There have been a bunch of rumors going around the association up until the draft. Still, nothing drastic will likely happen until the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga hopefully ends on or before draft night.
One of the rumors that the Minnesota Timberwolves have been attached to is Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, who is on the trade block with the Grizzlies entering rebuild mode, and him having a down season.
It's no secret that the Wolves need another ball handler and initiator. Simultaneously, the Julius Randle experiment was a flop, and it's all but a guarantee that he's playing for a different team next year. As of right now, Randle doesn't make much sense in Memphis, but there is an avenue via the draft that could make the fit more sensible.
The Jazz need to draft Cam Boozer -- paving the way for the Grizzlies to draft Darryn Peterson
Most mock drafts have the Utah Jazz taking Peterson, and then Boozer will fall to Memphis at three. If the Grizzlies get Boozer, then they really wouldn't have any need for Randle or a spot for him to play. Carlos Boozer, Cam's dad, is in the Jazz scouting department, so if he can pull some strings and get the Jazz to take his son second, Memphis will then have a big hole at power forward.
This would then cause the Grizzlies to take Peterson, the best player available, at third overall. Adding Peterson to an already clogged guard room between Morant, Ty Jerome, Scotty Pippen Jr, and Walter Clayton Jr will certainly create pathways for trades, specifically Morant.
Ja Morant for Julius Randle and matching salary could benefit both sides
In this scenario, the Grizzlies aren't able to select their dream forward, so instead they trade a distressed asset in Morant to the Timberwolves, who need to take a chance on a buy-low star that fills a need.
While the Grizzlies certainly don't need Randle, he would be the best player on their rebuilding team, and it's a perfect situation for him to build his value up to potentially be flipped to a different team at the trade deadline.
As of now, the Grizzlies are likely getting minimal to zero draft capital for Morant, but if Randle plays well there for half of a season, maybe they could get some capital for him? It's too early to tell where Utah's head will be on draft night, but if they draft Boozer, it could open a real pathway for the Timberwolves to finally land a franchise point guard.
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