Predicting the Minnesota Timberwolves' Draft Options Tonight

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The more I hear about this 20.1ppg sophomorethe more I like him. Kahn just dumped his back court of Randy Foye and Mike Miller so a Harden-Curry combo makes sense. I doubted Russel Westbrook last year and he proved me wrong and he played in the PAC-10 too.

Best Case Scenario: Ray Allen

Worst Case Scenario: DeJuan Wagner, Cavs (when they were bad B.LBJ)

The Wolves also have the No. 18 and No. 28 picks in the first round.

While I don't expect them to keep all these picks since you can't pay and play four rookies in one year and add them to an already insanely young team as the Wolves are and not expect a 15 win season, here is where some trades should and probably will come in which makes tonight exciting for Wolves fans.

Note their current roster includes too many players to suit up and that is before a potential four new additions in the first round alone. Trades have to come.

I'd try something like No. 18, No. 28, and Brian Cardinal (expiring contract) to the Charlotte Bobcats for Gerald Wallace or raid a team like the Houston Rockets for some of their young talent like a Luis Scola or Aaron Brooks.

The lineup could look like this:

C Al Jefferson/Shelden Williams

SF Gerald Wallace/Ryan Gomes

PF Kevin Love/Craig Smith

SG James Harden/Rodney Carney/Corey Brewer

PG Stephen Curry/Sebastian Telfair

Note, I didn't include any of the new players acquired in the Washington trade as I don't expect any of them to ever suit up for the Wolves. They will either be bought out (Etan Thomas) or used as trade chips tonight or in the summer once free agency stats (Darius Songaila, Oleksiy Pecherov).

This instantly creates a young and exciting nucleus filled with possibilities and potential for the future. Jefferson (24) Love (20) Harden (20* when season starts), Curry (21) would remind Wolves fans of the much improved Portland Trailblazers and not only compare favorably but also remind their own base of the potential that a Garnett-Marbury-Gugliotta future could have included had Marbury not cried his way out of town during the 1998-99 season.

Scenario No. 2 Wolves trade No. 5, No. 6, No. 18, No. 28 to LA for No. 1 (Blake Griffin)

It wouldn't surprise me to see the Wolves trade all four picks to the LA Clippers for the No. 1 pick and the rights to Blake Griffin. Why else would they want to acquire all these picks as they demonstrated the other day with Washington when everyone else could tell you this is a weak draft?

I however think this would be a bad move not only because you are basing that Griffin will be a Tim Duncan-like All Star every year until he retires, but he'd also have to be to justify the move. On top of that, they already have a long jam at forward with Love and F/C Jefferson so this wouldn't make sense but I'm just throwing it out there in case. Don't say you didn't hear it anywhere...

Scenario No. 3 Draft Stephen Curry and haggle him to the highest (and dumbest) bidder (This means you, Knicks)

We could write all day about how the Wolves could move up anywhere from No. 1-4 and how exactly they could do that in order to get a certain player. Here is how I see the draft laying out however:

No. 1 Griffin LA Clippers somehow the Clippers will mess this up. My guess he gets "his" stats but the team stil finds a way to lose on the court.

No. 2 Hasheem Thabeet Memphis Grizzlies I think he'll be a bust here, partly because Memphis is a mess that I don't think can be solved regardless of who lands here. Mike Bibby was a nice player but couldn't do anything here. Rubio would be the same.

No. 3 Tyreke Evans OKC

No. 4 James Harden Sacramento Kings sleeper ROY?

No. 5 Ricky Rubio Wolves

No. 6  Stephen Curry, Wolves*

It wouldn't surprise me to see the Wolves take someone they want legitimately and that they intend to keep with the No. 5 pick and toy with the No. 6 pick by taking Curry and waiting for the highest bidder such as the New York Knicks to come in and make a typical dumb offer like they've done in the past.

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