Will the Timberwolves keep their No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, or trade it? Usually, if a team has the first pick in the entire draft, they use it. But exceptions happen. Here’s the Star tribune noting what one betting site’s odds suggest on the matter:
They are trying to build around [Karl-Anthony] Towns and D’Angelo Russell, the top two picks from that 2015 draft, and timelines are different when your projected cornerstones are in their mid-20s instead of below legal drinking age.
Combine that with the notion that there is no sure thing at the top of the draft and there emerges the notion that the Wolves might trade the top selection instead of keeping it.
It’s rare for a top pick to be dealt before playing for the team that held the pick; the last time it happened, in fact, was when Wiggins came to the Wolves in 2014.
But this year, it’s a intriguing combination of something rare being perhaps more likely to happen than not — at least according to betting markets.
Online bookmaker Sports Betting Dime this week put the odds of the Wolves trading out of the No. 1 spot at 4 to 5 — better than even money. Adding to the intrigue, the site listed Anthony Edwards (3 to 2), James Wiseman (3 to 1) and LaMelo Ball (7 to 1) as the most likely No. 1 picks — hardly a consensus.
If a team with the draft’s first pick loved two or three prospects fairly equally, it makes perfect sense for them to consider trading down a slot or two, just to see what they can get in return.
