NBA Draft: Don't Pull a McHale, Kahn!

OK, as a big fan of Minnesota sports, I have completely failed to get even a little bit excited for the local NBA squad for the past five years. But as of right now, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon for a while...I hope.

With FOUR first-round draft picks in tonight's NBA draft, David Kahn has a great opportunity to set the direction of the franchise for the next ten years. Kahn and the Wolves have picks five, six, 18, and 28. In other terms, Kahn has enough draft picks to be considered a NBA guru or the next Kevin McHale in a three-hour span.

So what should Kahn do with the picks? Logic says don't let McHale anywhere near them. Even though he's no longer with the team, just a quick glimpse of McHale while making the selection can contaminate a pick. If he knew what was best for his future, Kahn would have gotten a one mile restraining order on McHale for tonight.

We got the McHale "curse" covered (hopefully) so let's get more into the logistics of the draft. Viewing the roster, the Wolves pretty much need help at every position not named "Power Forward." So in hindsight, we need four true starters with our four first-round draft picks.

That's not going to happen, so Kahn should try and get at least two potential starters with the four picks.

How will Kahn get his two starters? We all know that in the NBA, late first-round draft picks usually don't turn into starters right away if at all. So the Wolves don't need 28 and probably won't need 18. So you trade 18 and 28 in a package with the sixth or fifth pick and move up in the draft.

One of the pressing needs for the Wolves is center and there just so happens to be a future stud in UConn's Hasheem Thabeet in the draft. There is no way the Wolves will be able to get him with the fifth or sixth being he's going top three.

So, the best chance Kahn has of getting a franchise center will be to package the sixth or fifth with the 18th. So you draft Thabeet with that pick. Boom! You got a center!

Now, you still have either the fifth or sixth pick which should set you up with either Stephen Curry or Ricky Rubio which will cover the point guard position. So within an hour of the draft, you got a major makeover with two of the top-five players in the draft, both at positions you are pressing for.

Kahn won't be done at that, however. He still has a pick at 28. Kahn should use this pick to draft a player with some promise that could be a starter in two or three years. This player should ideally be a shooting guard.

Yes, I know! That's an absolutely ideal draft and it's not going to work like that. That perfect scenario is just an example of what Khan needs to do tonight. Khan needs to make some moves that will get the public interested in the Wolves once again.

Kahn needs to draft at least one player that will start from day one. The Wolves don't need to follow McHale's pattern of drafting projects that won't start for three years if at all.

This is a golden opportunity for Khan to make a splash right off the bat. He doesn't have to get two top five players but he should at least make some moves during the draft to show Wolves fans that he's interested in getting this team to succeed within two seasons.

Now if you do not mind, I'm heading to New York to set up anti-McHale roadblocks.

Dan Carey is co-founder of Minnesota Sports Guys blog at http://themnsportsguys.blogspot.com/ and is a sports-humor writer at http://www.bleacherreport.com/