If there is one thing David Kahn believes in, it’s getting a lot of players for one position on draft night.
The Timberwolves drafted the small forward they were hoping to get -- Wesley Johnson at No. 4 -- but they also traded for another one in getting Martell Webster out of Portland.
The deal sends Webster to Minnesota in exchange for Ryan Gomes and the rights to Luke Babbitt, who was picked 16th overall.
It seems Minnesota may have overpaid for Webster (or Kevin Pritchard won on . He’s a solid small forward -- decent shooter, have to respect him from three, but turns the ball over too much and is not a great rebounder. He’s never lived up quite to what you think he could be, but he’s respectable.
It might have been a fair swap for Luke Babbitt, the Nevada player who rocketed up everyone’s draft board once they got him in workouts. He’s a good shooter, one who has to prove he is athletic enough to get his shot off in the NBA. But he impressed those who saw him.
But Minnesota added Ryan Gomes to the deal. A small forward who is just about as good a shooter as Webster, about as good a rebounder, turns the ball over a little too much, and... yes, that sounds familiar. Webster is more aggressive on offense, but Webster is not some massive upgrade here.
I really try not to rip Minnesota on draft nights, but they just make it too impossible not to. Kahn talks about wanting to build a running team but he brings in a coach in Kurt Rambis who wants to run the triangle. Yes, the fast break and getting out in transition is one of the basic principles of the triangle as Tex Winter drew it up (sort of, he really stole and modified it), but it’s a different kind of running than you see with other teams. You don’t do it with a traditional point guard. Which they stockpile in Minnesota, too.
Not sure what the plan is in Minnesota. Not sure why they made this trade. Not sure about anything anymore.