MINNEAPOLIS, MN (AP) -- The Minnesota Timberwolves entered the 2010 NBA draft armed with three first-round picks to add to one of the youngest rosters in the league.
The way things went on Thursday night, the Wolves actually got a little older as the night went on.
The Wolves drafted Syracuse forward Wesley Johnson, traded for Portland swingman Martell Webster and also took Marquette senior Lazar Hayward during a dizzying night that left many of their beleaguered fans a little bewildered.
It shouldn't take long to see if the picks pan out. Johnson will turn 23 in July, Webster is a 23-year-old with five years of NBA experience and Hayward will be 24 before the season begins.
Not a lot of electricity in the names outside of Johnson, but team president David Kahn thinks fans should be encouraged by the group because they can step right in to help a team that won just 15 games last season.
"They can play right now," Kahn said.
The Wolves have more than $15 million in cap room as the July 1 free agent bonanza opens, and Kahn must have another move or two in the works in order to give a sense of hope in fans who haven't seen a playoff appearance since 2004.
"We needed to do a lot," Kahn said. "Tonight is like the starting gun. We still have a lot of work to do. We will start attacking it literally tomorrow morning."
The Wolves made two trades, drafted two foreign players and brought on two more in Webster and Hayward that the casual fan would have difficulty identifying as the makeover in Minnesota continues.
They drafted Nevada shooter Luke Babbitt at No. 16, then immediately shipped him and veteran Ryan Gomes to Portland for Webster, who has averaged 8.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in his career. They then took Clemson forward Trevor Booker at No. 23 and dealt him and the 56th pick to Washington for Hayward, the 30th pick, and Serbian forward Nemanja Bjelica at No. 35.
The key is Johnson, who was chosen over Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousins to address one of their biggest needs - athleticism on the perimeter.
"We spent most of this past season talking about the lack of length and athleticism and speed on our front line," Kahn said. "I didn't feel that (Cousins) would improve those areas. ... At the end of the day we felt Wes was the right thing for us to do."
The 6-foot-7 Johnson averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds and was a first-team All-American in his only season with the Orange.
"He'll bring some much-needed length, athleticism and shooting ability to our roster and will be an important piece to the puzzle as we continue to build a nucleus of young talent," Kahn said.
Johnson also averaged 1.8 blocks and 1.7 steals and shot 41.5 percent from 3-point range last season. He transferred there after two seasons at Iowa State and sat out 2008-09 while Timberwolves point guard Jonny Flynn was starring for Syracuse.
"I think we can bring a lot of excitement," Johnson said. "The exciting player that he is and the player that I am, I feel the chemistry's already there, so it's going to grow even more when I get there."
Said Flynn, in a tweet: "You know I'm happy! That's my bro!"
In Johnson, Webster and Hayward, the Wolves appear to have acquired three players with similar traits. All three are long and lean small forwards who like to shoot from the perimeter but have some difficulty creating their own shots.
"We talked specifically about that today," Kahn said. "Kurt acknowledged there might be some challenges but he thought they might present some bigger challenges to the opponents and seemed to like that idea."
Bjelica is a 6-foot-10, 223-pound forward who may wind up staying overseas for a year or two, just like their top overall pick last year, Ricky Rubio. With their final pick of the night, they drafted Brazilian center Paulao Prestes, who will stay in Europe for now.
They also parted with Gomes, whom the team planned to release before the end of the month anyway. Gomes was one of the pillars in the locker room for the last three years after coming over in the Kevin Garnett trade. He averaged 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds last season.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
