The draft is one week away, rank the 3 probable targets:

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

Hield, Murray, Dunn

I'm here right now:

1) Murray. The Wolves are still young enough for me to gamble on potential. He shot the ball amazingly as a freshman. The worst athlete of the three but definitely a basketball player.

2) Dunn. I'm still with Rubio, but regardless, we need help. The verdict is out on Jones. And I don't ever want to see Lavine play point guard again. Backup point guard has killed us over the last few years, adding another capable player at the position would be good.

3) Hield. I won't be disappointed if we take him. He looks like more of a specialist to me, a guy who will be best served as a Korver like spot up shooter, but who knows. He could easily be the best of the three.

So with one week away, what is your order?

[TheFuture]

1) Dunn far and away for me. I'm still with Rubio as well, but our fan base is definitely split on him. Even as a supporter i can acknowledge that we have won nothing with Rubio as our PG and having some true competition for Rubio would be a great thing. Our backup PGs in the Rubio era have been Barea, Mo Williams, Andre Miller, LaVine, Lorenzo Brown, and Jones. That's not a very hard group to beat out for starting duties, and we also have had terrible bench play for those years. Dunn has the talent to start right away in the NBA. On our team he'll provide us with both things we need going forward, real competition down the line for Rubio and improved play on both ends from the bench. Not seeing leads or morale slip away the moment Rubio steps off the floor would be something i could get used to.

2) I've been a Hield > Murray guy for some time now, but that gap is like splitting hairs at this point. They both are going to bring the same impact right away, bench scoring at the 2 guard with quick releases. I'm not of the camp that believes Murray can be a starting PG (backup maybe) though Murray definitely has both a better handle and better vision than Hield. That is the part that closed the gap for me. I'm slightly worried about having 3 average ball handlers on the wing between Wiggins, Shabazz, and Hield. Hield has shown the work ethic to improve his game, so i do believe his handle will improve, but it worries me some. On the other hand, Hield is more athletic and longer which bodes well for both defense and getting his shot off. Overall, Hield holds the better two way potential, and following Flip's process, that is who i would take.

3) Murray. His shooting, handle, and footwork lead me to believe he could be a dream guard in a pick and roll with the potential to be a 20ppg+ scorer. On the other end, i picture him being a nightmare defensively. He's not long, though he could still grow. He's not athletic, and he does not look like he spends a bunch of time in the weight room. For our team, he's a combo guard 6th man with potential to go off in spurts. If his shot is off though, is he going to be playable? Does the offensive talent outweigh the defensive risk? I think of a player like Melo, and i say no. Murray may have more offensive potential than Hield given his handle and vision at his age, but without defense those qualities are diminished.

[60WinTim]

I will be happy with any of them... But Dunn is my personal favorite. I will also not be disappointed with Bender or Brown.

And if we trade the pick, I sure hope I like the player we get back in return!

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I will be happy with any of them... But Dunn is my personal favorite. I will also not be disappointed with Bender or Brown.

And if we trade the pick, I sure hope I like the player we get back in return!

Yup, I like Dunn too, although not by a lot. I could live with any number of other options as I just don't feel that strongly about any of these guys. But Dunn has an athletic/physical edge that I think makes him more versatile (can guard PGs and SGs), while giving us another ball handler. He could be paired up with any number of guys in the back court.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

So difficult to play this game, because we just don't know who is going to be there and there are so many flaws in everybody in the draft this year. Three weeks ago, almost all mocks had Bender gone before our pick, but now a few mocks have him dropping. Are you guys who are not mentioning him passing on him in favor of a guard if he drops to 5?

I guess I'm still seeing this as a flat draft...with uncertainty all the way through the lottery, but some sneaky promise in guys later in the first round. So, I go in this direction:

1) Trade #5 for two picks later in the first round

2) Bender

3) Hield

3a) Murray

[TheFuture]

So difficult to play this game, because we just don't know who is going to be there and there are so many flaws in everybody in the draft this year. Three weeks ago, almost all mocks had Bender gone before our pick, but now a few mocks have him dropping. Are you guys who are not mentioning him passing on him in favor of a guard if he drops to 5?

I guess I'm still seeing this as a flat draft...with uncertainty all the way through the lottery, but some sneaky promise in guys later in the first round. So, I go in this direction:

1) Trade #5 for two picks later in the first round

2) Bender

3) Hield

3a) Murray

I have Bender behind Dunn, Murray, and Hield at this point. Call me a skeptic, but I don't want to be the team to draft the next Euro after the Porzingis craze. I've seen too many "Next Dirks" to think the influx of European talent is finally here. Bender is super raw still. Yes, he has unbelievable lateral agility for a 7 footer, and flashes offensive and defensive talent. Overall, he doesn't consistently show much. He doesn't show shot blocking instincts or a real ability to hit the 3 pointer. The ability to pass, shoot, dribble, play defense, etc. is all there with Bender, but it's all on a limited viewing. He's the biggest risk, biggest reward in the top 5 and i'm not buying right now.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

So difficult to play this game, because we just don't know who is going to be there and there are so many flaws in everybody in the draft this year. Three weeks ago, almost all mocks had Bender gone before our pick, but now a few mocks have him dropping. Are you guys who are not mentioning him passing on him in favor of a guard if he drops to 5?

I guess I'm still seeing this as a flat draft...with uncertainty all the way through the lottery, but some sneaky promise in guys later in the first round. So, I go in this direction:

1) Trade #5 for two picks later in the first round

2) Bender

3) Hield

3a) Murray

I have Bender behind Dunn, Murray, and Hield at this point. Call me a skeptic, but I don't want to be the team to draft the next Euro after the Porzingis craze. I've seen too many "Next Dirks" to think the influx of European talent is finally here. Bender is super raw still. Yes, he has unbelievable lateral agility for a 7 footer, and flashes offensive and defensive talent. Overall, he doesn't consistently show much. He doesn't show shot blocking instincts or a real ability to hit the 3 pointer. The ability to pass, shoot, dribble, play defense, etc. is all there with Bender, but it's all on a limited viewing. He's the biggest risk, biggest reward in the top 5 and i'm not buying right now.

Fair points, future. My selection of Bender is based on several assumptions. We have heard reports of Wolves' personnel traveling overseas to work him out, and we also are hearing that there are more private workouts planned in the next week. I hope those workouts are not just Bender vs. a chair, because you can't learn enough in that type of workout. If Thibs gets to evaluate Bender in real scrimmaging and likes what he sees, he would move to the top of my list of players likely to be available at 5. If not, I probably default to Hield.

[bleedspeed]

I am thinking we should not draft anyone over 21 in the top 10. So I am saying.

Bender, Chriss, and Murray

[Monster]

I'm with LST I don't think it's just these 3 guys but I'll give my ranking of these 3 again

Murry and Hield are really close I may lean Hield a bit right now but I could waver towards Murray at any moment

Dunn is a ways behind them as I am not sold on his high ceiling potential.

[TheFuture]

I am thinking we should not draft anyone over 21 in the top 10. So I am saying.

Bender, Chriss, and Murray

Chriss is the one guy I would be super disappointed with in the top 5. I can live with any of Simmons, Ingram, Dunn, Hield, Murray, Bender, or Brown, but Chriss is a super big risk. He's got the size, he can jump to the sky and has shown he can shoot some. Other than that, what does he do? He doesn't play defense, he doesn't rebound, he's not a passer, nor a dribbler. His BBall IQ isn't there shown by fouling out in over half of Washington's games this year. Chriss is super raw at this point