By: Dustin Chapman

It would be extraordinarily shocking to see Kevin McHale take a player not named Brook Lopez or O.J. Mayo at this third spot. It is widely considered a two-man race, and strong cases can be made for each. Let’s break it down.

The case for Brook Lopez:

It is blatantly obvious that the Timberwolves are one of the most desperate teams in the NBA, if not the most desperate, for a legitimate center. This past season, nearly every forward on Minnesota’s roster was forced to slide up and play a bit out of position, including their star Al Jefferson. Selecting Brook Lopez with the third overall selection would not only give the Wolves a formidable option alongside Jefferson on the interior, it would also help balance the roster and allow head coach Randy Wittman to put his players in comfortable situations by placing them in their natural positions.

Lopez is a fine prospect, to boot. The better half of Stanford’s Lopez twin combination may very well be one of the better center prospects the NBA has seen in the past five years. He possesses a natural feel around the basket that cannot be taught, and has developed an array of conventional low-post moves that are not seen by many NCAA big men. In his sophomore year at Stanford, alongside his twin brother Robin (who also has declared for this year’s draft), Brook held respectable averages of 19.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, while showing defensive improvements from his freshman year and blocking 2.1 shots per contest. One of Lopez’s other major improvements came at the free throw line, where he upped his 69.2% 2006-2007 free throw percentage to 78.9% this past season. That touch translated beyond stationary situations, as well; Lopez began hitting face-up jump shots more frequently than ever before.

Lopez is a terrific talent. When considering that his talent is packaged with a seven-foot, 260-pound frame, it’s hard to imagine that he’d fall out of the top five on June 26.

The case for O.J. Mayo:

O.J. Mayo has virtually everything you’d want from your young superstar. His talents have been excessively heralded since the back-end of his middle school years, in which he transferred to a bigger school to play on the high school team.

When Mayo packed his bags to play for the USC Trojans, many anticipated his offensive potential. Everybody knew that the 6’5” combo guard could put the ball in the basket in a variety of ways, and create his own shot off the bounce. There were, however, many positive attributes that they didn’t know. They didn’t know how poised he would be throughout his freshman year. They didn’t know that he would step up as a leader and be willing to defer to his teammates on the national stage. And most importantly, they didn’t know that he is arguably just as good of an on-ball defender as he is with the ball in his hands.

Simply put, O.J. Mayo is a flat-out stud. He may need to improve his decision making, shot selection, and spot-up jump shot, but those are fixable flaws with hard work and dedication… something Mayo also brings to the table. It’s safe to say that his youthful hype has been justified.

The knock you may be able to hold against Lopez’s case could be that his potential is undefined. He may very well turn into an All-Star caliber player, but it also isn’t outrageous to wonder if he may turn out to be a bit of a disappointment. Realistically, it may be safe to expect him to find a happy medium.

O.J. Mayo, on the other hand, looks to be as close to a sure thing as you can get after Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley. When you’re the Minnesota Timberwolves, a franchise rebuilding after dealing Kevin Garnett, you need to bring in that legitimate star to compliment Al Jefferson’s post presence. That star is none other than O.J. Mayo, ladies and gentleman.

Lopez may fill a need and balance the roster, but when you have a pick as high as three, you go with the best player available. Once again, O.J. Mayo fits that description. Brook Lopez, as solid as he may become, does not.

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