The Minnesota Timberwolves are reportedly open to trading the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, the Timberwolves are interested in bringing in a win-now player to help Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell as opposed to diving into a class that does not have a consensus No. 1 pick.
The logic makes sense for the Timberwolves, who are looking to rebuild on the fly. After acquiring Russell at last February’s trade deadline, vice president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas has been busy making several deals to change the identity of the team.
But unlike the other rebuild attempts, the Timberwolves have to have a sense of urgency. A report from KSTP’s Darren Wolfson said that a player that knows Towns said the forward is “good as gone,” although no trade was imminent.
Although the Timberwolves have catered to Towns over the past couple of months, superstars in small markets tend to have little patience when it comes to putting a team around them. With Towns turning 25 in November, the clock is ticking even if the report doesn’t turn out to be accurate.
The bigger question is if the Timberwolves decide to deal the pick, what could they be getting? Many fans have dreamt about the possibility of trading for Phoenix Suns forward Devin Booker, but the Wolves don’t have the assets to make a deal happen.
B/R’s Greg Swartz floated out a pair of ideas including shipping the No. 1 overall pick to Detroit for the seventh overall pick, a 2021 second, and Luke Kennard. He also mentioned the pick could be sent to Phoenix for the 10th overall pick, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Ty Jerome.
Neither pick will really move the meter for Timberwolves fans, but such is the case with a lackluster draft. B/R’s Jonathan Wasserman also reported that while the Wolves would like to trade the pick, they may stand pat and select point guard LaMelo Ball.
Other options if the Wolves were to keep the pick include Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman, but both players could take time to develop into an important cog on the roster.
Either way, the next few weeks should be busy for the Timberwolves as they look to take an important step forward next season.
