The Minnesota Timberwolves' 31-51 finish gave coach Rick Adelman the worst winning percentage of his career in an injury-ravaged season in Minnesota, but the future could be bright if young stars Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio can stay healthy and continue to develop.
NBA Draft 2013: Minnesota Timberwolves begin fresh start with four picks
The Timberwolves have a top-10 pick and are in the market for help on the wings. Will they be able to find a prospect to help Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love?
Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
New management, led by Flip Saunders replacing David Kahn as team president, brings a new outlook for the organization, which is important for the Timberwolves as they move forward. Love had previously been unhappy with the team’s direction under Kahn and has publicly stated his desire to make the playoffs. With Khan out and Saunders in, Minnesota has a new vision to sell and another high first-round draft pick.
Minnesota has four draft picks overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, two of which are in the first round. It's been widely reported that Saunders thinks highly of Indiana shooting guard Victor Oladipo (Scouting Report) and would like to move into the top-five range to draft him, but it remains to be seen if Minnesota will be able to make such a deal.
Complete Minnesota Timberwolves draft coverage
Visit Canis Hoopus for more on the Timberwolves. Draft picks
The Timberwolves hold the No. 9, No. 26, No. 56 and No. 59 picks in the 2013 NBA Draft. They also own the rights to their first-round draft picks from 2014-2018 and could potentially use one of them to move up in the draft if they are as focused on Oladipo as reported.
Depth chart
Point guard -- Ricky Rubio, Luke Ridnour, J.J. Barea
Shooting guard -- Luke Ridnour, Alexey Shved, Malcolm Lee
Small forward -- Andrei Kirilenko (player option), Chase Budinger (free agent), Mickael Gelabale (free agent)
Power forward -- Kevin Love, Derrick Williams, Dante Cunningham (team option)
Center -- Nikola Pekovic (free agent), Greg Stiemsma (team option)
Biggest need(s)
The Timberwolves' biggest need is at shooting guard. They attempted to bring in Brandon Roy last summer as a last-ditch effort for both sides, but it was a failed experiment. They've been forced to play Ridnour as a shooting guard where he is undersized and would be better served as Rubio's backup. Minnesota has made their desire to land Oladipo clear.
Their other need could be in the form of a big man. Nikola Pekovic is a restricted free agent and the Timberwolves hold a $2.6 million team option on backup Greg Stiemsma.
Potential targets
It’s unlikely that the Timberwolves will see Oladipo fall into their laps with the No. 9 overall pick, but C.J. McCollum (scouting report), Shabazz Muhammad (scouting report) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (scouting report) are alternate targets who could serve as help at the wing.
With the No. 26 pick, it’s less clear who the Timberwolves will target. They could look to draft a big man prospect like Tony Mitchell (scouting report) or Jeff Withey (scouting report) to address their need to add depth to their frontcourt, or could look to draft a less-touted wing option like Allen Crabbe (scouting report), Reggie Bullock (scouting report) or international three-point specialist Sergey Karasev (scouting report).
See More:
