Lotto day GDT

[FNG]

Playing off of Drew's post stating his disappointment with last night, getting the first pick could have led to some interesting moves by Rosas. I think it's safe to assume that Cunningham is most likely the consensus #1 pick. Let's say Rosas knew Detroit had the #2 pick and really wanted Cade, and he wanted to pair KAT up with a true rim protecting center. Rosas could offer #1 and Okogie to the Pistons for #2 and a bruising young defender like Isaiah Stewart. Then he could pull the trigger on a DLO and Culver for Simmons deal, and suddenly our rotation looks like this:

Mobley/Reid
KAT/Stewart
McDaniels/Edwards
Edwards/Beasley/Nowell
Simmons/Rubio/Bolmero

I don't normally participate in the hypothetical game, but since I don't believe the two above moves would have been unlikely, I only mean to point out how Rosas could have really fixed this roster had he gotten lucky in the lottery.

That's a team that mixes offense and defense well, and challenges for home court in the playoffs despite its youth. 3-point shooting would likely be below the league average, but I would argue it might not be much worse than the Suns...and we saw how they can beat a good team in the playoffs despite shooting 23% beyond the arc.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Drew, It's fair to be bummed. And from a pure asset collection standpoint, yes, it would have been good to land one of those top slots because it gives Rosas more options.

My particular issue is specific to the Timberwolves: a) We have been drafting in the lottery for years. How successful has that been?, b) Always relying on lottery picks indirectly leads to a lack of creativity and laziness in finding other ways to unearth, trade for, and develop talent in my opinion, c) you might THINK these particular guys are all going to be all-stars, but mathematically speaking, the history of the lottery doesn't back that up. There is about a 40% chance of that happening. d) I want us to compete for a playoff slot next season, not nurse along another young rookie that may or may not ever be that good.e) and lastly, this team needs elite role players - guys that CAN be found in later rounds, through trades, or free agency. We have our volume scorers and creators at this point.

Relevant?

"There are multiple teams, I'm told: Cleveland, Minnesota, Houston, who are going to be very aggressive if they're in the top of this lottery with perhaps putting those picks in trades to bring back young veteran players or All-Star caliber players to accelerate their rebuilds," said Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN shortly before the draft.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Drew, It's fair to be bummed. And from a pure asset collection standpoint, yes, it would have been good to land one of those top slots because it gives Rosas more options.

My particular issue is specific to the Timberwolves: a) We have been drafting in the lottery for years. How successful has that been?, b) Always relying on lottery picks indirectly leads to a lack of creativity and laziness in finding other ways to unearth, trade for, and develop talent in my opinion, c) you might THINK these particular guys are all going to be all-stars, but mathematically speaking, the history of the lottery doesn't back that up. There is about a 40% chance of that happening. d) I want us to compete for a playoff slot next season, not nurse along another young rookie that may or may not ever be that good.e) and lastly, this team needs elite role players - guys that CAN be found in later rounds, through trades, or free agency. We have our volume scorers and creators at this point.

Relevant?

"There are multiple teams, I'm told: Cleveland, Minnesota, Houston, who are going to be very aggressive if they're in the top of this lottery with perhaps putting those picks in trades to bring back young veteran players or All-Star caliber players to accelerate their rebuilds," said Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN shortly before the draft.

Yup, and that is indeed the part to be bummed about. I would have loved to see Rosas pair that top 3 pick with salary filler (Rubio and Culver?) to go get another legit piece that has actually proven himself.

[bleedspeed]

We might some day look back and think the 2021 NBA draft was one of the least disappointing in Timberwolves history.

[Monster]

How would you feel about #7 pick if we had not made the trade.? I would have been a little bit disappointed we dropped to 7. Is there a guy you would be really excited about at that spot?

I looked back at the last few drafts and considered who I would have likely taken at #7 in that draft. Honestly the only guy in that group that remotely exciting is if I picked Halliburton over Toppin. I always love having a pick because there is a chance you find a nice player or even just a player that is good enough to help you win games but it's not the only way to add some pretty good talent. Cam Payne is the latest example of guys becoming a nice player after flaming out.

Every NBA roster spot can mean a valuable player. The 7th pick isn't exactly costly at around 4-5 million a year but there have been guys that ended up not even worth that kind of money. Some teams are finding guys that are playing on minimum contracts that are just as or more valuable than the 7th pick in the draft. Terrance Mann was a 2nd round pick. Who would you rather have from that draft Mann or Colby White? In that draft class the Wolves drafted Nowell and signed Naz as an undrafted rookie free agent and Culver who was picked at #6 costs more than both of them put together and at this point shows less promise.

I'm not saying who cares about #7 but let's also be real about that pick we moved for Russell. It's valuable but it's not a certain value. A roster spot and a little more salary flexibility might be pretty valuable on its own.

It also may be a positive that there isn't another young player fighting for minutes with a young player currently on the roster. Personally I would like to see Nowell get some legit run next season and that's even harder to see (might be tough anyway if people stay healthy) if the Wolves ended up drafting another perimeter player who was obviously going to see minutes.

[Lipoli390]

How would you feel about #7 pick if we had not made the trade.? I would have been a little bit disappointed we dropped to 7. Is there a guy you would be really excited about at that spot?

I looked back at the last few drafts and considered who I would have likely taken at #7 in that draft. Honestly the only guy in that group that remotely exciting is if I picked Halliburton over Toppin. I always love having a pick because there is a chance you find a nice player or even just a player that is good enough to help you win games but it's not the only way to add some pretty good talent. Cam Payne is the latest example of guys becoming a nice player after flaming out.

Every NBA roster spot can mean a valuable player. The 7th pick isn't exactly costly at around 4-5 million a year but there have been guys that ended up not even worth that kind of money. Some teams are finding guys that are playing on minimum contracts that are just as or more valuable than the 7th pick in the draft. Terrance Mann was a 2nd round pick. Who would you rather have from that draft Mann or Colby White? In that draft class the Wolves drafted Nowell and signed Naz as an undrafted rookie free agent and Culver who was picked at #6 costs more than both of them put together and at this point shows less promise.

I'm not saying who cares about #7 but let's also be real about that pick we moved for Russell. It's valuable but it's not a certain value. A roster spot and a little more salary flexibility might be pretty valuable on its own.

It also may be a positive that there isn't another young player fighting for minutes with a young player currently on the roster. Personally I would like to see Nowell get some legit run next season and that's even harder to see (might be tough anyway if people stay healthy) if the Wolves ended up drafting another perimeter player who was obviously going to see minutes.

If our pick had been top 10 protected, giving us the rights to our own #7 pick, I would have looked to trade the pick, perhaps in combination other assets (maybe Culver, Juancho and/or Ricky) for a good defensive big. My top target would have been Holmes. My second target would have been Myles Turner. My third would be Steven Adams.

[Coolbreeze44]

It sucks to not have our pick this year. Whether it was a top 4 or #7, it would have been a great asset to help us get to the next level. Hopefully we aren't in the lottery for a long time. But losing this pick is still a big L.

[Lipoli390]

It sucks to not have our pick this year. Whether it was a top 4 or #7, it would have been a great asset to help us get to the next level. Hopefully we aren't in the lottery for a long time. But losing this pick is still a big L.

I agree, Cool. I like Drew's lottery analogy -- saying you're glad we didn't get this year's pick because it would another young talent and salary to manage is like saying you're glad you didn't win the million dollar lottery because of all the paperwork. If we had ended up with the 1st pick, I would have wanted Rosas to take and keep Cade Cunningham. Any other pick, whether #2 or #7, is an asset I would have wanted Rosas to shop for a talented vet. Bottom line is that even a #7 pick would have been a highly valuable asset and this franchise, like most, needs all the valuable assets it can get.

But as we all know, it could have been worse. We could have bumped up to #4, which would have been super depressing. Thankfully, we didn't jump to $4 and, better yet, we slipped to #7. We can also take some comfort in knowing that Bolmaro will be coming here. I don't want to get too excited about him, but I do like what I've seen and heard from his last season with Spain. And I love what appears to be his Manu-like Argentinian competitive intensity.

[Lipoli390]

Yep. If former #1 pick, Towns, and former #1 pick, Edwards, and former #2 pick, Russell, aren't good enough to even compete for the playoffs next season... the Wolves have bigger fish to fry.

Obviously, every fan wants the marquee talent via the draft. But it does come with a caveat... built-in excuses.

"Wiggins is so young. Just wait."
"Towns is so young. Just wait."
"Okogie will get better. Just wait."
"Culver was the #6 pick only two years ago. Just wait."
"But the timeline!"

... and this started well before Wiggins.

Meanwhile, literally every other franchise has been better than the Timberwolves. EVERY single one.

In an ideal world, landing Cunningham or a top 3 pick would be awesome. I'd definitely have welcomed it. I'd have preferred it. Obviously. BUT... it's time to swim or sink deeper. The days of the Timberwolves draft futility is over. They've had their chances at top picks. Multiple times. It's time to get something real from them.

I agree, Abe. If Rosas and Finch can't turn what we currently have into a playoff team, a 7th or 8th seed, then this thing isn't going to work.

[Monster]

How would you feel about #7 pick if we had not made the trade.? I would have been a little bit disappointed we dropped to 7. Is there a guy you would be really excited about at that spot?

I looked back at the last few drafts and considered who I would have likely taken at #7 in that draft. Honestly the only guy in that group that remotely exciting is if I picked Halliburton over Toppin. I always love having a pick because there is a chance you find a nice player or even just a player that is good enough to help you win games but it's not the only way to add some pretty good talent. Cam Payne is the latest example of guys becoming a nice player after flaming out.

Every NBA roster spot can mean a valuable player. The 7th pick isn't exactly costly at around 4-5 million a year but there have been guys that ended up not even worth that kind of money. Some teams are finding guys that are playing on minimum contracts that are just as or more valuable than the 7th pick in the draft. Terrance Mann was a 2nd round pick. Who would you rather have from that draft Mann or Colby White? In that draft class the Wolves drafted Nowell and signed Naz as an undrafted rookie free agent and Culver who was picked at #6 costs more than both of them put together and at this point shows less promise.

I'm not saying who cares about #7 but let's also be real about that pick we moved for Russell. It's valuable but it's not a certain value. A roster spot and a little more salary flexibility might be pretty valuable on its own.

It also may be a positive that there isn't another young player fighting for minutes with a young player currently on the roster. Personally I would like to see Nowell get some legit run next season and that's even harder to see (might be tough anyway if people stay healthy) if the Wolves ended up drafting another perimeter player who was obviously going to see minutes.

If our pick had been top 10 protected, giving us the rights to our own #7 pick, I would have looked to trade the pick, perhaps in combination other assets (maybe Culver, Juancho and/or Ricky) for a good defensive big. My top target would have been Holmes. My second target would have been Myles Turner. My third would be Steven Adams.

Personally I don't think having or not having that pick makes any difference in whether or not we could acquire any of those players. If we have to give up a pick that high to make a trade for Stephen Adams or Turner...pass. Why can't we sign the next Holmes or Whiteside? That's what has bugged me about as much as the missed draft picks the fact that we haven't been able to bring in one of these guys that seemingly would make a ton of sense to sign for very little. I'm still annoyed this franchise who can't find a freaking shooter never signed Seth Curry.

I still think signing a low cost FA might be a way to improve the team in the short term. I know he will probably be injured for a chunk of the season but I wonder how much Cody Zeller would sign for.