Minnesota Timberwolves: 2021 NBA Draft target at every possible landing spot

The Minnesota Timberwolves have a 27.6 percent chance of having a draft selection in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Of course, that means that there’s a 72.4 percent chance that they don’t have a pick at all, but it’s not all bad news. If the Wolves do have a selection, they’ll be picking in the top three of an extremely loaded draft.

Let’s take a look at the optimal selection for the Wolves at each of the first three picks in the upcoming draft.

Minnesota Timberwolves 2021 NBA Draft target at No. 1: Cade Cunningham

If the Timberwolves are fortunate enough to cash in on a nine percent chance to pick first in the draft, then they’ll be faced with a much easier choice than they were last year, when they had to pick between Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball.

This year, Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham is the clear-cut top player, and on most boards, he’s in a tier all by himself and it isn’t particularly close.

Sure, Cunningham will be most effective with the ball in his hands, but that’s almost a prerequisite for anyone that would be picked first overall in any draft. Yes, the Wolves already have D’Angelo Russell and Edwards to initiate offense and new head coach Chris Finch has shown the desire to run a majority of half-court sets through Karl-Anthony Towns, but passing on Cunningham is essentially a non-possibility.

Cunningham is a big wing with a well-rounded skill set. He can score from anywhere on the floor yet still function with the court vision and passing ability of a point guard. Think Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but with a bit more natural scoring ability.

Perhaps the biggest plus here is that Cunningham is also already NBA-ready in two areas where the rest of the Wolves wings are deficient in one (or both) places: 3-point shooting and defense.

Cunningham knocked down 40 percent of his 3-point attempts at OSU and is already a plus defender both on and off the ball. With the Wolves, Cunningham would draw assignments against big opponent wings while they could use Josh Okogie on smaller scoring wings or hide Edwards against less dynamic wing opponents.

There really isn’t an obvious downside to Cunningham’s game besides general refinement, which is to be expected from a 19-year-old after just 27 games at the collegiate level.

If the Wolves get the No. 1 pick, they’ll be best-served to pick Cunningham and figure it out later. A lineup of Russell, Edwards, Cunningham, Jaden McDaniels, and Towns would be virtually unstoppable on offense and competitive defensively as well. It would also make Malik Beasley into a valuable trade piece or dangerous sixth man.

Perhaps this goes without saying, but landing the No. 1 overall pick would be an absolute boon for the Timberwolves.