Rough Draft: Wolves to work out 12 players on Thursday

Timberwolves have announced the team will workout 12 players in two different sessions on Thursday. Our beloved Wolves have the 18th and the 58th picks in this upcoming draft.

First sessions will be comprised of:

J’Covan Brown, G, Texas,

Drew Gordon, F, New Mexico

Miles Plumlee, C, Duke

Tomas Satoransky, G, Sevilla (Spain)

John Shurna, F, Northwestern

Wesley Witherspoon, F, Memphis

Second session in the afternoon/early evening will have:

Quincy Acy, F, Baylor

Jae Crowder, F, Marquette

Scott Machado, G, Iona

Ramone Moore, G, Temple

Kevin Murphy, G, Tennessee Tech

Casper Ware, G, Long Beach State

J’Covan Brown, PG/SG, Texas, Draft Express ranked 46th, ESPN ranked 60th

J’Covan is most likely a point guard at the NBA level even though he played a lot off the ball next to Avery Bradley (Celtics), Cory Joseph (Spurs) and Myck Kabongo (one of the top PG prospects in next year’s draft) during his three years at Texas. Brown can flat-out score the ball. He can dribble past just about anybody, has a good looking 3-point shot, and kind of reminds me of a mix between Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum. Problem is he doesn’t really have a filter on what is and isn’t a good shot and he’s only about 6’2″, which isn’t ideal if in fact he can’t play the point at the NBA level. On a scale of 1 to Barea, he probably over dribbles the ball at about a 7.

Drew Gordon, PF, New Mexico, Draft Express ranked 39th, ESPN ranked 54th

At 6’9″ and about 240, Drew isn’t the biggest of power forward prospects and that’s what is working against him. He’s a pretty good athlete and has a nice wingspan (I’ll be curious to see how he measures out with that), but he’s not a very strong big man. He also doesn’t really have a post game. The way he moves actually reminds me a lot of a shorter Hakim Warrick. He’s a really good rebounder (15.0 and 14.4 per 40 minutes the last two years) and is a solid shot-blocker. He can hit mid-range jumpers so maybe he can be a weapon in pick-and-rolls. He played four years in college (two at UCLA, two at New Mexico), sat out the 2009-10 season and is still not quite 22 years old.

Miles Plumlee, PF/C, Duke, Draft Express ranked 67th, ESPN ranked 55th

You may remember Miles Plumlee as the lesser of the two Plumlee brothers. Well, there’s actually a third Plumlee brother too. They’re basically invading every fabric of basketball we can imagine. Miles is definitely the worst of the lot but he’s also one of the few big men in this draft with an NBA ready body. He’s 6’11” and about 250 lbs of muscle and… that’s about it. He didn’t try to do too much with the ball. He was a good rebounder (13.9 per 40 minutes last season) and a decent shot blocker. But there’s a reason he only played 20 minutes per game. He just doesn’t give a lot outside of his size.

Tomas Satoransky, PG/SG, Sevilla (Spain), Draft Express ranked 42nd, ESPN ranked 41st

Tomas is a very tall (6’7″) and long point guard prospect that could be a really good combo guard in the NBA. His biggest issues are that he’s not a good shooter and he’s still learning what is and isn’t a pass he can make. However, he’s a heck of a playmaker and not afraid to try to find seams for his big men to make plays at the basket. He’s got a pretty good first step and his handle is more than solid. He could get pushed around at the NBA level because he’s not very strong, but that could all be negated by his ability to get around defenders with his long steps and his quickness. He’s only 20 years old so he could be stashed in Europe for a couple years.

John Shurna, SF/PF, Northwestern, Draft Express ranked 73rd, ESPN ranked 82nd

If Shurna sticks in the NBA, he’s probably going to end up as a Steve Novak/Ryan Anderson type of stretch-4. He can shoot from downtown (43.4% and 44.0% the last two seasons) and has a great release on his jumper. But he doesn’t really do anything else. He’s not a good athlete, he’s not strong and he’s a tweener at the 3 and 4 positions.

Wesley Witherspoon, SF, Memphis, Draft Express ranked 94th, ESPN ranked 86th

This guy is a 6’9″ pogo stick who might end up being a lockdown defensive role player. He can play both wing positions and shot the 3 pretty well over the last three seasons, but it’s hard to really believe he has good, consistent range on his jumper. He only took 177 3-pointers in the last three seasons. If he was a really good shooter, wouldn’t that number be a lot higher? You’re probably not drafting him for his offense though. He can guard either wing, and could maybe even guard stretch-4s and some point guards too. Can’t really create much off the dribble.

Quincy Acy, PF, Baylor, Draft Express Ranked 80th, ESPN ranked 64th

Quincy Acy is a MAN. He looks like Reggie Evans but he’s a lot more athletic than Reggie. With his size (6’7″ and 230 lbs), he’s more suited to be a 3 than a 4 in the NBA. However, he doesn’t have the skills of a 3 in any way. He’ll jump out of the gym and doesn’t shy away from contact at the rim, but for a guy with such athleticism and tenacity, his rebounding could have been a lot better (10 per 40 minutes). Maybe he’s one of these guys we doubt at the NBA level because he’s short for his position but ends up player much bigger. He’ll baptize anybody at the rim.

Jae Crowder, SF/PF, Marquette, Draft Express Ranked 43rd, ESPN ranked 47th

Crowder is another tweener at the 3/4 position but he’s 6’6″ soaking wet and not going to get any taller any time soon. His ability to score is impressive and since he can play the face-up perimeter game, maybe that’s his advantage against bigger guys at the next level. Crowder can also run well off of screens and spot up for jumpers. He has good strength but I just don’t know who he guards at the next level. He’s strong enough to guard 4s but he’s too small. Is he quick enough to guard 3s?

Scott Machado, PG, Iona, Draft Express ranked 49th, ESPN ranked 35th

I’m trying to decide if I like Scott Machado’s point guard prospects because he’s good or because this draft class just doesn’t have a lot of them. He’s a really good playmaker. He racked up 9.9 assists per game last year as a senior, which is kind of an insane number for college basketball. He had huge statistical jumps in his shooting percentages, which could be the sign of him finally figuring out his skill set or it could just be an outlier. Biggest question with him becomes whether or not he was successful because of his competition or because he’s this good. Reminds me a bit of Andre Miller with his body control and patience.

Ramone Moore, PG/SG, Temple, Draft Express not ranked, ESPN not ranked

I have no idea who this guy is. I just tried to get familiar with a mixtape of highlights on YouTube and what I took away is he has a nice shot from outside and a pretty good handle on the ball. Then again, they probably aren’t going to show the times he’s turned the ball over or failed to run the offense well. He’s the size of a big point guard (6’4″ and 180) but if he ends up being a shooting guard in the NBA, he’ll probably get manhandled. Definitely need to find more out about him.

Kevin Murphy, SG/SF, Tennessee Tech, Draft Express ranked 40th, ESPN ranked 37th

Murphy is a really big-time scorer that can be a little out of control with his ball security. He’s not much of a playmaker for others but with his ability to score the ball, he never really needed to be. He can stroke it from outside, is great coming off of screens, and can get to the basket to finish. He’s very smooth with the ball and makes a lot of things look effortless. However, he’s probably not even 200 lbs and will get pushed around a bit in the NBA. If he can add some muscle and toughness, he’s a great prospect at the 2.

Casper Ware, PG, Long Beach State, Draft Express ranked 58th, ESPN ranked 68th

Casper reminds me of Isaiah Thomas (Kings not Pistons) a little bit. He’s a strong but small guy that probably is much more of a scorer than he is a point guard. He didn’t do much playmaking at LBSU because his job was to get the ball in the basket. He takes a lot of shots and doesn’t shoot a very high percentage. However, he can shoot it from just about anywhere. He’s extremely quick and could make for a pest of a backup point guard someday.