3 ways the NBA hiatus could help the Minnesota Timberwolves

3. Draft evaluation

We’ve all heard it: the 2020 NBA Draft is below-average. And not only that, compared to the expected class in 2021, it may be considered downright poor.

Unfortunately, this is the year that the Wolves have three picks that would land in the top 33 if the season ended today. This includes a top lottery pick, the Nets pick that is currently at No. 16, and the third pick of the second round.

President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas and the rest of the front office need to decide if they want to pick three more rookies or combine some of their draft capital to try and find some NBA-ready talent that’s already in the league, or perhaps convey some of their assets to 2021.

Remember, the Wolves’ 2021 pick was shipped to Golden State along with Andrew Wiggins in the D’Angelo Russell deal.

This season, the Wolves selected Culver in the first round and Jaylen Nowell in the second round. Then, they brought in the undrafted Reid and signed a pair of undrafted players in Kelan Martin and Jordan McLaughlin to two-way contracts. Martin and McLaughlin both played professionally last year, but neither had NBA experience prior to this season.

With the goal of contending for the playoffs sooner rather than later, will Rosas be excited to add three more rookies to the fold? It’s unlikely.

Don’t be surprised if the Wolves only make one of their three selections and try to package one of them for an undervalued player that’s already in the league, similar to what Rosas did in acquiring Beasley, Hernangomez and Jarred Vanderbilt from Denver. While Malik and Juancho will need to be paid this summer, acquiring Vanderbilt was essentially taking a flyer on a 20-year-old with first-round talent.

Then again, that’s what this hiatus can be used for: evaluating the upcoming draft class and trying to figure out what the value of the (potentially) No. 3, No. 16 and No. 33 selections will be compared with what they may be able to get for the picks on the trade market.

Along with the rest of us, the Timberwolves will be doing their best to make the most of this weird and unprecedented period in history. Now, we just have to figure out when the draft will actually be held…