The Minnesota Timberwolves enter Thursday night’s 2022 NBA Draft holding four selections (one first-round and three second-round picks). This amount of draft capital gives new Minnesota President of Basketball Operation Tim Connelly plenty of firepower and a good amount of flexibility and options to consider. Several reports suggest the Timberwolves are weighing the option to trade one or more of the picks for a more win-now type veteran player.
What does Connelly have to say about his first draft with the Minnesota Timberwolves?
"“It’s always a fun night. It’s super unpredictable, but we feel pretty excited about (draft) night about getting someone to make impactful contributions to the team.” – Timberwolves president Tim Connelly, as quoted by Jace Frederick, Pioneer Press"
So while the possibility of swapping the pick for a more established veteran to come in and contribute has been floating around for some time, with names such as Clint Capela and Rudy Gobert circulating, another option for the Timberwolves that may take place is the option to move up to select one of this year’s draft more optimal talents.
While the Timberwolves pivoting toward a win-now type of roster restocking, there are plenty of solid reasons and long-term benefits for the team to give serious consideration to a trade-up scenario, particularly when considering the young age of the franchise’s nucleus of talent in Timberwolves guard/forward Anthony Edwards, center Karl-Anthony Towns, and forward Jaden McDaniels.
Moving up for different players would obviously demand wildly different returns, so let’s look at three separate prospects worthy of considering a trade-up. The trades may seem to be somewhat optimistic at first glance, but the history of past drafts has taught me that anything is possible (within reason)