Minnesota Timberwolves Draft Grade Roundup: What the experts are saying

The Minnesota Timberwolves had an eventful draft night. Let’s round-up the opinions from around the blogosphere and see what experts thought.

The Minnesota Timberwolves entered the 2020 NBA Draft with three selections at their disposal, and they indeed finished the night with three new rookies on their roster.

But they swung multiple trades to end up with their three rookies and swapped veteran big man James Johnson for Ricky Rubio along the way.

That means that there is plenty to examine, and there are plenty of differing opinions out there among the experts and pundits.

Let’s take a look, starting first with a couple of neutral takes, and then looking at those who thought the Wolves had a stellar night and those pundits who took a decidedly different view.

Minnesota Timberwolves Draft Grade Roundup: The Wolves did … okay

There were a few sites that graded the Wolves’ draft night performance as solidly decent, for whatever that’s worth.

Sports Illustrated’s Michael Shapiro gave the Wolves a ‘B’ but appeared to only factor in the selection of Anthony Edwards at No. 1. Essentially, he felt as though the Wolves made the obvious pick based on roster fit and all-around upside.

SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell handed out two ‘B’s’ and a ‘C’. The Edwards pick and the trade-up for Leandro Bolmaro at No. 23 reached received decent marks.

The analysis of the No. 1 pick is in line with Shapiro, mentioning that the Wolves “couldn’t find a team that wanted it” in a trade, and ultimately, Edwards’ upside is worth the gamble but “he has a long way to go before he’s a winning player in the NBA.” Fair take.

The Bolmaro pick also received a ‘B’, with O’Donnell mentioning his solid defensive profile and upside as a facilitator.

As for McDaniels, the Wolves are dinged for McDaniels’ struggles in college as a five-star recruit. Here’s a portion of the SB Nation analysis:

"The skinny 6’10 wing struggled to score efficiently with 51.5 percent true shooting and finished the season with 100 turnovers to 65 assists. There were better bets at this point in the first round, but the Wolves are obviously weighing pre-college sample more heavily than what happened in college for both McDaniels and No. 1 pick Edwards."

It’s fair criticism, as college players such as TCU’s Desmond Bane and Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman were both still on the board and could have better — and more immediately productive — fits with the Wolves roster. Yours truly graded this pick as a ‘B-‘ for that exact reason.

Instead, Minnesota brass is betting on McDaniels long-term upside.

Now, let’s look at the sites that loved the Wolves’ draft performance and rated it highly.