Minnesota Timberwolves: Looking Ahead to the NBA Draft

With their win last night at Golden State, the Timberwolves broke an 11-game losing streak.

I don't know whether to cheer or to boo.

The average age of the current starting five on the 'Wolves is 23.4. I think that officially qualifies them as a young team in, what they would call, a rebuilding season.

But is it worth it?  Are they truly rebuilding?

Is it worth sitting here hopelessly watching the dismal performances of the Timberwolves night in and night out?

I do think there will be some payoff, and questioning fans across the state of Minnesota will be answered on one night: June 26th, 2008, at the Madison Square Gardens in New York City.

Most mock drafts have the Timberwolves drafting freshman Michael Beasley. I don't have a problem with the 6'8'' forward from Kansas State, nor do I even have a problem with the fact that he is just 19 years old.

Though it does seem that the Timberwolves' current problem is youth in every position, adding Beasley to an already young lineup may, in fact, be ultimately (and in the long run) good for the 'Wolves. It's a simple fact: give a young, bad team three years together and they magically become an experienced, top-performing team, having developed together.

However, can the youth really learn as much as possible and gain as much experience as needed by winning just ten games a year?

The 2008 NBA draft is loaded with young talent. In fact, most NBA mock drafts have six of the top seven players as freshman or sophomores. 

This raises a frustrating enigma. Do you make the commitment to pour your heart into every game or perform lackadaisically and put forth only a half-hearted effort?

My vote would go to the latter, but, realistically, no one would publicly argue this strategy.  It's not the obvious, perhaps not the noble, option.

If you do win some ballgames and end up with, say, the fifth worst record in the NBA, you're not even guaranteed the fifth pick thanks to the Lottery system—which I thought genius last year.

I think a much better scenario would involve the 'Wolves losing every remaining game   and then hopefully drafting the best player available.

But even then, when they're on the clock on June 26th for the first pick, Timberwolves fans everywhere will still have absolutely no idea what to expect because of who will make the final decision:

Kevin McHale.