Very pleased with the Timberwolves draft.
Edwards was the right choice. Fingers crossed he won't be Wiggins pt. 2. But as a 6-5, 230 lbs., bruiser who can score on anyone, he's exactly the scoring machine we need as a third option. And his defensive promise will be great.
Getting Rubio for our 17th pick rights a wrong. Rubio could never shoot, but he's better now, and a ball wizard as every Wolves fan knows. He has a great rapport with Coach Saunders and KAT, and will be a great backup to DLo if he gets injured. They can also play together, which will be valuable in Saunders' system.
I don't know much about Leandro Balmoro, but word is he's a ball handling wizard and great defensive wing. At 6-7, he's tall and versatile. I think that's great value at pick 23 that should blossom into a rotation player.
Jaden McDaniels is a project at pick 28. But he's a 6-10 forward who is going to put on weight (he's only listed at 200 lbs). He can already handle the ball well, which is a trend you see with the Timberwolves right now. Saunders loves multiple ballhandlers on the floor. But if his frame fills out, we could have a really versatile F in the years to come.
Overall, I give the TWolves draft (including the trade to re-acquire Rubio), an A-/B+ grade. We added great ball handlers and passers, got our third scoring option, and slightly improved our defensive ability. All pluses. On the downside, the team has no real power forwards. Rumor is, James Johnson is going to OKC in the Rubio deal, to make the salaries match. We literally have no other PFs on the roster except Naz Reid (a budding PF/C combination that is essentially KAT's backup and almost a complete copy of his skill set at Center).
So we haven't addressed our very big need at the 4. And we still need to get better shooting and defense.
Rumor has it we're looking at bringing Lauri Markkanen home. Stupid Thibs, when he made the Butler trade, traded that pick and Lavine to the Bulls for Butler. Well, Markkanen is a 7-ft power forward who has range for days. Would be great next to KAT. But I've heard nothing but a rumor at this point.
So we need to address the Power Forward position.
Final Grade - somewhere between A-/B+