The more cynical Timberwolves fans, and there are many, may have had their brains inject a dose of sedative into the temporary euphoria of landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA's draft lottery Thursday night.
It might have sounded something like, "Leave it to the Wolves to get the top pick when there is no obvious pick."
There is no Zion Williamson, no Anthony Davis, no LeBron James. No obvious, slam-dunk, send-the-pick-in-and-forget-it player in this upcoming draft.
But in his comments after landing the No. 1 pick, Wolves President Gersson Rosas referenced another draft when there was no such pick at the top: 2013, when the Cavaliers took Anthony Bennett No. 1. That draft was supposed to be a weak one — except Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo was there for the taking all the way until No. 15.
"They've talked about this as being similar to past drafts, the Anthony Bennett draft for example," Rosas said. "But to be fair, the reigning MVP was part of that draft as well. We got to do our job."
Rosas and the Wolves have the first crack at landing that potential star. They could've landed all the way back at No. 7 based on the range of outcomes they had going into the night. So while getting the first pick may not be as hyped as it was in previous years, it's still a significant asset for the franchise to do with as it pleases.
"We've got a great young core, one of the youngest if not the youngest in the NBA," Rosas said. "We have a lot of upside, but we need to continue to add high-level talent to this team."
If the Wolves decide the best course is to keep the pick and select the best player, that's what they'll do — select who they think is the best player. That seems obvious, but some teams might pass on a better talent in order to draft for a positional need. That's not Rosas' philosophy.
"It's not something where you pick a guy, you plug a hole and you move forward," Rosas said.
That's notable because two of the potential top prospects, LaMelo Ball and James Wiseman, are a point guard and center, respectively. The Wolves' franchise cornerstones are D'Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns, a point guard and a center.
But that won't scare Rosas away from taking someone who plays a similar position. Before the draft, Rosas was asked specifically about drafting a point guard, and he said having two point guards during his tenure in Houston, James Harden and Chris Paul, worked just fine. He also said Towns' versatility on the offensive end allows the Wolves to deploy different personnel.
"You get the best talent that you can and you make it work," Rosas said. "If that's another point guard, I lived through that in Houston with two point guards and that worked out pretty well for us. We got pretty close to a championship there with that duo. If that means a different big next to 'KAT,' I think KAT's shooting ability gives us a lot of flexibility in how we want to build this team and how we want to play basketball."
Another player at the top of many draft boards is Anthony Edwards out of Georgia. Edwards is more of a shooting guard and would seem to be more of a natural position fit alongside Russell and Towns. The other factor to consider is age. Rosas said upon taking the job last year it's imperative to acquire players who match the timeline of Towns, 24. They did that with Russell, also 24. Would drafting a 19- or 20-year-old sync up with that timeline? Rosas thinks so.
"We have to be ready to go in Karl and D'Angelo's prime," Rosas said. "The ability to have the best team from when they enter 27, 28 years of age, that's going to take time. … So those guys fit into that window with the development curve that they have. We obviously at that stage want to be in a contending mode and competing at the highest level, but you have to build the structure in place from now until there."
It's just a matter of which way Rosas wants to go about it — keep the pick or trade it.
