The Timberwolves landed the fifth selection in the 2016 NBA Draft at Tuesday night’s lottery in New York.
The Wolves began the evening with the fifth-best odds at obtaining the top pick in June’s draft, although their best odds for a specific pick was actually selection #6.
And after 27 years in the NBA, the Timberwolves still have not improved their draft position compared to their lottery odds. But considering that Minnesota could have slipped to #6 or even #7, they’ll take the fifth pick.
This year’s draft is unique in that there are a clear top-two players on most people’s draft boards in LSU’s Ben Simmons and Duke’s Brandon Ingram, but after that there is a fairly large second tier.
The likes of Dragan Bender, Jamal Murray, Buddy Hield, and Kris Dunn are surely in most teams next tier, which would take us all the way through the first six selections in the draft.
We have more than five weeks for the debate to rage on regarding whom the Timberwolves should take on June 23rd, and there are so many variables that could and will affect what the new duo of Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden will choose to do.
Will they trade the pick for a veteran player? Will they package it in a blockbuster trade? Will they trade back and pick up an asset in the process? Or will they simply make the selection and add another young talent to their painfully young but exceedingly exciting core?
And, of course, we don’t know who the 76ers, Lakers, Celtics, and Suns will select before the Wolves are even on the clock.
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So really, anything could happen. But the mock drafts are already starting to come in fast and furious, and we wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we didn’t cover them.
Predictably, ESPN’s Chad Ford is stirring the pot (Insider) by suggesting that the Timberwolves will take Providence point guard Kris Dunn at #5, giving them “flexibility” if they choose to trade Ricky Rubio.
Thibodeau reportedly likes Dunn, but it’s only natural — a defensive-minded coach appreciates a defensive-minded point guard. But guess what? Thibs already has one of those on his roster and has already identified outside shooting as the biggest need on his current roster.
(Not only that, but Thibodeau has expressed concern over the team’s high turnover rate a year ago, and relying on a rookie point guard with a high turnover rate in college doesn’t seem to make much sense, does it?)
Why draft another point guard with Rubio and Tyus Jones on the roster when shooting in the form of Buddy Hield is still on the board? It wouldn’t seem to make a lot of sense, although the idea that Thibodeau could draft and trade Dunn is certainly on the table as well.
Next: On Towns' Rookie of the Year Award
We have a long time to analyze and reanalyze this year’s draft, so let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves at this point. But, really…anything could happen.