The Minnesota Timberwolves won the lottery.
They will have the opportunity for the first pick and most likely will take center Karl-Anthony Towns from Kentucky. Flip Saunders, the man in charge of the T'Wolves, has had a fascination with Duke's Jahlil Okafor, but it seems like Towns will be the choice.
He's a multi-talented center who never realized his full potential at Kentucky because head coach John Calipari never needed him to do that. Towns can shoot, all the way out to the 3-point arc. He's already a rim protector and an awesome athlete.
Now that the No. 1 pick decision is done, the Timberwolves have an exciting future. Andrew Wiggins is the reigning Rookie of the Year, and, along with Anthony Bennett, are the No. 1 overall picks from the past two years.
The roster is littered with intriguing prospects that could grow together. Players like Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, Adreian Payne and Gorgui Dieng are fine young players with a lot of upside.
The problem for Minnesota is the rest of the roster outside these pups. Nikola Pekovic and Ricky Rubio make a lot of money for a few more years. Pekovic can't stay healthy, and Rubio is apparently on the market. It will be difficult for Saunders to flip those two with those contracts.
Kevin Garnett is also a free agent, but reports indicated he wants to return. The Wolves gave up Thaddeus Young for him and Saunders likes him around his young players. Do they re-sign him? Sounds like the Timberwolves want him around for a while, so he could be back in a Minnesota uniform.
While this isn't the deepest draft in history, the Timberwolves can get value with two picks in the first six of the second round.
Under Contract: C Nikola Pekovic; G Kevin Martin; F Anthony Bennett; F Andrew Wiggins; G Ricky Rubio; G Zach LaVine; F Shabazz Muhammad; F Adreian Payne; C Gorgui Dieng; G Lorenzo Brown
Free Agents: F Kevin Garnett; G Gary Neal; F Robbie Hummel; C Justin Hamilton; G/F Chase Budinger (player option)
Recent Draft History:
2014: Zach LaVine (13), Glenn Robinson III (40), Markel Brown (44), Alessandro Gentile (53)
2013: Trey Burke (9), Andre Roberson (26), Lorenzo Brown (52), Bojan Dubljevic (59)
2012: Robbie Hummel (58)
2011: Derrick Williams (2), Donatas Motiejunas (20)
2010: Wesley Johnson (4), Luke Babbit (16), Trevor Booker (23), Paulo Prestes (45), Hamady Ndiaye (56)
[SportsNetwork.com]
