Their first option is to trade the pick for the shooting guard they need, and there have been discussions with the Toronto Raptors involving the pick and back-up point guard Jonny Flynn, with Demar DeRozan possibly being the piece who comes back to Minnesota. The Timberwolves have also shown interest in OJ Mayo, but he appears to be off the block after playing such a pivotal role in the Memphis Grizzlies' playoff run.
It seems the Raptors would much prefer to send Jose Calderon to Minnesota, with the obvious connection being he would be a mentor for fellow Spaniard Ricky Rubio, but the Timberwolves are not particularly interested in Calderon. In fact, their preferred mentor for Rubio is Steve Nash, but acquiring him seems like a bit of a stretch. Now it seems there may be another back-up plan.
According to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Timberwolves are considering trading Michael Beasley and going ahead and using the #2 pick to draft Williams, assuming he can play the small forward position. That's a real stretch, as Williams is very unlikely to be able to play the three in the NBA. What's more likely is that the Timberwolves are putting this information out there through rumor channels to create the impression that they are thinking about keeping the pick. Perhaps that will help either shake DeRozan loose from the Raptors or create another opportunity elsewhere. Either way, it seems like trading Beasley, who has such a phenomenal season for the Timberwolves last season, is more of a bluff than a real plan.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?STORY_ID=20040
