Throughout their 37 seasons of existence, there have been many events that have scarred fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves. While Kevin Garnett’s departure led to rock bottom throughout the late 2000s and most of the 2010s, many believe it may have had a better outcome if the Timberwolves had taken Stephen Curry in the 2009 draft.
The Wolves infamously passed on Curry twice in that draft, taking Ricky Rubio with the fifth overall pick and Jonny Flynn with the sixth overall pick. With Curry becoming one of the greatest players in NBA history, it could have made things much different in Minnesota, especially after trading for Kevin Love on draft night in 2008.
But the fantasy of many Wolves fans with Curry and Love raining down 3-pointers comes with a catch, and while there may have been a few more wins, it may not have been enough to push them over the top and overcome their own dysfunction.
Why Stephen Curry never ended up with the Timberwolves
Going into that draft, Curry was a strong prospect after leading the nation with 28.6 points per game during his final year at Davidson. While he could fill it up – especially from 3-point range – and had playmaking ability with 5.6 assists per game, he also had a thin 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame that made him a tweener between shooting guard and point guard, according to Bleacher Report’s scouting report.
Still, the Wolves could have used anything at that point as they entered a new era. Longtime general manager Kevin McHale was replaced by David Kahn following the 2008-09 season, and he poached Phil Jackson’s top assistant, Kurt Rambis, to be his head coach after coming over from the Los Angeles Lakers.
After acquiring the fifth-overall pick in a pre-draft trade with the Washington Wizards, Curry was on the board when the Wolves were on the clock. While Rubio was a solid pick after establishing himself as a young phenom on Spain’s 2008 Olympic team, Flynn was a reach despite starring at Syracuse.
Part of the reason the Wolves passed on Curry was that his father, longtime NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, didn’t want him to go to Minnesota due to the state of the franchise and their desire to land with the New York Knicks, who held the eighth overall pick. Curry’s agent, Jeff Austin, told Kahn “there would be no visit and perhaps even hell-to-pay” if Minnesota ignored that request, according to a 2017 story he wrote for Sports Illustrated.
The Golden State Warriors took Curry with the seventh overall pick and wound up creating a modern-day dynasty along with Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. But even if the Wolves could have smoothed things over, there’s still no guarantee things would have worked as well as they did on the West Coast.
Stephen Curry wouldn’t have been able to overcome the Timberwolves dysfunction
For starters, the Wolves’ decision to hire Rambis backfired. Attempting to implement the triangle offense that Jackson used with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s and Kobe Bryant with the Lakers in the 2000s, Rambis ran into the problem of not having the proper talent to run the system.
Curry and Love wouldn’t have helped that problem, as both players work well on pick-and-rolls and high-volume shots from 3-point range. In addition, the spacing would have been terrible, and Curry would have been in a system that would have neutralized his strengths.
The forgotten part of Curry’s career also included struggles with ankle injuries. With several sprains and two major surgeries in May of 2011 and April of 2012, it took an overhaul of the Warriors training staff to get him through it.
This is something the Timberwolves just didn’t have. Flynn finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting for the 2009-10 season, averaging 13.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. But he underwent major surgery to repair a torn labrum and remove extra bone from his left hip. The procedure sapped him of his speed that made him an elite prospect, and he was out of the NBA after three seasons.
Love also infamously broke his right hand doing knuckle pushups in October 2012 and re-fractured his hand after rushing back the following January, following season-ending surgery.
The cherry on top was Kahn’s shortcomings as a general manager. Passing on Curry twice was just the beginning of his draft woes, taking Wesley Johnson fourth overall in 2010 and taking Derrick Williams second overall in 2011.
Kahn also traded for all-time draft bust Darko Milicic before extending him to a four-year, $20 million contract in the summer of 2010. The final straw came when Kahn offered Love a four-year deal instead of a maximum five-year deal to save the latter contract spot for Rubio. This led to Kahn’s firing following the 2012-13 season and Love’s trade demand to the Cleveland Cavaliers following the 2013-14 season.
A poor schematic fit, an overwhelmed training staff, multiple head coaches and one of the worst GMs in NBA history all would have limited Curry’s effectiveness in Minnesota, and it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had asked out himself if the Wolves had taken him in 2009.
While it’s fun to think about and could have resulted in a few more wins, Curry wouldn’t have been able to save one of the NBA’s biggest laughing stocks, and that fact should have Wolves fans enjoying their present instead of lamenting over the past.
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