Although the Timberwolves are desperate for a power forward or center in the June 28 NBA draft, they could draft 6-foot-1 point guard Mike Conley from Ohio State. The best of the bigs, including 6-foot-10 Al Horford from Florida, figure to be gone by the time the Wolves pick at No. 7. If the choice is 6-foot-11 Joakim Noah, also from Florida, or 7-foot Yi Jianlian, from China, the Wolves are advised to go for Conley.
Conley is a true playmaker who would allow the Timberwolves to move Randy Foye to shooting guard, a more natural position for him. Conley could easily have benefited from more than one year of college basketball, but he’s already a top 10 draft prospect. He receives high marks for his shooting, drives to the basket, play making and character.
Noah is a minimal player offensively. His lack of shooting range and poor shooting form were reasons he averaged 12 points per game his senior season. Jianlian is suspect because of his physical strength and the limited competition he’s faced in China.
Disappointment has often characterized the public’s reaction to the Wolves’ drafts. Since 1989 when the franchise began the Wolves have only had five high impact players they acquired throught the draft, Pooh Richardson, Christian Laettner, Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury (draft day trade for Ray Allen) and Wally Szczerbiak.
The drafts from 2000-2004 were not productive bringing Igor Rakocevic, Loren Woods, Marcus Taylor, Ndudi Ebi, Rick Rickert and Blake Stepp to Minneapolis. Wolves fans engage in a frustrating exercise of identifying productive and even star players the Wolves could have drafted.
Their latest poster player is Cavs rookie Daniel Gibson, a 21-year-old rookie from Texas, who scored 31 points including five-for-five on three pointers to help Cleveland defeat Detroit in game six of the Eastern Conference finals earlier this week. Gibson was the 42nd pick in the 2006 draft and available to the Wolves when they chose forward Craig Smith, another promising player. Gibson may draw comparisons with San Antonio all-star point guard Tony Parker, the 28th pick in the first round of the 2001 draft (Wolves had no first round pick that year).
San Antonio, the team playing Cleveland in the finals and in pursuit of a fourth NBA championship since 1999, offers players that encourage comparisons with the Wolves. Manu Ginobili, the star guard who excels in clutch moments, was drafted in the second round of the 1999 draft, the 28th pick. The Wolves used their two first round choices on Szczerbiak and William Avery. The Spurs starters include two players who weren’t even drafted, defensive stopper Bruce Bowen and center Fabricio Oberto.