- Three seasons with Timberwolves (2014-17)
- Averaged 13.7 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game
- Key component in trade that brought Jimmy Butler to Minnesota in June 2017
Zach LaVine was somewhat of a controversial selection by former front office boss Flip Saunders back in the summer of 2014.
The Timberwolves had just gone 40-42 in Rick Adelman‘s final season as head coach, just missing the playoffs. Kevin Love was still on the roster, and Saunders was spending his first full offseason as the man in charge of personnel decisions, swatting away Love trade rumors and trying to figure out who he would be hiring as his head coach.
Ultimately, Saunders hired himself to helm the bench, and tabbed LaVine, a bouncy 19-year-old who didn’t even start in his freshman year at UCLA, as the 13th-overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. With other (potentially safer) prospects on the board, such as T.J. Warren, Gary Harris, and others, Saunders decided to bet on LaVine’s overwhelming potential and solid personality traits.
You may recall LaVine’s controversial draft night reaction…
He explained it as relief that he was selected, but of course there was much of the internet that felt otherwise.
As a rookie, LaVine was miscast as a point guard and struggled mightily, with some metrics suggesting that he was the worst player in the NBA to receive consistent minutes. The Wolves won just 16 games, but Saunders believed that LaVine’s heavy minutes with the ball in his hands would serve him well in coming years.
Tragically, Saunders became ill with cancer after LaVine’s rookie season and passed away before the start of the following season.
But Saunders’ goals for LaVine seemed to come to fruition as the young guard showed incremental improvement in his sophomore season and a massive jump in year three. However, that was before a torn ACL ruined the rest of the 2016-17 campaign and caused him to miss the first part of the 2017-18 season as well.
In the middle of his recovery from knee surgery, LaVine was shipped to Chicago as the key piece that brought back perennial All-Star wing Jimmy Butler. Now, the Bulls face a choice regarding whether or not to extend LaVine despite the question marks that remain after the injury.
Oh, and we can’t not mention the dunk contest performances and back-to-back wins…
From LaVine’s dunk contest prowess, the close connection between he and Wolves legend Flip Saunders, his rapid improvement, fun demeanor, and status as a fan favorite, plus his importance in the deal that brought Butler to Minnesota, LaVine deserves the No. 13 ranking.