Last first-round pick delivers guard-only sweep

North Carolina standout Wayne Ellington gave the Wolves a shooting guard to go with their two point guards.

By NATE TAYLOR, Star Tribune

Last update: June 26, 2009 - 12:41 AM

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With the 28th pick in the NBA draft, the Timberwolves continued their evening-long trend of selecting guards, even after drafting three point guards before this pick. This time, though, it was a shooting guard.

Wayne Ellington brought relief to many fans inside the Target Center. The pick came two years ago from Boston in the Kevin Garnett trade and made certain the Timberwolves would not field a point guard-only system next season.

Earlier in the draft, the Timberwolves became the story of the night by picking their third point guard, Ty Lawson, with the 18th pick. Before that, the Timberwolves drafted Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn with the fifth and sixth picks.

At the time, it was enough to make Roy Williams, Lawson's and Ellington's former coach at North Carolina, shake his head in confusion while holding up three fingers to signify the three point guards. After the Timberwolves acquired Ellington as their final pick in the first round, Williams this time clapped in agreement.

"I'm extremely happy," Williams said of the Timberwolves selecting Ellington. "They are going to get a guy who can score and can rebound. Bottom line is he can score."

Still, without a coach, basketball boss David Kahn made sure he restocked his team with guards after trading away Randy Foye and Mike Miller to Washington earlier in the week.

"The guy can really shoot," Kahn said of Ellington. "I felt we needed to have better shooters on the wing. I think he is a classic 2-guard."

Three guard confusion

The reaction to the 18th pick had it all: excitement, surprise and shock. You name in the emotion, and it was felt inside the Madison Square Garden and the Target Center.

It was an interesting few minutes to watch as people wondered to themselves what the Timberwolves were thinking. Even Kevin Love tweeted, "What are we doing?"

"We got a kick out of it when it happened," Kahn said. "We knew it was going to have everybody going nuts."

A few minutes after the selection, it was announced the Timberwolves traded Lawson to the Denver Nuggets for a protected first-round pick in the 2010 draft. Kahn said with the 18th pick he felt there was not a player available that he really fell in love with. The better option for him was to get another pick for next year's draft.

Still, it was those few minutes after selecting Lawson and the uncertainty that came with it before the announced trade that left many people in the basketball community surprised.

"I see the NBA going into a different position with two point guards," Flynn said. "So, it wasn't really a different mentality or mindset when he was picked."

Second-round picks

Nick Calathes was the fifth and final guard selected by the Timberwolves with the 45th pick. Later, he was traded to Dallas for a second-round pick in next year's draft and cash considerations. With the 47th pick, the Timberwolves drafted Henk Norel, a forward from the Netherlands who also plays on the same team with Rubio of DKV Joventut in Spain.

"He [Rubio] is an incredible player," Norel said. "He's a really good point guard, and I'm excited I that got drafted by the same team as him."