Draft Day open thread

• Okay, I don't like to those dream-team type lineup predictions (You know, where we package Blount and Davis in exchange for 8 up-and-coming rooks), but I was wondering how everyone would feel if both of the following happened: the Wolves sign Mike James, and we trade Jaric for Miles. If those were the only moves we made in the offseason, I'd be pretty happy considering what we've come to expect from upper management. We'd have dumped one lengthy problem contract for a shorter one (and a better player), signed a PG for a non-ridiculous sum of money, and gotten a good prospect in the draft. The "worst" news about this deal is that it makes Black Lenin redundant, with Davis and Miles taking all of the minutes at the SF spot. It also would give us quite a bit of flexibility in the backcourt, especially when Rashad comes back, either late this season or next. Of course, it does nothing to address our frontcourt woes, but let's tackle one problem at a time, shall we? Under this scenario, Banks is unlikely to stay (right?), and does anyone have the scoop with Troy potentially retiring?

• Ahem. See my previous posts on this thread. Then read the new article on the wolves (writen after my posts). You decide. BTW--Mchale, Casey, Taylor or whomever made the final decision between Foye, Roy, Morrison,Gay, Taylor, O'Bryant, etc. . .it doesn't matter as history and no one else will tell. I bet on Foye along with McHale as my previous posts demonstrate. I might be wrong, but like our curent but not for long president I like to take a stance. I don't expect to be a lame duck in the context of this prediction after this November like our President of the US will be, however, I expect that Randy Foye will be an excellent addition to the MN Timberwolves. The rest of the team is yet to be determined. . .I'd love to see a deal that gets Jaric out for Miles. JMHO. It's a crap shoot. I can, however, hold my own (for a pretty skinny six footer) in the low post if needed. I don't demand a high salary. Call me Kevin, if you need a skinny six footer who can't jump in the low post.

• I think there's actually a few small forwards on the market who could A) fit the Wolves budget and B) help the team. Namely Rasual Butler. The guy can run, is athletic and can defend (though he's a little on the frail side), and has shot 37% on his career from behind the arc. I think he'd be a good fit. Then, if I can get completely pie-in-the-sky on y'all, I'd see if the Jazz would be interested in a Jaric/Hassell package for Carlos "Flake" Boozer. The Jazz are a little thin in the backcourt and have been rumored to have liked Jaric in the past, and Boozer's going to force his way out of Salt Lake City this offseason, so the Jazz aren't likely to be bulled over by any proposals, anyhow. I'd then start Garnett and Boozer together as a hybrid F/C combo front court, Butler at the small forward spotting up for KG, and some combo of Davis, Foye, and (I hope) Banks in the backcourt.

• what the wolves need to do is blow up the team. the draft won't address their needs. trade kg , retire hudson , deport jaric , imprison griffin and fire the coach .

• Isn't Stromile going back to Memphis for a second go round?

• If you can believe any of that NBA rumor trade talk garbage - which you can't - there's one explanation that I've heard that makes a modicum of sense. Again, no idea if this has any basis in reality but... Evidently the Wolves had a tenative deal in place with the Rockets who (like me) really wanted Brandon Roy. The Wolves would take Roy at 6 and assuming that Portland was not taking Foye at 7, Houston would then take Foye at 8 and the Wolves would trade with Houston - getting Foye and either Luther Head or a future draft pick in the process. The story has it that Portland got wind of the MIN/HOU trade scenario and picked Foye, knowing that Foye was who the Wolves wanted all along. With that, they were basically able to dictate the parameters of the trade and that is why the Wolves traded ended up trading down a spot for what amounts to nothing. Houston, now having no one left on the board who they coveted, traded the #8 pick and Stromile Swift to Memphis for Battier. I don't know alot about Luther Head except that he's under his rookie contract for two more years at a reasonable price (he was the 24th pick last year).

• Wolves fans can hope that David Jones, a PA columnist who has covered 'Nova hoops, is right: "The Villanova combo guard is one of those Newark guys who will not be discouraged under any circumstance. Sees the game, can get unconscious at times with his shot but is never out of control. I love this kid and he will be a big success sooner or later. He's a Joe Dumars type who will out-think, out-score and out-tough you all at the same time." <a href="http://www.pennlive.com/columns/patriotnews/jones/index.ssf?/base/columnists/1151547924227170.xml&coll=1&thispage=3" rel="nofollow">http://www.pennlive.com/columns/patriotnews/jones/index.ssf?/base/columnists/1151547924227170.xml&coll=1&thispage=3</a>

• I would've preferred Roy (and I agree he's a great bet to be ROY), but I think I was most disappointed when the Bulls took Thomas off the board. I just think him and KG would have made for some serious alchemy. Anyway, for those who don't follow the college game and maybe would like an alternate point of view on these guys, one that doesn't employ words like "upside," "freakish," or "next D-Wade" and doesn't feature Dickie V., 82games.com (<a href="http://www.82games.com/nbadraft2006.htm)" rel="nofollow">http://www.82games.com/nbadraft2006.htm)</a> did a prospect analysis a couple weeks ago by crunching a bunch of numbers to come up with statistical comps, and used those comps to estimate the chances the guy would be starting by the end of his rookie contract. I don't think stat analysis works for basketball nearly as well as it does for baseball, but I found it interesting (and sobering) all the same. (FWIW, the guy they say has the best chance to become an all star is Ronnie Brewer, who went to the Jazz at 14). Anyway, here's what they say about Foye and Roy: Randy Foye, SG, Villanova % Chance to Start ? 10.19% Was similar to: Bob Sura, Derek Fisher, Jimmy King Foye fits the most common type of player with the highest bust rate, which is the undersized two, not really a point guard position. That doesn?t bode too well for Foye, but he does have the tools to buck the odds. Also, he shown significant improvement over his four year career, but at 22, he might have topped out. So, he projects to be player off the bench in the mold of Fred Jones. Brandon Roy, SG, Washington % Chance to Start ? 29.00 Was similar to: Jim Jackson, Paul Pierce, Antonio Daniels Statistically, Roy didn?t grade out as high as I would?ve expected. Offensively, he checks out well by doing most of his damage as a slasher. He also has sound passing and decision-making skills, which will be an excellent bonus for the team that drafts him. On defense, he didn?t grade out as well. He might be more of a stay-at-home defender than a help guy because his steals and block rates weren?t really high. One concern on the defensive end would be that he is a little foul prone and with the new rules in place, it could be a bigger problem. === Anyway, moving beyond what coulda/woulda/shoulda been, I'm nervous that bringing in Foye means more aimlessness for the franchise. We're told we threw the first-round pick into the Wally deal to get Marcus Banks because we wanted to makeover the style of the team, and throughout the entire second-half of the year we were told over and over that the team was learning how to play together. Now he might walk after 3 months, and Casey a couple weeks ago said Foye's "the next" Banks, just one who will presumably be much lower on the learning curve than the real Banks? C'mon. How is this progress?

• I like Foye better than Roy and the reason is that the Wolves do need a point gaurd. Foye was great in the tournament. If he can handle the NBA point PG, the wolves made the right move. I was very disappointed when they announced we had taken Roy, simply because there is a logjam at the shooting guard position. We have Ricky, Hassel, Rashad, and Jaric. Roy might be better than all of them, but Foye fits the needs at PG better, bc THUD, Jaric and Banks (Who we might not even be able to sign) have proven to be unreliable at the PG position for the wolves. I am willing to hand that spot to FOye with Thud, Jaric and a free agent veteran (Bobby Jackson?) backing him up. Foye doesn't shoot well, but he shot a lot at Villanueva. In the Tournament, when they needed a shot, FOye Delivered against BC. He is a take charge player and he's strong and atheletic, so he has post up abilities and can defend the the top PG's in the league, ala Chauncey. Now, we need to sign some good veteran role players. I have heard no comments about the pre-trade rumors concerning KG and Chicago. Word was Ben Gordon, Tyson Chandler and their second round pick (With the Wolves taking Tyrus Thomas also) for KG. I found this trade very intriguing and tempting. As much as I love KG, I am not looking forward to another disappointing season. Having four young NBA stars with a lot of potential leaves a lot more optimism if the Wolves suffer another losing season. There is a reason to follow them, rather than watch KG suffer as he struggles with the ineptude surrounding him. If the WOlves decide to trade KG, I hope they would do it this off season and not in the middle of the season next year.

• Foye will be good, but how can you excuse screwing around with the future of the franchise for a small amount of cash? McHale showed a lot of disregard for the fans of the T wolves. The only reason to make a trade should have been to dump some of our dead weight he has signed to long term contracts. If he does not land some big talent in free agency, he should step down before the beginning of the season. Great Malcom Gladwell write up using KG and McHale and examples. <a href="http://gladwell.typepad.com/gladwellcom/2006/05/basketball_by_t.html" rel="nofollow">http://gladwell.typepad.com/gladwellcom/2006/05/basketball_by_t.html</a>

• When I asked Coach Casey (the only one to come down between the first and second round picks) who the Wolves would have kept in the first round if there were no "cash considerations" with Portland, he answered "that's a very good question" and admitted that the upstairs braintrust "was really split" between the two players. But it was pretty clear that Casey was a Roy guy and others, presumably McHale, was a Foye guy. Maybe this got explained further when McHale eventually came down (I left early). In any case, the impression remains that Casey and McHale have never totally been on the same page. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, but I think it is a real thing that needs to be factored when considering the behavior of the franchise and possible future actions.

• No, CF, I don't think your anger is misplaced. I'm kind of in shock right now. The Wolves were lucky enough to have the one sure-thing complete-package player in the draft fall to them, then gave him away for a lesser player. Foye is not bad, but I'm pretty sure we just traded away 2007's Rookie of the Year.

• Why did this happen? I have been hearing that Brandon Foy was the guy to go for. Then we got him and we gave him away? For a guy one step higher? I don't understand. Have the Wolves somehow messed this up? I would not be surprised. They managed to take McCants out for the next year, now they give away Foy? Am I correct in my anger or is it sorely misplaced? Please educate me.

• We got money for trading the #6 (Roy) for the #7 pick (Foye). Yay. Why not just pick Foye at 6 if that's the guy you want? That's so silly. I really hate Kevin McHale. I'm surprised he didn't just send Roy to Boston for nothing. Ahem. Gotta love the Boston connection. Next year we'll draft ANOTHER 6'2" shooting guard, I bet. Man. I hope Foye's good.

• Yahoo's draft ticker shows nothing about a Wolves trade. I hope that's true, because I (like Yahoo's Dan Wetzel) think Roy is by far the best player available in the draft today. He is quick, smart, can slash to the basket, AND defend--the complete NBA package. He could help the team immediately, which is just what the Wolves need considering KG's age-opportunity window (and the fact McCants may very well miss all of next season). Hopefully McHale doesn't screw it up somehow.

• They got Randy Foye of Villanova and "cash considerations" according to the commissioner. The word is that Foye has improved his outside shooting. The talking heads are also describing him as a combo guard who will be able to play some point. He can get to the rim and the foul line. He could be a legitimate outside scoring threat to complement KG. His game is similar to Wade's. If it's even close to Wade's this is a great move for the Wolves. Chad Ford, on espn.com speculated that the trade would include Darius Miles and Marco Jaric. That didn't happen. Ultimately time will tell if it's a hit or miss. I like Roy too. Roy is considered to be safer, while Foye has more potential upside. I'm kinda liking this risky move.

• Okay, real quick - can anyone explain the Roy for Foye deal? I mean, I understand why we would get him later to pay him about 200K less, but the deal doesn't make sense to me in the exact same way that the Ray Allen for Stephon deal didn't make sense. I like Foye though, and I'm pulling for just ONE second rounder who might pan out.

• Do we have Roy (who we drafted) or Foye (who ESPN said we traded for)? One big concern - Foye's shooting percentage as a collegian is shitty (41-ish percent) and his assist-turnover ratio is nearly even (admittedly, he's a shooting guard - however Roy's is much better, he shoots near 50 percent, and he's three inches taller. Perhaps Pac-10/Big East is a factor here. Wolves have some 'splaining, though I don't know what they got for swapping the #6 for #7, if true ...).

• David, I disagree. Wolves just traded Roy for Foye. Foye will dominate a la Dwayne Wade. I'm very pleased.

• While genuflecting to Britt's disclaimer about the college game (which I hate) and the Euro game (about which I'm clueless), here's my hopes/fears: I'm happy if we get: Aldridge (big body) Williams (ditto) Tyrus Thomas (need some athletic monsters) Unsure Bargnani (Normally, I'd be happy, but the Wolves have been horrible at developing Euros) Unhappy: Morrison (need two-way players) Gay (doubts about his passion - fatal for the Wolves) Foye (sorry, I want a true point guard, not a "smart shooting guard") Roy (taller Foye, apparently) By the way, the Celts traded their number 7 for Telfair; Portland has the 4th and 7th picks.

• Also, just thought I'd point out that the interior guy that Britt is discussing is basically a guy like Martin, except with better knees...Shelden Williams is obviously a reach at #6, but it could give us incentive to trade down? Maybe Hilton Armstrong or O'Bryant? Remember we got Rashad at #14 - I'm more comfortable rolling the dice twice if we trade down (as opposed to one shot at the #6).

• Hiya team - I also agree that we should get someone who can contribute right away. I really don't think there's much of a trade-off between "upside" and "can he play now" when it comes to drafting as high as we are. The guys I'm not too high on are, honestly, most of the "top" guys in this draft - Bargnani, Aldridge, Gay, Thomas. My general rule is to stay away from underclassmen, especially if the achieve the dreaded "OMG FREAK ATHLEET!!!1!" tag. It means they can dunk, but it doesn't mean they can play within a system. So the players I'd like to drop to us are Morrison, Foye, and Roy. Losing Rashad does worry me as well, but I think I might even want Roy even if that didn't happen, if not just to make Ricky more expendable. If we somehow manage to drop lower in the draft, (as in the N.O. rumor, where we get the 12 and 15 picks), I wouldn't mind getting Marcus Williams or even one of those big ol' centers (O'Blaine or Sene). As for the K-mart trade rumors, I'd ONLY do this trade if we get rid of TWO of our fat contracts (Blount, Troy and Marko). We've already shot ourselves in the foot by signing those deals (or trading for them) - and an injured Kenyon is probably better than a 50-percent Troy. Anyway, I'm also going to assume that everyone else is freaked out about the possibility of Kevin completely screwing up draft night tonight. I, for one, will have a full bottle of whiskey on hand to dull my senses for the first five picks, as the tension builds. Perhaps we can take comfort in knowing that Jordan is also the brains behind one pick in front of us, and that the Hawks are guaranteed to take a 6'9" swingman. I'll post again sometime during the first round with my intoxicated thoughts, so stay tuned!

• There are so many other hoops fans who follow the college game religiously and/or read up on all the draft camps and the Europeans scouting reports, so quite frankly I try and wait and see for myself before wading too deeply into draft analysis and speculation (not that I don't enjoy the chatter). Put simply, my take on draft picks would be unreliable. Instead I'll say that what the Wolves need most is a monster interior scorer, defender, and rebounder to give KG some physical as well as emotional assistance, and from what I understand, there isn't anybody who provides that kind of immediate help in this draft. So a trade that addresses it is okay with me. As for K-Mart, intriguing, but where does he play? The 3? After his knee job? The 4? With what, KG at the 5 or the 3? There are too many quality power forwards in the West to sacrifice much, even if K-Mart has a better upside than what he showed in Denver. Aside from a center, the second need is point guard, unless the Wolves are already assured of re-signing Banks. Again, from what I understand, the point guard ranks are fairly thin. Bottom line, this team needs a fairly complete player who can provide immediately help. I've heard that Rudy Gay fits that description better than any player out there. If Aldridge could play the pivot and bulk up enough to be a legit center, I would also strongly consider him. As for a Morrison/Redick type, yeah the Wolves need an outside shooter, but it is not as great a need as providing a low post scorer and defender, or just someone who a little less one-dimensional from what I'm inclined to think of the two college gunners. One thing we all know: It is going to take more than tweaking, and hopefully a fairly dramatic makeover begins in just a few hours...

• It would be worth giving up our pick this year to get Thud and Jaric off the books, there's not a more overpaid backcourt in the league in terms of return on the dollar. Also, should we resign Banks or not? For how much cash? If we're drafting Foye or Roy it seems like Banks would have to be shown the door. Unless we magically trade Jaric and Thud for K-mart (now that would be a deal worth pulling the trigger on).

• I think there will be someone available to help thee Wolves at 6. I'm really upset about the McCants injury because I was excited to see how he would mature in his second year but I think taking a 2 would be a mistake. McCants flashed some excellent skills during the course of the season and I think he is the future at the 2 so we should go elsewhere with our pick. If Morrison is there, the Wolves will take him but I don't see how the Blazers wouldn't take him if he's there at 4. No way we draft the Italian if he's around. Personally, I want Rudy Gay. I know he's got some heart issues but i think he is going to be an excellent defender out of the gate and is going to be the superstar out of this draft. I have complete faith that McHale will somehow blow this, just don't know how yet. The K-Mart trade is only acceptable if we get rid of Thud. I think Jaric will play a lot better next year and K-Mart has done nothing in his career if you really look at it. Eddie Griffin was not drunk, his vision is just bad which is why he crashed his car and wasn't administered a sobriety test.

• I'm hoping Tyrus Thomas slips down to us. He'd be a monster defensively at the 3. His offense is mostly dunks and putbacks for now. But I absolutely love his energy. He'd be fanstastic alonside KG.

• Thanks for opening up this thread Britt, I know people are curious to hear your thoughts. I'm personally hoping, and it's probably a long shot, that Morrison is still available at the six slot. Whoever the Wolves draft considering that KG is 30 we need someone who's development window isn't three to four years out. I don't care how high Gay or Thomas' ceilings are if they can't perform until KG is 33. The time is now! Sad to think of considering how poor the team looks on paper. Also 1) What are your thoughts on the latest Griffin controversy? Will the Wolves cut him loose? Last This K-mart rumor. A) How believable? B) How awful an idea. K-mart is 29 in December, grossly overpaid and consistent only in being injured and over celebrating.

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