NBA Rumors: Timberwolves & Warriors Reportedly ‘Very Open’ To Trading Their Top Picks
With less than two weeks remaining before this year’s NBA Draft, it appears there’s a possibility Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors will trade their top-two selections instead of taking a chance on a rookie class widely considered to be lacking a consensus No. 1 choice.
On this week’s edition of The Putback podcast, SportsNet New York’s Ian Begley and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski discussed their expectations for the November 18 draft, including what the top two teams might do with their picks.
In a video excerpt from the episode that Begley shared on Twitter, which can be viewed here, Wojnarowski explained there is much uncertainty at the top of the draft, with three players — Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, and James Wiseman — all pegged as potential first overall choices.
According to the ESPN insider, the Timberwolves and Warriors are apparently “very open” to trading their respective No. 1 and No. 2 picks if they can “find a deal that makes sense.”
As recapped by Bleacher Report, Ball had a meeting last week with two Timberwolves officials — Gersson Rosas, the president of basketball operations, and Head Coach Ryan Saunders — but did not participate in any on-court activities.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently revealed on The Scoop podcast with Darren Wolfson that Wiseman “does not want to come to Minnesota” because the team already has a top-flight center in Karl-Anthony Towns. This was a rumor Wolfson also claimed to have heard, as he added that the organization will likely look for potential takers for their first overall pick.
Currently, Edwards and Ball appear to be the most probable options for the Timberwolves if they decide to hang on to the No. 1 selection, the outlet added. A previous trade idea suggested the club could use that pick to acquire Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo.
Regarding the Warriors, the publication cited an October 31 report from Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, where he noted the club is still uncertain whether Wiseman has the potential to merit getting picked at No. 2. The former Memphis Tigers big man, however, reportedly “got high marks” during a previous workout with Golden State, with Marcus Thompson of subscriber-only outlet The Athletic noting he is as “big and skilled as advertised.”
So far, there have been multiple trade ideas proposed to allow the Warriors to get a star player for their No. 2 choice. These include a proposed transaction that would send the pick — along with starting small forward Andrew Wiggins — to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for six-time All-Star Paul George.
