Minnesota Timberwolves: 8 teams most likely to trade for No. 1 pick

Minnesota Timberwolves: 8 teams most likely to trade for No. 1 pick

5. Teams that are close, but can’t put it all together

There are several teams that might have one or two pieces of the aforementioned criteria to construct a trade that lands them the No. 1 pick.

For example, the Washington Wizards, who hold the No. 9 pick in the draft, could absolutely get to No. 1 — if they give up Bradley Beal.

To this point, the Wizards have refused to entertain the possibility of trading Beal, who they apparently want to see play next to an aging John Wall, who hasn’t played in a game in nearly two years. But Washington could get to No. 1 for their choice of LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, or James Wiiseman by give up Beal. The Wolves would undoubtedly ask for the No. 9 pick back but would be rebuffed.

For their trouble, Washington would also pick up Jarrett Culver, James Johnson‘s expiring $16 million deal, and could also choose between Josh Okogie and Jake Layman.

Something like this works from a salary perspective…

But given what we know about the Wizards, their unwillingness to trade Beal and start over means that this kind of a deal isn’t likely to happen.

The one other team that could have an outside shot would be the Sacramento Kings. Buddy Hield’s contract extension kicks in prior to next season, and with Hield not holding down a consistent starting job last year for head coach Luke Walton, the Kings would surely move on from the sharpshooter in a deal for the No. 1 pick.

But the Kings only have the No. 12 pick to dangle. Nemanja Bjelica’s $7.15 million deal for next year might also be attractive for the Wolves, but paying Hield $94 million over the next four years almost certainly is not.

The only other teams that could have a shot at consummating a deal with Minnesota would be San Antonio and Phoenix, but neither team has a ton of draft compensation to offer in return (the Suns sit at No. 10 and the Spurs have the No. 11 pick and neither has extra picks next year, either) and they both have reason to believe that they’ll improve next season simply by making some upgrades to their current roster.

While these four teams have better chances than the likes of Cleveland, Detroit, or Charlotte of pulling off a deal for No. 1, they are far from the most-likely trade partners for the Wolves.

Let’s look at No. 4 on the list.