Having the top pick in the NBA draft is usually as valuable of a position you can be in, as a team has a chance at adding a player to their roster who can lead the franchise out of the desert and into the promised land. But the Minnesota Timberwolves seem more interested in using their No. 1 pick to maximize their assets, as the team is reportedly looking to trade out of the spot to land a complementary third option for D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns.
“Executives around the NBA say the Timberwolves prefer to trade down or out of this pick to bring in a win-now player to help Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell,” wrote the Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.
According to O’Connor, if the Timberwolves are unable to land a desirable player in exchange for the pick, they are likely to favor Georgia guard Anthony Edwards. It’s a strange draft compared to most years, as there is no clear consensus on which player is the best of the prospects, and even the top-tier guys seem to have a lot of flaws that could scare teams away.
And the Timberwolves aren’t the only team in the lottery that may be looking to move back or out of the draft entirely. The Knicks are also reportedly exploring options that would involve trading their no. 8 pick, as they seem to have not landed on any particular player that they feel will take their team out of the dregs and back into relevance.
