Minnesota Timberwolves: Should they trade the No. 1 pick?

The Minnesota Timberwolves struck gold in the NBA draft lottery, winning the No. 1 pick. Now the question is what they should do with that selection.

The Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t do a whole lot of winning in the 2019-20 NBA season. After a fool’s gold 3-0 start, reality took over in a big way and the rest of the league feasted on them. The Timberwolves had two double-digit losing streaks of 11 and 13 games, and their best player, Karl-Anthony Towns, endured a personal losing streak of 17 games.

In this league, sometimes good things come to those who lose, and that’s what happened in the 2020 NBA draft lottery. They won the first overall pick in the upcoming draft, and now that the NBA season is over, the tough decisions begin for president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas and his staff. The first decision they’ll have to make focuses on just what to do with that draft pick.

Considering the composition of their roster, the Timberwolves are somewhat funneled into the presumptive selection of Georgia’s Anthony Edwards. He may be the best of a weak crop of draft prospects, but considering the reasonable comparisons to an Andrew Wiggins-lite, whom they recently traded to the Golden State Warriors, the Timberwolves can be forgiven if they’re not eager to make the pick themselves.

Of course, the last team to trade the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft made out like bandits. The Philadelphia 76ers lusted for Markelle Fultz in 2017, but they had the third pick. The Boston Celtics had the  No. 1 pick in the NBA draft and desired Jayson Tatum, and they were convinced that they could get him at three, so they obliged the Sixers and fleeced them to death in the process.

And Fultz turned out to be a complete flop who was traded for scraps to the Orlando Magic (although he’s had some redemption since then).

Trading back in the NBA draft is the move for the Minnesota Timberwolves

It’s not likely that there will be a robust market for the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, but this is something that the Minnesota Timberwolves will want to interrogate regardless. While the top of the draft is nothing spectacular, there are always middle-round gems that can be found, and that’s the spot they should probably consider aiming for.

Trading the No. 1 pick for perhaps a haul of Boston Celtics picks (they have the 14th, 26th and 30th picks in the first round) could benefit both organizations as they seek to meet their own goals from this draft.

There’s no Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, Trae Young or Luka Doncic in the top two or three picks of this draft, but we may find there is a Brandon Clarke, P.J. Washington or even Tyler Herro towards the latter portion of the lottery. With the uncertainty of this draft thanks to the unique environment it’s taking place in and the mediocrity of the top few selections, it’s a better bet to trade back and get more shots at a contributor if there is a deal out there to be made.

Just selecting Anthony Edwards will probably be a fine and acceptable result for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but it’s likely not the way to optimize their newly found NBA draft asset.