The final 2011 NBA mock draft coming out before any of the writers went to sleep following Tuesday night's NBA Draft lottery came from Yahoo! Sports by way of Jonathan Givony from Draft Express.
The initial picks are the same as highlighted earlier, but now Givony gives reasons as to why he projects the Minnesota Timberwolves will take Arizona Wildcats forward Derrick Williams with the No. 2 overall pick and BYU Cougars sharpshooter -- and apparent Ricky Rubio insurance -- Jimmer Fredette with 20th overall pick.
As far as Williams is concerned, Givony is basically taking on the same thought-process as Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn has in the past by taking the best available player regardless of position. Givony eschews Kahn's reasoning, however, by actually taking the best player available.
Williams plays the same position as Minnesota's two best players -- Kevin Love and Michael Beasley. But the worst team in the NBA record-wise at 17-65 must continue to gather all the talent it can, regardless of position. The T'wolves' front office indicates that it'll be very active in trade discussions, which surely will include this pick. It will be a busy summer in Minnesota for embattled GM David Kahn.
When the Yahoo! mock gets down to Fredette, who would surely be a hit in Minnesota, Givony is assuming that pick actually gets traded for a veteran player. If it doesn't though, that wouldn't be such a bad thing.
This would be a disappointing fall for the darling of college basketball, and will ultimately depend heavily on his performance in private workouts, particularly in his ability to defend one-on-one. Minnesota was the second-youngest team in the NBA, so another rookie is probably the last thing the T'wolves need. Look for this pick to be shopped. If it's not moved, Fredette is one of the most experienced players in the draft and would give the team a solid backup plan if Ricky Rubio stays in Europe.
So, if this is how everything goes down, the Wolves will at least fill their need for a point guard (if they keep him) while creating quite a logjam at the forward positions by taking the best available player. Is that what everyone else would do if they were Kahn?