Who should the Wolves draft at number 1?

[TheFuture]

If we stay at #1 I hope we take Wiseman. I'd like to create our own unique advantage rather than continue to play catch-up on the league trend.

If we trade out completely, Booker is the easy choice, but after the bubble performance I'd say highly unlikely.

Simmons is intriguing, but also concerning with our current style/player set. He absolutely needs the ball in his hands to be effective on offense. I prefer D'Lo retaining that control.

I also wouldn't mind trading down within top 8, grabbing an asset (nice role player, preferably at the 3 or 4, or future 1sts), and taking any of Wiseman, Vassell, Avdija, Okongwu, Edwards, Haliburton, or Nesmith.

I also really hope Rosas flips an asset (#31, a role player, an asset from the previous trade down) with #17 to move up and hope to secure Patrick Williams, Precious Achiuwa, Saddiq Bey, or Aleksej Pokusevski.

[TAFKASP]

SP this is your year!

I can always count on you Monster! Of course that's also why I'd be against them hiring you as GM! ;)

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I'm trading the pick for immediate help if we can. If we couldn't I would take Ball to give us 2 really good playmakers in the back court and Ball has good size to play either guard spot. I think if we keep the pick it's going to be Edwards. Rosas and company will see a 6'5 NBA ready body who can get to the bucket. They aren't taking Wiseman given the team philosophy so it's between Ball and Edwards and Edwards is more NBA ready for a team who needs it.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I'm trading the pick for immediate help if we can. If we couldn't I would take Ball to give us 2 really good playmakers in the back court and Ball has good size to play either guard spot. I think if we keep the pick it's going to be Edwards. Rosas and company will see a 6'5 NBA ready body who can get to the bucket. They aren't taking Wiseman given the team philosophy so it's between Ball and Edwards and Edwards is more NBA ready for a team who needs it.

I think so too and that worries me a little. Also, if you're Gersson Rosas, and you're thinking about taking Anthony Edwards with the first pick, what do you do with Malik Beasley? Beasley wanted out of Denver to get some burn as a starter. Do you re-sign Beasley and just throw him back on the bench? Do you decide to run three guards, a forward, and Towns?

I think that gets messy fast. So, yeah, I prefer to trade the pick and hopefully the incoming piece is a stud that fits with the current collection of guys in place.

[worldK]

I voted for simmons or wiseman. Simmons can single handily solved a lot of our problems and is the ideal guy on our system. Yes he cant shoot but our top 3 scorers are all elite volume 3pt shooters already. Simmons can do everything else at a high or elite level. Has legit size to play 4 but can also play and defend the other 4 positions.


If we cant get simmons then go with wiseman. He may not look like a fit to the system but he is the most talented guy and the most potential to be a game changer in the draft in my view. We need to tweak our philosophy to allow a towns/wiseman frontcourt but that will have more impact than an edwards or ball. Also, with 3 elite volume 3pt shooters on the team, having wiseman is not going to be a problem. We just need change the philosophy and letntwo bigs play at yhe same time and focus on the positives wiseman can bring on the defensive end as well as a rim runner and finisher.

Inwill be disappointed if we draft edwards or ball. Im 50/50 on booker and 30/70 on beal.

[Coolbreeze44]

Going after Simmons is easily the best option as I see it. If we decide to keep and make the pick, I would throw my support behind Wiseman. But I agree with World in that i doubt Rosas would go that way.

This situation just begs us to trade the pick.

[Lipoli390]

Saying we should trade the pick in the abstract makes no sense. Whether we SHOULD trade the pick depends on who/what we get in return and what we give up to get him. There obviously has to be a limit on what the Wolves give up and the Wolves absolutely should not give up the top pick without getting a young star in return. I don't think there's a reasonable, realistic path to getting Booker. I think Simmons and Beal are possibilities, but no telling what it would take to get them. Note that the Wolves will likely be competing in the trade market with the Warriors who will undoubtedly be shopping their #2 pick really hard. The Warriors need a veteran more than the Wolves to fit with their core players who are all in their prime.

So I disagree that the situation begs us to trade the pick. If that's the thinking in the Wolves front office, the team is in trouble. The Wolves are well positioned with KAT, Russell, Beasley and Johnson to compete for a playoff slot next season. We still don't know how good Culver or Okogie will become, but we know they're both really talented. Heading into their 2nd and 3rd seasons respectively, it's reasonable to expect both to show significant improvement. For once, I'd like to see the Wolves front office act judiciously and intelligently. The situation begs our front office to act competently. That would be something new and refreshing.

[Coolbreeze44]

Saying we should trade the pick in the abstract makes no sense. Whether we SHOULD trade the pick depends on who/what we get in return and what we give up to get him. There obviously has to be a limit on what the Wolves give up and the Wolves absolutely should not give up the top pick without getting a young star in return. I don't think there's a reasonable, realistic path to getting Booker. I think Simmons and Beal are possibilities, but no telling what it would take to get them. Note that the Wolves will likely be competing in the trade market with the Warriors who will undoubtedly be shopping their #2 pick really hard. The Warriors need a veteran more than the Wolves to fit with their core players who are all in their prime.

So I disagree that the situation begs us to trade the pick. If that's the thinking in the Wolves front office, the team is in trouble. The Wolves are well positioned with KAT, Russell, Beasley and Johnson to compete for a playoff slot next season. We still don't know how good Culver or Okogie will become, but we know they're both really talented. Heading into their 2nd and 3rd seasons respectively, it's reasonable to expect both to show significant improvement. For once, I'd like to see the Wolves front office act judiciously and intelligently. The situation begs our front office to act competently. That would be something new and refreshing.

Boy we are really on opposite ends of this one Lip. This team is already in trouble. Our best players are one way talents. We absolutely have to parlay this top pick into something dynamic or we aren't going to contend for a long time. No one, and I mean NO one knows which draft eligible players are going to become stars. It's a total crapshoot. Who cares about "competing for a playoff spot"? Culver and Okogie are NOT really talented. Acting competently would be adding a sure thing so we actually have a chance to build a contending team. We might get lucky with our pick and everything turns out great. I'd put those odds at about 15%. If we keep the pick and draft another Derrick Williams, it will be a colossal missed opportunity.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I voted for Okongwu, but I did so on the assumption that we could trade down a few slots and get an additional asset or two in addition to Okongwu. To me, he's the safest high-upside choice, although not as high upside as Wiseman, Ball and Edwards. I see Okongwu as more likely than the other top talents to achieve his full potential. He's a great athlete with terrific hops. He has great hands, a terrific shooting touch in the paint, and a nice stroke from the free-throw line. He's 240+ pounds, yet very nimble and light on his feet.

Okongwu's college stats are compelling - 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, and 1.2 steals. He hit 61.6% of his FG attempts and 72% of his free throws. That sort of stat line is rare for a freshman. His field goal and free throw percentages indicate a nice shooting touch with the potential to expand his shooting range. His rebounds, blocks and steals show quickness, effort and smarts. It's rare for a big to combine for 2.7 blocks and over 1 steal per game. He's reputed to have a high basketball IQ and a great motor.

Okongwu's been compared to Bam Adebayo. That's an apt comparison. Both are about the same size and both put up comparable stats as freshman. However, Okongwu's stats were significantly better than Bam's overall. Okongwu had 16.2 points compared to Bam's 13, 2.7 blocks compared to Bam's 1.5, 1.2 steals compared to Bam's 0.7, 8.6 rebounds compared to Bam's 8.0 and 61.6% FG accuracy compared to Bam's 59.9%. We don't have official measurements for Okongwu, but he's reputed to have had a 7'2" wingspan before last season, which compares to Bam's official 7'2.75. And given Okongwu's young age and the timing of his last measurement, it's possible he's even longer now. Bam is considered a better passer than Okongwu. But that's a highly subjective account and doesn't reflect Bam's level of play in college. Statistically, Okongwu was a slightly better passer than Bam with 1.1 assists per game compared to Bam's 0.8. The point is that there was no clear evidence from college that Bam would become the quality passer he's become in the NBA. If you put any stock in Draft.net's rating system, you should note that Draft.net gave Okongwu a 96 compared to Bam's 92.

Ask yourself what you'd be willing to give up in a trade for Bam. Then think about the possibility of drafting someone who's a clone of Bam, but a better rim protector. It's hard to predict the NBA success of draft picks. And the comparison to Bam is certainly a lofty one. But at the end of the day, the objective evidence should weigh heavily. The evidence of Okongwu's high potential and comparability to Bam is pretty powerful. After watching a lot of film and video reviews on him, I'd say that the eye test affirms what his stats tell us about his potential overall and his comparability to Bam. If the Wolves can trade down to 3 or 4 and get him while also picking up another valuable asset, then than strikes me as the best use of the Wolves top pick.

I voted for Okongwu too. Hope to move down a few spots to pick up another asset.

[Lipoli390]

Saying we should trade the pick in the abstract makes no sense. Whether we SHOULD trade the pick depends on who/what we get in return and what we give up to get him. There obviously has to be a limit on what the Wolves give up and the Wolves absolutely should not give up the top pick without getting a young star in return. I don't think there's a reasonable, realistic path to getting Booker. I think Simmons and Beal are possibilities, but no telling what it would take to get them. Note that the Wolves will likely be competing in the trade market with the Warriors who will undoubtedly be shopping their #2 pick really hard. The Warriors need a veteran more than the Wolves to fit with their core players who are all in their prime.

So I disagree that the situation begs us to trade the pick. If that's the thinking in the Wolves front office, the team is in trouble. The Wolves are well positioned with KAT, Russell, Beasley and Johnson to compete for a playoff slot next season. We still don't know how good Culver or Okogie will become, but we know they're both really talented. Heading into their 2nd and 3rd seasons respectively, it's reasonable to expect both to show significant improvement. For once, I'd like to see the Wolves front office act judiciously and intelligently. The situation begs our front office to act competently. That would be something new and refreshing.

Boy we are really on opposite ends of this one Lip. This team is already in trouble. Our best players are one way talents. We absolutely have to parlay this top pick into something dynamic or we aren't going to contend for a long time. No one, and I mean NO one knows which draft eligible players are going to become stars. It's a total crapshoot. Who cares about "competing for a playoff spot"? Culver and Okogie are NOT really talented. Acting competently would be adding a sure thing so we actually have a chance to build a contending team. We might get lucky with our pick and everything turns out great. I'd put those odds at about 15%. If we keep the pick and draft another Derrick Williams, it will be a colossal missed opportunity.

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree on his. I don't think the Wolves are in trouble. I think they're on the threshold of being much better. How much better will depend in the near and long term on the development and coalescing of our core three - KAT, Russell and Beasley -- as well as the improvement of our other young talented players including Culver, Okogie, Naz Reid, Layman, Nowell and even T-Mac. It will also depend on the quality of our coaching staff and who the Wolves are able to add using the mid-level exception. And it will depend over the longer term on who the Wolves get out of this year's draft. With the top pick, the #17 pick and the 3rd pick in the second round I expect them to get at least one player who materially improves the team if not this next season, at least the season after and beyond.