Hottest Timberwolves Trade Rumors Heading Into Draft Night

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Photo: Elizabeth Flores - AP

The Minnesota Timberwolves still hold the number #1, #17, and #33 picks for tonight’s NBA Draft (7:00 PM CT). They also have player assets like Jarrett Culver, James Johnson, and Jake Layman. It seems inevitable that some type of trade will occur tonight, but nobody knows what Gersson Rosas has planned.

Here are the most likely trade scenarios for the Wolves, given the stream that is flying around the rumor mill on Wednesday afternoon.

1. The Wolves move down two spots in a trade with Charlotte.

I wrote about this possibility a couple days ago and it still seems to be the most likely option here. The Hornets seem to really want Wiseman and for that to happen they may have to jump Golden State. In order to get that done the Wolves would likely just require a bench asset such as Miles Bridges.

The Wolves would then be able to take the remaining player between Edwards and Ball or continue to trade down. The options are wide open.

2. Making a big deal with Boston.

The Celtics have just recently emerged into the rumor mill and they reportedly want to get into the top three. The Wolves could trade the #1 overall pick to Boston OR, there are also rumblings of them trading back to #3 first and then making a deal with Boston for that pick. Here is what a hypothetical trade could look like.

If the Wolves make this trade then they would hold picks 14 and 17 in the first round and could try to package those to jump back up into the lottery. Marcus Smart would be an excellent addition to this Wolves, if this is the route they go. His agent is also a Minnesota guy, according to Darren Wolfson (KSTP).

3. Using the later pick(s) to acquire a solid veteran.

There aren’t many solid veterans widely known to be available, but there are a couple out there. One name that sticks out is P.J. Tucker from the Houston Rockets. If they’re blowing it all up and trading James Harden then Tucker is probably the next one out. He shouldn’t be hard to acquire if the Wolves want him badly enough.

I’m probably underestimating what it will take for Rosas to land those two players, but maybe not. Both are on expiring deals and McLemore didn’t even get 12 minutes per game in the playoffs so they certainly don’t love him in Houston. I’m out on this if Houston asks for a first, but this is a deal that could get done.

4. NEW: Trading #1 to Chicago Bulls

This one just dropped on the rumor mill early this afternoon and it doesn’t say anything about Zach LaVine but how can you do any dealing with the Bulls and not bring Zach back home to Minnesota?

We talk about building around KAT and how family matters. LaVine and Karl are best friends and he never should have been traded away in the first place. (This is my favorite so far – Eric)

So Much Unknown…

There’s some steam involving Aaron Gordon and the Wolves but that doesn’t seem as likely as what I listed above. It’s also possible Rosas actually stays put at #1… which would go against everything we’ve discussed on this website.

There’s also been steam in the last couple of weeks that involve the Timberwolves trading to double dip this lottery, but that seems more unlikely at this point.

Will Gersson Rosas pull out some super crazy moves that no one has even remotely been expecting? Almost certainly. Everything the Minnesota Timberwolves have done leading up to this draft has been purposefully shrouded in mystery. It’s going to be a crazy afternoon and an even crazier night.

As soon as something does go down, we will have instant reaction right here at MinnesotaSportsFan.com.

Cooper Carlson | Minnesota Sports Fan

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