A pivotal offseason for the Timberwolves begins with the NBA Draft

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ tradition of never moving up in the lottery continued on Tuesday night. After the ping-pong balls had settled, the team had slid from sixth to seventh.That makes 18 trips to the lottery and 18 times they’ve never moved up. Even when they drafted Karl-Anthony Towns first overall, they had the best chance to win the lottery. Fortunately, this team doesn’t need to hit a home run in the draft; they just need to get on base.

Seventh isn’t a terrible place. That’s where great players like John Havlicek, Kevin Johnson, and ironically, Steph Curry were taken. Luol Deng, Nene, and Damon Stoudamire were also chosen here. Maybe you’re not going to find a future hall-of-famer or next season’s Rookie of the Year but you can find a valuable rotation player.

That’s just what this Timberwolves team needs: talent. Outside of Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Zach LaVine, there isn’t much nailed down here. Kris Dunn was the fifth overall pick in last year’s draft and his defense gives him value. Gorgui Dieng’s extension kicks in this summer as well. Ricky Rubio is still here but who knows for how long.

Otherwise, the Wolves have several holes to fill. Minnesota boasted one of the league’s worst benches last season. That meant heavy minutes for the team’s Big-3 and an unhealthy dependence on Shabazz Muhammad. They could use frontcourt help and a 3-and-D wing. With extensions looming for LaVine and Wiggins this fall, and Towns next fall, this will be the last summer to spend money.

Adding affordable talent via the draft is something that the best team’s do well. Drafting well is something the franchise has seldom done well. While the verdict is out on Dunn, who has at least one NBA skill, it’s not fair to say the new regime is more of the same. The seventh pick could be used in a number of ways to add talent to one of the most promising rosters in the league.

Pick out something nice for yourself

The first option for this team is to just use the pick. This team doesn’t exactly need another 19-year old but the apparent depth in this draft may be too tempting. Moreover, there will be talent available. The front court in particular needs attention. After Towns and Dieng, the depth chart gets thin and at least the team will be picking in a range where this can be addressed.

Jonathan Isaac is a tempting option. A 6-foot-10 combo forward with a 7-foot-1 wingspan makes sense for this team. He has tremendous potential on the defensive end and a solid shooting stroke. They also added that he is inconsistent with his shot and that he wastes dribbles. Isaac is also a graduate of the Brandon Ingram School of Bodybuilding, which allows him to be frequently posted up and makes taking contact difficult.

Most of these issues seem fixable. With coaching, it seems like his shooting form could become more consistent and with age and proper guidance, his body could come along too. Thibdoeau often praised Dunn’s defense and it’s likely he would embrace the opportunity to mold a defensive forward as well. Not that projects are what teams looking to make the leap usually undertake but the upside may be appealing here.

Other options include Lauri Markkanen, Arizona’s 7-foot big man. Markkanen would be a nice fit with Towns given his jump shot, but his defense is spotty. Watching Arizona’s 73-71 loss to Xavier in the tournament showed how Markkanen can be exposed. Xavier’s big stretched him out of the interior on defense where his weak closeout skills were exposed. Experts cite defense as a whole a weakness for him. Would a defensive-minded coach like Thibodeau be accepting of a young, flawed defensive player? We’ll have to wait and see.

Gonzaga big man Zach Collins receive consideration here but if scouts were reportedly asking questions about his basketball I.Q. and toughness, the Wolves might pass.

My co-host on the Raised By Wolves podcast at 1500 ESPN floated the idea of selecting NC State point guard Dennis Smith. This seems unlikely given that they just took Dunn a year ago and most coaches are too proud to admit defeat so early. This would make sense if they decide that Dunn was their defensive piece and they’re still not sold long-term on Ricky Rubio. That would still mean carrying four point guards with Tyus Jones. But Smith could fill the ball-handling lead guard void.

After all, this is a league more driven by backcourt scoring than ever. This season, the top-three scorers were lead guards and half of the top-10 also shared the same duties. While it seems unlikely to happen, this would be a way for the team to get with the times.

Move it

It’s important to remember that the Wolves can’t trade their first round pick outright. They still owe a lottery-protected first to Atlanta through 2019 from the Adreian Payne deal. They could, however, select a player for someone else on draft night and move that player in trade.

In fact, draft night moves have worked out all right for the team. Kevin McHale selected O.J. Mayo and dealt him to Memphis for Kevin Love while unloading several bad contracts. Flip Saunders turned Trey Burke into Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng on draft night 2013. Again, this is a different regime but draft night trades have historically worked out well for them.

Why trade it? Because this team needs a veteran. It’s hard to make the playoffs relying on three 21-year olds. The veterans the team did have — Cole Aldrich, Brandon Rush, Jordan Hill — weren’t impactful enough. What this young roster was missing was a voice on the floor or a steadying presence. Look at how the Jazz used Joe Johnson in the playoffs. When things got rough, Johnson handled the ball to keep things under control against the Clippers.

Who do they go for? That’s hard to say. Not having a first round pick to move complicates any Jimmy Butler or Paul George machinations. Using history as an example, the Timberwolves had experienced players like Terry Porter, Sam Mitchell, and Tom Gugliotta around Kevin Garnett and Stephon Marbury when the franchise first made the playoffs. They don’t need veterans to take minutes from the core but they don’t need someone who can be a guiding light.

This might be the more appealing option for a franchise that is ready to make that next step. Trading the pick would signal an unwillingness to invest resources in developing another young player and a shift to adding established players who can contribute immediately.

The start of a critical summer

No matter what the Timberwolves do, they need to do it well if they hope to take the next step. Whether they select a player for themselves or make a deal, they need to add a contributor. After June’s draft, they may not have another first round pick for two years. That’s a long time. With all the money they’re going to spend on their core and potentially in free agency, they’re going to need affordable talent. It doesn’t matter if they add another star but it does matter that they improve their depth.

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The draft is only the beginning for what promises to be a pivotal summer for the organization.

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