One Guard Too Many: What Was Minnesota's Kahn Thinking?

Minnesota Timberwolves? Is General Manager David Kahn out of his mind?" title="Johnny Flynn pic" width="429" height="587" />

Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio in the same rotation for the Minnesota Timberwolves? Is General Manager David Kahn out of his mind?

The Minnesota Timberwolves made the interesting decision to draft two point guards, Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn, with the fifth and sixth overall selections in the 2009 NBA Draft. Their new General Manager David Kahn has taken a lot of heat for this decision, and rightfully so, but since Draft Night, he has tried to explain his reasoning.

He admitted that the team will be bad for the next couple of years (meaning that the Timberwolves have time to groom these two players). Even though this may be true, it shouldn’t be said. Every team in the NBA, and in all sports, expects to win every game they play. If not, there would be no point in showing up.

Just because they are young doesn’t mean that they have to be in transition mode. Subtracting those on their roster that just ride the bench, the Timberwolves average age is 23 years old. To compare, the Portland Trail Blazers, which is amongst the elite in the NBA, have an average age of 24 years old. Youth can win.

The Blazers have a good problem: they have too much youth. The Timberwolves have a similar problem, but in their case it’s the bad kind. Before trading him, Randy Foye, at 6′3″, was considered their shooting guard.

Since size wasn’t an issue for Minnesota, why didn’t they take Stephen Curry with one of their back-to-back picks?

He led the NCAA in scoring last season, averaging 28 points per game at Davidson, and clearly has a shooter’s mentality.

To me, instead of clogging the backcourt with two pass-first point guards, the sensible decision would have been to fill another glaring need.

Kahn may have a chance to redeem himself. Rubio, who I can’t imagine is thrilled about transitioning from Spain to snowy Minnesota, is drawing interest from multiple teams.

One of Knicks' Walsh will contact Wolves about Rubio">those teams is the New York Knicks. Head coach Mike D’Antoni could do wonders for Rubio, as he runs the fast-paced offense the young Spaniard would love to orchestrate.

General Manager Donnie Walsh, reportedly, is in the works of making this match possible.

Yet, he doesn’t have much that would entice Kahn, who is head over heels for Rubio. David Lee and Nate Robinson are two of their most intriguing players, but there are two problems standing in their way of being part of a deal.

First, they can’t be traded unless they are signed first (both are impending free agents; the signing period begins July 1), and neither would fit with the Timberwolves (they obviously don’t need another point guard, Robinson, nor a power forward, Lee, considering they already have Al Jefferson and Kevin Love holding the fort in their front-court).

Wilson Chandler, New York’s versatile small forward, could catch Kahn’s eye, but he wouldn’t be enough by himself. Kahn certainly wouldn’t want forward Eddie Curry, who the Knicks desperately want to get rid of. He wouldn’t want Danilo Gallinari either, who is coming off back surgery, always a bad sign for someone who’s just 20 years old.

Kahn could easily walk away from the Knicks and keep Rubio. Kahn finds Rubio’s game so enticing that he’s willing to allow the guard to play in Spain for the next couple years in order to fine-tune his game.

Yet, for instance, by 2011, when Rubio is ready, what happens to Flynn, who will presumably be established by this time?

Rubio and Flynn have entirely different games. Rubio is a wizard passing wise, while Flynn is a fearless scorer. Flynn is an excellent passer as well, but if Kahn thinks he can move Flynn, who is only 6′0″, to shooting guard, he is mistaken.

The only way his plan works is if Flynn turns into Allen Iverson, which is highly improbable given the fact that he isn’t a shooter who can create his own shot.

After drafting both guards, Kahn told ESPN’s Ric Bucher that he’s convinced they can co-exist in the same offensive set.

This is naive on his part. Though he believes his plan will come to fruition, I think he will figure out the mess he created, and trade Rubio.

Many teams want him, and though he is salivating over his potential, he can’t pass up a chance to right this wrong.

To not only rebuild his shot reputation as a bone-headed, inexperienced front-office power, but to benefit his team rather than add confusion to an otherwise bright future.