Dunking With Wolves
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Minnesota Timberwolves should draft the best player available, regardless of position

By Logan Alten

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 8: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves greets D'Angelo Russell #0 of the Golden State Warriors during pregame warmups on November 8, 2019 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - NOVEMBER 8: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves greets D'Angelo Russell #0 of the Golden State Warriors during pregame warmups on November 8, 2019 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Minnesota Timberwolves, D'Angelo Russell
HOUSTON, TEXAS – MARCH 10: D’Angelo Russell #0 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball while defended by Russell Westbrook #0 of the Houston Rockets. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

Point guard

The Wolves are, of course, set at the starting point guard spot with D’Angelo Russell.

They also have soon to be restricted free agent Jordan McLaughlin as a quality backup option, should they choose to bring him back. Fortunately for the team, we have already seen how McLaughlin and Russell coexisted in two point guard lineups.

As Brendan Hedtke referenced in his article dissecting the Wolves’ best two man-lineups, the duo works really well together.  Between both player’s ability to play off the ball and McLaughlin’s decision-making being compounded with D-Lo’s, plus both players being bonafide floor-spacers, the pairing is a match made in heaven.

So, what’s to stop the Wolves from grabbing a point guard that has the most potential and/or the highest floor if that’s the best player available?

It will succeed because…

…the Wolves draft a point guard that can shoot, space the floor, and play off the ball.

Similar to McLaughlin and Russell, the theory of the duo would work by having both players stretch the floor and create space for the other to work in.

Additionally, being able to play without the ball in their hands is another requirement. The Wolves will likely have at least one of Towns, Russell, or James Johnson on the floor with the player at all times. Being able to create without the ball in their hands is huge as the team’s been operating with an offense focus more on passing and creating.

…the point guard has defensive versatility.

Defense is the team’s biggest need to address in the off-season and since moving on from Ricky Rubio, Timberwolves point guards have struggled on that end of the floor. In turn, it’s hurt their overall team defense and having a point guard who won’t be a liability will would be a huge upgrade on the team’s defense.

…the point guard can run an NBA offense.

Another reason McLaughlin and Russell work is because of McLaughlin’s play-making and decision-making. The goal would be to mimic that ability to coexist and allow Russell to spend some time off ball while the point guard runs the offense and creates for others.

It will fail…

…if the point guard cannot shoot or needs the ball in their hands to be effective on offense.

These types of point guards can definitely be useful in the right system. However, that system is not the one that Minnesota is going to use.

Using a pick on a player like that basically means that the player won’t be able to play with Russell, or one of the two will be marginalized due to the ball being out of the other’s hands with minimal additional offense/spacing being created. Burning a top-10 pick on a player that will only play non-Russell minutes would almost certainly be awaste of assets.

…if the point guard is not NBA-ready.

The Wolves traded their 2021 first-round pick with minimal protections on it as part of the Russell trade. That alone should indicate that the team has playoffs aspirations as soon as next season.

Using one of their last high quality bites of the apple to draft a guy that won’t be contributing to winning and likely behind McLaughlin in the depth chart for a year or two could also make things harder for the Wolves. The opportunity cost of that versus someone at a different position that offers value for the beginning two years could prove too costly in their playoff aspirations.