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Timberwolves enter draft, offseason with Karl-Anthony Towns in mind

MINNEAPOLIS — Gersson Rosas heads into his first NBA draft on Thursday night, June 19, tasked with making the Minnesota Timberwolves a better team, while possessing a clear vision of how he plans to do so.

During his tenure as the Timberwolves’ basketball boss, Rosas intends to put the best pieces possible around all-star center Karl-Anthony Towns.

“We’re going to make the best decisions for this organization,” Rosas said. “We want to be as thorough as possible. We want to uncover opportunities today, if possible. If it’s the right decision, we’ll move forward. The support of (owner) Glen Taylor and his vision and what we need to do in order to maximize Karl’s window forces an urgency to do things the right way. Not just right now, but the right way. As we look at that window of time for Karl, we want to make sure we’ve got pieces in place that can grow and develop with him and can peak at the right time.”

The idea of there being a “window” for Towns’ success seems silly at this point. The former all-NBA center is just 23 years old. He’ll be on Year 1 this fall of a five-year contract extension he signed before last season. There’s time for Rosas and Co. to get this right.

Still, that urgency exists. Timberwolves fans still have bad memories of how Minnesota wasted Kevin Garnett’s prime by failing to surround him with championship-caliber talent.

And players are not shy about asking out of an organization when they feel it’s no longer the right fit. Anthony Davis asked to be traded from New Orleans just two and a half years into his contract extension with the Pelicans.

Towns isn’t close to that juncture, but keeping the young big happy, and giving him the best chance to be successful, is certainly top of mind for the Timberwolves.

“A lot of it has to be with how we develop a team around him, how healthy he can be and how he can move forward,” Rosas said. “But we feel like he’s got a long runway and he’s just entering his prime.”

The best way to accommodate Towns on the court would be by adding an all-star caliber perimeter player. Year after year, it is all-NBA perimeter players who carry their teams deep into the postseason, from Kawhi Leonard to LeBron James to Steph Curry and Kevin Durant to Damian Lillard. Guys who can get their own shot late in games are required to win big playoff games.

Minnesota currently lacks such a player.

“Beggars can’t be choosers at certain spots. By that, I mean you want high-level superstar talent, and a lot of times you have to try and make it work,” Rosas said. “Our history in Houston in how we formed different talents together and try to maximize it, that’s what we have to do. In reality, it’s players who are available either through trades or free agency that you have a good chance of acquiring. You have to lock in on those opportunities because you just can’t pick and say, ‘Hey, I need something at this position.’

“The other alternative is to take bets on guys. Whether it’s the draft or targeting players and developing them at a high level so they can meet some of those needs. The reality is, you’re trying to take advantage of opportunities in the market and it usually doesn’t line up where it perfectly meets your needs. Sometimes it does, but most of the time it doesn’t.”

Maybe Andrew Wiggins can develop into that type of player for the Wolves. The previous regime “bet” on him when it extended the wing player’s contract two seasons ago, but that gamble has yet to pay off.

There are high-end perimeter talents available at the top end of the draft — guys like Darius Garland, R.J. Barrett and De’Andre Hunter. Grabbing any of them would require Minnesota to trade up from No. 11, something Rosas appears willing to do for the right price.

Even at No. 11, there are players who could make sense for Minnesota, from high-ceiling French forward Sekou Doumbouya to slick-shooting Kentucky wing Tyler Herro to Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura.

Talent is what Rosas looks at to decide between prospects.

“And how that translates to not only the NBA, but your style of play,” Rosas said. “And for us, specifically, our best player and how that compliments a guy like Karl.”

It always comes back to the big man.

“There are really good pieces on our roster. There’s a strong core. But at the same time, you win in this league with high-end players,” Rosas said. “We’re fortunate that we have a high-end player. We have the potential for other players on our roster to be high-end players. That’s going to be part of our philosophy and part of our development and player wellness. But we are going to be very aggressive in looking at any and all opportunity to add talent to this base.”

“The reality is, this story will be told three or four years from now, how we did tonight, how we develop these guys. It’s not about winning the press conference, it’s about building a championship organization, and this is a big part of it.”

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