Jul 11, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns (32) reacts to a foul call during an NBA Summer League game against the Chicago Bulls at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Karl-Anthony Towns (PF, Minnesota Timberwolves)
The Minnesota Timberwolves won the NBA Draft Lottery this season and certainly cashed in on the opportunity by selecting a legitimate piece that they can build around for the foreseeable future, in the form of former Kentucky Wildcat, Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns joins last year’s first overall selection, Andrew Wiggins, as the undeniable future of the league. Both players feature freakish athleticism as major tools in the way they play the game, and they are both adept at play on both sides of the ball with great efficiency. The two soon-to-be stars will likely man the forward spots for the Timberwolves for the foreseeable future, or at least until they shed their rookie deals and jump ship to join another franchise.
Towns is a very strong player in what he can bring to a team on the defensive end. He isn’t believed to have the raw knack for shot blocking and interior defense that other recent big man selection have been able to boast (Anthony Davis, Nerlens Noel, and Joel Embiid), but he is very much capable of defending the post and at least bothering drives to the bucket. In addition, Coach Flip Saunders is adept at helping talent develop, which will prove to be very useful for the young Timberwolves roster as a whole.
The Timberwolves other bigs are Gorgui Dieng, Nikola Pekovic, Kevin Garnett, and Adreian Payne. Dieng and Payne are both young and still developing their skills. Unfortunately for them though, barring inures, they will be relegated to bench duties for the entirety of the season. Pekovic is probably the only big man on this roster who is relatively close to his prime. He’s a double-double machine, and had it not been for the fact that he spent the better part of the last five seasons on the floor next to Kevin Love, he certainly would have received a lot more recognition for what he is able to do on the boards.
KG will play the quintessential veteran ready to pass a wealth of knowledge role for this team (along with Andre Miller), and he’ll guide Towns early in his career.
Towns is bound to start for this team, if not on opening night, then without question he’ll be in the starting lineup shortly afterwards. He’s too good to be benched, and ample playing time will only prove to make him even better. That’s why he’s an early favorite to do big things this season. He’ll get a lot of minutes, possibly more than any other rookie (barring number one on this list), and as a result he’ll have an opportunity to put up huge numbers.
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