NBA DRAFT WEEK SPECULATION

The NBA draft is less than a week away and the rumors are finally starting to heat up, with a lot of rumors being centered around your Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Wolves hold the number 1 pick and of course it’s a year with no clear number 1 guy, typical Minnesota luck huh? That doesn’t mean we can’t come out of this draft with a star, either through the draft or by making a trade.

Since the draft order was confirmed in August, not a whole lot of stuff has changed in terms of knowing where these top guys might land, which makes the draft ALOT more exciting for us fans. Since there is no clear #1 pick, it is imperative for the Timberwolves to make the most of their opportunity and not totally screw this up…..but given their history, this might be hard to do. I have trust in the new management though to not screw it all up, let’s hope I’m right.

Let’s get into some of the rumors that have surfaced in the past week or so…

There has been plenty of pipe dreams and rumors that the Timberwolves are thinking of trading for Simmons or Booker but let’s be honest, those are probably not very realistic. Getting to the more realistic rumors, there have been rumblings of trading down to number 3 with the Hornets so they can move up and take James Wiseman. To me, this would be an ideal trade to make. The main reason being the fact that we most likely would get who we would have taken at 1 plus acquire another asset in the deal, which seems like a win-win. Essentially, we get the guy we wanted regardless and get something else, whether it be a player or a pick. The guy I’ve heard mentioned in the deal is Miles Bridges, who I think could be a great fit. I firmly believe that if we stay in the top 3 we will pick Anthony Edwards or Lamelo Ball. I think most fans would be happy with either of those prospects to go alongside D-Lo and Kat.

Here are some Edwards highlights if you aren’t familiar with him.

The next rumor was one that just started surfacing in the past few days, according to the tweet below from @KevinOConnorNBA.

Sources: The Timberwolves are attempting to acquire a second lottery pick. They’ve had talks with the Hawks for #6. A possible deal could include Jarrett Culver and #17.

A number of teams are interested in Atlanta’s #6 pick—the Pelicans and Celtics being among them, sources say.

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 11, 2020

Now this is super interesting. So far I’ve only really heard about moving the number 1 pick for a star or moving down, so hearing this was eye-opening. You can interpret this situation in a few different ways. For starters, they could package that newly acquired lottery pick and the number 1 pick for a star. That could possibly get you into Ben Simmons territory or MAYBE Booker, which ultimately should be the goal for the Wolves, to get that 3rd star.

The second option would be just taking our guy at number 1 (or trading to 3 and taking whoever is still there), and then grab Okoro, Hayes, or Advija at 6. Now as a fan and just making unbiased analysis, I think fans would be happy with either option if it happens.

The only way I would be skeptical about acquiring that 6th pick is if they shit the bed with the pick, which given our history, seems very likely. We would have to give up Culver and the 17th pick to get 6th, so you’d have to be fine with giving up on Culver and being confident with the guy you are taking at 6.

All in all, anything can happen this week and we have no clear indication of which route the Timberwolves will take. Will they make a trade? Will they keep the pick? Honestly, everything is on the table and I absolutely can’t wait to see what unfolds during draft week!

Be on the lookout for another Wolves blog. If any crazy news happens before the draft I will make sure to get a reaction blog out. Talk to you guys soon!