Nuggets find another steal!

[Wolvesfan21]

I like how, not a bust is considered a good pick. Wasn't Laettner the 3rd overall? I forget now after I looked through the last 30 years of drafts.

I know what you mean though, the Wolves history is just putrid. Even worse is just picking random players right after the Wolves and you have a contender.

[Monster]

I like how, not a bust is considered a good pick. Wasn't Laettner the 3rd overall? I forget now after I looked through the last 30 years of drafts.

I know what you mean though, the Wolves history is just putrid. Even worse is just picking random players right after the Wolves and you have a contender.

That's part of why I did mention Laettner though. Its not like there were some Totally awesome dudes picked right after him or something. For many years it was the Wolves higher picks it was missing the Better players because they picked later. Later on then it was picking the wrong guy like you said. McHale making that deal of Mayo for Love continues to look pretty good. That's an exception not the rule which brings us back around to the Wolves problematic draft history. It's not just that they missed on guys but some where simply terrible and out of the league or maybe decent backups at best like Wes Johnson. If they could have picked someone as worthwhile as Laettner with a top 5 pick at various points it would have given them at the very least an asset. I mean how did Derrick Williams end up sucking THAT bad? If he could have been the type of player Marvin Williams was for Atlanta for years that would have had some real value even though it was obviously disappointing for the #2 pick. Getting a solid 10+ year starter in the league is a hell of a lot better than someone that's playing in whatever league he was/is in now.

[Lipoli390]

I like how, not a bust is considered a good pick. Wasn't Laettner the 3rd overall? I forget now after I looked through the last 30 years of drafts.

I know what you mean though, the Wolves history is just putrid. Even worse is just picking random players right after the Wolves and you have a contender.

That's part of why I did mention Laettner though. Its not like there were some Totally awesome dudes picked right after him or something. For many years it was the Wolves higher picks it was missing the Better players because they picked later. Later on then it was picking the wrong guy like you said. McHale making that deal of Mayo for Love continues to look pretty good. That's an exception not the rule which brings us back around to the Wolves problematic draft history. It's not just that they missed on guys but some where simply terrible and out of the league or maybe decent backups at best like Wes Johnson. If they could have picked someone as worthwhile as Laettner with a top 5 pick at various points it would have given them at the very least an asset. I mean how did Derrick Williams end up sucking THAT bad? If he could have been the type of player Marvin Williams was for Atlanta for years that would have had some real value even though it was obviously disappointing for the #2 pick. Getting a solid 10+ year starter in the league is a hell of a lot better than someone that's playing in whatever league he was/is in now.

I confess I was surprised by how terrible Derrick Williams turned out to be. I thought he was a good pick at the time. But someone in the organization told me not to long into Derrick's rookie session that "Derrick liked the NBA lifestyle a lot more than he liked playing the game. That's the sort of thing a good organization shouldn't miss. They should be able to get a read on the attitude of prospects with all the information they have access to. The problem is this: The Wolves basketball ops department over the years hasn't been very good. And that spans multiple regimes. McHale was probably the best of our PBO - drafting KG and swapping Mayo for Love. But then there was the Ebi pick when Josh Howard was available, the Joe Smith deal and lots of other bone-headed miscues during McHale's regime.

[Volans19]

Wolves took Nowell and one pick later the Nuggets got Bol. Not sure why teams don't use their seconds on big risk/reward players

[Lipoli390]

Wolves took Nowell and one pick later the Nuggets got Bol. Not sure why teams don't use their seconds on big risk/reward players

That's a tough one. I actually liked the Nowell pick. What bothers me is the fact that the Wolves never game Nowell much of an opportunity with the NBA club in spite of his consistently good play at the D-League level. Last season was a lost cause for the Wolves even before the all-star break. At that point, the organization should have been all in on evaluating and developing their young talent. They believed enough in Nowell to draft him in the 2nd round and he performed at the G-League level. He should have been given an extended burn with the NBA club. The organization's failure to do was misguided.

[Monster]

Wolves took Nowell and one pick later the Nuggets got Bol. Not sure why teams don't use their seconds on big risk/reward players

That's a tough one. I actually liked the Nowell pick. What bothers me is the fact that the Wolves never game Nowell much of an opportunity with the NBA club in spite of his consistently good play at the D-League level. Last season was a lost cause for the Wolves even before the all-star break. At that point, the organization should have been all in on evaluating and developing their young talent. They believed enough in Nowell to draft him in the 2nd round and he performed at the G-League level. He should have been given an extended burn with the NBA club. The organization's failure to do was misguided.

Sometimes teams use a 2nd round pick on a guy that seems to be solid and they turn into something much better than that. Was GS thinking they got a possible HOF and significant piece to their championship runs in Green? There is a number of guys teams pick in the 2nd round that are accomplished dudes with seemingly low ceiling high floors Etc that turn out to be pretty good.

[Volans19]

Wolves took Nowell and one pick later the Nuggets got Bol. Not sure why teams don't use their seconds on big risk/reward players

That's a tough one. I actually liked the Nowell pick. What bothers me is the fact that the Wolves never game Nowell much of an opportunity with the NBA club in spite of his consistently good play at the D-League level. Last season was a lost cause for the Wolves even before the all-star break. At that point, the organization should have been all in on evaluating and developing their young talent. They believed enough in Nowell to draft him in the 2nd round and he performed at the G-League level. He should have been given an extended burn with the NBA club. The organization's failure to do was misguided.

Sometimes teams use a 2nd round pick on a guy that seems to be solid and they turn into something much better than that. Was GS thinking they got a possible HOF and significant piece to their championship runs in Green? There is a number of guys teams pick in the 2nd round that are accomplished dudes with seemingly low ceiling high floors Etc that turn out to be pretty good.

If you are a team that has a good roster and can find a piece to compliment your stars, it's wise to draft for fit. But I think teams like Phoenix, Sacramento, Minnesota should just try and take best available/ highest celling. I'm not saying Nowell was a bad pick because I honestly have no idea how good he is/ can be, but Bol Bol was top 10 talent if he was healthy

[Monster]

Wolves took Nowell and one pick later the Nuggets got Bol. Not sure why teams don't use their seconds on big risk/reward players

That's a tough one. I actually liked the Nowell pick. What bothers me is the fact that the Wolves never game Nowell much of an opportunity with the NBA club in spite of his consistently good play at the D-League level. Last season was a lost cause for the Wolves even before the all-star break. At that point, the organization should have been all in on evaluating and developing their young talent. They believed enough in Nowell to draft him in the 2nd round and he performed at the G-League level. He should have been given an extended burn with the NBA club. The organization's failure to do was misguided.

Sometimes teams use a 2nd round pick on a guy that seems to be solid and they turn into something much better than that. Was GS thinking they got a possible HOF and significant piece to their championship runs in Green? There is a number of guys teams pick in the 2nd round that are accomplished dudes with seemingly low ceiling high floors Etc that turn out to be pretty good.

If you are a team that has a good roster and can find a piece to compliment your stars, it's wise to draft for fit. But I think teams like Phoenix, Sacramento, Minnesota should just try and take best available/ highest celling. I'm not saying Nowell was a bad pick because I honestly have no idea how good he is/ can be, but Bol Bol was top 10 talent if he was healthy

FWIW lots of people questioned his actual talent too it wasn't just about whether or not he was healthy.

[Porckchop]

I like how, not a bust is considered a good pick. Wasn't Laettner the 3rd overall? I forget now after I looked through the last 30 years of drafts.

I know what you mean though, the Wolves history is just putrid. Even worse is just picking random players right after the Wolves and you have a contender.

That's part of why I did mention Laettner though. Its not like there were some Totally awesome dudes picked right after him or something. For many years it was the Wolves higher picks it was missing the Better players because they picked later. Later on then it was picking the wrong guy like you said. McHale making that deal of Mayo for Love continues to look pretty good. That's an exception not the rule which brings us back around to the Wolves problematic draft history. It's not just that they missed on guys but some where simply terrible and out of the league or maybe decent backups at best like Wes Johnson. If they could have picked someone as worthwhile as Laettner with a top 5 pick at various points it would have given them at the very least an asset. I mean how did Derrick Williams end up sucking THAT bad? If he could have been the type of player Marvin Williams was for Atlanta for years that would have had some real value even though it was obviously disappointing for the #2 pick. Getting a solid 10+ year starter in the league is a hell of a lot better than someone that's playing in whatever league he was/is in now.

I confess I was surprised by how terrible Derrick Williams turned out to be. I thought he was a good pick at the time. But someone in the organization told me not to long into Derrick's rookie session that "Derrick liked the NBA lifestyle a lot more than he liked playing the game. That's the sort of thing a good organization shouldn't miss. They should be able to get a read on the attitude of prospects with all the information they have access to. The problem is this: The Wolves basketball ops department over the years hasn't been very good. And that spans multiple regimes. McHale was probably the best of our PBO - drafting KG and swapping Mayo for Love. But then there was the Ebi pick when Josh Howard was available, the Joe Smith deal and lots of other bone-headed miscues during McHale's regime.

Parents have a hard time understanding their own children at the ages these guys are being drafted. I think it's a crap shoot figuring out which ones will grow up fast enough to benefit their teams most.

[KG4Ever]

Best draft picks in Wolves history? Shouldn't be a long list.

1.) KG
2.) Love or Towns, both are fairly similar that they are great/were great offensively but cannot defend
3.) Marbury?
4.) Zach Lavine/Wally World/Pek

Am I missing any? lol

We should do a list of picks after the Wolves, including sold picks.

That list would be better! Just off the top of my head,

Steph Curry
Rudy Gobert
Rip Hamilton
Brandon Roy
Jeff Teague
Gallinari
Demarcus Cousins
CJ McCollum
TJ Warren
DLO
Buddy Hield
Ray Allen

These guys were picked 1 pick AFTER the Wolves. I might have missed a relative player or two. lol

Well, KG and KAT were the only times the Wolves ended up with the BPA. Westbrook > Love. Jokic > Lavine (and perhaps also Capela, TJ Warren & Nurkic). Shawn Marion > Wally (and perhaps also Artest and AK47). Deandre Jordan > Pek. The Wolves draft picking has been atrocious. The worst picks, IMHO, are the ones that were so obviously bad that even on draft day I was shaking my head: Jonnny Flynn, Wes Johnson, Bazz Muhammad, Randy Foye, Kris Dunn all come to mind. The one bust I was surprised with was Derrick Williams, so I can't knock that one too much.

Well, KAT is much better than DLO, but other than that, the guys taken a pick later (on your list) wound up being better.