As a Minnesota Timberwolves fan there is only one way to describe my emotions for the 2010 NBA Draft (or any NBA Draft for that matter): Paralyzing fear. A combination of perceived ineptitude in the current front office, proven incompetence in previous front offices and some of the worst luck in the league has left most Timberwolves fans terrified at simply hearing the phrase, “NBA Draft.”
By Peter Christian
Most NBA fans see the annual NBA Draft as an exciting event of trades, speculation and the birth of new careers and new expectations. That’s not really the case in Minnesota. Save for a few hold out optimists who still have faith in the current regime to turn things around (I think that wagon is down to about 2 right now), no one has much hope that David Kahn can utilize his allotment of three first round picks (five picks overall) and basket of “assets” to transform the Timberwolves into a team that resembles a competitive professional basketball team.
Hope is funny though, because it can sometimes come out of nothing. Even with the history of the Timberwolves draft picks turning into blunders/busts/bad decisions each draft is a chance to start anew. Team President David Kahn has another opportunity to change the mind of the fan base that has grown weary of his decision making skills in only a year. He has some very weighty options to try and turn things around and get the fans back on his side (or in my case, on his side for the first time).
In the draft it all starts at the top (or for the Timberwolves, mostly, near it) and with the 4th overall pick the team’s offseason plan will likely be paved. It’s been much rumored that Kahn has been shopping either Al Jefferson or Kevin Love (or both) due to the fact that they play the same position and are about as complimentary to each other as cheesecake and tuna fish.
The determination of which power forward gets moved may depend on who the Timberwolves select with the 4th pick. It appears that choice is going to come down to Wesley Johnson or Derrick Favors. Johnson is the player that best fits with what the Wolves need most, however Favors’ skills and likelihood of continued improvement is something that the Minnesota front office is salivating over.
Which ever prospect the Wolves take at 4, it likely won’t be because they have to choose between the two, but rather will be determined by who New Jersey takes with the third pick. Barring any last minute trade in which Kahn moves out of the 4th spot it will be kind of hard to ruffle feathers with their first pick.
The Timberwolves also hold the 16th and 23rd picks in the first round and until the draft gets about 10 players deep, those picks are going to be murky. It’s not really in the team’s best interest to keep all 3 picks because that means that the Wolves will have 3 players with guaranteed contracts for the next 3 years on their books. Chances are at least one of those picks will be a bust (not because it’s David Kahn, but because that’s the odds of the draft, those odds are just a little bit higher with David Kahn) and will have to be paid a few million dollars to sit in an Adam Morrison suit on the sidelines for three years. That’s not ideal in any team’s “rebuilding plan.”
On the other side there is the possibility of trading those picks to move up, trading one of those picks to move back and gain more assets or packaging one of those picks with a player on the current roster to land another lottery pick or impact player from another team. Those picks/swaps are going to be where David Kahn earns his stripes as a creative GM or as a buffoon that is just taking his rightful place in Timberwolves history.
David Kahn’s path as the head honcho of the Minnesota Timberwolves forks today. He will either continue to be viewed as a basketball invalid or he will start to shed that reputation and build the team back into a playoff contender. The Washington Wizards may be on the clock right now, but Kahn’s got a different clock ticking down on him. The only problem is that he’s the only one who doesn’t know it.