There’s a 99.9% Chance Timberwolves Trade #1 Overall Pick

Minnesota Timberwolves POBO, Gersson Rosas, has done a lot of interviews, since winning the #1 overall pick for the upcoming NBA draft a couple weeks ago. He’s clearly been chatting with basketball heads over at The Athletic, while making his media rounds.

Earlier this week, The Athletic’s national draft guy, Sam Vecenie, slid LaMelo Ball up his draft board all the way to #1. Sam admitted in the article, that Ball’s rise was one of the biggest reasons for updating his board. That must mean Vaceni has some hot info linking the Wolves to Ball, right?

Wrong.

The Wolves are going to think of this pick as an asset that could be moved in the future, even if they have to use the pick and if the player doesn’t quite fit with this core.

So who do they rate as the top player? No one is particularly sure at this juncture. But my guess is Ball makes a lot of sense as the guy they think has the highest upside.

Sam Vecenie – The Athletic

In Other Words…

If Gersson Rosas is forced to pull the trigger on someone come draft night, Vecenie is leaning toward Ball because he has the highest upside, as far as future trade value. In other words, we’d be looking to “Andrew Wiggins” LaMelo out of town.

Even before he talks about Ball at #1, Vecenie starts by qualifying his move. In summary, he doesn’t think there’s much of a chance the Minnesota Timberwolves actually make this pick. Sure, whoever is drafted might wear a Wolves hat for some pictures we can make fun of later. That will be the extent of his Minnesota career, however.

First, there is a feeling around the league that Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas will explore every conceivable option with this pick, including a multitude of trade options. Not only has Rosas already proven himself to be one of the more aggressive heads of basketball ops in the NBA, but also the executive team in charge is also one of the more creative ones in executing deals. Remember: the team’s vice president of basketball ops, Sachin Gupta, created the damn trade machine on ESPN. I would not be so sure that the Wolves end up making this pick at No. 1. At the very least, they’re going to see if anyone is willing to meet whatever they set as their asking price.

Sam Vecenie – The Athletic

New Era

It’s going to take a little while before I get used to how aggressive Gersson Rosas is. Whenever reminded of the front office Rosas has put together and what he’s accomplished in his short time here, hope creeps in. Could the Wolves really swing a blockbuster for someone like Devin Booker…?

It almost seems like one of those — “anything they put their minds to” — kind of things. That’s a blog for another day, though.

What Does Jon Krawczynski think?

Vecenie isn’t the only writer at The Athletic, who is being led down the trade path by Rosas and the Minnesota Timberwolves front office. “One of us”, Jon Krawczynski seems convinced that’s the route Gersson is heading too.

The conventional wisdom won’t stop Rosas, Gupta and the Wolves front office from exploring the market. With three picks in the top 33, they have plenty of ammunition to try to move around. Whether he was in Houston or Minnesota, Rosas is used to being the one burning up the phone lines trying to trade up in the draft. You can’t get any higher than No. 1. Now that he is sitting on top of that mountain, he is liking the view.

Jon Krawczynski – The Athletic

Earlier this week, Gersson Rosas talked to Christopher Hine of the Star Tribune. During the interview, he couldn’t stop talking about how worthless this #1 pick was, when compared to what the Wolves already have in Towns and Russell. Now, every NBA writer at The Athletic is convinced the pick will be traded.

So, fuck it. Let’s see some fireworks and see where the dust settles.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan