shangrila wrote:Out of curiosity, what are you guys' thoughts on the worst case draft scenario where we drop to 7th? That would presumably put us out of the running for Edwards, Ball and Wiseman at minimum with some combination of Avdija, Hayes, Okongwu, Toppin and maybe Haliburton or Vassell being unavailable as well.
Would you trade it? Just draft BPA?
I think trading the pick is very possible, even including if we draft 1st.
It’s generally considered to be pretty rare for the #1 overall pick to get traded, but it has happened more frequently lately with Wiggins and Fultz. Before that you’d have to go back to 1993 and a Chris Webber. In general, the #1 pick has extra value beyond just the player to the team that gets it - it gives the front office the chance to sell hope to a fanbase that generally needs it. The #1 pick headlines all the stories about young talent leading up to the lottery, at the lottery, stories leading up to the draft, at the draft, and gets featured in stories on newcomers before the season starts. This extra publicity helps sell tickets.
Now, MIN is certainly in need of ticket sales, but they are in a pretty unusual position. They can already sell hope based on already adding a young star at the trade deadline, which because of Covid we didn’t get to see much of. In fact, the whole team changed on draft night - they already have change regardless of the pick. Other teams that need that publicity more (say, Charlotte), may be willing to pay a lot for it. Next, despite the team’s youth, it’s quite possible they will be trying for the playoffs, rather than simply rebuilding. The top pick (probably Wiseman, but lots of time for change before the draft) plays the same position as our franchise player. Finally, a new owner might want to trade the pick to add a player he wants.
In general, I am not in favor of trading the pick unless it’s for a pretty special player. I think it will take some time to develop, and we can use a rebuilding season. We also owe a pick next year, so this could be our last chance at a top young prospect for a while. We just need to hope the new administration picks the RIGHT player - something previous front offices have failed at, despite many chances. However, I think realistically there is a good chance that the front office could trade our pick, regardless of where it falls.
