NBA Draft 2013: Minnesota Timberwolves Won’t Trade Up Due to Lack of “Impact Players”
By Josh Hill
There have been plenty of trade talks over the last few days surrounding teams at the top of the NBA Draft and one of those teams is the Minnesota Timberwolves. But while there have been talks about the Wolves moving up in the draft to a higher position, Flip Saunders put an end to that notion when he said there just aren’t the types of impact players available that would warrant the price Minnesota would have to pay to movie up from the ninth overall slot.
Saunders: "There r good players, but no impact players. What I mean by that is there won't be any All-Stars in two years out of this draft."
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) June 24, 2013
This seems to be a change of heart for the Wolves as they looked to be ready to move Derrick Williams to get a guy like Shabazz Muhammad or Victor Oladipo. But Muhammad’s stock has imploded and Oladipo looks to be the first guard off the board.
Saunders did mention in recent days that the team is looking for shooting guards but according to a report, Saunders is looking at any and all positions save for point guard.
C.J. McCollum happens to be a point guard that the Wolves could draft, as he himself has been selling his talents to the Wolves as a combo-guard, something they may covet. What Minnesota wants is a prolific scoring option to put in the backcourt alongside Ricky Rubio and to pair with star Kevin Love. McCollum could be that guy but we truly won’t know what Minnesota is thinking until they’ve already made their pick.
But for once in a long while, that’s not at all a bad thing.