Timberwolves Draft Review: Good the Wolves passed on Curry?

2010 Draft

With head coach Kurt Rambis in tow, the Timberwolves looked to reverse their fortunes after 2009’s draft misstep. They had the fourth-overall pick in this draft, even higher than last season. The jewel and obvious number-one overall pick that year was, without a doubt, John Wall.

At number four, however, the Wolves were still in the range to grab a player who would help change their franchise from a laughing-stock.

When their pick came up, only Derrick Favors, Evan Turner, and the aforementioned Wall were off the board.

With all the talent still left on the board, Kahn (somehow still employed after the previous year’s debacle) selected Wes Johnson, another Syracuse product. With this being the second year in a row the team seemingly reached for a member of the Orangemen, fans were obviously skeptical. Looking back on how things went with Johnson, the most memorable thing about him was his draft day suit.

The pain only grows when you see who the Wolves passed on in order to take Johnson. While there is not as bad a miss as there was in 2009 when they passed on Steph Curry, there were still elite players to be had later in 2010.

DeMarcus Cousins (fifth overall), Gordon Hayward (ninth), or Paul George (10th) would have looked great paired with Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. Even a quality player like Eric Bledsoe (18th) or one of the best two-way guards in the NBA in Avery Bradley (19th) would have fit in nicely.

Minnesota also had the 23rd pick in the draft, which they used to select Trevor Booker. Later that night, Kahn and company traded his draft rights to Washington along with the 56th pick. In return, the Wolves received the 30th and 35th picks. They selected Lazar Hayward and current rotation player Nemanja Bjelica.

So, while this draft wasn’t a 2009 level blunder, they definitely had an opportunity to add very high level talent and whiffed…again.