A brief forewarning, I am nowhere near the level of statistical acumen that is typically on display here at Canis Hoopus.  So, while comments/feedback/criticism of all shapes and sizes are more than welcome, I just wanted everyone to know that what you are about to read is solely my opinion and is not backed up by a lot of numbers (just shootin for some quality discourse here folks).

After sifting through a lot of draft hype and projections (barring any trades), I've come to the conclusion that our #2 pick is going to come down to 2 players - Derrick Williams or Enes Kanter.  It seems as though Williams is the consensus second best player in this draft and that Kanter is the best Center; with those two thoughts in mind (and with the confirmation that Rubio WILL be taking his talents the beaches of Lake Minnetonka) I wanted to throw a couple possible lineups at the fine readers of Canis Hoopus and get your opinions on what you think would be best for our team moving forward:

OPTION #1 - We draft Williams.

PG: Rubio // Ridnour, Flynn

SG: Wes // Webster, Wayne

SF: Williams // Beasley, Wes

PF: Beasley // Williams, Love, Tolliver

C: Love // Randolph, Darko?

Ideal 6th Man in this scenario: Martell?  We'd need a better combo guard to be able to come off the bench and play the 1/2.

Brief Analysis of Option #1:  Obviously, the problem with drafting Williams at #2 is that he plays a position where we already have a number of solid options.  Most of what I've read have us trading Beasley or Randolph if we draft Williams, but I think the proposed lineup above provides us with a very interesting squad.  I know a lot of CH is against playing Love at the 5, and while I acknowledge we'd probably lose a step defensively (ha, how much worse could it possibly get?) I think this lineup would produce some pretty scary matchups for other teams:  1. We'd pretty much never lose a rebounding battle 2. Other teams would HAVE to adjust to the mismatches Wes/Beasley/Williams would create at the 2/3 3. We'd still be able to run and gun.   Defense would be our achilles, but goddamnit we'd be fun to watch.

OPTION #2 - We draft Kanter.

PG: Rubio // Ridnour, Flynn

SG: Webster // Wes, Wayne

SF: Beasley // Wes, Webster

PF: Love // Beasley, Randolph, Tolliver

C: Kanter // Darko? Randolph, Tolliver

Ideal 6th Man in this scenario: Wes

Brief Analysis of Option #2:  In this option we go against the grain and take a young/raw talent in Enes Kanter to fill our void at Center.  This draft obviously gives us a much more balanced lineup, but we get even younger than we already are and we are really rolling the dice with two foreign talents.  Kanter is a project there is no doubt about that, but this kid could be LEGIT and could solidify our bigs for years to come.  Per the Twolves norm, this team would need to mature/develop/ and of course...would probably be another few years away from realistically looking at the playoffs.

Anyways, I just wanted to toss these two lineups out to the masses to get people's thoughts/opinions.  The draft is right around the corner.  What say you fellow CH members??? Kanter or Williams at #2?

Have a good weekend everybody!  Win Twins!

bartikuss