If you’re a Minnesota Timberwolves fan, this has got to sting at least a little bit.
Doing well in the draft has never really been the Timberwolves forte, to say the least, and apart from Kevin Garnett at pick 5 and Karl-Anthony Towns at pick 1, Minnesota has crashed and burned when it comes to drafting talented players in the NBA draft.
Their most egregious mistake during the NBA draft is usually remembered as the choice to draft both Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn with consecutive picks, while Steph Curry was still on the board in the 2009 NBA draft.
But Reddit user DaTruf122 has gone back all the way to 2008 to remind Wolves fans that not only did they miss out on Steph Curry, they missed out on at least a starting 5 full of star players between 2008 and 2014 by one measly pick each and every year.
2008 NBA Draft
The Minnesota Timberwolves traded their 3rd pick (O.J. Mayo) for Kevin Love. Russell Westbrook was selected with the 4th pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
2009 NBA Draft
The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Ricky Rubio (5th pick) and Johnny Flynn (6th pick). Steph Curry was selected with the 7th pick by the Golden State Warriors.
Minnesota also selected Ty Lawson with the 18th pick, trading him away for a future first-round pick via Denver. Jeff Teague was selected with the 19th pick by Atlanta.
The Timberwolves also selected Nick Calathes with the 45th pick in the second round. Cleveland selected Danny Green with the 46th pick.
2010 NBA Draft
Minnesota chose Wesley Johnson with the 4th pick in the 2010 NBA draft. DeMarcus Cousins was selected straight after with the 5th pick by Sacramento.
2011 NBA Draft
Minnesota selected Derrick Williams with the 2nd pick. Utah selected Enes Kanter with the 3rd pick immediately after.
2013 NBA Draft
The Timberwolves drafted Shabazz Muhammad with the 14th pick. Giannis Antetokounmpo was chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 15th pick.
Minnesota also traded away their 26th pick in this draft as well as Malcolm Brown to Golden State for a future second-rounder. Rudy Gobert was selected with the 27th pick.
2014 NBA Draft
Minnesota drafted Glenn Robinson III with the 40th pick in the second round. Denver drafted future All-Star Nikola Jokic with the 41st pick.
So in summary, the Minnesota Timberwolves could’ve potentially had a team consisting of Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, DeMarcus Cousins, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jeff Teague, Enes Kanter Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokic and Danny Green all drafted within the space of six years.
Ouch.
