Minnesota Timberwolves select Zach LaVine 13th overall

The Minnesota Timberwolves went for the high-upside pick and selected Zach LaVine out of UCLA.

LaVine is about as boom or bust as it gets an NBA prospect. On one hand, he’s probably the third best athlete in the draft behind Andrew Wiggins and Aaron Gordon. He’s incredibly quick, runs the floor at an elite level, and has tremendous leaping ability. His ball-handling skill is really strong for a 6’6 player (it’s led some to speculate that he could be a point guard one day), and his outside shooting stroke is really fluid with a quick release.

On the other hand, he’s nowhere near ready to play NBA defense. His strength is lacking, and UCLA dropped into a zone every time that he stepped on the floor in order to take advantage of his ability to run the floor. Often, LaVine was taking off down the other end before the defensive possession ended (this was mostly by coaching design). He’s going to have a very high learning curve before he can step foot on an NBA floor, and my guess is that he sees time in the D-League next season. I’m concerned that he’ll get lost in the shuffle like many raw prospects before him.

Given that we have no idea what the Timberwolves roster is going to look like after the Kevin Love trade finally occurs, it’s hard to say how he fits. Obviously, if Klay Thompson is the centerpiece in a deal that would make for a problematic fit. I don’t buy that LaVine is an eventual point guard, more of a ball-possession heavy off guard. The Russell Westbrook comparisons are crazy to me too, considering Westbrook was the Pac-10 defensive player of the year in 2008 and was still more complete offensively. They aren’t particularly similar players.

Either way, I like that the Wolves swung for the fences here. LaVine has veritable all-star talent if he’s developed properly and doesn’t get lost in the system. If you’re going to lose a star, you might as well try to pick another one in the same offseason. But this very much in the vein of when the Celtics picked Gerald Green in 2005. In another universe, Green is a four-time NBA all-star shooting guard right now, but in this one he’s a great bench spark plug for the Suns.

Maybe it works out, maybe it doesn’t. But at least the Wolves are going for it.