Finally, a Draft We Can Be Proud Of

There was much speculation coming into the 2011 NBA Draft as to whether the Minnesota Timberwolves would keep the second pick or trade it for an established veteran at center or shooting guard. Minnesota did the right thing in my opinion, holding onto the spot and taking forward Derrick Williams out of the University of Arizona. Though the selection only compounded the logjam the Wolves have at the forward position, they now have the player many thought had the most All-Star potential in the entire draft.

The addition of Derrick Williams definitely improves the Minnesota Timberwolves, both from an athleticism standpoint and from a skill one. Williams, like current Minnesota forward Michael Beasley, is fantastic at driving through the lane, and can shoot from the perimeter as well. However, Beasley was often reckless with the ball and had trouble staying on the court later on in the season. Williams also possesses some nice rebounding ability, something that certainly can't hurt the Wolves. Although Williams was often projected as a power forward, I see him playing the three, possibly in a starting role, with Michael Beasley and Wesley Johnson coming off the bench. It still remains to be seen whether the Wolves will try to trade an extra forward like Beasley. The likely labor conflict will put every move the Wolves have in mind on hold. In the end, I think the pick Williams will end up being better for the team then any kind of trade similar to the ones being thrown around on the days leading up to the draft. If any kind of trade should have been made, it should have involved Beasley and the 20th pick. Like the NFL Draft, you do not select players based on need. You draft by best player available, and Derrick Williams was far and away the best player on the board.

The Wolves also had the 20th pick in the first round. I thought they would take shooting guard prospect like Marshon Brooks, Jordan Hamilton or Tyler Honeycutt, but David Kahn ended up trading pick after pick until they ended up deep within the second round. The Bulls made the 43th pick for the Minnesota Timberwolves, taking UCLA shooting guard Malcolm Lee. Lee has a reputation as a nice, quick defensive player with a knack for handling the ball. Second round picks seldom make NBA rosters, but his defensive presence would be welcome on the Wolves, who traded Corey Brewer in the middle of the season and were one of the poorest defensive teams in the league. I'm not going to lie. I don't know much about the second player the Wolves ended up with from the latter round, Tanguy Ngombo. According to NBADraft.net, he is from the Congo and played for a team in Qatar. I highly doubt he will ever wear a Timberwolves jersey.

Despite Kahn passing on a few players I think could have benefited our team (Brooks, Honeycutt) later in the first round, Wolves fans should feel nothing but excitement after Thursday night. Minnesota has never gotten a top 2 pick in a draft, and I feel they took advantage of this opportunity. I still have no idea who is going to start at the shooting guard spot, but the forward positions are more than taken care of. Dreams and fantasies of Ricky Rubio throwing up alley oops to Derrick Williams should be able to placate the minds of Wolves fans until the impending lockout ends.