2014 NBA Draft: Grading each team’s draft
By Brad Rowland
Minnesota Timberwolves
Zach LaVine was my least favorite player in this entire draft class. Through no fault of his own, the former UCLA Bruins guard was able to skyrocket through the draft process on the hope of athleticism and upside, and with that rise, people were simply ignoring that he wasn’t a particularly productive basketball player during his time at UCLA. Minnesota reportedly fell in love with him early, but the 13th overall pick for a player who averaged 9 points per game as a freshman in the Pac-12 screams to me as a reach, and the T-Wolves will need to exercise patience with LaVine.
Fortunately for Minnesota, they picked up one of the steals of the second round in former Michigan forward Glenn Robinson III. There was concrete buzz that GRIII was a possibility at the end of the first round, but the Wolves were able to snare him with the 40th pick, and that saves their draft a bit. His athleticism is off the charts, and if Flip Saunders and company can refine his skills a bit, Robinson could be a contributor.
Grade: C-