With more than two weeks until this year’s draft, most front offices in the league are still finalizing big boards.
For the Minnesota Timberwolves, their front office’s draft night strategy is still uncertain. Talk of trading franchise cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns has surfaced on Wolves Twitter, and Minnesota has interviewed projected lottery-pick Anthony Black even though they don’t have a first rounder this year. Therefore, draft night could bring fireworks to the Twin Cities.
But I don’t care for fireworks. They scare my dog.
I’m here to talk about another one of my favorite draft prospects for the Timberwolves to take at pick 53, Penn State senior wing Seth Lundy.
Sidenote: Before the NBA Draft Combine last month, I wrote about my top-3 prospects for the Wolves to take at pick 53. But with two of the three players seeing their draft stock soar into first round territory, and the third opting to return to school for another year, I’ve been left with the void of having no real prospect I want Minnesota to take.
I watched Lundy by accident at first. It was just before this year’s March Madness, and I was eager to watch some film on Penn State’s leading scorer Jalen Pickett. He’s a 6’4″ point guard with a peculiar shot diet consisting of post-ups. But as Pickett continuously collapsed opposing defenses by forcing his way into the low post, I quickly found myself paying more attention to his teammate on the wing.
Averaging 14.2 PPG on 45/40/80.7 shooting splits, Lundy gave Pickett the perfect outlet to hit once he found himself trapped underneath the basket. Lundy excels at scoring from the outside, and Minnesota could desperately use some additional floor spacing after losing marksmen Malik Beasley last summer in the Rudy Gobert trade.
After knocking down 92 threes in his senior year, Seth could be the missing piece off of the bench. While his shooting percentages are already impressive, they don’t tell the full story. With limited scoring options on his college team, Lundy was forced to take some very difficult shots, which likely hindered his already solid 3P%. Often, Lundy was forced to take a difficult attempt late into the shot clock, as the remaining Penn State roster often struggled to create their own shot.
Whether it came off of a dribble pull-up, dribble handoff, or coming off of a pindown screen at full speed, the types of looks Lundy shot and made during his senior year were significantly difficult than the ones he should see at the next level. Outside of his 3-point shooting, Seth also showed a knack for creating and making his own shot in the midrange, shooting 46.5%. With a rather impressive array of stepbacks, fadeaways, and midrange pullups, Lundy could potentially slide into the flamethrower role left by Jaylen Nowell if he signs elsewhere this summer.
Standing 6’6″ 217 lbs. with a 6’10” wingspan, Lundy looks like your prototypical NBA wing. His size allows him to be an exceptional defender without being an explosive athlete, which helped him tremendously. Lundy was often tasked with being his team’s point-of-attack defender. Lundy likely won’t be a POA defender in the NBA. But with the experience of defending the opposing teams’ best players, he could give the Wolves yet another switchable defender.
The thing that really impresses me about Seth Lundy is how well he played as a secondary option. With Jalen Pickett being the focal point of head coach Micah Shrewsberry’s offense, Lundy was forced to do a lot of the little things that contribute to winning. Players who are the focal point of a program and don’t project to be NBA stars typically don’t pan out because of their inability to adjust to a much smaller role. But Seth already has years of experience of never being his team’s go-to scorer, so he should fit in nicely on a Wolves team with plenty of star power.
Lundy has worked out for the Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings who have picks after Minnesota’s lone second round selection, and he projects to go somewhere near the 45-60 range. But with teams now having a third two-way roster spot, many prospects with similar draft projections could opt to go the Naz Reid route. They may try to go undrafted so they can choose where they begin their NBA journeys, and Lundy could follow the now-common trend.
Already 23 years old, Seth Lundy doesn’t project to be some sort of future superstar. But we’ve seen what these sort of floor spacing wings can do for a franchise looking to win now, especially with the rise of players like the Miami Heat’s Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. When drafting at 53 for a team centered around high-ceiling players like Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, surrounding them with floor-raising players who can stretch the floor and defend should be what the Minnesota Timberwolves’ front office is looking for.
