Wolves question: What's the point?

Just as Noah did before he floated away into the deluge, the Timberwolves cast off into their great unknown Thursday night two by two.

A young, losing team built around a pair of promising power forwards theatrically, mystifyingly selected a pair of point guards -- Spain's Ricky Rubio, Syracuse's Jonny Flynn -- with the fifth and sixth picks in David Kahn's first draft as the team's new basketball boss.

In doing so only two days after Kahn essentially cleared the backcourt by trading Randy Foye and Mike Miller, the Wolves upheld a proud draft tradition:

They once again left fans who came to Target Center to celebrate absolutely befuddled, perhaps dismayed, and wondering what in the world their team once again had done when it followed Rubio's unexpected availability at the fifth spot by taking Flynn before the joyous noise inside the arena faded away.

A year ago, fans left thrilled that their team had drafted USC's O.J. Mayo, then awoke the next day to find he had been traded for Kevin Love.

This time, they wondered, rightfully so, if Rubio even will play for the Wolves next season, or ever.

Four of the Wolves' six selections Thursday were point guards. They did trade North Carolina's Ty Lawson to Denver for a future first-round pick and later dealt second-rounder Nick Calathes away as well.

Even Wolves forward Kevin Love second-guessed the moves. "What are we doing?????" he posted on Twitter after the Wolves took their third point guard but before the Lawson trade was announced. "We better trade. I don't even know."

Kahn vowed that neither Rubio nor Flynn will be traded.

"I truly believe these kids can play together," Kahn said, citing the long-ago backcourt of Boston's Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge and Detroit's Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas as two similar examples. "Great players like playing with other great players."

Flynn's addition provides insurance if Rubio cannot play next season because of a $6.6 million contract buyout with his Spanish pro team. His representatives are negotiating to get that lowered. The Wolves by NBA rules can pay only $500,000. The rest comes out of Rubio's pocket, and he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars Thursday by being picked fifth rather than second or third.

"Yes, it's a big problem," said Rubio, who has said he would play in the NBA next season essentially for "free" but admitted staying in Europe another season is an option. "Yes, I want to play in the NBA."

Rubio expressed no enthusiasm -- "It's too cold, but I hear they have a good team," he said -- about coming to Minnesota.

Kahn said the situation "will be an interesting ride."

"If any team can afford to be patient, it's us," he said.

Kahn called Rubio, the youngest player in the draft at 18, a potentially "trans- formational" player and "orchestra leader" and praised Flynn's toughness and leadership skills.

He said he believes they can play together because of NBA rules changes that have made it a guard's league.

"I can't wait until he hits me with a no-look pass and I finish it," Flynn said.

Kahn also said he believes they can play together because Rubio is at least 6-4 (and perhaps still growing) and Flynn is "no 6-1 point guard."

"Jonny is only 6-feet, but he carries himself like he's 6-4," Kahn said. "He has a 40-inch vertical leap. I've never seen a kid 6-feet look and feel like he's 6-3 or 6-4 like this kid does. I think he could be very special."

When Oklahoma City ceased its pre-draft bluffing and took Arizona State guard James Harden third and Sacramento followed by selecting Memphis' Tyreke Evans fourth, the Wolves were left with their dream scenario and the chance to select the precocious, imaginative Spaniard without having to surrender assets to do so.

Those fans erupted and some immediately broke into a chorus of the "Ole, ole, ole" chant omnipresent at Spanish soccer matches before they were dumbstruck by the selection of another point guard when Davidson's Stephen Curry -- point-guard sized, but the best shooter in the draft -- was still on the board.

Those were just the first two of the Wolves' four first-round picks.

When the third of those four arrived with the 18th choice overall, the Wolves went and took ... yes, yet another point guard, an acquisition of North Carolina's Ty Lawson that left Tar Heels coach Roy Williams puzzled and holding up three fingers to signify three point guards to one team when the television camera turned to him inside Madison Square Garden.

The Wolves, though, immediately traded Lawson's rights to Denver for Charlotte's first-round pick (top 12 protected) next summer, potentially giving them three more first-round picks next summer.

With the 28th pick, the Wolves selected North Carolina's Wayne Ellington, a long-range shooter who matches one of the team's greatest needs given Al Jefferson's low-post game and the fact that neither Flynn nor Rubio are considered great shooters.