Timberwolves take Rakeem Christmas at No. 36, flip him to Cavs

Tap here to view theScore's NBA Draft tracker, which includes the 2015 draft results, and latest transactions and rumors.

The Minnesota Timebrwolves selected Syracuse center Rakeem Christmas with the No. 36 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft on Thursday night.

Christmas will head to the Cleveland Cavaliers, along with Cedi Osman and a 2019 second-round pick in exchange for Tyus Jones, who the Cavs took at No. 24.

Fittingly, Christmas wore wrapping paper to the draft to celebrate:

The star of the 5-on-5 portion of the NBA Draft Combine, Christmas seems to have helped his stock, going roughly 10-to-15 spots higher than expected in March. He's a 23-year-old senior, and teams may have viewed the combine as him performing well against less experienced or less talented players, but he may have also been flashing some new-found upside.

Just shy of 6-foot-10, Christmas has the height of a typical power forward but measures closer to a center in terms of wingspan (7-foot-5.25) and standing reach (9-foot-2.5), some of the largest measurements in the class. He uses that size to great effect on defense, blocking shots and pulling in rebounds while helping lock down opposing bigs.

He's less developed offensively but can get out in transition, and, despite a sub-elite post game, can help the offense with his passing from the block.

Getting any kind of rotation player at No. 36 is a good find, and it seems likely Christmas can carve out a role at the next level, even without a particularly high ceiling. He should slot in at the back end of Cleveland's frontcourt rotation, with his playing time dependant on how their offseason plays out.