Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 prospects to target at No. 17 in NBA Draft
By Ben Beecken
Let’s take a look at three prospects the Minnesota Timberwolves should target with the No. 17 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have the No. 1, No. 17, and No. 33 picks in the 2020 NBA Draft.
The No. 1 pick gets all the attention, and rightfully so; we still don’t know who the Wolves will pick first overall.
But the No. 17 pick is extremely valuable in a draft that has serious depth, no matter how many question marks there are at the very top of the draft board. Let’s take a look at three players who have a realistic chance at being on the board at No. 17 that would be perfect fits in Minnesota.
Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 prospects to target at No. 17 in 2020 NBA Draft
First, let’s acknowledge that the Wolves are likely going to do what they can to move this selection, and ideally for either existing NBA talent or a 2021 draft pick.
Remember, next year’s draft is loaded with talent and the Wolves traded both their first and second-rounder to Golden State prior to the 2020 trade deadline. And it’s already been reported that the Timberwolves are dangling that No. 17 plus other assets in a trade for a rotation-caliber player.
The criteria for the exercise is fairly simple.
We’re not going to consider players who are consensus top 10 or so players. To make things even more clear, here is a list of guys who are off the table because they’re practically guaranteed to be gone by the middle of the first round.
- LaMelo Ball
- James Wiseman
- Anthony Edwards
- Obi Toppin
- Onyeka Okongwu
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Deni Avdija
- Killian Hayes
- Isaac Okoro
- Devin Vassell
- Patrick Williams
That’s 11 players that are off the table. The three that we’ll actually profile today may well still be gone before No. 17, but there’s at least a realistic chance that they slide just a bit further.
Also, we’re not going to consider players that are consistently mocked in the bottom 10 of the first round or into the second round.
Without further ado, let’s look at the three players the Wolves should target at No. 17.