What would an NBA draft trade between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Hornets look like?
The NBA Draft is now less than a week away, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are exploring all of their options.
The Timberwolves will have one of the busiest front offices in the NBA after capturing the first pick in this year’s draft. Reiterated in his conversation with The Athletic (subscription required), Wolves GM Gersson Rosas has been open about his desire to explore all options relating to the pick: “We’re going to knock on every door and we’re going to have a conversation with everybody.”
The may use the pick, trade the pick away completely, or trade down.
One of the teams most often linked as a potential trade partner looking to move up in the draft has been the Charlotte Hornets. Multiple reports, including a recent report from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, indicated that Charlotte is keen on selecting James Wiseman, the 7-foot-1 center out of Memphis.
The Hornets hold the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft, and their ability to draft Wiseman will likely be contingent on the intentions of the Golden State Warriors, who hold the No. 2 pick. Charlotte likely doesn’t believe the Wolves would take Wiseman at one given the presence of Karl-Anthony Towns, but the Warriors are a realistic suitor for Wiseman.
As a team with no established center, Wiseman could assume an immediate role for Golden State alongside Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. If the Hornets are indeed locked in on Wiseman and believe that Golden State may take him, they would be a prime candidate to trade up for the Wolves’ first overall pick, a pick that Gersson Rosas is looking to shop.
The other piece of this is that the Gersson Rosas has said publicly that they had not yet settled on a clear choice at the No. 1 overall pick. If this is true, the Wolves may be able to trade down and still be able to acquire the player they are after, whether it’s LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, or someone else.
A move to trade down in the draft could allow the Wolves to draft their desired player while also gaining additional assets, which would be a win-win for the organization.
With that said, let’s take a look at what a draft trade involving the Timberwolves and Hornets might look like.