DownSwinging.com

Thursday night was the beginning of an era in Minnesota. The lowly Timberwolves, after a season of misfiring along with some nifty deals, found themselves with two picks in the top six, and four in the first round. While many would argue that this year’s draft crop was one of the weaker classes in years, they’d be right; but there is no doubting that those four picks, coupled with the likes of Al Jefferson and Kevin Love, could create a very formidable lineup for the young, upstart Timberwolves. The problem is, it is quite evident that new GM David Kahn is generally confused about the concept of building a winning NBA team. Credit to him, he has a very difficult job, but I do feel as though he’s making it look a lot harder than it actually is. Lets look at how the team with the most assets on draft day of any team in recent memory, somehow spurned the opportunity to create a more balanced squad, in order to make headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Okay lets look at the facts. The Minnesota Timberwolves had picks 5, 6, 18 and 28 in the first round of Thursday’s draft. Their needs were almost exclusively limited to the back court, with the exception of a dominant all-out center on the interior. However, seeing as Hasheem Thabeet had already been taken by the time their first pick arrived, selecting a center was ruled out. With forwards, Al Jefferson, the much beligned, Corey Brewer and Kevin Love as the most intriguing players on the Timberwolves young roster, it was clear that their backcourt was what needed re-examining. This much, Kahn understood.

With the number five pick, he selected point guard Ricky Rubio out of Spain, the first player born in the 1990s ever to be drafted. Rubio was a consensus top-five pick, and his selection merited absolutely no objections. Rubio is the pure point guard that every team craves, and Minnesota got him. Here is where Kahn and company lost their way. With the next pick, the T-Wolves selected Jonny Flynn out of Syracuse, another natural distributor and PG. Very similar to Rubio in the sense that they both deliver the ball perfectly, but have trouble knocking down shots. At this point everybody thought that there was a trade in place and it was only a matter of minutes before David Stern strolled out and announced that Flynn was on his way to another team for an outside shooter that Minnesota so badly needs; that announcement never came. Instead, we find the Wolves mired in a situation where, until a trade happens, they’re reduced to thinking they can reinvent the game of basketball, wherein having two assist-minded point guards on the floor simultaneously, will flummox the opposition and liken the Timberwolves’ offense to the Harlem Globetrotters. I personally feel as though selecting USC Freshman, DeMar DeRozan would have been an excellent choice. He has an unbelievably high ceiling, as well as, time to grow with the rebuilding T-Wolves (DeRozan ended up going 9th to the Raptors).  That aside, David Kahn actually believed that these two point guards were the beginning of a new generation. That is until Ricky Rubio realized that as an international player, he had all of the leverage in the situation.

Needless to say, as a player from Spain coming to America, Minnesota is not on the short lists of cities one would want to live in. It is, perhaps, different from Spain in every conceivable way. Rubio, it strikes me, is not the type of guy to complain about his situation just because he can. I feel as though he is legitimately concerned about his situation regarding playing time, as well as, how long it will take the Timberwolves’ coaching staff (which still does not have a head coach, and after these moves, might have to put in a want ad), to realize that their game plan is completely hopeless. So Rubio is claiming that he is willing to stay in Europe for a few years, clearly blackmailing the franchise. Rubio wants out, and he is willing to avoid the NBA for a while, to do so. The Timberwolves have informed Rubio’s representatives, however, that as he is only 18 years old, they have plenty of time, and have no desire to “push him” into coming when he isn’t ready. Thus, calling his bluff. Why bother? Why not trade him or Flynn to a team that is offering you not only a replacement but a legitimate option at shooting guard as well? There are rumors circulating about the Knicks and the Rockets being very interested, both of whom have pieces to trade. Just a side note: I thought about the possibility of Rubio teaming up with LeBron on the Knicks a year from now and I ….

The Wolves need to solve this problem. Despite what their website tries to say, this will not be a successful partnership in the NBA, it just doesn’t make any sense. Mr. Kahn, do what you have to do, make the tough decision. Here’s Chad Ford’s take, quite a sound opinion, I’d say.