Re-drafting the 2020 NBA Draft: 6. Rui Hachimura, Minnesota Timberwolves
Original pick: Jarrett Culver
2021 Minnesota Timberwolves current starting lineup
- D’Angelo Russell
- Malik Beasley
- Anthony Edwards
- Jaden McDaniels
- Karl-Anthony Towns
New 2021 Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup
- D’Angelo Russell
- Malik Beasley
- Anthony Edwards
- Rui Hachimura
- Karl-Anthony Towns
The Minnesota Timberwolves have had a massive hole at the power forward position for a long time. Selecting Rui Hachimura with the sixth overall pick would certainly fix that problem.
Originally, the Timberwolves selected Jarrett Culver with this pick. With the way things have played out so far, he looks like a complete bust, and the Wolves actually traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies this offseason.
Meanwhile, Hachimura has been putting on a solid showing in Washington. He improved from his rookie to sophomore season and even showed some real promise during his time with Team Japan in the Olympics.
During the Olympics, he averaged 22.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 40.9% from the field and 38.1% from deep. Hachimura also played more minutes per game than any other player in Tokyo (37.6 MPG).
Combine this with the fact that his defense is getting better by the season, and the Wolves would have their problem at the four solves. In this re-draft, the Timberwolves select Rui Hachimura sixth overall to pair him with Karl-Anthony Towns.