Hits and misses: Wolves' top draft picks through the years

Here is a look at how the Timberwolves have fared in the first round of the NBA draft -- from their initial selection, Pooh Richardson in 1989, to last year's choice, Zach LaVine.
1989
Pick: Jerome "Pooh" Richardson, G, UCLA (10th overall).
Career: Averaged in double figures in first eight seasons of 10-year career. Averaged 13.1 points and 7.8 assists.
Could have taken: Mookie Blaylock, Tim Hardaway, Dana Barros, Shawn Kemp, B.J. Armstrong, Vlade Divac.
Hit or miss: Hit. A solid single.
1990
Pick: Felton Spencer, C, Louisville (6th overall).
Career: Played 12 years, three with Wolves, averged 5.2 points.
Could have taken: Tyrone Hill, Jayson Williams. Not a deep draft.
Hit or miss: Miss, the Wolves drafted yet another center a year later.
1991
Pick: Luc Longley, C, New Mexico (7th overall).
Career: Played 10 years, won titles in Chicago, but didn't do much for Wolves.
Could have taken: Terrell Brandon, Dale Davis, Rick Fox.
Hit or miss: Second consecutive miss looking for a serviceable center.

1992
Christian Laettner, F, Duke (3rd overall).
Career: Averaged 17.2 points and 8.1 rebounds before being traded.
Could have taken: Tom Gugliotta, Latrell Sprewell.
Hit or miss: Hit. A scratch single. Perhaps the most painful consolation prize ever.
1993
Pick: Isaiah Rider, G, UNLV (5th overall).
Career: Averaged 16.7 points playing for five teams in nine seasons.
Could have taken: Vin Baker, Allan Houston, Sam Cassell.
Hit or miss: Miss. He could score, once averaging 20.4 for the Wolves. But there was too much baggage.
1994
Pick: Donyell Marshall, F, Connecticut (4th overall).
Career: Played 15 years and scored 10,716 points, but was never an All-Star.
Could have taken: Juwan Howard, Eddie Jones, Jalen Rose.
Hit or miss: Miss. One of Kevin McHale's first moves upon taking control was to trade him for Gugliotta.

1995
Pick: Kevin Garnett, F, Farragut Academy High School (5th overall).
Career: One of the greatest players of his generation, with 35,949 points … so far.
Could have taken: Nobody close to Garnett in this draft.
Hit or miss: Hit. Grand slam.
1996
Pick: Took Ray Allen 5th, then traded with Milwaukee for Stephon Marbury, G, Georgia Tech.
Career: 16,000-plus points in 13 seasons, but forced himself out of Minnesota early.
Could have taken: Keeping Allen, Kobe Bryant, Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal.
Hit or miss: Hit. Too bad he didn't want to stay. Could have gone for extra bases.
1997
Pick: Paul Grant, C, Wisconsin (20th overall).
Career: Two seasons, 16 games.
Could have taken: Bobby Jackson, Jacque Vaughn.
Hit or miss: Miss.
1998
Pick: Rasho Nesterovic, C, Slovenia (17th overall).
Career: Solid but unspectacular, averaged 6.8 points and 5.1 rebounds over 12 seasons. Reserve on 2005 Spurs title team.
Could have taken: Ricky Davis, Al Harrington, Nazr Mohammad.
Hit or miss: Hit. Single up the middle.

1999
Picks: Wally Szczerbiak, F/G, Miami (Ohio) (6th overall) and William Avery, G, Duke (14th overall).
Careers: Szczerbiak averaged 15.5 points in seven seasons with Wolves, was an All-Star in 2002. Avery started once in three seasons with the Wolves.
Could have taken: Richard Hamilton, Andrew Miller and Shawn Marion were taken after Szczerbiak; Ron Artest and Andrei Kirelenko after Avery.
Hit or miss: Hit, a double off the wall — for Szczerbiak. A big miss for Avery.
2000
No first round pick.
2001
No first round pick
2002
No first round pick.

2003
Pick: Ndudi Ebi, F, Westbury Christian High School (26th overall).
Career: Two seasons, 16 games, 40 points.
Could have taken: Josh Howard.
Hit or miss: Miss. Called third strike.
2004
No first round pick.

2005
Pick: Rashad McCants, G, North Carolina (14th overall).
Career: Averaged 10 points in four seasons.
Could have taken: Danny Granger, Gerald Green, David Lee.
Hit or miss: Miss.
2006
Pick: Drafted Brandon Roy 6th overall, then traded him for Randy Foye, G, Villanova.
Career: A disappointment, Foye was traded along with Mike Miller in a package that gave the Wolves the 5th overall pick in the 2009 draft (Ricky Rubio).
Could have taken: Kyle Lowry, Rajon Rondo.
Hit or miss: Miss.
2007
Pick: Corey Brewer F/G, Florida (7th overall).
Career: Hard worker, had two stints with Wolves, was part of Dallas title team in 2011.
Could have taken: Marc Gasol, Arron Afflalo, Joakim Noah.
Hit or miss: Solid single.

2008
Pick: Took O.J. Mayo third overall, then traded him for the rights to F Kevin Love, UCLA.
Career: Love became the second-best player in Wolves history.
Could have taken: Roy Hibbert, Brook Lopez.
Hit or miss: Home run, especially considering what the Wolves got for Love when he forced his way out of town.
2009
Picks: Ricky Rubio, G, Spain (5th overall); Jonny Flynn, G, Syracuse (6th overall); Ty Lawson, G, North Carolina (18th overall); Wayne Ellington, G, North Carolina (28th overall).
Careers: Rubio has proven himself capable, but the jury is still out on his shooting and health. Flynn played himself out of the country in three seasons. Lawson was traded on draft day to Denver for a 2010 first-round pick (Luke Babbitt).
Could have taken: In a draft in which the Wolves took four guards in the first round, none of them were named Stephen Curry.
Hit or miss. Hit for Rubio, miss for Flynn and Ellington.
2010
Picks: Wesley Johnson, F/G, Syracuse (4th overall); Luke Babbitt, F, Nevada (16th overall). Babbitt was traded on draft day, part of a package that went to Portland for Martell Webster.
Career: Johnson is an 8.5-point scorer in five seasons for two teams.
Could have taken: DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe, Gordan Hayward, Paul George.
Hit or miss: Miss. David Kahn sure could pick 'em.

2011
Pick: Derrick Williams, F, Arizona (2nd overall).
Career: Played himself down to a point where he was traded for Luc Mbah a Moute.
Could have taken: Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Brandon Knight, Tristan Thompson.
Hit or miss: Miss.
2012
No first round pick.
2013
Pick: Drafted Michigan G Trey Burke 9th overall, then traded him to Utah for the rights to UCLA F Shabazz Muhammad (14th) and Georgetown C Gorgui Dieng (21st).
Careers: Both players have shown flashes, especially Dieng. The jury is still out on Muhammad, whose most recent season ended because of an injury.
Could have taken: Tim Hardaway Jr. , Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert.
Hit or miss: Hits. Scratch single for Muhammad, so far. Double for Dieng.

2014
Pick: Zach LaVine, G, UCLA (13th overall).
Career: Growing pains in rookie season, but his athleticism could make this a very good pick.
Could have taken: LaVine finished second to Andrew Wiggins in rookie scoring.
Hit or miss: Hit.