We now get the the 5th pick which belongs to the the most unlucky team
in the lottery, the Minnesota Timberwolves.  The are represented by:

   Gregory A Rasmussen .

Greg selects:

   Antonio McDyess, PF, 6-9.  University of Alabama 

============================================================================
  It has often been said that the Timberwolves are the worst team in the 
history of pro sports.  I'm not going to disagree with that, but they're 
making some front office moves to change.  Only one thing is certain 
about the Wolves, they need help NOW!!!  They can't afford to pick a 
player who needs two years to be an impact player in the NBA (Donnyell 
Marshall)  The Wolves will probably keep only 7-8 players from last years 
team (well you don't finish 21-61 and say "Let's stick with the same guys 
next year!")  But I don't know if anyone has the answer to the Wolves woes.


Quick overview of the Timberchiuauas
====================================

Center- The only center the Wolves have is Sean Rooks, and at 6-10 he is 
more of a PF.  He certainly wasn't worth next years 1st rounder we gave 
up for him.  Christian Laetner isn't cut out to be a center in the NBA 
because he really dispises the rough play in the paint.  Neither of these 
guys are the Wolves center of the future, but not as bad as other areas.

PF- The Wolves actually have two good PF's in Laettner and Tom Gugliatta.  
Laettner starts due to his fragile ego but Gugs is who the front office 
likes if it came down to trading one of them.  Both are very talented and 
this really isn't an area of concern for the Woofies right now.

SF- Muchlike at center, the Wolves have no "true" SF on their roster.  
Doug West was the starter, but is a natural SG.  With West playing SF the 
last two years, he has been plagued by injuries due to playing against 
more physical forwards.  Gugs played some SF but it's not his best spot.  
Pat Durham is a question mark.  At 6-7 he has the right height and a good 
body frame and average (for the NBA) athletic ability, but it seems that 
he'll always be the 10th or 11th man on the roster in the NBA.  This 
would be the best position for the Wolves to draft.

SG- The Wolves have two talented SG's in J.R. Rider and Doug West.  Maybe 
some year Rider will decide that he wants to dominate, and if he does 
watch out NBA!  Now back to reality, Rider leads the team in scoring and 
plays pretty good and West is the consumate team player and will do 
whatever it takes to win.  Nobody needed at this spot.

PG- This is far and away the weakest position for the Wolves.  Michael 
"I'm hurt!" Williams and Derrick Martin are two back up caliber PG's 
fighting for a starting position.  But there are not any PG's worth 
taking with the #5 pick so the Wolves will have to dip into the free 
agency pool or live with what they got.

=======================================================================

And with the fifth selection, the Timberwolves select Antonio McDyess, 
University of Alabama 6-9 225 PF

Since we can't trade we go with the best player available theory.  Here's 
a guy with speed, finess, and power who only happens to be 19 years old.  
The Wolves lack that player who has no fear and the athletic ability to 
dunk over/through somebody with authority.  Yes Rider won the dunk 
contest but no one was guarding him.  Ever been to a Wolves game?  The 
crowd doesn't sit on the seats, they sit on their hands.  Get some flashy 
dunks and the crowd gets excited, then the players get excited. Hopefully!

Others considered
=================

Michael Finley- good athlete who had misleadingly poor year, will be a 
good one!

Rashard Griffith- Need a center but he carries too many ?'s as well as 
weight.

Bob Sura-  I am very high on Sura, but we need a PG and am unsure of his 
playmaking ability as far as the NBA goes.  But god do I like him!!!!!!


Kevin McHale drools when he thinks about McDyess wearing a Wolves uniform 
so I can't imagine him having a problem selecting McDyess.

Other moves
===========
After another bad year, you have to make some changes. Draft, trades, 
free agency ANYTHING!!!!!!!  This is a very deep draft so I say trade 
down in the draft for more picks.  Quality is good but quantity might be 
a little better for this years draft.  #'s 20-30 on one person's list may 
be #10-20 on anothers.  WE JUST NEED MORE PLAYERS! 

===========================================================================
Draft Summary:

1.  Golden State 
    GM:    David Hayden 
    Pick:  Jerry Stackhouse, SF, 6-6.  University of North Carolina
2.  L.A. Clippers
    GM:    Curtis Hill  
    Pick:  Rasheed Wallace, PF, 6-10.  University of North Caolina
3.  Philadelphia 
    GM:    Carl Chavez 
    Pick:  Joe Smith, PF, 6-10.  University of Maryland
4.  Washington
    GM:    Jim Nagle 
    Pick:  Ed O'Bannon, SF, 6-8.  UCLA
5.  Minnesota
    GM:    Gregory A Rasmussen 
    Pick:  Antonio McDyess, PF, 6-9.  University of Alabama 

Next up:
6.  Toronto
    GM:    Rania R. Melhem