Minnesota Timberwolves: Updated NBA Mock Draft Roundup

The latest roundup of NBA mock drafts shows some variety in whom the Minnesota Timberwolves might select with the No. 1 pick.

It’s time to check on the most popular NBA mock drafts to see whom the experts believe the Minnesota Timberwolves will be taking at No. 1.

We haven’t looked at an overview of mock drafts since the draft lottery last month, but this is the third time we’ve taken a spin around the blogosphere for mocks. The first instance was way back in June, and the second was a few weeks prior to the lottery.

There’s been quite a bit of change over the past few weeks, and even some of the mocks that leaned one direction for the Wolves at No. 1 immediately following the NBA Draft Lottery have shifted gears a bit.

Let’s dive in.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Updated Mock Draft Roundup

The Athletic Mock Draft

LaMelo Ball (NBL Hawks)

Sam Vecenie hasn’t updated his mock draft (subscription required) too recently, but the biggest change from his Version 7.0 to Version 7.1 was the Wolves taking LaMelo Ball at No. 1 instead of Anthony Edwards.

Vecenie analyzes the likelihood that the Timberwolves will simply take the player whom they deem as the best available if they’re unable to trade the selection, and he believes that their calculus will land on Ball, since none of the Ball, Edwards, and James Wiseman are ideal fits for the Wolves’ roster.

The Athletic Beat Writer Mock Draft

LaMelo Ball (NBL Hawks)

This version of The Athletic’s mock draft (subscription required) was released just this week and was conducted with the beat writers in each market.

The first time that The Athletic put one of these together (also subscription required), the Wolves took Anthony Edwards, as directed by Wolves beat writer Jon Krawczynski. This time around, Krawczynski pivots to Ball.

He notes that he attempted to trade with the writers for both the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks, but couldn’t get a deal done. He also says that he’ll probably change his mind “100 times” between now and draft night, and acknowledges some of the Andrew Wiggins-esque concerns with Edwards’ game.

Bleacher Report Mock Draft

Anthony Edwards (Georgia)

The latest mock draft from Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman has the Wolves taking the University of Georgia’s Anthony Edwards.

Here’s his reasoning:

"We’re sticking with the Minnesota Timberwolves favoring Anthony Edwards over LaMelo Ball after president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas traded for D’Angelo Russell in February. It’s tough to picture Rosas suddenly taking the ball out of Russell’s hands and giving it to a teenage rookie whose maturity is questioned."

That’s the most obvious reason to not draft Ball, so it’s no surprise that he opted to take Edwards here for the Wolves. But, later in the mock draft, he conducts trades at No. 2 and No. 6, allowing Golden State and Atlanta to trade back and pick up assets.

It’s entirely plausible that if the Wolves decide that Ball isn’t a synergistic fit alongside Russell, they would turn right around a trade back, picking up an asset or two along the way.

This won’t be the last time we check in on mock drafts, as they’ll no doubt be updated with more frequency as we draw closer to the draft, now scheduled for Nov. 18. Stay tuned, as things are bound to get even more interesting…