The Minnesota Timberwolves have three draft picks this year. Their goal should be to fill out their roster with rotational pieces that can make an impact. Ayo Dosunmu is an interesting guard prospect with high upside.
Ayo Dosunmu is inconsistent. He can look like Michael Jordan for a five-minute stretch but then turn around and play like Michael Carter-Williams for the rest of the game. However, there is a lot to like when dissecting his game.
Dosunmu is a quality scorer. He is really good at cutting to the basket, great coming off of screens, and did a lot of his scoring for Illinois in isolation. He can create for himself although he can stall an offense as he gets tunnel vision sometimes.
Dosunmu’s shot does need work. Over his two seasons at Illinois, he shot 32.9 percent from three, although that number was slightly lower this past season. Dosunmu’s form seems to be fine and his FT-rate does, in fact, indicate his long-term numbers will improve with time.
His off-ball movements are fine, and he is a really good athlete which should help him transition to the next level. Dosunmu played both the one and two at the college level and he showed enough passing ability to where he may be able to slide to the point guard spot part-time in the NBA. His passing is not elite, but he can create plays for his teammates.
As far as Dosunmu’s defense, his off-ball presence was impressive at times and opposing teams did not target his on-ball defense (which is a great sign), but he often lost his man and looked out of focus.
Dosunmu’s pick-and-roll game is really efficient and paired with his athleticism and ability to score at the hoop, that should translate to the next level.
Fit with the Timberwolves
Ayo Dosunmu will best be utilized as a scorer off the bench for any team he is on in the future. He currently is projected to be a late-second round pick but there is also a genuine possibility that he goes undrafted. The Minnesota Timberwolves could take a flier on him should they be able to sign him in the UDFA market. Dosunmu is probably not worth any of their existing picks currently, though.
The Timberwolves goal, as stated in every draft profile written so far, has been to find players to fit around Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. Dosunmu is not an ideal fit with either, nor is he necessarily a bad fit with either player as well. The key to whether Dosunmu will be successful is all in his jump shot. If he can shoot above 33 percent from three at the next level (or over one point per shot), he will be fine, given his other assets. If not, it is going to be tough to play him.
Dosunmu is reminiscent of Malik Monk this past season. He is a scorer and very creative in how he gets to the rim. The defense comes and goes, but if the shot eventually comes around, Dosunmu could find himself as an NBA rotational player.