Keita Bates-Diop can open doors for the Timberwolves that used to be closed to them
It may be a few years before it sinks in, but Keita Bates-Diop falling to the Timberwolves at pick 48 in the second round of the 2018 draft may end up being the greatest stroke of blind luck so far in franchise history.
Apart from a brief stint under Head Coach Rick Adelman, the Wolves have been firmly entrenched in the basketball of days gone by. They play a slow pace. They isolate the ball. They pound the low post, overshoot from midrange and ignore the three point line. This isn't just a Thibs thing - Sam Mitchell did it as well. So did Flip Saunders.
Part of this is a stubborn refusal to adapt and change and keep up with the leading edge of the league as it evolves. But part of it is a lack of the right types of players.
The future of the NBA is a point guard and a flotilla of 6'5" - 6'10" players, all with guard skills. It opens the floor up by weaponizing the drive and the three point line at all five positions on offense, and minimizes the danger of being blatantly mismatched on defense.
If you're trying to defend that, it's a constant state of near-panic, chasing the ball around the perimeter when every single player on the floor is a triple threat to shoot, drive and pass.
If you're trying to score on that, it's a frustrating struggle against a constant cycle of tall, athletic bodies being thrown at you, one after another. Like banging your head against a wall. No matter where you send the ball, there's a guy with quickness, reach and tenacity chasing it.
Doing this, of course, requires a specific roster makeup. The Warriors got it looking for other things, then Steve Kerr made it happen when he realized what he had. Whereas the Celtics went and got it intentionally, repeatedly drafting 6'8" wings with wingspan (James Young came before Jaylen. Jabari Bird is next)
But in both cases, the end result is the same. Durant, Klay, Dray, Iguodala, Looney, Bell. Tatum, Brown, Hayward, Morris, Smart.
For the Timberwolves, there is, and -with the exception of one glorious year of Andrei Kirilenko - always has been a definite line between their small forwards and power forwards. There's been basically no crossover between the two. Their 4s do not handle and facilitate, shoot from beyond the arc, or stick shooting guards on switches. That needs to change. Playing the way the Warriors play - which is basically the only way to beat the Warriors - means having a 4 who plays like a 3.
Enter Keita.
Any of you who follow my Twitter have certainly seen a near-irrational level of excitement over Keita Bates-Diop from me. Well, this is why. He is the first player basically in the entire history of the Wolves who can potentially bridge that 3-4 gap. He's 6'9" with a 7'3" wingspan - basically the same size as Taj Gibson - but he can handle, pass, shoot out to the 3pt line, and defend like a small forward.
This opens a door for the Wolves that was previously closed to them. They can now spread the floor at all five positions. They can now initiate from the frontcourt and run big/big pick and rolls. They can now switch endlessly on defense and not worry about getting burned by a crippling mismatch. In short, they can play a bit of the style that has put teams like the Warriors, Celtics, Rockets, Sixers and Raptors on top.
Keita is exactly the type of player every team needs today - a power forward who plays like a small forward. Or a small forward with the size of a power forward...whichever way you want to look at it. And while he isn't spectacular at any one thing, he's good at everything. In today's NBA, not being awful at anything is a skill in and of itself, and an incredibly valuable one at that.
I've probably given off the impression on Twitter the past two weeks that I don't like Josh Okogie because of how much I focus on Keita, and that's not true. I think Okogie can really help this team. He's a physical player with crazy reach and a non-stop motor who fills a definite need. BUT....but, filling a need is the extend of what he'll do. Keita, on the other hand, could literally transform the way the Timberwolves play basketball, enabling them to do things that they couldn't before. That's why I'm so excited about him. That's why 29 teams are going to regret letting him fall to 48.
