Minnesota Timberwolves Draft Prospect: Keita Bates-Diop
By Ben Beecken
The Minnesota Timberwolves — along with virtually every other organization — will be looking for versatility from any offseason additions. Could the draft provide just that in the form of Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop?
The Minnesota Timberwolves possess the 20th selection in the June 21 draft, and there are likely to be at least a couple wing players available who might fit exactly the profile that the Wolves are seeking to fill.
From Kevin Heurter (our profile here) to Zhaire Smith (profile) to Lonnie Walker (profile), who should all be drafted in the late lottery into the early 20s, to potential risers like Donte DiVincenzo (profile), Dzanan Musa (profile), and Jacob Evans (profile), there should be plenty of talent to pick from.
And that’s even if Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden remain as picky as they should be, with a veteran team built to win-now and a thin bench. The Wolves should only make a selection that will augment their current core. If that isn’t possible, the pick should (and probably will) be moved.
If Keita Bates-Diop is on the board, however, the Timberwolves should took a long, hard look.
For starters, the physical profile is almost exactly a bigger version of Draymond Green. Bates-Diop is slightly taller and heavier, with a superior wingspan. But even with a slightly larger build, his agility numbers are comparable to what Green’s clocked in at back in 2012.
Check out some of the stops in the below video.
Bates-Diop is the prototypical, switchable player in today’s NBA. The ability and know-how is there to step in and become a virtual lock-down defender from from early in his pro career.
Where the Ohio State alum’s career deviates from Green’s own Big Ten career at Michigan State, however, is in some of the peripheral numbers.
Green was a far superior rebounder (career college rebound rate of 18 percent compared to 13.2 percent for Bates-Diop) and distributor (career college assist rate of 24.6 percent compared to Bates-Diop’s 9.3). His higher steal rate also suggests better awareness and positioning on defense (3 percent versus 1.5), although Bates-Diop did have a better block rate than Green.
KBD wasn’t a significantly superior 3-point shooter than Green in college, although he did launch a lot more. But his decent athleticism and impressive touch is enough to give him value as a wing on offense, too.
Bates-Diop will likely never play a point-forward role as Green so often does with Golden State, but that doesn’t mean he can’t develop a nice off-ball game that fits in the modern NBA.
Remember, Green wasn’t selected until the fifth pick of the second round back in 2012. He, like Bates-Diop, was a four-year player in the Big Ten who took a leap in his senior season. But the NBA has changed enough in the past six years that it seems likely that Bates-Diop will garner a look in the mid-to-late first round.
He’ll likely be on the board for the taking at No. 20, and while I’m not saying he will be the next Draymond Green — there are plenty of differences, especially on offense — he could have a similar ability to impact the game defensively.
Next: Timberwolves top 5 worst draft picks of the past decade
And if they agree that there is at least a chance of such an outcome, they’d be best served to pull the trigger on KBD if he’s available on draft night.