Ranking the Minnesota Timberwolves’ top trade chips

Ranking the Minnesota Timberwolves’ top trade chips: No. 17 and No. 33 picks

No. 4: No. 17 and No. 33 picks in 2020 NBA Draft

It’s hard to quantify just how much draft picks are worth two months out from the draft, and especially in a draft that is often described as “weak.”

At the same time, while the 2020 NBA Draft lacks a true sure thing at No. 1, this class appears to have some depth to it. The question that has to be answered is, where does the consensus depth end? Is it somewhere in the late lottery? Or does it last into the second round?

The Wolves have pick No. 17, which originally belonged to the Brooklyn Nets and was acquired by Gersson Rosas prior to the trade deadline. It was lottery-protected and conveyed to the Wolves as soon as Brooklyn clinched a playoff spot this year.

The No. 33 selection is the Wolves’ own pick and is the third selection of the second round. It’s a spot that is seen by savvy teams as valuable, as contracts for second-round picks are not fully guaranteed as they are for first-rounders. It allows teams options, including drafting and stashing a player overseas or perhaps trading the pick to another team who desperately wants a player that fell out of the first round.

It’s likely that the No. 17 pick is worth more than No. 33, but in a draft like this that is seen by many to be largely flat from the late lottery through the first part of the second round, the value disparity between the two may not be massive.

The Wolves are no doubt soliciting one of these picks to acquire a pick in the 2021 draft, as both their first-round and second-round selections were moved to Golden State in the Andrew Wiggins-D’Angelo Russell deal.

All it takes is one team to have a player high on their board that falls to No. 17 or No. 33, and the Wolves could easily pull the trigger on a deal to acquire a 2021 pick, or perhaps some excess talent already on an NBA roster.

During the Rick Adelman era, the Wolves traded the No. 18 pick to Houston in exchange for Chase Budinger in the days leading up to the draft. Even further back, David Kahn traded the No. 16 pick to Portland on draft night for Martell Webster.

Either way, a straight-up trade for the No. 17 wouldn’t be likely to happen until the draft itself, as teams have to see how things are falling on their board.

The Wolves also have the option to package the selections together — and perhaps with another one of the assets on this list — as part of a much larger deal.

Remember: all it takes is one. If one team falls in love with a player that is sliding, the Wolves will have plenty of phone lines open to help facilitate a deal.