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September 5, 2009 The Timberwolves have been in the news recently with the final confirmation that Ricky Rubio will not be joining them next season. Rubio had been projected to be in a time share with fellow rookie Jonny Flynn at the point guard position. Without Rubio, Flynn became the number one point guard on the roster as the Wolves traded away Sebastian Telfair and Randy Foye during the offseason. This had Flynn poised to be a sleeper pick as the projected starting point guard. The Timberwolves like Flynn’s leadership potential and thought highly enough of him to take him #6 overall despite taking another point guard (Rubio) at #5 overall. He has good on the ball defensive skills which should bode well for him staying on the court. In summer league games, Flynn averaged 28 mpg, 15 pts, 7.4 ast, 91% FT, and 58% 3PT. The percentage marks are encouraging for his fantasy potential. In a July, 2009 Expert Mock Draft Flynn went in the 11th round (124th overall). However the Timberwolves did not feel comfortable just giving the point guard job to Flynn. So they signed Ramon Sessions to a 4-year contract. Sessions has shown flashes of fantasy brilliance the past couple seasons for his scoring and in particular assists. Oddly, it took some time for him to secure a contract during the offseason. With his signing Flynn can not be considered a sleeper anymore - not that there still isn't a chance. Sessions may be the one now who can pay dividends with a later round pick. The Minnesota point guard position is something worth monitoring in the preseason. Looking at the current projections for the Timberwolves, Al Jefferson is the only one who will likely go in the top 75. But that does not mean there are not others with upside potential. Kevin Love will likely be getting plenty of minutes for them and has the potential to average a double double. In addition to the points and rebounds, he ought to be able to average a block a game and has the added bonus of shooting a high FT%. In the July, 2009 Expert Mock Draft, I was able to acquire Love in the 9th round (101 overall). I think he has the potential to perform much better than that. While in general the Timberwolves
roster looks like a mess, and they will likely lose a lot of games
during the regular season, I think Kevin Love, Ramon Sessions, and
Johnny Flynn have the potential to pay dividends for fantasy teams
and present little risk for where they can be acquired. |