The Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to make a big move this offseason. However, their lack of draft capital and high payroll will make things tricky. Notably, the Wolves can only trade the No. 28 pick in this year's draft, their 2033 pick, and a 2028 pick swap.Â
As such, it's possible that the Wolves will trade their No. 28 pick either to pursue a star or to save money. During a recent appearance on the Third Apron podcast, Timberwolves reporter Dane Moore spoke about this possibility.Â
"I would assume they trade the No. 28 pick either back into the second-round or for future seconds... So, that would be my guess is that they keep (Julian) Phillips, and he's the 14th man on the team, he's kinda like their rookie next year, and that they get off of that first-round pick either for future draft capital or involved in a draft night trade, attached to Randle, maybe in some sort of move," Moore said.
Moore's comments make it seem likely the Wolves will move off the No. 28 pick, and when further exploring the benefits attached to this move, it's easy to see why he views it as a likely scenario.
Why the Wolves would benefit from trading the No. 28 pick
In either the event of trading for a star or simply saving money, trading the No. 28 pick makes sense.
Sweetening the deal for Kyrie Irving by including the No. 28 pick would be well worth it to bring in an ideal backcourt mate for Anthony Edwards. And frankly, if it's a Randle-centric package for Kyrie or a player in a similar realm of talent, adding the No. 28 pick could be necessary, especially given their lack of draft assets outside of that.
While I don't consider it a strong possibility, the Wolves will certainly target Giannis Antetokounmpo, and if a deal happens, they'd likely have to trade the No. 28 pick.Â
If trading the No. 28 pick is needed to land a star, I think every Wolves fan would be more than fine with that. Nevertheless, the other, less fun reason why they could look to trade the pick would be to save money. Currently, the Wolves are $30 million below the second tax apron, but they have seven free agents, including Ayo Dosunmu, and this projection doesn't factor in their draft pick.
Even if they don't trade for someone like Kyrie, who might require the Wolves to include the No. 28 pick, it's fair to assume that they will chase some level of star, which could force Minnesota to take on some extra money. This, paired with Dosunmu's deal, possibly being pricey, could create a need for Minnesota to make some sort of cost-cutting moves.Â
The No. 28 pick will make $2.9 million next season, but if they trade back even to the early second-round the Wolves could save $1.6 million. In this scenario, the Wolves would still be able to get a borderline first-round talent for a fraction of the price.Â
And if they trade back further into the second-round they could save even more money.Â
In all honesty, these savings might seem minimal, but they could end up making a difference as the Wolves pursue a star. Likewise, I doubt this sounds like an exciting draft outcome for fans, but it could eventually help the team improve its roster.
The Wolves will also have a difficult time giving a rookie sizable minutes, given their title aspirations. Thus, trading back and/or bolstering their future assets could make sense.Â
Ultimately, whether it's to directly land a star or to help save some money to make adding a star achievable, trading pick No. 28 would be beneficial for the Wolves.Â
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