The Minnesota Timberwolves should trade up in the draft

Tom Thibodeau has yet to make a trade as President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is a good trade to start with.

Championships are built on making a series of great decisions; hesitation leads to decisions getting made for you.

The Timberwolves are currently sitting with the seventh pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Whilst that pick will usually bring in a top young player, the draft is an utter crapshoot.

With the added variables of six teams selecting before you, it is impossible to know who will be around at pick seven. Trading up in the draft this offseason is a risky strategy, but the type of gamble that needs to be taken to be successful.

Why this draft?

The Warriors look quite comfortable at the top of the totem pole for the foreseeable future.

With championship contention in mind, the Wolves should look to aim to be approaching their best in five seasons time.

Don’t get me wrong, the Wolves will be in the playoffs before then. Potentially next season. However, realistic championship contention requires a bit more time.

More from Draft

The beauty of trading up in this draft is the abundance of point guards. Meaning that by sheer opportunity cost, better players in other positions will slide down the order.

Whilst the NBA is a point guard’s league, historically, the point guard position is one that needs to be a value contract on a championship team.

Look at the list of NBA champions and try to find a point guard who is overpaid or even the team’s highest paid player. Point guards taking up too much cap space leads to unbalanced teams. This is a trap that the Wolves need to avoid. They already have great value at the point, with Ricky Rubio.

With the length of rookie deals, Kris Dunn’s, and this draft class’ point guards extensions will correlate with the years the Wolves will look to start contending.

The last thing the Wolves need at that time is to have their hand forced in matching a max offer on a restricted point guard who probably isn’t worth it.

Josh Jackson: worth trading up for?

Any trade will have to be made on draft night and will depend on who is selected beforehand. Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball are set to go at the top.

From there it is anybody’s guess. De’AAron Fox is looking to go anywhere from pick three to pick five, depending on trades. If that is the case, the Timberwolves would be in a great position to trade up.

Whilst there is a lot of rumors around the Wolves being interested in Jonathan Isaac, if the Wolves have the ability to trade up and select Josh Jackson, then it is a no-brainer.

Jackson is the best player in this draft outside of the point guard position. He would be a hand in glove fit for the pieces the Wolves already have.

Yes, Jackson is a streaky shooter, but he is a hustling defender who gives everything he has. With the Wolves defensive struggles, Jackson would be a welcome addition.

With him and Wiggins, the Wolves have the potential to be miss-match central on both ends of the floor. A trade of the seventh pick and another asset would be needed. This is not a large price to pay to move up and select Jackson.

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Alternatively, if Tom Thibedeau and the front office have fallen in love with anybody that they don’t think will be there at pick seven, then this is the year to trade up.