The Minnesota Timberwolves made two trade deadline moves. One was a salary-dumping of Mike Conley, and the other was trading for Ayo Dosunmu; in both of these deals, Minnesota gave up picks. In the Conley trade, they parted ways with a 2026 pickswap, and in the Ayo trade, they sent out four second-round picks. According to CapSheets.com, here is the complete list of future picks Minnesota owns -- spoiler alert, it's not many.
First-Round selections:
- 2026 (Least favorable Own/Utah/Detroit)
- 2028 (Own)
- 2030 (Least favorable of San Antonio/Dallas)
- 2032 (Own)
Second-Round selections:
- 2026 (Least favorable of San Antonio/Indiana/Miami)
- 2029 (Own encumbered to Utah)
- 2030 (Memphis picks 31-50)
- 2032 (Own)
What does the Wolves' pick situation mean?
As you can see, the Wolves don't have many picks -- which hampers them in any big moves they hope to make. This undoubtedly hurt the Wolves in their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo. I'd also like to note that, per league rules, the Wolves' 2028 pick is the only first-rounder that can be traded before draft day, and it would have to be in a pick swap.
The Wolves gutted most of their draft capital to trade for Rudy Gobert and Rob Dillingham (on draft night). Hey, at least one of these moves worked out.
Now, despite the Wolves' lack of draft capital, they will be able to trade their 2026 pick on or after draft day, and they gain access to their 2033 pick in the offseason. As such, they'll have two more possible trade assets. Of their second-round picks, only their 2029 pick isn't trade-eligible.
In terms of what changed at the deadline, the Wolves gave up four second-round picks to trade for Dosunmu. Some fans might think this was too much, considering Rob Dillingham and Leonard Miller were also dealt. However, for a team that lacks guard depth but has title hopes, this move was worthwhile.
The Conley trade, which involved a pick swap with the Pistons, isn't very impactful. Minnesota's pick was (likely) already going to be in the 20s somewhere. However, now it will be a bottom-three pick as the Pistons are one of the league's best teams.
For a competitive team, picks are inherently less valuable. Still, if the Wolves hope to pull off a blockbuster trade (for Giannis or someone else), their lack of draft capital will be a clear hurdle. Nevertheless, if the Wolves can put together another deep playoff run, I wouldn't lose any sleep over their lack of draft picks.