As we have reached the All-Star break, the Minnesota Timberwolves own a 34-22 record, good for sixth-best in the Western Conference. They are just 1.5 games out of third, though, so there’s a lot of playoff seeding to play for over the last 26 regular season games.
While the team is focused on doing its best in the 2026 postseason, the 2026 NBA Draft is approximately 4.5 months away. In his recent mock draft written earlier this month, Christopher Kline of FanSided.com has the Timberwolves selecting point guard Braden Smith out of Purdue with their first-round pick.
Braden Smith is an elite collegiate passer
All season, the point guard has been seen as a position of need for Minnesota. The starting lineup is without a true lead guard. The team traded for Ayo Dosunmu last week, but he is more of a combo guard. Rob Dillingham was involved in that trade to the Chicago Bulls after he never showed the second-year growth expected of him.
Bones Hyland has been a pleasant surprise off the bench, but he will be a free agent after the season. When Mike Conley returns, the 38-year-old will be brought back on a deal that goes through just this season.
After drafting two centers last year, point guard is going to be a popular position choice for who the Wolves select in 2026 mock drafts. Kline chose Smith as his selection in his mock draft for Minnesota. Not many draft prospects go to school for four years nowadays, so the 22-year-old (turns 23 on July 25) could be more NBA-ready than most due to his experience playing in the Big Ten. In his blurb on Smith, Kline writes,Â
"Size and age will persuade a lot of teams to look elsewhere, but Braden Smith offers a mixture of feel, skill and competitiveness that should afford certain front offices the ability to think outside the box. Minnesota's need for backcourt help is well-documented and Smith has the bonafides of a day-one contributor. He's the best facilitator in college basketball, with preternatural poise and vision working out of pick-and-rolls. He's also converting a high volume of 3s and generating tons of steals on the other end. "
"Smith will get picked on in isolation as a defender — there's no way around it — but his smarts and energy make up for a lot. If he's even passable on that end, it's hard not to envision him becoming at least an effective bench captain in Minnesota. The dude just makes teammates better, and the scale of his production for a very competitive Purdue team has gotten progressively harder to ignore over the years. He has led the Big Ten in assists per game in three straight seasons. Minnesota could find its new floor general in lieu of Mike Conley."
Smith is averaging 8.8 assists per game, second in the nation behind Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. (9.1). The Boilermaker guard is connecting on 41.9 percent of his 3-point tries this season and is at 39.9 percent for his 4-year collegiate career.
So, why is such a passing savant and excellent outside shooter projected to be selected so late in the first round? Well, it’s his lack of size. Smith is listed at 6-foot, 170 lbs. according to the Purdue men’s basketball website. That could limit his ceiling and make it tough for him to be a high minutes player.
Purdue is currently ranked 13th with a 20-4 record, but they are expected to move up after a thrilling overtime victory over #7 Nebraska on Tuesday. In that contest, Smith nearly had a triple-double (13 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists). A lengthy NCAA Tournament run for Smith and Purdue could improve his stock and cause him to be selected before Minnesota gets a chance to grab him.