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Minnesota Timberwolves: Evaluating 3 trade-back options with No. 1 pick

By Ben Beecken

Despite Gersson Rosas's firing, the Minnesota Timberwolves should still be chasing Ben Simmons. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Despite Gersson Rosas's firing, the Minnesota Timberwolves should still be chasing Ben Simmons. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Minnesota Timberwolves: Evaluating 3 trade-back options with No. 1 pick

Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Knox II
Kevin Knox II of the New York Knicks. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Wolves land picks and Kevin Knox

To nobody’s surprise, ESPN is doing their best to get LaMelo Ball in New York via the No. 1 pick, so here’s another option.

The Wolves would give up the top pick and the No. 33 pick, plus the modest guaranteed contracts of Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman and get back the No. 8 this year, plus two future picks and third-year wing Kevin Knox.

This trade is arguably worse than the first one, and here’s why: the two future first-rounders belong to the Dallas Mavericks, who are about to be one of the best teams in the league for several years in a row behind Luka Doncic. If they were the Knicks’ own picks, then this trade looks more reasonable. Not to mention that sliding all the way to No. 8 is obviously less appealing than being at No. 6 as in the previous trade.

As for Knox, he was the No. 9 overall pick in 2018 and was supposed to be a plug-and-play 3-and-D contributor, but he hasn’t been particularly good at either part of that equation.

Through his first two NBA seasons, Knox has shot just 33.7 percent on 3-point attempts, including dipping to 32.7 percent last season. He hasn’t scored efficiently from anywhere on the floor, carrying a career Effective Field Goal Percentage of 43.9 and a True Shooting Percentage of only 47.4 percent.

Knox hasn’t been a good defender, either, and while he has the size and frame and enough athleticism to improve on that end of the floor, acquiring the 21-year-old as part of this deal would simply be the Wolves taking a flyer on what is effectively another lottery selection, albeit with a disappointing 140-game track record at the NBA level.