NBA Rumors: 5 draft day trades Minnesota Timberwolves should make

April 5, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) is congratulated by guard Ricky Rubio (9) after making a basket while being fouled against the Golden State Warriors during overtime at Oracle Arena. The Timberwolves defeated the Warriors 124-117. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

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Can the Timberwolves add to their already young and talented crew?

The Timberwolves enter the 2016 draft at a crossroads. With a stockpile of young talent and a new head coach in Tom Thibodeau who was hired in April, Minnesota is hoping they’re close to putting a team on the court good enough to end the league’s longest playoff drought.

While a handful of teams have multiple selections in this year’s draft, the Timberwolves are not one of them. However, they do sit in an enviable position with their one and only selection, slated to pick fifth overall on Thursday evening.

History dictates that a team is likely to get a good, potentially franchise changing player, at the fifth spot. The likes of Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Mitch Richmond, Vince Carter, Dwayne Wade, and more recently DeMarcus Cousins in 2010, were all drafted fifth overall. In fact, the Timberwolves themselves have struck gold a few times at number five, drafting Kevin Garnett in 1995 and Ray Allen in 1996.

Past trends are nice to look at, and can make for good fodder leading up to draft day. However, the reality is we don’t know which prospects taken next week will turn into NBA stars and which will disappear into the land of busts-ville.

With only one selection in this year’s draft, and future picks tied up or traded away already, Minnesota would have to do their wheelin’ and dealin’ on draft day creatively. Despite the lack of draft picks, the Timberwolves have two valuable assets to bargain with in today’s NBA, cap-space and young inexpensive talent.

The Timberwolves franchise and their fan-base are ready to put the last decade or so of poor basketball behind them. With emerging star Andrew Wiggins and reigning rookie of the year Karl-Anthony Towns there to build around, Minnesota may want to strike while the iron is hot and make a draft day trade that makes them a better team immediately.

Here are five draft day trades the Minnesota Timberwolves should make.

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