Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau admitted last week that finding how to matchup with the NBA champion Golden State Warriors will play a role in how they approach the draft and free agency.
It’s pretty clear that beating the Warriors in a seven-game series requires a big three, maybe even a big four, to match up against the death lineup featuring Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green.
The Wolves have two stars in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, with Kris Dunn still oozing with potential to be a third star.
According to the latest mock draft from Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Sharp, Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac could be Minnesota’s third star if they take him seventh overall in the June 22 NBA Draft.
“It seems like Isaac will go off the board somewhere in the 5-10 range, because he doesn’t have the ceiling of some players above him. But where players like Tatum, Smith, Jackson, and even Ball have questions that’ll complicate their progress as franchise-changers, Isaac’s a much safer bet to become a helpful third star. He’s got the height and length to project as a stretch-five in certain lineups, and he’d be equally effective as a stretch four. As the NBA game gets smaller, faster, and generally stranger, Isaac is the kind of Swiss–Army Knife role player who should be really valuable on a good team. For a Minnesota team that already has the stars—Wiggins and Towns—he’d be a wonderful steal.”
Isaac’s coach at Florida State, Leonard Hamilton, urged a Philly Sports Talk not obsess over Isaac’s 12 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, which pale in comparison to most of the draft’s top players.
“He has so many intangible things that he brings to the table and he is not one-dimensional,” Hamilton said, via Pro Basketball Talk. “A lot of guys get recognition because they do a lot of scoring, but Jonathan is a stat stuffer from all aspects.”
