Bored Silly - How About The Draft?!?

[60WinTim]

The problem with finishing up these series early is there are only so many articles/podcasts to check out before the kind of become redundant and uninteresting. And now that we have no playoff basketball today or Monday... Ugh!

So how about the draft?!? The Wolves have #17 and #31. In terms of need, I would have no problem if the Wolves wound up drafting 2 bigs to see if one or both pan out down the road. While BPA is the general rule of thumb, I am finding a lot of depth at PF and C spots. I think there is a good chance that a big will be available at both #17 and #31 that is on par with any BPA at another position.

Some of these bigs are showing up all over the place in various mock drafts. Two names that are usually gone before #17 are Derik Queen and Khaman Maluach. I find Khaman rather interesting, and at least one mock had him falling to #17. A couple other names I find intriguing at #17 are Asa Newell (from Georgia!) and Rasheer Fleming. And there are a handful of other prospects that ought to be available at #31.

Has anyone glanced at the draft prospects and have a personal favorite?

[Monster]

I don't have a lot of knowledge about this incoming class so didn't watch much mens college basketball this year.

Looking at some mock drafts it seems there are a number of international players that might be 1st round picks. Could the Wolves look to stash a guy or even draft a guy that is a total developmental project? It does seem there is some depth in terms of bigs so maybe they can get someone at 31 or maybe even move around the draft a little to get the guys they want. It seems like Connelly likes to swing for the fences a bit with his picks and or takes guys that fall to him. It seems like every player he has picked was based on some sort of upside type play except Wendell Moore JR. Who seems more of a solid safe pick and that didn't work out.

I'd also be cool with taking a playmaking or scoring guard if that's the BPA. It's hard to argue with adding another one. I agree getting a true big sounds good I'd go with what a good friend of mine said when I asked him a few years ago who he wanted the Bears to draft and he said he wanted them to draft some guys that were good at playing football. Lol

[rapsuperstar31]

I really like Thomas Sorber, he is coming off of a season ending foot injury and won't be cleared until July but he has a potential to be Rudy's eventual replacement. 6"9 1/2 barefoot, 7"6 wingspan, 9"1 standing reach.

Rasheer Flemming has a lot of similarities to Naz Reid, but a better defender. If there is a worry Naz may leave in free agency, he might be the route we go. 6"8 barefoot, 7"5 wingspan, 9"1 standing reach.

Derik Queen has been a top 8 pick in most mocks for a long time, but his NBA Combine was a disaster and he had some of the worst agility and testing results in the last 5 years. He may drop quite a bit come draft day. He can be a great offensive player, but doesn't offer much on defense at the moment.

Noa Essengue is very raw, but has a lot of Jaden McDaniels in him. Would be a great project for Jaden to mentor, and if he hits his potential a 6"10 French Jaden would be a great add.

Asa Newell is a solid defender and a good offensive rebounder similar to Brandon Clark but has the potential to one day be a three point shooter.

Carter Bryant is a young 3&D and Nique Clifford is an older 3&D forwards.

Danny Wolf is a 7ft version of Kyle Anderson with a three point shot and Yaxel Lendeborg is more similar to Kyle Anderson in sytle and size.

Joan Berringer is another French center that is very raw on offense, but could be a great defender.

Cedric Coward has a lot in common with Jalen Williams.

Egor Demin has some Josh Giddey in him, tall point guard that can really distribute but needs to improve his jumper.

Noah Penda, another French player/forward that is an excellent defender, players shoot 27.3% when Penda is guarding them in isolation.

Several other players could be in play, but there is a solid amount of talent in this draft that should be there at 17. There might be decent talent at 31, just depends on how many players go back to school for that NIL money.

[Coolbreeze44]

I really like Thomas Sorber, he is coming off of a season ending foot injury and won't be cleared until July but he has a potential to be Rudy's eventual replacement. 6"9 1/2 barefoot, 7"6 wingspan, 9"1 standing reach.

Rasheer Flemming has a lot of similarities to Naz Reid, but a better defender. If there is a worry Naz may leave in free agency, he might be the route we go. 6"8 barefoot, 7"5 wingspan, 9"1 standing reach.

Derik Queen has been a top 8 pick in most mocks for a long time, but his NBA Combine was a disaster and he had some of the worst agility and testing results in the last 5 years. He may drop quite a bit come draft day. He can be a great offensive player, but doesn't offer much on defense at the moment.

Noa Essengue is very raw, but has a lot of Jaden McDaniels in him. Would be a great project for Jaden to mentor, and if he hits his potential a 6"10 French Jaden would be a great add.

Asa Newell is a solid defender and a good offensive rebounder similar to Brandon Clark but has the potential to one day be a three point shooter.

Carter Bryant is a young 3&D and Nique Clifford is an older 3&D forwards.

Danny Wolf is a 7ft version of Kyle Anderson with a three point shot and Yaxel Lendeborg is more similar to Kyle Anderson in sytle and size.

Joan Berringer is another French center that is very raw on offense, but could be a great defender.

Cedric Coward has a lot in common with Jalen Williams.

Egor Demin has some Josh Giddey in him, tall point guard that can really distribute but needs to improve his jumper.

Noah Penda, another French player/forward that is an excellent defender, players shoot 27.3% when Penda is guarding them in isolation.

Several other players could be in play, but there is a solid amount of talent in this draft that should be there at 17. There might be decent talent at 31, just depends on how many players go back to school for that NIL money.

Cam, is that you?

Seriously, good information.

[WildWolf2813]

off goals:

one of the picks needs to be someone who once Rudy finally slows down can take his place.

the other pick can kinda be whatever. My guess is Finch would want a taller more traditional PG who can defend ( a taller Conley would suffice for him). The Wolves can do no wrong except draft a shooting guard.


at 17, I've really started to gravitate toward Maxime Raynaud. Sorber might not make it to us at 17 but I'd be intrigued with him.

Bigger fan of Essengue than Newell.

Danny Wolf screams permanent backup C.

avoid Ben Saraf at all costs.

my top 5 for #17

1. Thomas Sorber
2. Maxime Raynaud
3. Cedric Coward
4. Joan Beringer
5. Noa Essengue



at 31:
1. Ryan Kalkbrenner
2. Labaron Philon
3. Hansen Yang
4. Kam Jones
5. Yaxel Lendenborg

[60WinTim]

Thank Rap and WW! I knew there had to be a few here who pay attention to the draft prospects.

I've barely been scratching the surface the last couple days, and I plan to continue doing so.

Yaxel is someone who is catching my attention. He's kind of a jack-of-all trades. I especially like his rebounding, considering both Randle and NAZ are not prolific rebounders. He's older, so there's not as much potential as other younger prospects, but look at where we are with Minott and Miller -- both came in with "potential", and while they are making strides, their rookie contracts are ticking down. If Yaxel can contribute sooner than later, that's more contribution on the court while still on his rookie contract. He has to decide whether to withdraw and go play at Michigan for a year, and has said he is looking for a top-20 guarantee to stay in the draft. He is someone to consider at #17.

Sober said in his draft media interview that the Timberwolves are one of the teams he has talked to.

Maxime Raynaud and Ryan Kalkbrenner might still be around at #31. Again, both are older players. There might be some younger foreign prospects with potential that would catch TC's eye...

[FNG]

I really like Thomas Sorber, he is coming off of a season ending foot injury and won't be cleared until July but he has a potential to be Rudy's eventual replacement. 6"9 1/2 barefoot, 7"6 wingspan, 9"1 standing reach.

Rasheer Flemming has a lot of similarities to Naz Reid, but a better defender. If there is a worry Naz may leave in free agency, he might be the route we go. 6"8 barefoot, 7"5 wingspan, 9"1 standing reach.

Derik Queen has been a top 8 pick in most mocks for a long time, but his NBA Combine was a disaster and he had some of the worst agility and testing results in the last 5 years. He may drop quite a bit come draft day. He can be a great offensive player, but doesn't offer much on defense at the moment.

Noa Essengue is very raw, but has a lot of Jaden McDaniels in him. Would be a great project for Jaden to mentor, and if he hits his potential a 6"10 French Jaden would be a great add.

Asa Newell is a solid defender and a good offensive rebounder similar to Brandon Clark but has the potential to one day be a three point shooter.

Carter Bryant is a young 3&D and Nique Clifford is an older 3&D forwards.

Danny Wolf is a 7ft version of Kyle Anderson with a three point shot and Yaxel Lendeborg is more similar to Kyle Anderson in sytle and size.

Joan Berringer is another French center that is very raw on offense, but could be a great defender.

Cedric Coward has a lot in common with Jalen Williams.

Egor Demin has some Josh Giddey in him, tall point guard that can really distribute but needs to improve his jumper.

Noah Penda, another French player/forward that is an excellent defender, players shoot 27.3% when Penda is guarding them in isolation.

Several other players could be in play, but there is a solid amount of talent in this draft that should be there at 17. There might be decent talent at 31, just depends on how many players go back to school for that NIL money.

Cam, is that you?

Seriously, good information.

Hahaha. I will admit Cam provided great value in draft analysis for two reasons. First, he watched a lot of college buckets and provided a lot of information about players many of us didn't know. But more importantly, if he was all in on a certain player, you knew to run as fast as you could in the opposite direction! Who can forget his impassioned support for James Wiseman at #1 over Ant, or his belief that Nik Stauskas was the next great NBA shooting guard? I can't remember, but wasn't he all over Okafor over KAT too? Anyway, we're on our own this year, so it's good to have guys like rap to help.

I would love to see be able to get a center at 17 who could fit well into a big rotation with Rudy, Naz and Ju, and maybe be Rudy's replacement down the road. I got excited when I say Khaman Maluach mocked to us at nbadraft.net, but most mocks have him gone at 17. Same with Queen and Sorber. You wonder if TC would be able to use 17 and 31 to move up a few spots to get one of these guys.

How much fun is it to be in the NBA finals and have (essentially) 2 first round picks!

[Q-is-here]

I have no clue who to take or who any of these people are! That's a good thing because I used to be a draftnik as a byproduct of the Wolves being a perennial lottery team....would watch a lot of college ball and spend many hours on Draft Express (Jonathan Givony's draft site until he sold out to ESPN, sigh).

But now that the Wolves have been good for a few years, it just isn't worth the time for me to investigate and track. And Finch doesn't even play them until Year 2 or 3 usually!

In Connelly we trust! (and rapsuperstar31!).

[Monster]

I really like Thomas Sorber, he is coming off of a season ending foot injury and won't be cleared until July but he has a potential to be Rudy's eventual replacement. 6"9 1/2 barefoot, 7"6 wingspan, 9"1 standing reach.

Rasheer Flemming has a lot of similarities to Naz Reid, but a better defender. If there is a worry Naz may leave in free agency, he might be the route we go. 6"8 barefoot, 7"5 wingspan, 9"1 standing reach.

Derik Queen has been a top 8 pick in most mocks for a long time, but his NBA Combine was a disaster and he had some of the worst agility and testing results in the last 5 years. He may drop quite a bit come draft day. He can be a great offensive player, but doesn't offer much on defense at the moment.

Noa Essengue is very raw, but has a lot of Jaden McDaniels in him. Would be a great project for Jaden to mentor, and if he hits his potential a 6"10 French Jaden would be a great add.

Asa Newell is a solid defender and a good offensive rebounder similar to Brandon Clark but has the potential to one day be a three point shooter.

Carter Bryant is a young 3&D and Nique Clifford is an older 3&D forwards.

Danny Wolf is a 7ft version of Kyle Anderson with a three point shot and Yaxel Lendeborg is more similar to Kyle Anderson in sytle and size.

Joan Berringer is another French center that is very raw on offense, but could be a great defender.

Cedric Coward has a lot in common with Jalen Williams.

Egor Demin has some Josh Giddey in him, tall point guard that can really distribute but needs to improve his jumper.

Noah Penda, another French player/forward that is an excellent defender, players shoot 27.3% when Penda is guarding them in isolation.

Several other players could be in play, but there is a solid amount of talent in this draft that should be there at 17. There might be decent talent at 31, just depends on how many players go back to school for that NIL money.

Cam, is that you?

Seriously, good information.

Hahaha. I will admit Cam provided great value in draft analysis for two reasons. First, he watched a lot of college buckets and provided a lot of information about players many of us didn't know. But more importantly, if he was all in on a certain player, you knew to run as fast as you could in the opposite direction! Who can forget his impassioned support for James Wiseman at #1 over Ant, or his belief that Nik Stauskas was the next great NBA shooting guard? I can't remember, but wasn't he all over Okafor over KAT too? Anyway, we're on our own this year, so it's good to have guys like rap to help.

I would love to see be able to get a center at 17 who could fit well into a big rotation with Rudy, Naz and Ju, and maybe be Rudy's replacement down the road. I got excited when I say Khaman Maluach mocked to us at nbadraft.net, but most mocks have him gone at 17. Same with Queen and Sorber. You wonder if TC would be able to use 17 and 31 to move up a few spots to get one of these guys.

How much fun is it to be in the NBA finals and have (essentially) 2 first round picks!

I'm gonna defend Cam at least in one instance and say he was all over Towns as the #1 pick that year. Pretty sure he would have taken Russell over Okafor as well. He was not a fan of Porzingis.

Cam had some hits too although another one that didn't work out was Okogie. He was all about the Wolves selecting Jamal Murray over the other options. He also REALLY wanted Herro in the 2019 draft. That year he and I were both fans of Jordon Poole as a late round guy that might be a really good offensive player. He is overpaid now but as a late round pick he would at least be nice 6th man on the right contract. He actually had a nice season on a bad team in Washington.

Cam's biggest miss was Wiseman but to be fair injuries are a big factor there. Of course I mentioned that as a legit concern for him in addition to a few other things. I think I was convinced for about 26 hours at one point a few weeks before the draft that Wiseman was all that but then just couldn't stay on board. Some of that was how much I loved Haliburton.

[Monster]

I have no clue who to take or who any of these people are! That's a good thing because I used to be a draftnik as a byproduct of the Wolves being a perennial lottery team....would watch a lot of college ball and spend many hours on Draft Express (Jonathan Givony's draft site until he sold out to ESPN, sigh).

But now that the Wolves have been good for a few years, it just isn't worth the time for me to investigate and track. And Finch doesn't even play them until Year 2 or 3 usually!

In Connelly we trust! (and rapsuperstar31!).

I wish I watched more college ball but I don't even get around to watching all the Wolves games which I am more invested in.

The other thing is that it's become apparent to me that there really is opportunities up and down the draft board to get talent. Connelly isn't just gonna hang out and pick at whatever spot you really have no idea where the Wolves will be picking with him running things. In general I've tried to dial back on speculation for sports and see what comes and that definitely includes the draft especially the NFL draft. For the NBA draft I still like finding a few guys I really like and go from there. This year the Wolves could be in a spot to select a pretty wide swath of draft selections. Could they move up from 17? Move back? Move up from 31? Move back in the 2nd? Who the fuck knows?! Thats kinda fun! Lol