Who should the Wolves take at #7? Survey Says...

[Krapinsky]

Assume all of these guys are available, who do we want?

[Note30]

I really like the idea of Collins. KAT-Lite that toughs it out gets rebounds and gets blocks

[C.lupus]

Isaac as of today (May 17) but I retain the right to change my mind multiple times.

[Krapinsky]

Isaac as of today (May 17) but I retain the right to change my mind multiple times.

Precisely why made it so the poll allows you to change your vote.

I'm in the Issac camp. I think he's limited upside, but high enough floor and superb fit for our needs and roster construction.

I want us to run Rubio-Dunn back another year and see what transpires with each players development. I'm very high on Smith, but worry he's a score first player on a team with too many score first players.

[theGreatRC]

I think the Isaac boner is pretty firm on this board, so I'm pretty sure it'll win in a landslide.

I prefer Lauri, then Isaac, then Monk for SG

[Mattya]

If the plan is to keep Rubio, then Isaac. If they plan to move Rubio, then Smith.

[jpatrick]

If the plan is to keep Rubio, then Isaac. If they plan to move Rubio, then Smith.

This.

[Krapinsky]

If the plan is to keep Rubio, then Isaac. If they plan to move Rubio, then Smith.

If the plan is to keep Rubio, then Isaac. If they plan to move Rubio, then Smith.

This.

That's a cop out. What's your guys' plan?

[minimus]

Jackson, Tatum, Isaac. But I am more thinking of SAS scouting way. Player IQ, work ethic, passion for basketball is really underrated. These skills should be counted as well. I really like Markkenan, and as you can see with Kevin Love, championship team can use this type of player. But Love mentality now is on another level. This allow him to be efficient player, minimize his weaknesses. If Markkenan shows that type of passion he will be in my list.

[Neeva]

Smith, Monk or Tatum please.
Isaac will be the biggest bust of the lottery,so no surprise he is leading here.

[Sugarless]

With the roster as is, there's only one right answer for this question, and it's Isaac. He's far and away the best fit, and he's got the potential to be the best player of the bunch down the road. And I don't know where this low upside narrative has come from, but it's certainly not from someone who's watched the guy regularly this season.

Other than that, I haven't stepped in this board for the past few weeks and I'm still amazed that there's so much love for Markkanen considering how terrible he is defensively and the fact that that's the biggest concern with this team (though I probably shouldn't be -amazed-, it's the same story every year. People just don't learn). We have a clear priority here and we don't know if we're going to be able to address it properly during free agency, so unless we trade the pick (which should be our first option if at some point we have a solid deal on the table) we might as well make our pick considering that need. All the more when we're talking about a player with plenty of room to grow and in a position that's also of need.

[Klomp]

With the roster as is, there's only one right answer for this question, and it's Isaac. He's far and away the best fit, and he's got the potential to be the best player of the bunch down the road. And I don't know where this low upside narrative has come from, but it's certainly not from someone who's watched the guy regularly this season.

There are a couple people who worry he's Wes Johnson-level passive and I've also worried somewhat about the success rate of Florida State players to the league (Al Thornton anyone?). However, the biggest difference between Isaac and Johnson/Thornton is age. Johnson was 22 and Thornton was 23, while Isaac is only 19. Would also argue that deferring to teammates is a good thing when you have Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine on the roster. Wes Johnson was deferring to Kevin Love (who was great), Michael Beasley and Luke Ridnour.

[Feilong]

Towns or Okafor? Towns
Isaac or Markkanen? Isaac

[minimus]

Towns or Okafor? Towns
Isaac or Markkanen? Isaac

That is clear. What if Isaac/Tatum/Jackson is gone

[Sugarless]

With the roster as is, there's only one right answer for this question, and it's Isaac. He's far and away the best fit, and he's got the potential to be the best player of the bunch down the road. And I don't know where this low upside narrative has come from, but it's certainly not from someone who's watched the guy regularly this season.

There are a couple people who worry he's Wes Johnson-level passive and I've also worried somewhat about the success rate of Florida State players to the league (Al Thornton anyone?). However, the biggest difference between Isaac and Johnson/Thornton is age. Johnson was 22 and Thornton was 23, while Isaac is only 19. Would also argue that deferring to teammates is a good thing when you have Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine on the roster. Wes Johnson was deferring to Kevin Love (who was great), Michael Beasley and Luke Ridnour.

There are several things that they should have in mind:

- First off, it's usually quite tricky to assess the level of assertiveness that a young player is going to have when looking to score as he grows up, and that should be the least of your concerns when grading a future draftee. Andrew Wiggins was thought of by many as too laid back and not aggressive enough looking for the basket. James freaking Harden had the same kind of doubters when he left ASU. They thought he was just too comfortable passing the ball to become a top scorer. We know how that went.

- Secondly, Isaac is much more talented and has a higher ceiling than Wes, and he projects to be able to help in more areas regardless of his scoring.

- Thirdly -and this is the most important aspect-, people (not just in this board) mostly think in terms of whether a player can become a scoring star or not, when we don't need that at all, much less with the 7th pick where there are no guarantess to get a star regardless of who you choose. Markkanen could end up being a 20PPG guy but that's no good to the Timberwolves if they continue to stink on defense. Having a forward who could end up being a much better defender, rebounder, cutter, and still be a 3-pt threat while not needing the ball in his hands is way more valuable to this team than Markkanen's jump-shooting prowess.

There really is no reason to take Lauri ahead of Isaac. The only alternative would be DSJ if they plan on moving Rubio or Dunn, but then again that might set the team back again if Ricky's the one who gets traded, as PGs nearly always take a few years to master the position in this league, and Junior is not the most polished floor general you'll see.

[Klomp]

I don't disagree

[Killboard]

I have the same opinion than most here. If Isaac is on the table, he must be the pick.

If he isnt, and they want to move Rubio, we could trade him for another pick and take DSJ. Its really hard a prospect like him be available at 7 in any other year draft.

Said that, I think trade Rubio is a big problem. We would put in jeopardy our playoff run next season. Thats why I think the trade would be for another pick and keep developing talent. I dont think any team would trade a similar skill level PG for him, because those guys are just too valuable, and the FA class for starting PG is short and will need to overpay a lot to get someone like him. If you trade him for any other position you leave a hole in a key position to contend for a playoff spot, and I doubt Dunn or DSJ are ready next year.

This could be an option if Taylor dont want to go over the luxury tax when Towns extension kicks in. If he dont want to do that, the best option is keep developing young talent. Teams like Dallas, Denver or NY would be interested on Rubio, and if they dont feel confident on Ntilikina, and Fox and DSJ are off the board they could decide go for a young vet like him.

If we are keeping Rubio, and Isaac is off the board, my pick would be OG. If we can find a partner like Denver, and trade the 7 for 13 and Chandler, or Portland 15th and Aminu, then thats fine. They would fill the 3/4 spot we need, you still having OG like backup plan down the road, and still around 20M to get more help in free agency.

[Worm Guts]

The rumors about Rubio wanting to leave kind of exemplify why I don't want him to leave. These guys get to a certain point in their careers and they get restless, they don't want to spend their entire careers playing for bad teams. The longer we go without making the playoffs the more likely the cycle is to continue with Wiggins and Towns.

[Killboard]

The rumors about Rubio wanting to leave kind of exemplify why I don't want him to leave. These guys get to a certain point in their careers and they get restless, they don't want to spend their entire careers playing for bad teams. The longer we go without making the playoffs the more likely the cycle is to continue with Wiggins and Towns.

Totally agree. Thats why I would like go all in free agency. Use the money available to put us in the playoffs. If we are better than that down the road and become a serious contender will be on the young guys fullfilling their potential.

But you need them to want to be here in the first place.

[packforfreedom]

I've finally got the time to watch some videos on some potential picks.

Markkanen: I doubt that he'll become more than a spot up shooter in the nba. He's stroke is legit but what does he bring beside of that? His drives look shakey and I don't think they'll be very efficant against nba competition, same with his face up game. His post game is non existent and he's light as a feather. He doesn't rebound very well, is absolutley limited on defense and is far from being one of the most athletic players. I think he has massive bust potential and I don't see a role for him on our team. I'd rather stick with Belly, who brings the shooting to a lesser extent but is much better in all other areas.

Isaac doesn't amaze me either. Tweener alert! D-Will looked better than him before the draft.
I don't think he'll be big of a factor on offense in the nba very soon his skillset there makes him more of a 4 while his defensive potential might be better fitting as a 3. This a bad combination. A Shawn Marion doesn't come along very often. His advanced stats are promising though. Sometimes you have players that are better than their advanced stats but you rarely have players that are much worse than their advanced stats (DRPM might be the exception).

Monk has clearly some offensive potential, but he has bench scorer written all over him. Zach is the much superior prospect. But we need bench scoring and I could see Monk and Dunn form a dynamic duo from the bench. But bench scoring is something that can also be adressed via free agency

Smith is the prototypical modern PG, but he'd only makes sense, if either Rubio or Dunn are gone. And even then, his scoring is impressing, his playmaking is not. Would we need more scoring next to KAT, Wiggins and Zach? I think he'll be a good player in the nba but I don't really see the fit for us.

With Ntilikina it's the same. We already have enough PGs, he's a slightly better fit because of his defense, but he has pretty much the same skillset as Dunn. Would make no sense to pick him

OG Anunoby could become a defensive stopper, but is also a tweener (more a small 4 in the nba). I don't see much on the offense and he has had a knee injury. We could use his defense, but it might be a gamble. I think he's a player Thibs would like, though.

Zach Collins is a player i'm pretty high on. His skillset covers many needs for us. He's an inside presence on defense, a tall and mobile shot blocker, great defensive upside, good rebounder, good screen setter with some range on offense. I don't think he as more than starter potential, maybe we can get what he brings via FA.

So I'd say I'm not very sold on our pick options. If I was forced to choose to pick at 7 I'd probably Isaac because of advanced stats or Monk for lineup flexibility. But I think I'd trade down if the right offer is there (veteran defensive Wing or bench scorer) and take Collins or Anunoby or trade the pick entirely for immidiate help.