The Minnesota Timberwolves enter the 2022 NBA Draft with the 19th, 40th, 48th, and 50th overall pick. That is quite a haul for the team if they elect to use all four draft picks to select a player. Perhaps too many, as the Minnesota Timberwolves are more focused on improving for the 2022 NBA season than on developing players for 2024 and beyond.
Of course, many NBA Mock Drafts ignore that fact and have compiled a list of 60 prospects for the NBA teams scheduled to make that pick. Exactly how much stock do you give NBA Mock Drafts?
Well, one such mock by Pippen Ain’t Easy writer Austin Carroll has attempted to circumvent the bias that is inherent with one person’s take on the NBA Draft. In his own words:
"“These are the mock drafts we used to formulate each prospect’s average draft position: ESPN CBS SB Nation The Ringer Bleacher Report The Athletic Pippen Ain’t Easy’s Expert Mock Then, these average scores were weighted based on team needs. Additionally, if a majority of experts picked a specific player to go at a certain draft position, that was taken into account in order to identify potential team fit and prevent the list from just looking like a generic big board.”- per Austin Carroll of Pippin Ain’t Easy"
So what did he come up with? Well, as discussed earlier, he has compiled the consensus for the Minnesota Timberwolves at each of their selection. And at each pick, he has the player who most frequently appeared for the Timberwolves selection at that pick.
While you may or may not agree with all of these picks, there is a certain amount of intrigue with them. For starters, the Timberwolves’ frequent picks may place the team in a position to grab a highly regarded player at a ridiculously low pick. But even more likely, the Minnesota Timberwolves could be quite active trading picks. So let’s see who the ‘experts’ have the Minnesota Timberwolves picking in the 2022 NBA Draft.