Now that Rubio is officially staying in Europe for at least the next two seasons, Sporting News’ Bethlehem Shoals imagines what the team may have looked like had they passed on Rubio. He lists several candidates that Minnesota could have drafted, but two, in particular, are most intriguing in hindsight.
Who the Timberwolves Could Have Had
Stephen Curry: He doesn’t have Ellington’s size, and pairing him with Flynn would make for an awfully small backcourt. But Curry was once projected as high as third, and showed this past season that he’s more than just a shooter. He’s also a big name already, which would also help make up for missing out on the draft’s biggest name. [...]
Terrence Williams: Put Williams with Love and you’d have enough non-Flynn ball movement to make possible an offense more wondrous than a thousand dancing Rubios. Williams may not have “possible All-Star” written on him like these others, but what team wouldn’t want a bouncy, charismatic point forward with a nose for the ball and a highly-evolved basketball IQ?
He mentions a few other names, as well, but in either Curry or Williams, Minnesota would have gotten a player that would have helped create a frenzy on the court, not just on draft night. Back in June, I wondered whether David Kahn’s zeal for creating excitement about the Timberwolves had eclipsed the more practical concerns over actually putting together a cohesive basketball team. After all, drafting two point guards in a row makes for a big story, but it’s not exactly a tried-and-true formula for winning basketball games.
Would Curry and Williams have been better additions? I wonder.
With Rubio now ensconced on another continent, “wonder what might have been” is all any of us can do.
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