Minnesota Timberwolves: What If They Drafted Antetokounmpo, Gobert?

What if the Timberwolves drafted Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert instead of Shabazz Muhammed and Gorgui Dieng in 2013? It could’ve easily happened.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert are two of the NBA’s most dynamic young players and the Minnesota Timberwolves could have had the pair.

Both towering talents displayed their exceptional skills throughout the 2016-2017 season and are blossoming into basketball superstars this postseason.

In 2013, the Minnesota Timberwolves had a chance to draft not one, but both freak athletes.

In June of 2013, Flip Saunders entered draft night with the ninth overall pick and began the evening with a handful of first-round scenarios in mind.

After the Cavaliers selected Anthony Bennet with the number one pick, everything changed for Saunders and the Wolves.

Saunders had this to say to 1500 ESPN’s Judd Zulgad after the draft:

"Well I’ll tell you what; it was chaos from the first pick. The first pick when (Anthony) Bennett was taken off the board, I think that set the tone, pretty much for the whole draft. Going into the draft, we had four scenarios, one, two, three and four and it came down and we were at the fourth scenario, our guys at No. 9 were off the board, we thought one would be there (and) we had a decision to make, whether we thought who we could get, could we move back and get who we wanted maybe at 14? Those guys would all be in another box and we thought that one of our guys would be there and that’s why we moved back to get 14 and 21."

The team drafted Trey Burke in the ninth spot, then swapped the Michigan standout for the14th selection, Shabazz Muhammed of UCLA, and the 21st, Gorgui Dieng.

At the time, Bleacher Report gave the Wolves a B+ for these selections.

This draft—arguably a solid B grade four years down the road—continues to pay dividends for the current club with both Dieng and Muhammed adding value to recent Wolves teams.

The What If

Despite solid play from the two current Minnesota Timberwolves, what might the 2017 Wolves look like if Saunders pulled a risky, yet prophetic, draft day heist in the summer of 2013?

Even though Saunders “guys” were off the board at number nine, the Timberwolves, shockingly enough, could still have drafted Antetokounmpo at 14 and Gobert at 21.

The Bucks snatched The Greek Freak at number 15 directly after Muhammed.

The Jazz grabbed The French Rejection at 27, only a few slots behind Dieng.

That made two All-NBA caliber players that Saunders, and most of the league, missed out on in the 2013 draft.

At first, Wolves fans may jump at this opportunity, lamenting what could have been for the current club. Devotees may look back and ask themselves, “What was my team thinking?! How could they have passed up (insert favorite player here)?!”

However, people don’t always look at the costs connected to their fantasy choice(s).

Let’s examine some of the benefits and shortcomings the Wolves would’ve experienced had they drafted the two fourth-year studs in 2013.

Year One

In their rookie campaigns, nothing these four players did on the court would lead anyone to believe they could be standouts in the Association.

To illustrate, here are the 2013-2014 season win shares (WS) and player efficiency ratings (PER) for the four players:

Muhammed: WS 0.3, PER 13.4
Antetokounmpo: WS 1.2, PER 10.8
Dieng: WS 2.2, PER 16.5
Gobert: WS 0.4, PER 12.9

Most rookies are not impact players and the four players in question were no different in their first seasons.

Initially, neither Gobert nor Antetokounmpo would’ve left a substantial mark on Rick Adelmen’s 2013-2014 Timberwolves squad. If they were on the 13-14 Wolves, Kevin Love and the crew still would have mired in the NBA’s Bermuda Triangle—not bad enough to land a high pick, not good enough to be a contender.

Consequently, even with rookies Gobert and Antetokounmpo on the roster, Saunders would have made the same bold play that he pulled off in the 2014 off-season. He swaps Love for the Andrew Wiggins package and drafts Zach Lavine.

Saunders then heads to the sidelines to assure that the necessary hard-core tank job would take place during the following regular season.

Year Two

With Flip’s tanking troupe in place, Wiggins and Lavine still get major minutes, while Gobert and Giannis perform negligibly better than their hypothetical counterparts.

Muhammed: WS 2.0, PER 19.9
Antentokounmpo: WS 6.2, PER 14.8
Dieng: WS 4.9, PER 17.2
Gobert: WS 2.3, PER 21.6

Oh, and Flip still brings back Kevin Garnett mid-season because…anything is possible!

The 2014-2015 tank-a-thon still works well for Saunders.

Unfortunately, the Wolves end up with a couple more wins, 18 rather than 16, on the season, tying them with Philadelphia for the league’s second-worst mark.

The New York Knicks would have ended up in last place—first in the Karl-Anthony Towns sweepstakes—with 17 victories.

Since the last place team, the Timberwolves, miraculously landed the top pick in the 2015 draft, the What If pick would go to the Knicks.

The Knicks, no doubt, nab Towns at number one.

The Lakers still draw the second choice, selecting D’Angelo Russell.

That leaves the Wolves and the Sixers to battle it out for Jahlil Okafor and Kristaps Porzignis.

Given the Timberwolves’ lack of lottery luck and Saunders’ adoration for the big man, Okafor somehow gets snatched up by Minnesota in this case.

Philly then falls into one of the better prospects in the draft, Porzingis.

Unfortunately, in this scenario, the tragedy that struck the Wolves in the fall of 2015 would’ve still taken place and Sam Mitchell replaces the late Flip Saunders as coach before the season begins.

On the court, the Wolves’ front office and their fans would have been disappointed with the first-year play of Okafor. Meanwhile, KAT’s historic rookie campaign for the Knickerbockers would have left Minnesotans wanting.

Meanwhile, Towns’ historic rookie campaign for the Knickerbockers would have left Minnesotans wanting.

However, the Timberwolves would find solace in the growth of both Antetokounmpo and Gobert, as they start their ascent during year three.

Year Three

A starting lineup for that 2015-2016 Wolves team might have looked something like this:

PG: Rubio
SG: Wiggins
SF: Antetokounmpo
PF: Garnett
C: Gobert

That front line, though. Wow. That’s well over 21 feet of wingspan patrolling the painted area for the Wolves. How could anybody in the league have scored on that triumvirate?

Even though Garnett’s final season ended abruptly, watching those three man the post would have been a sight to behold.

Despite the amazing defensive group, the Wolves could have rolled onto the Target Center hardwood, Gobert (6.4 win shares) and Antetokounmpo (7.1) still would not have been enough to catapult this version of the Wolves to the playoffs.

Though their visible potential became more apparent in year three, their production was still only a handful of games better than the Dieng (5.9) and Muhammed (2.7) combination.

Remember, too, both the Jazz and the Bucks missed the postseason in 2016. In all likelihood, the Gobert/Antetekounmpo Wolves would have led the Mitchell-coached team to a mid-30s win total.

At the end of that season, Wolves’ owner Glen Taylor, and the rest of the NBA, would have seen major potential in these lengthy Wolves.

Taylor decides to take the same risk, offering the dual position, President of Basketball Operations and head coach, to Tom Thibodeau.

Year Four

Given this variation of the team and his late lottery pick, Thibodeau would’ve selected someone along the lines of a ready-to-play senior, as he hoped for with the Kris Dunn selection, in Denzel Valentine.

Without going into the major contractual implications these changes would bring, front office Thibodeau decides the summer of 2016 is the time to strike in free agency, rather than wait, as he has over the past 12 months.

He inks a player that he’s familiar with from the Bulls—a Noah, Gasol, or Deng—to an overpriced contract. Despite the hasty signing, Wolves fans are still elated with their enticing young core.

The Wolves could’ve run with a 2016-2017 line-up that looked like this:

Starters:

PG: Rubio
SG: Wiggins
F: Deng
F: Antetokounmpo
C: Gobert

Bench:

PG: Tyus Jones
SG: Lavine
SF: Valentine
PF: Nemanja Bjelica
C: Okafor

The length, athleticism, and defensive presence that Antetokounmpo and Gobert could have provided, in addition to the scoring and playmaking Rubio, Lavine, and Wiggins bring to the table; may have catapulted the Wolves to a record just above .500 this season.

Antetokounmpo (12.4 WS and 26.1 PER) and Gobert (14.3, 23.2) both had break out years in their fourth campaigns. They pulled away, far away, from Dieng (5.7,14.2) and Muhammed (2.7, 14.9) in the win shares and PER categories.

The Wolves low to mid-40’s win total would’ve prepared them for a likely first-round exit at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, the current two seed.

So…What If

These projections, like any hypothetical situation, would result in subsequent transactions that can’t possibly be seen through the lens of hindsight. It’s apparent, however, that the Timberwolves would’ve been just good enough in the “tanking” season to not get the number one overall pick. That means no Towns.

Consequently, this scenario’s major swap comes down to a “Would You Rather?” of epic basketball proportions: Towns, Dieng, and Muhammed or Gobert and Antetokounmpo?

Current starters:

PG: Rubio
SG: Lavine
SF: Wiggins
PF: Dieng
C: Towns

What If starters:

PG: Rubio
SG: Wiggins
SF: Deng, or similar veteran
PF: Antetokounmpo
C: Gobert

Those are two intriguing lineups.

Given this pair of options, even the most ardent Towns’ supporter would have to recognize the two-way talent Gobert and Anteokounmpo would bring to the current Wolves.

On the other hand, Gobert and Antetokounmpo made big time break-throughs in their fourth years; whereas Towns, Wiggins, and Lavine still have that jump ahead of them.

If the current Wolves’ trio’s leap is going to come, it needs to show up on the defensive end, and soon.

If they can take that superstar step in the same way Antetokounmpo and Gobert have this past season, Wolves’ fans will no longer need to speculate about What If, for their long-awaited What If will become Right Now.

Which team would you rather have, the current Timberwolves or the What If team? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.