The NBA draft is this week.
Oddly enough, Minnesota Timberwolves doesn’t have a number one.
Oddly enough, wolves don’t need it.
For once, Timberwolves doesn’t need to find a savior.
For once, they may not be tempted to hunt for brilliant objects in the NBA.
One of the wolves’ historical problems has been their history. Once you become one of the worst and worst-run franchises in the sport, each draft becomes a search for transformation, not an easy process for choosing the best player available.
Wolves are no longer a hopeless franchise and have no reason to behave.
At the management level, there is hope that Mark Lore will build a powerful agency.
There is hope at the coach level, Chris Finch demonstrates his value and gets a contract extension.
There is hope on the field in the form of double stars (Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards), veteran ingenuity (Patrick Beverley), promise (Jaden McDaniels) and depth of list (Josh Okogie is the heckfielder who is your 11th place). man).
There has been a lot of hope among the fans who packed the Target Center both for a long time and in the afternoon.
On Thursday night, Wolves will have a 19th choice in the draft plus three second-round players. They have new basketball boss Tim Connelly, who chose Nikola Jokic’s 2014 draft with the 41st choice.
Wolves could use a good enough defender and a big man to start D’Angelo Russell to help with post defenses and rebounds.
Since Option 19 often doesn’t bet immediately, if at all, Connelly’s first season is likely to be judged by how well he handles Russell.
Russell was one of the reasons the Wolves improved dramatically last season. He was also placed in the playoffs.
The old dysfunctional Wolves would have reacted desperately and replaced him with Russell to get him out of town.
That would probably be the wrong move.
If Connelly can exchange for Russell’s value, she should.
If he cannot exchange for Russell’s value, he should show the kind of patience and wisdom that characterizes many of the best in his profession.
Russell is entering the final year of his contract. He earns about $ 31 million this season.
Try trading with him now and you will start a weakness in the negotiations.
Let him leave in a year, and you’ve given Russell a chance to redeem yourself, and you have room to spend just as Edwards and McDaniels are about to reach maturity.
Beverley has signed for another season, priced at $ 13 million. Malik Beasley has signed for $ 15.4 million for another season and the club has an option for $ 16.5 million for another season.
If Wolves felt they could be a real candidate for a free agency, and allowed Russell, Beverley, and Beasley to play and leave their contracts, Wolves would theoretically release about $ 60 million for the 2023-2024 season.
Russell’s value is currently low. Trading him would be a logical reaction to his play-offs, but it wouldn’t necessarily help in the 2022-23 Wolves regular season, and it’s a team that can’t take the regular season for granted.
Russell is a poor ball defender. He’s a striped shooter.
He also plays well with Towns, is selfless for the goalkeeper and can carry wolves from time to time.
There is also a chance that Russell will learn from the failure of his playoffs and return with greater determination this fall.
If Connelly can exchange Russell for a high-quality pass-first scorer – like someone’s Tyus Jones – he’ll be able to make Wolves better this season, no matter who he chooses.
If he can’t make a good deal this summer, he shouldn’t make a deal at all.
NFL scouts want to say the need is a bad appraiser.
The history of the wolf shows that despair is even worse.
#Timberwolves #patient #NBA #draft