Obtaining stable of former first-round picks all part of Wolves' plan
MINNEAPOLIS -- If Flip Saunders is ever deemed to have failed as an executive, it won't have been for lack of effort.
After the Timberwolves president of basketball operations' latest move, Minnesota possesses six -- six -- first-round picks from the past two drafts. That's more than any other team in the league.
To quote the band Yes, there's a method to madness here. Like most, its degree of success or futility lies in its forthcoming execution.
"What we're looking to do with our culture and the vision that we have, everything is planned," Saunders said last week after trading a lottery-protected, first-round pick to Atlanta for rookie forward Adreian Payne. "We have a reason for what we do."
The basic gist: surround Andrew Wiggins and Ricky Rubio with as much talent as possible, and develop it into a mix that competes in the Western Conference -- in ways the Wolves never did under their last superstar, Kevin Love.
Part of it's been conceived beforehand, part reactionary, both to Love's wishes to get out of town and a ludicrous amount of injuries that set things back even further after he was dealt. To review:
-- Succeeding oft-scorned David Kahn, Saunders took over as president of basketball operations May 3, 2013. At that point, he believes, Love was already lost after Kahn and owner Glen Taylor withheld from a maximum contract extension.
-- In the 2013 draft, Saunders traded the ninth overall pick (Trey Burke) to Utah for 14th and 21st selections Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng. Each player's career got off to a slow start, but today, Muhammad and Dieng are Minnesota's top two reserves.
-- A year later, Saunders picked Zach LaVine 13th overall after Minnesota missed the playoffs for a league-worst 10th straight season. Saunders called LaVine a "home-run" kind of player, provided the 19-year-old develops his body and his game.
-- The cornerstone of Saunders and general manager Milt Newton's master plan became official Aug. 23, 2014 when the Wolves sent a disgruntled Love to Cleveland in a three-team deal that landed them Wiggins, 2013 No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett and veteran power forward Thaddeus Young. Wiggins is on pace to win rookie of the year, Young has been serviceable, but Bennett is far from the forcible, low-post workhorse Saunders wants him to be.
-- On Nov. 1, the Wolves extended point guard Ricky Rubio for four years and $56 million. Wiggins may be the centrifugal superstar, but Rubio is expected to be the adhesive that binds Minnesota's hops, speed and energy together.
-- With a new, young, athletic core in tow, self-appointed head coach Saunders came into the year hoping to bring the youngsters along gradually -- a "blended" team that could "shock" contending teams, in the words of Saunders then veteran shooting guard Kevin Martin. But long-term injuries to Martin, Rubio and center Nikola Pekovic caused Saunders to cede the season and start dealing veterans -- Mo Williams, Corey Brewer -- to further build for the future.
-- Last week, with Newton laying much of the groundwork, Minnesota traded for Payne, a power forward they strongly considered drafting. Payne played just three games with the Hawks, but Saunders believes the Michigan State product is ready to be a bona fide NBA power forward.
He had plenty of positive input from good friend and Spartans coach Tom Izzo.
"We trusted our evaluation the last two years with the players that we picked, Shabazz and Gorgui, and those guys worked out, and also the evaluation of Wigs and also with Zach," Saunders said. "Those guys have all worked out."
So, how soon can all this translate to substantial progress?
Wiggins, whose production has increased each month this season, looks like the superstar player most project him to be. He and Rubio are already developing a strong repertoire, and Muhammad and Dieng might be the 2013 draft class' best one-two punch at present.
LaVine, who's been good in spurts but largely struggled while playing point guard, is up in the air. So is the power forward spot, with Bennett underachieving, Payne having yet to prove anything and Young possessing a player option after this season that blurs his future.
The Wolves have 29 games left for things to crystallize. Their record -- currently 11-42, the West's worst -- will likely net them a lucrative first-round pick.
Next season, Wiggins won't be a rookie anymore. Muhammad and Dieng will be in their third years. If all goes as planned, Rubio will be fully healthy with a more polished shot. Someone else -- perhaps Duke center Jahlil Okafor or Kentucky big Karl-Anthony Towns -- will have joined the fold by then. That's a lot of rookie-scale contracts, which means more money to go after free agents, too.
So the future does indeed appear promising. Now, it's just a matter of getting there.
"Obviously, we're probably going to get a (high) lottery pick, so that's going great in another way," Muhammad said. "The good thing is we've been losing games early, but now we're really starting to play well.
"Now's a really big stepping stone for us."
Follow Phil Ervin on Twitter
