The Minnesota Timberwolves will be selecting with the No. 11 pick in this year’s draft. There have been some notable names selected with that pick in previous years.
It wasn’t the luckiest night for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the NBA Draft Lottery.
The Wolves saw multiple teams leap-frog there way into the top-four, but on a night where other teams were getting lucky, the Wolves couldn’t find any magic of their own.
The Wolves will be drafting with the No. 11 pick after moving down one spot, and, at the end of the day, they were fortunate enough to that it wasn’t only that much. It could have been worse.
And, here’s the silver lining: there are some notable names that have been selected with the No. 11 pick.
In the most recent years, Malik Monk, Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, Doug McDermott, Michael Carter-Williams, Meyers Leonard, Klay Thompson and Cole Aldrich have all been selected at that point in the draft. Carter-Williams was the Rookie of the Year before falling off somewhat, and Aldrich also had a lackluster career out of a nice run with the Los Angeles Clippers. And the jury is still out on Monk, of course.
But otherwise, that’s a solid crew of productive NBA players. Some have faired better than others, but if the Wolves could land a player like Thompson or Turner, then that would be a home run.
Going back a bit further, some other names that have been picked at the 11 spot include Wolves free agent Jerryd Bayless, J.J. Redick, Reggie Miller and Gary Trent, former Timberwolf and father of Apple Valley native and Duke star Gary Trent, Jr.
Despite the current draft not being the strongest class that the NBA has seen in recent years, the Timberwolves could certainly find a player that will be good in the NBA.
Just because they’re not drafting in the top five or 10, Minnesota can still find the best player in the draft. Recent years have seen the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert, Pascal Siakam and Donovan Mitchell who have had success after being selected late in the lottery or beyond.
A quick glance at this year’s draft board suggests that possible names to look out for are Coby White, Keldon Johnson, Bol Bol, Brandon Clarke, Kevin Porter Jr., Romeo Langford, Nassir Little and Sekou Doumbouya.
Doumbouya is rising up draft boards quickly, and is the youngest player in the draft at 18. He’s looked at as a player with immense potential but will take some time to develop. At 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, he can leap out of the gym and cover a lot of space in transition. His shooting is a work in progress but the potential is there and he will be a name to watch out for as he should rise up the draft boards.
In short, there are some intriguing players that the Wolves could choose with the No. 11 pick in the draft. Despite moving down and other teams jumping into the top-four, Minnesota could still come away with a great player.