The NBA Draft is only two days away and hopefully the Wolves can capitalize on some off-season moves/luck in the draft and free agency period to sway them in the right direction from here on out. Here is what I'd like to see from the squad (no particular order) in the off-season:
* Sign Darko - He was out of shape for the last portion of the year with us, but this guy knows how to play and he's still only 25 (just for some perspective...Wesley Johnson will be 23 shortly compared to Darko, who has been in the league now for eight years). He's not going to light up the boxscore on a regular basis, but he defends his position (especially, the high pick and roll/popular play for all teams) well and seems to fit in nicely in the Triangle Offense. The Wolves need to think out of the box when constructing this roster...especially, considering that free agency and the draft has given us next to nothing since the franchise's inception.
* Keep Love & Brewer - Corey Brewer should be a lock to be on the roster next year since the lack of perimeter defense & shooting on the current roster. However, Love has been mentioned in some trade rumors lately. I like him coming off the bench (but, still getting major minutes) as a rebounder and a big guy that can stretch the floor with his three point range on offense. The best part about these two is that they bring energy every night...that's hard to sustain when your ballclub is on the losing end more often than not.
* Trade Al Jefferson - The train has already passed on getting maximum value in return for Al in a trade. However, I just think you need to move him to move him to let the rest of our roster develop. With Al on the squad, it will result in him dominating the ball on offense when he's on the court. If you sign Darko, hang on to Love and Pekovic comes over from overseas...where are the minutes going to come from for all these big guys?One of the better trades in Timberwolves history was sending J.R. Rider to Portland for Bill Curley, James "Hollywood" Robinson and a conditional 1st round pick. It wasn't what we got in return, it was just a matter of addition by subtraction.
* USE your draft picks - I understand that Glen Taylor has lost a lot of money the last few years due to the team's lack of success on the court. But, how can fans take this team/organization seriously when you've traded down (to pay less of a salary on the rookie scale: Mayo/Love and Roy/Foye) and/or you end up selling the pick away (Lawson & Chalmers) to get some extra cash from another team. This irritates me on multiple fronts:
1. The Timberwolves have sucked in their draft history...but, it's like the lottery...you can't win if you don't play.
2. The Minnesota Timberwolves are also not going to land an instant impact free agent...so, why not devote your resources on the draft and take a flier (even if it is a late first round pick) on a kid that could develop into a big contributor for our club?
3. I really don't even mind trading or giving away picks if they really feel it's the best decision at the time (however, I don't see the logic in any of the ones that they have made in the last few years)...but, once those names start getting attached to those picks (Roy, Mayo, Lawson, Chalmers) and you're actually trading the player's rights and not actually the pick itself...that's where you can have the fan base turn against you...because you've opened yourself up to constant criticism/comparing/critiquing when you're wheeling and dealing that late in the ballgame. If you deal the picks...deal them early, or at least if you deal them late when they may have more value...get something basketball related back instead of just cash for Glen Taylor's pocket.
* Get Long and Athletic in Draft - The most athletic guys on the rosters were Corey Brewer and Ryan Hollins. Corey Brewer was the only one that received steady minutes throughout the whole year. The team is probably stuck on whoever falls to them at the number four pick. But, later on in the draft they could get their hands on some tremendous athletes like: Jarvis Varnardo, Ekpe Udoh, Jordan Crawford, Xavier Henry, and/or Lance Stephenson. All are graded out to land in the middle of the first round or later.
SBG
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