Think the final days of this lost Timberwolves season are meaningless? Think again.

It is anything but that. At stake in these final five days are the Western Conference's final playoff spot, a long-lost dream for the Wolves but still a very real possibility for a Utah Jazz team that is contesting Phoenix for the eighth and final spot, with Tuesday's game against the Suns in Salt Lake City looming monumental.

If the Jazz makes the playoffs, the Wolves will get Utah's first-round pick this summer in what is being called the deepest draft in years.

If the Jazz miss out, the Wolves will not have a first-round pick because they already traded theirs long ago to the Los Angeles Clippers, who in December shipped it off to New Orleans in the Chris Paul trade.

The Wolves could always use that pick to trade for a veteran player who fills pressing needs for a ballhandling, playmaking wing player or a shot-blocking center. Or they could go young once again trying to fill one of those needs.

If the Jazz prevails and the Wolves do indeed partake in the draft party come June, here are some of the early possibilities:

Austin Rivers, 6-4 shooting guard, Duke freshman, age 19.

One of the draft's most polarizing prospects, the son of Boston's Doc Rivers compensates for lack of prototypical shooting-guard height with long arms and a coach's son's smarts. Not a great athlete, but he's the kind of savvy ballhandler the Wolves seek. He could thrive having Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio carry the burden he had assumed in Duke's offense.

Terrence Ross, 6-6 shooting guard, Washington sophomore, age 21.

Good size for a shooting guard and a good athlete, but he's more of a shooter than a playmaker who can put the ball on the floor and create.

Tony Wroten Jr., 6-5 point guard, Washington freshman, age 19.

He's everything that his Huskies teammate Ross is not: More combo guard than pure point, he's a flashy passer with great court vision who needs work on his shot.

John Henson, 6-10 power forward, North Carolina junior, age 21.

The Wolves' other big need is an athletic shot-blocker. Sophomore surprise Nikola Pekovic might be the league's Most Improved Player but he's not a rim protector. Henson is extra long and incredibly athletic, but he's awfully thin right now to play the NBA's big-boy positions.

Royce White, 6-8 small forward, Iowa State sophomore, age 21.

Yes, he's yet another small forward, but the Wolves desperately need a creative wing and the former Gopher is skilled in a point-forward sort of way. He also comes with baggage, including an anxiety disorder and a fear of flying, but the Wolves have connections to Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg for the inside scoop.

Meyers Leonard, 7-0 center, Illinois sophomore, age 20.

He's a project, but he's also a 7-footer with long arms and a body that's going to fill out. He has the kind of defensive potential the Wolves must consider.

Fab Melo, 7-0 center, Syracuse sophomore, age 21.

He's another long, athletic big-man defender, but do the Wolves really want to gamble on another Syracuse player after already drafting Jonny Flynn and Wes Johnson?

Others: Evan Fournier, 6-7 shooting guard, France; Dion Walters, 6-4 shooting guard, Syracuse sophomore; Moe Harkless, 6-8 small forward, St. John's freshman; Arnett Moultrie, 6-11 power forward-center, Mississippi State junior; Jeremy Lamb, 6-5 shooting guard, Connecticut sophomore.