There was a time when draft night meant very little to a Timberwolves fan. Owing very much to the Joe Smith contract fiasco, if you will recall, the Timberwolves had just one first-round pick from 2000-2004, and they used that No. 26 overall pick in 2003 on Ndudi Ebi. In 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004, their haul all came from the second rounds of the draft. The players: Igor Rakocevic, Loren Woods, Marcus Taylor, Rick Rickert and Blake Stepp (pictured, remember him?)

As such, there was seldom a reason to get excited about the draft. The Wolves had successful teams, and they weren't going to get much help. Then, of course, everything flipped; Minnesota had the 14th pick in 2005 (Rashad McCants) and hasn't picked lower than No. 7 in any year since. Counting 2009, with multiple top picks, the Wolves have had seven picks in the top seven from 2006-11. It has turned the draft into a much-anticipated annual event here and has laid the foundation upon which the current roster is built.

But unless David Kahn can find a way to get the Wolves back into the first round of tonight's draft -- something he hasn't ruled out as he said the team will continue to be "very active" -- we are in for a Smith-era dud of a draft night when it comes to the local team. They have exactly one selection -- No. 58 overall in the second round, which offers some nice symmetry since that's where Stepp was chosen the last time the Wolves lacked a first-round pick. We still like the move that created this scenario, dealing the No. 18 pick for Chase Budinger. That will not, however, make tonight feel any less strange.