Given the concerns about how the 2020 NBA Draft seems to lack an obvious first overall pick, a recent report suggested the Minnesota Timberwolves could send this year’s No. 1 selection to the New Orleans Pelicans in a deal that would allow them to acquire veteran backcourt star Jrue Holiday.
Thursday morning, Bleacher Report ‘s Preston Ellis wrote it would be in the “best interest” of the Timberwolves to build a competitive team quickly in order to ensure their two best players, center Karl-Anthony Towns and guard D’Angelo Russell, stay with the organization for the long haul. This, he added, would require Minnesota acquire a proven veteran instead of waiting on the development of a first-overall choice that might not even turn out to be a superstar.
According to Ellis, one of the Timberwolves’ best options to land an established star would be to trade their top pick, as well as incoming second-year players Jarrett Culver and Naz Reid and veteran forward James Johnson, to New Orleans. In exchange, Minnesota would receive a package that includes Holiday and the Pelicans’ No. 13 overall selection in the 2020 draft.
“With Holiday, they’d form the perfect complementary backcourt, joining pick-and-roll savant Russell with arguably the game’s best backcourt stopper,” the Bleacher Report writer continued.
“In this deal, they do sacrifice a 2019 top-10 selection in Culver but recoup a mid-first-round pick from the Pelicans, which they can use to add a wing shooter.”
According to his Basketball Reference player page, Holiday continued producing solid numbers for the Pelicans in 2019-20, averaging 19.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.6 steams and shooting 45.5 percent from the field. His team, however, failed to make the playoffs , finishing 13th in the Western Conference with a 30-42 record.
While discussing how the Pelicans could benefit from the recommended trade, Ellis added a caveat, noting the team should only agree to the transaction if they believe this year’s leading rookie prospects could fit in with their system and justify their potential top-pick status. He suggested Georgia Bulldogs guard Anthony Edwards could eventually “[fit] the mold” of Holiday as a two-way star, while Memphis Tigers center James Wiseman could thrive as a rim-running big man alongside last year’s No. 1 choice, Zion Williamson.
Regarding the other components of the offer, Ellis described Reid as an “energetic” big man who could see relevant minutes in the rotation and Culver as a player who has the potential to live up to his top-10 draft status. While the 33-year-old Johnson was mainly included in the suggested package for salary-matching purposes, he was projected as someone who could address the Pelicans’ need for a backup at both forward positions.