NBA Draft 2013: Minnesota Timberwolves High on C.J. McCollum
By Josh Hill
The NBA Draft is fast approaching and teams at the top of the order are beginning to narrow their list of targets down to a short list of top prospects. One of those teams is the Minnesota Timberwolves and it appears they’ve found a handful of players that they are satisfied with after working them out. C.J. McCollum is one of those guys, as according to Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press, the Wolves were very impressed with McCollum when he came in and worked out for them.
"There haven’t been many situations during the pre-draft process that have caught him off guard. It’s one reason the Wolves are strongly considering taking McCollum with the No. 9 pick."
Minnesota is looking for a scoring guard they can put on the court to compliment Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio and while McCollum is coming into the NBA as a point guard, he says he wants to fit right in.
McCollum spoke to the media after his workout and said virtually everything the Wolves wanted to hear up to and including the Lehigh star saying he wants to be a two-guard in Minnesota and fill their need for one.
“Obviously, here they have a really good point guard in Ricky Rubio,” McCollum said, via the Pioneer Press. “I feel like the need is at the two-guard position. They need another guy who can knock down shots and kind of score and help out Kevin Love down low. I feel like I’m that guy. I feel like I’m a guy who can be a starting two-guard in this league and play (point guard) as well.”
The Wolves have had other players in for workouts that they’ve liked and there is still a very high possibility that they trade up to try and grab a guy like Victor Oladipo or Shabazz Muhammad. But Oladipo doesn’t seem as though he’ll slip past the Magic at No. 2 overall and Muhammad’s stock has dropped to the point where the Wolves may not have to move to get him.
But it’s looking like McCollum may be their guy and they may still move to ensure that they get him before anyone else does.