"With the 26th pick in the 2003 NBA draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select Ndudi Ebi."
What a night that was. Commissioner David Stern clearly hadn't heard of Ebi, as he barely mustered enough vocal fortitude to pronounce the kid's name. After the collective "Who?" that erupted across the state of Minnesota died down, the fans were told - by a certain GM - that Ebi was "another KG."
Long story short, Ndudi Ebi played a grand total of 86 minutes in two seasons on the squad and made $2,654,560, for a nice per-minute salary of $30,866. That's $1,851,960 per hour.
Now, Ebi comes off the bench for something called Bnei HaSharon in the Israeli league.
Chalk another one up for the GM.
Former first-round pick Christian Laettner, in one of his classier moves with the franchise, once walked across the Wolves' locker room yelling "loser" while pointing to each locker.
Lord, can you imagine what he'd yell now? With the 11 losers on this team and three too-early-to-tells in Corey Brewer, Randy Foye and Al Jefferson, the Wolves have been preparing for the June 26 NBA draft since the end of November. One would think the team could get it right for once.
Let's hope so, because the 2008 draft is the most important in team history.
The Wolves have acquired ten Celtics players in the last two years and are currently in the midst of a rebuilding phase that is bound to be as arduous and maddening as the Big Dig reconstruction.
With a record of 21-59, the Wolves need another player - or four - to complement Al Jefferson down low. And there are two players coming to the NBA who could do this: Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose.
If the Wolves get the first pick, I want the guard from Memphis.
Don't get me wrong - Beasley is an absolute monster and will be a star in the league. But he's too undersized to be a four and isn't quick enough to guard threes. Plus, there are constant rumblings that he's so talented that he doesn't feel the need to work hard on defense.
Call Rashad McCants. His younger brother's getting drafted.
Derrick Rose, on the other hand, is one of the most NBA-ready point guards in recent memory. Everyone saw the 19-year-old absolutely dominate in the NCAA tournament, and he looks like he could very easily be the next Chris Paul. The kid's already ready size-wise at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds. He's lightning quick, has Nash-like court vision and has a crossover that rivals any point guard's in the league at this point. Plus, with his size and quickness, he consistently plays shut-down defense, as we saw against Darren Collison. What's not to like?
He'd look great in blue and green. Pair him with Randy Foye, and that's a formidable backcourt for the next decade. That's the dream.
In reality, the Wolves are likely to get the third overall pick, and most mock drafts have my beloved squad selecting Brook Lopez from Stanford.
God help us.
Haven't we tried this before with Paul Grant and Rasho? Two "smooth" big men with "soft hands inside." If I want soft hands, I'll buy some damn Lubriderm.
If the Wolves get the third pick and decide to draft a big man, take DeAndre Jordan from Texas A&M. He's a good rebounder, he can block shots, and he can leap out of a gym. His one flaw? "Not polished offensively." You know who else the "experts" said that about? Dwight Howard.
Mr. McHale, you've led an embarrassingly inept campaign as the GM of this club. But we've got some good, young talent here. Let's add the right piece to the puzzle this time.
Ross Marrinson is a senior majoring in international relations. He can be reached at Ross.Marrinson@tufts.edu.
