Minnesota Timberwolves: 2017 NBA Draft Lottery results

For the Minnesota Timberwolves, the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery was eventful in a bad way. They landed the seventh pick, instead of the likelier No. 6 selection.

There was no miracle at the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery for the Minnesota Timberwolves. In fact, as has happened so often in the franchise’s relatively young history, they actually moved down from their likeliest landing spot. Instead of acquiring the No. 6 pick, which had a 43.9 percent chance of happening, they slid back to seventh.

So no top-three selection and the second-worst outcome came true. Ho-hum. Not a great night in the North Star State.

But, such is life. Now, it’s all about finding the right piece to put around their three young stars: Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine.

In their latest mock-up (updated after the lottery results were made public), the gurus over at Draft Express have the Wolves taking Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac.

What would he provide? A whole lot of defense.

Though the young big man/wing hybrid is an okay shooter (he hit 34.8 percent of his threes as a freshman), he really shines on the other side of the ball. Isaac averaged 1.2 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in his lone year of college, but his impact goes even beyond his impressive numbers. He has the ability to switch onto guards on the perimeter as well as protect the paint, thanks to his elite reach and quickness for a big.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Furthermore, although the team made a huge commitment to Gorgui Dieng last Halloween (by giving him a four-year, $64 million extension), today’s NBA dictates that he may be best served coming off the bench. It’s just not easy to play two traditional bigs at the same time anymore, no matter how talented they are.

Adding a guy as versatile as Isaac could help cover up some of the young Wolves’ defensive warts. And if Minnesota’s coaching staff can tap into his vast offensive potential, too? Then we enter steal-of-the-draft territory.

If it’s not the Florida State Swiss Army knife at No. 7, the Wolves have plenty of other solid options to choose from. There’s Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen, who is heralded as one of the two best shooters in the entire class. He would provide Towns, Wiggins and LaVine much-needed space to operate.

There’s also a slight chance that if Minnesota is ready to move on from Kris Dunn after his less-than-stellar rookie campaign, they give a guy like Dennis Smith a look. The NC State point guard is one of the most explosive scorers in the draft, and can eventually blossom into a two-way beast thanks to his ridiculous athleticism.

Or, if none of those guys appease the team’s brass, it also holds value as an enticing trade chip. One of Minnesota’s top beat writers, Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press, seems to be buying into that theory.

Jimmy Butler, anybody?

Next: 2017 NBA Draft Lottery results and 1st round order

If the pick isn’t traded, Tom Thibodeau and Co. will have a healthy number of exceptional choices available at No. 7. At this point, all Wolves fans can do is hope he makes the right one.