Stephen Curry?
But why harp on last June's strategy? The Wolves' string of strange decisions
and crummy luck predates David Kahn, the latest general manager to receive
some funny stares. How about these beauties plucked by the Wolves:
Felton Spencer.
J.R. Rider.
Paul Grant.
Rashad McCants.
None of those players worked out, for various reasons, but at least they
didn't arrive with inflated expectations. Not like:
Christian Laettner.
Donyell Marshall.
Wally Szczerbiak.
Corey Brewer.
Only one first-round pick in franchise history had staying power and became a
star. And yes, he was quite the catch. But the Wolves haven't found many
Kevin Garnetts. More like a steady stream of:
Pooh Richardson.
Gerald Glass.
William Avery.
Their best selections were traded immediately. Brandon Roy. Ray Allen.
Somehow and some way, the Wolves haven't developed a knack yet for this draft
thing, and it's only partly their fault. That's because their lottery luck is
truly rotten. Let's be fair about this. They've never won the rights to the
No. 1 overall pick. They've always drafted lower than pre-lottery
projections. They always seem to pick fourth in a three-player draft. It cost
them massively in the Shaquille O'Neal/Alonzo Mourning bounty in 1992 and
they had to settle for a guy (Laettner) who saved his best for Duke. You get
the idea.
And who could forget the Joe Smith scandal, which ultimately cost the Wolves
three first-rounders? Makes you wonder why the Wolves would risk losing picks
over a journeyman player, although given their Draft history, maybe they
spared themselves some additional agony.
Even this year, after stumbling through the season with the second-worst
record, the Wolves are choosing fourth. With no chance at John Wall and Evan
Turner, the two projected stars, and possibly not Wesley Johnson, who's got
some sparkle.
It's hard to put a figure on how much these draft disasters cost the Wolves.
Getting it right one time with Garnett certainly covered for plenty of
mistakes. But it also underscored the obvious: Did they cost K.G. a chance to
legitimately chase a title in Minnesota? His best teammates arrived through
trades and free agency, and the one who was drafted (Szczerbiak), K.G. didn't
particularly like.
Now, of course, the Wolves are back at a familiar place, trying to make sense
of the Draft and avoid looking foolish. They have the fourth, 16th and 23rd
pick. And they already have a relatively young team. Do they add three more
rookies, or swap two of the three picks? How do they draft with an eye toward
free agency come July 1, since they do have money to spend? And what about a
possible sign-and-trade involving Rudy Gay, which is on the radar? Does that
affect their draft strategy?
The elephant in the room is the 2009 Draft, strong on point guards, when the
Wolves took Jonny Flynn, who didn't make the All-Rookie First Team (he did
make the Second Team, though); and Ricky Rubio, who chose to stay overseas
and won't arrive until 2011 at the earliest, if at all. It's too premature to
suggest they blew it; we'll see how the Rubio situation plays out first. But
it was definitely a typical Minnesota draft, in terms of being
head-scratching.
Hopefully, for the sake of his franchise, Kahn tries to get quality over
quantity. The Wolves need a future star, not a few more young bodies. And
they certainly can't afford a mistake. Not at this stage of rebuilding, where
they're trying to establish an identity. Kevin Love, a first-round swap a few
years ago, has the most promise of the current kids on the roster, but he
plays the same type of game as Al Jefferson. Which means Kahn's remaking of
the Wolves will and must go beyond Thursday night's Draft. He must factor in
potential trades, too.
The ideal formula for the Wolves in the coming weeks? Make the right call at
No. 4. Package a current player (Brewer?) with the remaining picks and make a
trade. Then sign a B-list free agent. Basically, they need to set the table
for Rubio and convince him that Minnesota is the place to be.
It starts Thursday, where the Wolves finally must show everybody that the
Draft is the place to be. A big win here would make us forget the 15 they
managed all year.
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