Denver Stiffs Community Mock Draft: 1st Pick Minnesota Timberwolves

The Denver Stiffs Community NBA Mock Draft is now under way. With the first pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Russscot and the Minnesota Timberwolves select: Karl Anthony Towns, Forward/Center from Kentucky.

Russscot:

I'm picking Towns here for a couple of reasons. First, the Wolves were statistically the worst defensive team in the league last year with a DefRtg of 109.6. Digging a little deeper, they also gave up the best opponent shooting percentage within 5-feet of the rim at an astounding 65.2% (for comparison, our Nuggets gave up an atrocious 59.1%, which the Wolves would have been overjoyed to see). Playing Towns next to Gorgui Dieng rather than Nikola Pekovic should improve those numbers quite a bit. In light of this, I would also be looking to see what kind of market there might be for Pek.

The second reason I would take Towns is he not only has some low post acumen, but he also has the ability to step out to 15'-20' and knock down the shot. With the slashers already on the roster (mainly Andrew Wiggins), having a big that can open up the lane, rather than the clogging aspect that Pek adds, would be a big bonus. Overall, I think that Towns makes the most sense for the Wolves. However, I will also say that I expect the Timberwolves to go in a different direction, completely ignore their defensive liabilities in the paint, and pick Okafor.