By: Dustin Chapman

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• Selected O.J. Mayo 3rd overall and traded his rights along with Antoine Walker, Marko Jaric, and Greg Buckner to Memphis for Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, Jason Collins, and the rights to Kevin Love (5th overall).

• Selected Nikola Pekovic 31st overall.

• Selected Mario Chalmers 34th overall and traded his rights to Miami for a 2009 second round draft pick and cash considerations.

Wow…

I hate to be a pessimist here, but what was Kevin McHale thinking? He finally got the opportunity to bring in a legitimate star, and he blew it. He had O.J. Mayo in the palm of his hand, and he let him go… but not like most teams. Most teams let talents like Mayo go by force. McHale did it by choice, and that is why there is not a single Timberwolves fan with a smile on their face at this point in time.

Is Kevin Love going to be a good pro? Absolutely. Is Mike Miller one of the best shooters in the NBA? Absolutely. Now let me ask this: Are either of those two players the best individual in the deal? Are either of those two players going to push Minnesota into immediate playoff contention? No. The answer is no. So why pass up on the far superior talent to balance the roster?

Even with that mindset, who says this balances the roster formidably? Kevin Love, once again, is going to be a very good pro for a long time. But he is not the complement that Al Jefferson needs alongside him. Jefferson and Love could very well be one of the worst defensive frontcourt duos in the NBA. What Jefferson needs is a true center to help him control the paint, and allow him to slide back down to his natural power forward position. He doesn’t need a smaller and less mobile partner. Well, sorry Big Al. That’s what you got, and you now get to watch your what-could-have-been perimeter sidekick claim stardom in another city.

To top it off, Mario Chalmers was nearly handed to Miami for no apparent reason.

People say Boston and New York fans are overdramatic. Take a look at some reactions from Timberwolves fans across the internet. As one Wolves fan put it: “The biggest problem with this trade is… we’re mediocre.” According to a lot of them, the sky has already fallen. McHale wet this bed, and he’s never going to wash the sheets.

Grade: C

The Minnesota Timberwolves, who own the rights to the third overall pick in June 26th’s NBA Draft, have officially began their pre-draft workout process. Stanford center Brook Lopez became the first prospect to work out with Minnesota, and Timberwolves.com has put together some excellent information to recap it.

Stanford center Brook Lopez became the first draft prospect to work out for Minnesota’s brass at Target Center, hoping to impress enough to be considered for the No. 3 overall pick in the June 26 NBA Draft.

The two-year college standout was the first of several prospects who will be put through an extensive workout by the Timberwolves’ basketball operations and coaching staffs. On Tuesday, Lopez shot from inside. He shot from outside. He took contact. He dribbled. He ran. He took foul shots. He … did everything.

“I thought it went really well,” said a sweaty Lopez as he looked down at assembled media members after closing the workout with full-court drills. “I think I can come here and help the team win. I’ll do whatever the coaches require of me and work my hardest.”

Lopez came straight to Minneapolis from pre-draft camp in Orlando, and will continue on to Seattle (who picks fourth), the only other place where he’s scheduled to work out to date. Lopez will stay in Minnesota on Tuesday night and go through another workout for the Wolves on Wednesday.

“We were able to see him do some different things, put him in situations where he had to put the ball on the floor, change direction and stuff like that, that I wanted to see,” said McHale. “He showed some range, he showed some stuff. You just want to see him in situations where you’re saying “If you’re going to play with Al Jefferson, these are situations you are going to find yourself in.”

Of course, meshing with Minnesota’s double-double machine will be key for whomever the Wolves choose to select. For his part, Lopez said he’d love to play with Mr. 20 and 10.

“Al commands so much attention that it would make my game that much easier,” he said. “I’m so used to in college being double- and triple-teamed, but he’d open it up for me because he’s such a great player.”

Yet and still, the process is in its embryonic stages; McHale and Co. have a lot of work to do before putting someone’s name in an envelope on June 26.

“You’re looking at everybody,” explained the Vice President of Basketball Operations. “You’re trying to find guys that complement, you’re trying to find the best player available … We are going to assess for that three spot like eight or nine guys pretty hard and then we are assessing a whole other level of guys in case we move out of that three spot.”

Lopez, familiar with Minnesota’s entire roster, did say that he’d like to be the next player to don the jersey of the team he rooted for growing up.

“They have a good young core,” Lopez added. “And I’d like to come in and help. I hope I can bring energy, defense and all the little things.”

Indeed, Lopez explained that he’s been “working constantly” on his defense and rebounding, two areas of common critique despite averages of 8.2 boards and 2.1 blocks at Stanford. His brother Robin (who Tuesday worked out in Toronto) was often the Lopez twin more closely associated with those two skills, but Brook’s been doing his best to close that gap.

Though it’s tough to take too much away from a 1-on-0 workout, those assembled at Target Center’s practice facility must have noticed that Lopez comes just as big (7-0, 260) as advertised, and should have been impressed with his range. Lopez showed an ability to knock down jumpers all the way out to the NBA three-point line, and was consistently good - and natural - within the college three-point line. Though he’s not explosive (e.g. Amare Stoudemire) Lopez moves better than you’ve heard and can finish with both hands near the rim.

Click here to watch Brook Lopez’s video interview (contains workout footage).

Click here to watch Jim Petersen’s video interview.

Click here to listen to Kevin McHale’s audio interview.

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Posted By: Dustin Chapman