Dunking With Wolves
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Getting the Timberwolves to the Playoffs: The Draft

By Serenity Bishop

Dec 30, 2015; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Oakland Golden Grizzlies guard Kay Felder (20) steals the ball away from Virginia Cavaliers guard Devon Hall (0) during the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2015; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Oakland Golden Grizzlies guard Kay Felder (20) steals the ball away from Virginia Cavaliers guard Devon Hall (0) during the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports /
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Getting to the playoffs is the goal for all 30 teams in the NBA, and in this three-part series, we will examine how the Timberwolves can go from 29-53 to at least the eighth seed in 2016-17, whether through free agency, the draft, or trades.

With the NBA lottery done and over with, we now know that the Timberwolves will have the fifth-overall pick in June’s draft. With such a young and promising roster already in place, there’s only excitement for the off-season, and it’s time to start getting ready for June 23rd.

For all the Timberwolves fans who are also football fans, the T-Wolves are like the Jacksonville Jaguars — so much young talent and only a few pieces away from the playoffs. There’s also the fact that they have had top draft picks year-in and year-out over the past few summers.

As we discussed in the Part One of this series, “Getting the Timberwolves to the Playoffs: Free Agency”, power forward and guard depth are the most important aspects of the off-season. If the Timberwolves bypass free agency, they could tackle both of them in the draft and could actually be better off for the future.

The best way to build a team is by drafting and developing their players (even though the team didn’t draft Andrew Wiggins, he was a rookie in Minnesota so we’ll count him for the purposes of this piece). This year, the Wolves once again have some very good options to add to their unit.

With the fifth pick, the T-Wolves could have a shot to take the best power forward in the draft in Dragan Bender. The Croation big man is widely regarded as one of the best prospects in the entire draft after dominating over in Israel.

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At only 18 years old, Bender’s game is still very raw. He already can hit the three consistently, play great defense and can drive to the rim at 7′-1″.

If the Wolves take Bender with the fifth pick, they would have taken the player whom many believe is the third-best player on the board. They would also set themselves up nicely to compete for the playoffs.

Also, there are some clear similarities between Bender and the Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis, last year’s runner-up to Karl-Anthony Towns in the Rookie of the Year award voting. Just imagine a “Porzingod” type of player next to Towns, Wiggins, NBA Dunk Champion Zach Lavine and defensive specialist Ricky Rubio…

My only concern about Bender is that he will likely need to put on some weight. At only 216 pounds, he’ll get pushed around in the low post when fighting for rebounds. But other than that, I would love the pick.

In the second round, the Timberwolves should eye Kay Felder, a point guard from Oakland, one of my favorite players in this year’s draft. With a small frame at 5′-9″, 190 pounds, he reminds me of Nate Robinson — diminutive but a very explosive, big-time player.

Felder is a very good shooter from mid-range or deep. He is very patient which allows him to make his shots as well as dish the ball to his teammates. Felder is one of those guys that you can’t route against. He is going to succeed in the NBA, and all he needs is an opportunity.

That opportunity should be in a Timberwolves uniform.

Next: Getting to the Playoffs, Part One

Only time will tell, but Bender and Felder in Minnesota pairing with back-to-back Rookie of the Year award-winners could be something special.