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The draft has come and gone and left several wolves fans with puzzled looks. I am not one of those people. I love that we took Flynn and Rubio. What were the wolves doing drafting 2 point guards?! Every media outlet has been bashing the wolves for doing so however they continue to ignore several important aspects of the wolves rationalization (and some major flaws in their own justification). We just drafted the 2 best guard prospects available. Everyone assumes a trade is on the horizon. That could very well be true, however Kahn has said he'd like them to play together. Is that a line of BS? Lets examine...

First is obviously Rubio and his situation. He had very little contact with the wolves before the draft. I've heard Rubio would've been fine with the wolves trading up to draft him at #2. However that didn't happen and he fell to 5. The core issue doesn't seem to be Rubio's preference to play else where, but the huge buyout he would have to incur in coming to the NBA. The Euro club that has him under contract is asking for something in the range of 6 million dollars for him to be released. That would account for a very large portion of his rookie contract. That is a big decision for anyone let alone an 18 year old. David Kahn was hired because he is a thinker. I like his approach and communication thus far. He has admitted he didn't expect Rubio to be available at #5. He fell into our laps and Kahn would've been burnt at the stake had he passed on Rubio with the 5th and 6th picks! Instead he looked at the situation and saw the same possibility that the GMs ahead of him in the draft: Rubio might not play in the NBA right away. While the GMs in Memphis, OKC, and Sacramento, had only one draft pick, they needed someone their teams and fan bases could look forward to for next year. They couldn't gamble on Rubio's situation...unlike the wolves.  

I think Kahn foresaw this scenario and picked Flynn at 6 as the next best guard to Rubio. Could they really play together? Why not? I think Wolves fans can agree its easier for a PG to become a SG than a SG to become a PG (cough Foye, cough).

If Rubio decided to force a trade (and maybe he'll try) the wolves still have a great PG in Flynn. If Rubio stays in Europe for the next year or two Flynn can adjust to the NBA while Rubio is over yonder paying off his debt. Flynn can transition to SG when Rubio arrives. We'd have a point guard the size of a shooting guard (Rubio at 6'5) and eventually a shooting guard the size of a point guard (Flynn at 6 feet). Oh and both are huge playmakers.

The other big issue is why Jonny Flynn over Curry? Per the media, they should've taken lesser talent and gone with (wait for it) ANOTHER GUARD?! Whatever guys I'm glad you put on your thinking caps before analyzing what the wolves did. So why would the wolves do that? The first answer is pretty simple: Flynn overall is better than Curry (check the draft ranks and he is consistently rated above Curry). The wolves also got to see Flynn up close and personal. Curry shafted us the same way Rubio did. Do we really want to stake the draft on the two guys who tried to avoid us? I say no and I think Kahn did too. One ok, but not both top 10 picks. Another issue is that Curry is undersized the same as Flynn except Flynn is stronger, quicker can jump out of the gym and is built to last. We'd face the same size issue having drafted Curry as we would with Flynn except we'd worry about Curry's durability, strength, and defense as well.

Obviously there is still lots to be sorted out for the Wolves and Rubio's situation. However what is being over looked is the fact that Kahn has increased the wolves talent pool immensely. And doing so by giving up Foye and an expiring contract. I hope Rubio works his situation out and gives the wolves a chance. With Jefferson, Love, Brewer and Flynn in place that is a nice young core to work with. Especially for an 18 year old who likes to pass but can't shoot (right now). Worst case scenario Rubio wants to be difficult and force Kahn to trade him. If so everyone please take note: O.J. Mayo tried to avoid the wolves at the #3 pick last year. We still picked him #3 overall but then traded his punk arse to Memphis (where he really really didn't want to go) for Kevin Love, Mike Miller and cap space.

I think Kahn, the wolves and the wolves fan base are really excited about Rubio and Flynn and want to give them a chance to see what develops. If we don't get to see that, we'll turn one asset into others. That is a solid approach to me.

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