Wolves Draft Recap

First round, #4: Wesley Johnson, SF, Syracuse

It was a given that Wesley Johnson was going to be picked by the Wolves and I like the pick. With his length, athleticism and ability to stretch the floor, he will be able to contribute from day one and give some room for Kevin Love and/or Al Jefferson to operate under the basket. Johnson shot 42% from 3-pt range, 50% from the floor, and 77% from the foul-line and he also grabbed 8.5 rebounds per game. You have a guy you know wants to make the best of his situation and will work hard every day. Some fans wanted Cousins but I don't think the Wolves can afford to gamble on a guy who has questionable attitude and work ethic especially given the fact that these kind of problems can quickly get contagious in a very young locker room. Expect Johnson to contribute right away with his outside shooting, ability to run the floor and rebounding.

Martell Webster for Luke Babbitt and Ryan Gomes

I personally loved this move and I know the Wolves have caught a lot of flak from so-called armchair "experts" who have suddenly come out of the woodwork to criticize the Wolves front office. Although Webster has been in the league for 5 years, he is only 23-yr old with a lot of upside remaining. He provides the Wolves with length at the shooting guard position (6'7") and outside shooting and give the Wolves a young player who could continue to improve. Luke Babbitt certainly was a solid pick but he wasn't really needed since we drafted Wesley Johnson earlier. Ryan Gomes simply hasn't improved as much as he should have in the last couple years. In all, I expect Webster to stretch the floor and help improve the Wolves 3-pt shooting which was an abysmal 34% last season.

Layzar Hayward, Nemanja Bjelica, Paulo Prestes are players I don't much about but I expect the Wolves to keep the last two overseas while Hayward will provide some reinforcement at the power forward position as the Wolves are trying to deal Al Jefferson away. The Wolves will now try to address signing Darko Milicic and Nikolai Pekovic who will provide the Wolves with some size up the middle. On July 1, the free agency period will begin and the Wolves will attempt to woo someone via a sign-and-trade involving Al Jefferson.

Grade: The Wolves had a very solid draft and the team certainly did improve which is all you can ask for.

C+