Minnesota Timberwolves Draft Grade Roundup: What the experts are saying

Minnesota Timberwolves Draft Grade Roundup: The Wolves dropped the ball

Not everyone thought that the Minnesota Timberwolves were one of the winners of draft night.

The CBS Sports duo of Colin Ward-Henninger and Kyle Boone graded the Wolves picks collectively at a ‘B-‘. Their issues stem from Edwards not being a “sure thing”, and they also mention both Bolmaro and McDaniels as “exciting young prospects”, but dock the Wolves for doing nothing to address their defense.

Of course, the draft isn’t exactly made for filling extremely specific needs, and both McDaniels and Bolmaro have strong defensive profiles. Not only that, Edwards has real upside as a solid defender, although his struggles in college are well-documented.

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports gave his own individual first-round picks and apparently struggled even more with what Gersson Rosas and Co. did.

Parrish gave the Edwards pick a ‘B+’, noting that it’s not what he would have done but is exactly what many NBA franchises would have done. He also gives the McDaniels pick at No. 28 a ‘C-‘, and his take echos some of what we’ve already seen.

"This is a decent spot for him, but there are too many polished players still available for him to be the best pick. He looks the part. He has the size, athleticism and skill. He just did nothing in his one college season. Maybe you can get excited about his potential and his high school production, but he simply disappeared last year."

His analysis of the Bolmaro pick is significantly more puzzling. Parrish’s comments seem to praise the pick, calling him “versatile” and “polished”, but he gives the Wolves just a ‘C+’ at No. 23.

Overall, the average grade for the Wolves was in the ‘B’ to ‘B+’ range — a solid performance, and depending on your thoughts surrounding the James Johnson-for-Ricky Rubio trade, it was a great night and the team is better now than it was earlier in the week.

In case you missed our grades on the Wolves picks, you can find them here.

Now, on to free agency.