The Minnesota Timberwolves took 20-year old forward Derrick Williams out of Arizona with the 2nd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft last night. Williams is 6′8″, 241 pounds and he can handle playing either forward slot. Williams played in 38 games at Arizona last year and he averaged 30.0 minutes, 19.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He also hit 42 of 74 three point shots last year (56.8%) which lends creedence to playing Williams at small forward. Williams played in 69 games in his two years in college and he averaged 29.2 minutes, 17.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. This was a great pick for the T-Wolves as Williams should make a nice tandem at forward for the T-Wolves with Kevin Love. I look for the Timberwolves to deal last year’s starting small forward Michael Beasley before the 2011-12 starts.

The Minnesota Timberwolves dealt 22-year old point guard Jonny Flynn along with power forward Donatas Motiejunas (#20 pick overall last night) out of Lithuania to the Houston Rockets for 35-year old center Brad Miller, forward Nikola Mirotic (#23 overall pick who was later dealt to the Bulls), #38 overall pick (power forward Chandler Parsons) and a future first round pick. Flynn played in 53 games (8 starts) for the T-Wolves last year and he averaged 18.5 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Flynn played in 134 games (89 starts) in his two years with Minnesota and he averaged 24.8 minutes, 10.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Flynn became expendable after Ricky Rubio decided to come to the States.

35-year old center Brad Miller had microfracture surgery recently so he probably won’t be ready to start the 2011-12 season on time. Miller played in 60 games (5 starts) for the Rockets and he averaged 16.9 minutes, 6.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He has now played in 853 games (597 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 28.6 minutes, 11.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. The T-Wolves needed a veteran big man, even if they have to wait a little bit for them.

UPDATE: (6/27/2011) - After getting a good look at Jonny Flynn’s hip, the Rockets wanted another second round pick from the T-Wolves to accept this deal. So the Timberwolves sent the Rockets an additional future second round pick to make the deal go through.

Backup point guard Sebastian Telfair is the only free agent for the Timberwolves coming into this season. I don’t see the Timberwolves making much of an effort to re-sign Telfair unless they deal both Jonny Flynn and Luke Ridnour. I think the T-Wolves will go into the 2011-12 season with Ricky Rubio and Luke Ridnour at point guard. That leaves Sebastian Telfair looking for a new team over the summer.

20-year old shooting guard Ricky Rubio has agreed to join the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was the 5th overall pick (1st round) of the 2009 NBA Draft. He played in 20 games in Spain last year and he averaged 22.4 minutes, 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Rubio only shot 39.2% from the floor last year and he was only 11 of 49 (22.4%) from three point range last year. The Timberwolves would be smart to bring Rubio along slowly as he will need time to adjust to the size and speed of the NBA.

22-year old power forward Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves has been named the NBA’s Most Improved Player of the Year for the 2010-11 season. Love played in 73 games (all starts) for the T-Wolves last year and he averaged 35.8 minutes, 20.2 points, 15.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He was also a very efficient shooter as he hit 47% from the floor, 41.7% from three-point range and he nailed 85% of his free throws last year. Love predicted himself that he would lead the league in rebounding if he just had a starting gig, so he backed up his talk. Love has now played in 214 games (132 starts) in his first three years with the Timberwolves and he has averaged 29.8 minutes, 15.0 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Kevin Love could be a serious player for the NBA’s MVP Award down the road if he can stay healthy and the T-Wolves can start winning more games.