Who do you want with the Wolves 1st pick?

[Joel Embust]

You can find a player like Johnson in almost every draft.

Can you back this up?

[Vindicater]

You can find a player like Johnson in almost every draft.

Can you back this up?

He can't, he will most likely start to name players who are similar to Johnson but with about half the talent.

[mlhouse]

There are two in this draft alone: Paul George and Xavier Henry. I would argue that the ceiling on those players is higher than Wesley Johnson's. Wes Johnson is more NBA ready than those two, but they are younger. Both could potentially be as good of shooters, Henry could even be a better shooter than Johnson. George can create off the dribble much better than Johnson.

[Breakdown777]

Well we all seem pretty split, figures.

Let's just say it's due to the fact that there are so many variables and I made one lousey unspecific poll.

I think it's safe to say if we can get Turner for what MN sees as fair value, it's a done deal.
I think the same goes for Favors.
I don't think we take Cuz now that all these rumors are naysaying it, but we might end up taking him and trading down (I think this will blow up in our faces).

Just Blame the Triangle

You know it. It's the reason we dropped to 4 in the first place.

[IAmTheTruth]

You can find a player like Johnson in almost every draft.

Can you back this up?

He can't, he will most likely start to name players who are similar to Johnson but with about half the talent.

I'm gonna have to agree with this. Wes is not in every draft.


Then again, neither is Cousins.

[TheAlmightyOne21]

I didn't endure a 15 win season to end up with Wes Johnson. I like the kid, but if Johnson is all the Wolves got out of draft night its gonna be really disappointing. I'm just worried because he can't create a shot for himself/handle the ball well. He was a good player at Cuse but really disappeared a lot in games this year. The Wolves need a star player or at least someone who can be a #1 option on the team such as Turner/Favors/Cousins

[Vindicater]

There are two in this draft alone: Paul George and Xavier Henry. I would argue that the ceiling on those players is higher than Wesley Johnson's. Wes Johnson is more NBA ready than those two, but they are younger. Both could potentially be as good of shooters, Henry could even be a better shooter than Johnson. George can create off the dribble much better than Johnson.

So why exactly is Wesley Johnson considered a top5 pick and Henry/George are considered mid teens?

[jade_hippo]

There are two in this draft alone: Paul George and Xavier Henry. I would argue that the ceiling on those players is higher than Wesley Johnson's. Wes Johnson is more NBA ready than those two, but they are younger. Both could potentially be as good of shooters, Henry could even be a better shooter than Johnson. George can create off the dribble much better than Johnson.

So why exactly is Wesley Johnson considered a top5 pick and Henry/George are considered mid teens?

I blame Rush Limbaugh and his conservative conspiracy theories

[Wingman]

Favors 100%. Its been said many times but I agree completely that you don't draft to fill holes for a 15 win team. Favors is OVER 4 years younger than Wes and over 3 years younger than Evan Turner. I hope we can somehow move up to 3 and get him without paying too much.

[old rem]

There are two in this draft alone: Paul George and Xavier Henry. I would argue that the ceiling on those players is higher than Wesley Johnson's. Wes Johnson is more NBA ready than those two, but they are younger. Both could potentially be as good of shooters, Henry could even be a better shooter than Johnson. George can create off the dribble much better than Johnson.

So why exactly is Wesley Johnson considered a top5 pick and Henry/George are considered mid teens?

talent and smarts.

Henry looks good but is still a 13 pt scorer with a very low Asst. WJ scores at a nice %,good D,rebounds a lot for his size. Is solid enough to fit into a team role. P George looks good at times, but has not been real consistant. Nobody's too sure just what they get.

[old rem]

And....GSW is not swapping Randolph just to move up a couple slots. He's pretty much a keeper and whoever's at 6 will be pretty good.

[mlhouse]

There are two in this draft alone: Paul George and Xavier Henry. I would argue that the ceiling on those players is higher than Wesley Johnson's. Wes Johnson is more NBA ready than those two, but they are younger. Both could potentially be as good of shooters, Henry could even be a better shooter than Johnson. George can create off the dribble much better than Johnson.

So why exactly is Wesley Johnson considered a top5 pick and Henry/George are considered mid teens?

I never said that those two players are better draft selections than Wesley Johnson. Johnson is the more experienced player and is more consistent. Of the wing players he is the best selection in this draft because of that. A team that drafts Wes Johnson is pretty sure of what they are going to get.

But Xavier Henry and Paul George are not far behind. As I said, I think that their upsides are better than Wesley Johnson's. TO understand this, consider where Wes Johnson would have fallen in the draft if he would have entered the draft as a freshman or sophomore as Henry and George are respectively.

The point is, in this draft you can get several players that are 90-95% of Wes Johnson. Gordon Hayward and Luke Babbitt are clearly at that level. You can also draft a couple of players that are not only 90-95% of Wes Johnson, but also have more upside in Xavier Henry and Paul George. You can also draft other players like James Anderson and Jordan Crawford who are probably 80-90% of the value of Wes Johnson.

In the 2011 draft you have Harrison Barnes, Perry Jones, Jan Vesely, and Donatas Montiejunas, all wing players that are as good or better prospects than Wesley Johnson. But look through the 2010 and 2011 draft and you will not find anyone close to being 90% of DeMarcus Cousins. And that is expecially true for the 2011 draft were there are not very many center prospects available.

Drafting DeMarcus Cousins with the 4th selection over Wesley Johnson is a no brainer for anyone interested in the long term rebuilding of this team.