When Ricky Rubio falls to you at #5, after you were planning on moving up to grab him or Thabeet, you take him, that makes sense. But I'm not sure I get drafting the exact same position at #6, again at #18, and again at #45.
As Wolves beat writer Jerry Zgoda points out, following up Ricky Rubio with Jonny Flynn because of the questions around Ricky Rubio's contract in Spain, and whether he'll be able to get out of it--he has to be pay his own buy-out clause; the Wolves can't help him in that regard.
But on the other hand, hand, Wolves Brain Guy, David Kahn says he thinks they can play together in the backcourt. Dick Vitale (DICK VITALE!) said that would be crazy, and career suicide for any coach that attempts it. Luckily, there is no Wolves head coach, so no one is sweating their job yet.
The other point guard they took at #18, Ty Lawson, who I like a lot, got traded to Denver for a draft pick next year. The pick technically was Charlotte's, and it is Top 12 protected, so we'll see about that. But we all knew that the Wolves weren't going to keep 4 First round picks, so instead they have a chance to have 3 picks in the first round two years in a row. Nice little move there.
I don't really understand at all taking at #45 Nick Calathes. Calathes is just one of those guys who never seems to be the sum of his parts. Jay Bilas may have identified the problem with him--that he doesn't seem to be aware enough of what the other guys on the floor need from him at any given moment. That's a troubling tendency in a point guard. He's also got contract issues, as he's signed to a Greek squad already.
Kahn really doesn't seem concerned about what this team will look like this year, which is great. He's clearly looking down the road, as he's assembled a bunch of point guards, a couple of whom may not play at all next year. He also drafted a Dutch big man in the 2nd round--Henk Norel, who will also probably be on the shelf for a year or two.
The guys drafted to help right away--Jonny Flynn and Wayne Ellington, have a chance to really do that. It will be a nice combo--Flynn slashing and dishing to Jefferson, and Ellington patrolling the perimeter, ready to punish double-teams on Jefferson. I don't know if the record will reflect much of an improvement, but with some guys stashed away, and another 3 first round picks next year, the Wolves could be quite good in a few years.
No comments:
Post a Comment