Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 reasons to not be pessimistic about the future

2. The team has a nice group of young players

The Wolves have notoriously drafted poorly over the franchise’s tenure, especially when discounting the Karl-Anthony Towns selection, as he was the clear first overall pick in 2015.

Thibodeau surrendered much of the franchise’s youth when he splurged for Jimmy Butler back in 2017, and even managed to compound the terribleness of that trade by selecting center Justin Patton with the No. 16 pick the Bulls sent the Wolves’ way in the deal. Patton is no longer a Timberwolf and will likely soon be out of the league after two consecutive years of serious foot injuries.

That comedy of errors makes the 2018 NBA Draft all the more satisfying. Minnesota selected shooting guard spark plug Josh Okogie with the 20th pick and switchy forward Keita Bates-Diop with the 48th pick. Both rookies have flashed immense promise this season, and appear poised to be rotation players — or better — for years to come.

Despite advanced stats not loving him, Okogie has shown the capability to do a multitude of things on the court. His athleticism and energy levels are off the charts, his defense is already a positive and his drive-and-kick game is on point for someone who hasn’t played much point guard in his career. His handle needs to improve if he’ll raise his usage rate — currently at just 15.8 percent — but he already projects as a better playmaker than Andrew Wiggins.

Everyone raves about Okogie’s work ethic, with Ryan Saunders saying:

"“Josh is great to be around. He asks questions. He genuinely wants to improve.”"

If he can improve his 3-point shooting, and both his form and college play indicate he should, Okogie will be a starter for the Timberwolves for years to come, bringing you defense like this:

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1095891956167782401

Keita Bates-Diop, despite barely playing until February, has looked solid too. A four-year contributor at Ohio State, KBD somehow fell to the second round last June despite projecting as a modern-day power forward, possessing a shooting touch and a mobile 6’9” frame with wingspan for days.

A 77.6 percent free throw shooter and 35.2 percent 3-point shooter in college, his shooting hasn’t translated yet — in a relatively small sample size of just 293 minutes — but the Timberwolves haven’t been able to provide adequate floor-spacing for the rookie. Minnesota has sunk to the bottom-10 in both 3s attempted per game and 3-point percentage.

Bates-Diop looks like he belongs, and after a year of destroying the G League and not being completely overwhelmed by the speed of NBA basketball like many rookies are, he projects as a valuable rotation player long-term — especially when he can surprisingly do things like this.

When you throw in the team’s 2019 lottery pick and Robert Covington and Dario Saric, 28 and 24 years old, respectively, each being under team control for years to come (Saric will be a restricted free agent in 2020), the young core looks pretty impressive. With some smart management and roster construction to maximize Karl-Anthony Towns, the Wolves may soon be in an enviable position — regardless of Andrew Wiggins’ failings.