5 Predictions For NBA Draft Night

The Timberwolves turn the 5th pick into Kenneth Faried

The fireworks will begin at the fifth pick after Dunn is selected third and Marquese Chriss goes fourth to the Phoenix Suns. The Minnesota Timberwolves want to make a win now move and they do just that in a trade with the Denver Nuggets.

This interest came through after Sean Deveney of Sporting News first reported it here.

Tom Thibodeau first coached Kenneth Faried as a member of Team USA back in 2014. Faried performed admirably as a complement to the rest of the roster, nearly winning MVP honors.

It’s possible that Thibs sees him as the energy player needed for Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine to be successful, not to mention Ricky Rubio in the pick and roll.

Faried is very adept as a roll man in PnR sets, and while he doesn’t space the floor in the general sense, he creates gravity for other players to operate.

This move would shoot the Timberwolves right into playoff contention, and while they are still missing a couple of pieces, they should be excited by this move.

On the Nuggets side of things, they are still rebuilding and have many assets to spare. They don’t need two picks in the middle of the first round and they may need even use their remaining 19th overall selection after this deal.

That being said, two players stand out as perfect for the Denver Nuggets: Jamal Murray and Dragan Bender. Murray is the ideal floor spacer next to Emmanuel Mudiay and he would also present an option as a secondary ball handler.

Bender projects as an ideal role player. He will space the floor on offense and possess a high basketball IQ to make sound decisions. His mobility and understanding of angles on defense, along with his 9’3 standing reach, will help him become a positive defender.

Adding Murray and Bender to a core involving Mudiay, Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris, and Jusuf Nurkic should make the Nuggets a dark horse championship contender in a few years, not just a playoff contender.

They will need more wings to shoot from outside and play defense, but this move would be the last few pieces to add to a core.

This move makes a lot of sense on both sides: the T’Wolves looking to compete now, and the Nuggets adding one more year to their rebuild with a stronger future outlook.

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