A Way Too Early Look at the Timberwolves’ 2016 Draft

Mar 28, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; McDonalds High School All American athlete Malik Newman (14) poses for pictures during portrait day at the Westin Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY SportsThe Timberwolves and their fans have plenty to look forward to in the 2015-16 season.

The Timberwolves and their fans have plenty to look forward to in the 2015-16 season.

Andrew Wiggins steadily developed throughout the course of last year, showing flashes of stardom. Karl-Anthony Towns is the prized new toy, and everyone is anxious to watch what he can do. There’s Zach LaVine and Shabazz Muhammad as well, two players who should continue to improve and provide above-average play.

Gorgui Dieng is an intriguing big man, and a hopefully healthy Ricky Rubio will dazzle all year threading passes and throwing lobs to LaVine, Wiggins, and Towns.

While the upcoming season holds loads of promise for the Timberwolves, the playoffs remain a long shot. A reasonable estimate for the Timberwolves’ win total this year — based on a few different projections and my own personal judgement — is somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 games.

This piece is focusing on the next step for the Wolves: the 2016 NBA draft. Over the last 10 full seasons (not including the lockout-shortened 2011-’12 season), a team with 30 wins had, on average, the seventh-worst record in the NBA. While there is always a chance that the Wolves could pick in the top-three due to the lottery system, we’ll assume that the Wolves will draft somewhere around that #7 slot.

What players could be available?

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