Members of Minnesota's basketball operations staff are heading to Los Angeles and Chicago to see potential lottery picks such as Danilo Gallinari, Brook Lopez and O.J. Mayo.
Wolves Assistant General Manager Fred Hoiberg fielded questions from assembled media about the coming weekend. We'll be talking to both Hoiberg and General Manager Jim Stack after the workouts to confirm who was there and get a gage on how things went. But until then...
Q: On final preparation for the NBA Draft:
Hoiberg: We're still watching film every day on these guys. We're watching hopefully a lot of these guys play head-to-head. A lot of these guys were in the Pac-10 that we're looking at and they play head-to-head two to three times a year depending on the matchups and the conference tournament. We're looking at them everyday, continuing to do that. O.J. is the last guy for us to see in that group. It will be a great opportunity to sit in front of him and like I said, answer some questions that we have.
Q: On if two combo guards such as Wolves guard Randy Foye and USC guard O.J. Mayo can play together:
Hoiberg: With two combo guys you can have one guy spread the wing, you can have the other guy, if they get the rebound, take the ball down. You can play a multi-flow offense with the guys. You can bring one of them off to run different pick-and-roll actions. I think it does fit. I think O.J., one of his biggest strengths is his defense. He can stay in front of the ball, he's got the size to guard twos in our league and Randy, I think against a lot of teams in our league he can guard as well. So it gives you versatility when you have a couple combo guys on the floor together.
Q: On if Mayo fits two of the Wolves' needs - perimeter defense and outside shooting:
Hoiberg: Yeah, he sure does - and competitiveness and bringing in that mentality. And that's something we're looking for. I think a lot of guys do. You look at Kevin Love, fills that with his outside shooting, with his passing, with his competitiveness and he's won at every level he's been at as well. You have guys that have won everywhere they've been - in high school and these guys in one year in college where they led their teams to good records. We've got a tough decision to make. You throw Brook Lopez in that mix and then a couple other guys still there as well.
Q: On UCLA forward Kevin Love being an intriguing prospect because of his passing ability:
Hoiberg: His passing ability just makes people so much better. You can put him at the high post. I think he would be a great high-low feeder with Al. His ability to take one step out of bounds, fall backwards and just Dan Marino-like put it right on the number is phenomenal. He makes up for his size with his basketball IQ and his smarts.
Q: On his thoughts on Italian prospect Danilo Gallinari:
Hoiberg: The intriguing thing about Gallinari is that he grew up as a point guard. A couple years ago he shot up five inches and kind of was forced at 6-5 where he was a point guard, now at 6-10 ... The great thing about him is how versatile he is. He handles the ball, still has those point guard skills, can go with his right and left hand. He has a beautiful shooting stroke and he's very intriguing. Just the fact that with his size he's going to be a mismatch nightmare on the offensive end and I think he can take guys off the dribble and with his ability to shoot the ball people are going to have to play him honest and stay up on him and I think he is going to live at the free throw line in our league.
Q: On if not seeing much of Gallinari makes it more difficult to consider him with the third pick:
Hoiberg: Our European guys have really been following him since a very early age so I think we do have a pretty good read on him. We've all seen him play live and we're looking forward to getting out there to see him. Unfortunately he won't be going against guys but we'll see him do some things and we'll hopefully be able to get out there on the floor and (have Gallinari) answer some questions that we have about him.
Q: On if the Wolves will take a look at Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless:
Hoiberg: We'd love to see all these guys. We talked to (Indiana guard) Eric Gordon's representatives yesterday and hopefully get him in for a workout next week. (West Virginia forward) Joe Alexander, we're still working on getting him in for a workout next week. And then the big day is on the 26th. It will be here before we know it.
Q: On the chances they'd pass up Memphis guard Derrick Rose or Kansas State forward Michael Beasley if they fell to No.3:
Hoiberg: Hopefully we'll have that decision to make. We'll see.
Q: On how the front office contacts other teams about potential trades:
Hoiberg: We all talk to different teams. Kevin (McHale), Jim (Stack), myself, Rob (Babcock), we all talk to people just throwing out different scenarios and then we bring those to Kevin and then try to see if its something that works out for our team.
Q: On the potential of a guard (Rose) being the first overall pick:
Hoiberg: I think you look at the teams in our league right now that went to the playoffs and had great years. You look at what Chris Paul did for the Hornets and what Deron Williams is doing for Utah, Steve Nash being a two-time MVP with Phoenix, Tony Parker with what he does. With the rules now the way they are, with not being able to touch anybody on the perimeter ... With guards running teams now and the success that teams are having with a great point guard like that, Rose I think has those qualities, and I think he's a tough guy for Chicago to pass up on. From talking to them it's 50-50 right now and they still have a very tough decision to make, but both those guys are going to be stars in our league.
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