Ping-pong balls will be bouncing behind closed doors Tuesday night during the NBA Draft Lottery.
Unless the Timberwolves land a top-three pick, there’s a decent chance they explore trading down in the upcoming NBA Draft on June 22.
“We just have to see who’s there [in the draft],” Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor told the Pioneer Press. “I don’t think our expectations are that somebody’s going to be there [at No. 6] that’s going to start and help make a big difference for us. But who knows how other teams look at it.”
Among the top-ten projections in the upcoming draft, a lot of draft experts have mostly point guards coming off the board. With Ricky Rubio, Kris Dunn and Tyus Jones on the roster, the last thing the Wolves need is another floor general.
Minnesota has an 18.3% chance at a top three pick, according to Tankathon. So unless lady luck is on the Wolves’ side – which it rarely is – trading down makes the most the most the sense.
Here are the chances they have at each possible position.
- No. 1, 5.3%
- No. 2, 6.0%
- No. 3, 7.0%
- No. 6, 43.9%
- No. 7, 33.1%
- No. 8, 4.5%
- No. 9, 1.8%
However such prominent players like Gary Payton, Andrew Wiggins and Kevin Durant – who were all top-five selections – were drafted by teams who had less than a five percent chance of having that said pick.
