NBA Draft: What are the Minnesota Timberwolves most likely to do?

20 Percent: Wolves trade No. 20 for a veteran, and/or find cap relief

This is probably the most realistic, perfect-world scenario for the Timberwolves.

Thibodeau and Layden surely want to find some cap space, and the only way they can do that — in any significant way, at least — is by offloading Gorgui Dieng or being part of a blockbuster involving Andrew Wiggins. The latter seems unlikely, at least on draft night, but the former is a push they just might try and make.

There seems to be one or two trades per year on draft night that are essentially a mid-to-late first-round pick swapped straight up for an NBA veteran. Given the Wolves’ current cap situation, that will be tough to pull off. Enter Gorgui Dieng.

Dieng is still an extremely useful NBA player, and is ideally suited for the role he played last year (third big on a playoff team), albeit with slightly more playing time. Most third bigs play more than 16.9 minutes per game, and Dieng, who can play both the four and the five, deserves to see the court more often.

The problem, of course, is that’s drastically overpaid, and especially so in an NBA that is shifting rapidly. He’s generally good enough at defending the pick-and-roll that he’s playable for long stretches, but he was also exposed at times over the past year or two as teams found certain actions that would work against the Timberwolves.

At any rate, the Wolves would gladly package Dieng and the No. 20 and trade down, picking up a second-rounder or late first-rounder on the way. Or, perhaps a veteran on a smaller deal comes back, shoring up the wing rotation before free agency even opens.

If Layden and Thibs have their way, this is how the night will play out.