Minnesota Timberwolves: Knicks are Wolves’ least likely trade partner

The New York Knicks aren’t likely to be the Minnesota Timberwolves partner in any trade for the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to trade the No. 1 pick for value, whether that comes in the form of additional trade capital or a current NBA star.

The New York Knicks, with a new front office and a new head coach, want to make a splash. They hold the No. 8 pick, and surely have designs on moving up to make said splash on draft night.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Knicks are Wolves’ least likely trade partner

It makes sense, right? The Knicks have the No. 8 pick, they have a roster barren of stars, they have tradeable contracts, and they possess extra future picks from the Kristaps Porzingis trade a couple of years back. We also know that they’re the only team to have spoken with LaMelo Ball.

They should be able to move up and make some noise, right?

Not so fast. Those tradeable contracts and extra draft picks? Not as attractive as Knicks fans might want to believe.

What players could the New York Knicks offer the Minnesota Timberwolves?

Most of the Knicks’ roster is on contracts that should be tradeable. The problem is, most of the Knicks’ roster is overpaid for what they provide on the court.

In the backcourt, Elfrid Payton ($8 million), Frant Ntilikina ($6.1 million), and Dennis Smith Jr. ($5.6 million) are all overpaid. Payton is the only one who came close to providing actual on-court value, and Ntilikina is the only one with any semblance of upside.

Wayne Ellington ($8 million) and Reggie Bullock ($4.2 million) are both probably movable, but not exactly bargains.

As for the overpaid players, there’s Julius Randle (two years, $38.7 million) and Bobby Portis ($15.7 million team option). Then there’s old friend Taj Gibson, who was again quite solid and only has one year and $9.45 million left on his deal.

So, where the value? The Knicks have a couple of tradeable players with upside in Kevin Knox, who has two years left on his rookie deal before he would need to be extended. RJ Barrett was disappointing as a rookie but just turned 20 years old.

Basically, we’re down to Knox and Barrett with true trade value, plus Payton, Ntilikina, Gibson, and maybe Ellington and Bullock with non-negative, throw-in value.

What draft assets could the New York Knicks offer the Minnesota Timberwolves?

The Knicks have the No. 8, No. 27, and No. 38 picks in this year’s draft. According to Tankathon.com, they hold the fourth-most draft capital in 2020. The Wolves are No. 1.

The Knicks also have all of their future first-round picks, plus the Mavericks’ first-rounders in 2021 and 2023 (top-10 protected in 2023).

That’s a lot of picks to trade, there’s no denying that. The problem, however, is the lack of value in the Mavericks picks, and especially in 2021.

While the Wolves desperately want to trade back into the loaded 2021 draft, picking up a Mavericks pick sure to be in the mid-to-late 20s is not all that attractive. Getting picks in 2023 doesn’t help Gersson Rosas in the near term, either.

Along those same lines, the No. 27 pick in this year’s draft won’t be all too attractive for the Wolves, either, who already have No. 17 and No. 33 in their pocket.

The New York Knicks could get the No. 1 pick from the Timberwolves, if…

The only way that a deal is getting done between the Knicks and the Wolves is if another team gets involved.

Minnesota doesn’t want to pay Julius Randle $37 million over the next two years. Taj Gibson doesn’t fit their system. Knox isn’t enough to get it done, and the Knicks aren’t likely to entertain trading Barrett, anyways.

In the event that the Knicks are willing to trade the No. 8 pick, plus their selection in 2021 along with Knox and maybe another pick, the Wolves would probably at least pause before hanging up the phone. But the Mavericks picks aren’t needle-movers, and a needle-mover is exactly what the Wolves need if they’re going to move off of the No. 1 pick.

If the Knicks find a third team to send some additional assets Minnesota’s way, then this could get done.

But if not, keep dreaming, Knicks fans. LaMelo Ball won’t be in a Knicks uniform any time soon.