Minnesota Timberwolves: A 3-step plan to contention in the West
By Nick Alvarez
Minnesota Timberwolves build around, step 2: Nail the draft picks
As is the case with every team that is at the bottom of the league and looking to rise up, the biggest thing they need to do is nail draft picks, especially lottery ones. Minnesota has three first-round picks and their pick is tied for having the best chance at landing No. 1 overall.
This means that Minnesota needs to try their best to land that final franchise guy to add to Towns and Russell, as well as a few more complementary pieces. Of course, that is much easier said than done.
If the Timberwolves play their cards right in this draft though, they could be in serious business for contending in the future. For as weak as this draft is deemed to be there’s a lot of players that would be valuable to what the organization is trying to build under coach Saunders.
Three-and-D players at every position are all across this draft and could be ready to plug in alongside Towns and Russell to improve the team’s defense and add an abundance of floor spacing to make their offense even deadlier.
If the Wolves hit on a star too that would mean that they are far less likely to have to chase for that third star to seriously put them over the edge. A third star would put them above a lot of other Western Conference teams and give the Wolves a much better chance at defeating some of the conference’s top tier talent. However, if the team doesn’t like the concept of the slow build then there’s step 3.