NBA Draft Preview

Let's see if I can do better in my second post after running away from my other blog in the middle of the night like the Baltimore Colts.

Damn you, Marko

The year was 2005.  Kevin McHale was in charge of a sputtering Wolves team that had missed the playoffs for the first time in 8 years by just one game. In June, they hired Dwayne Casey as head coach.  That summer, they CRUSHED the draft by locking up Rashad McCants and Bracey Wright.  They weren't done there though, friends.  Not by a long shot,

During the offseason, they traded All-Star Sam Cassell and a protected future first-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for Marko Jaric and Lionel Chalmers. They also signed free agent Nikoloz Tskitishvili.

BOOM SUCKAS!  We get rid of a 9 year pro, former all-star and 2 time NBA champ as well as a future first round pick for MARKO?  Where do I sign?  What? Did someone say Marko had missed 32 games as a Clipper with bilateral toe weakness and that he's never averaged 10ppg?  Well, needless to say Marko sucked, the Wolves sucked and they continue to suck to this day. Oh yeah, and don't forget about NIKOLOZ TSKITISHVILI, GEORGIAN BASKETBALL LEGEND!!!!




Taking it to ze rack.


What does that have to do with today? Well, that long lost first round pick has finally become eligible as the Hornets, who got the pick from the Clippers in the Chris Paul trade, will have a 6.10% chance at a top 3 pick in tonight's lottery.  If this where the Wolves' pick you can virtually guarantee that they'd either remain at the 10 spot or slide back a pick.  It's just how they like to roll.  Since the Wolves don't have the pick, you can bet they'll manage to move up.

The good news is master trading strategist KAHN has garnered a pick from Utah for the Al Jefferson trade in 2010.  They'll swing for the fences at #18 overall.  So what can we get at #18?  What do we need?

The Timberwolves need two things the most in this guy's opinion:  a) a knock down shooter at the shooting guard or small forward position, and 2) that guy should also be able to play some defense.  Look, they've been grooming Wes Johnson to do both of those things, but it appears he's incapable.  Martell Webster can do a little bit of each of these things, but he's always hurt and can completely disappear from games dispite his new, totally awesome FISHBONE haircut.

Here are some guys of interest and some NBADraft.net buzz words on each player:

SF Moe Harkless, 6'8" 218lb Frosh - St. John's

Moe is long and able to get his hands on a lot of balls. The jumper from long range isn't there yet, but he has size and upside and clear athletic ability.  Maybe a poor man's Paul George?  NBAdraft buzzwords: "tremendous upside!", "could slip into the lottery with good workouts", "promising mechanics", "struggles to create easy shots for himself"

SG Doron Lamb, 6'4" 200lb Soph - Kentucky

Lamb was kind of a do-everything guy at Kentucky.  I'm just not sure that there's a boatload of upside here.  He's also a little smaller than you'd like, but he does have a 6'7" wingspan.  He also has a shot, putting up some great FG%.  Seems like more of a smart, glue-guy type though.  Buzzwords: "tweener", "extremely active", "crafty", "assassin-like", "jumpshot mechanics are clean"

SF Quincy Miller, 6'9" 210lb Frosh - Baylor

Quincy is another guy in the Harkless crazy-long mold.  Miller may not have stood out as much on a semi-loaded Baylor squad (teammate Perry Jones will likely go top 10). He's got a good jumper despite it looking a bit awkward.  Buzzwords: "ridiculously lengthy (7'3" wingspan)", "crafty shot creator", "inconsistent", "appears lackadaisical"

Those are my top 3 for the 18 pick, a couple of others that intrigue me:

SG Terence Ross 6'6" Soph Washington: "good court vision", "lacks a conscience", "shot has good lift and form"

SG John Jenkins 6'4" Junior Vandy: "pure shooter", "does damage from the perimeter", "doesn't have the size and foot speed to be an elite defender"

Finally, if we would have never heard of the name Marko Jaric and had the pick still, here's who we could get and who I'd love to have: