With the clock ticking toward Thursday's NBA draft, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations and coach Flip Saunders was asked Tuesday if the final passing hours are getting interesting in a countdown that will end when Cleveland presumably makes the night's first pick on stage at Brooklyn's Barclays Arena.
"They've been interesting for four weeks," Saunders said.
But now as trade discussions involving Wolves star Kevin Love continue, it reaches an intensity that Saunders likens to throwing pellets into the water where catfish lurk.
"A feeding frenzy," he said.
Whether that frenzy will lead to Love being traded remains uncertain. Yahoo!Sports reported Wednesday that Cleveland pushed for a trade centered on its No. 1 overall pick for Love, but his refusal to agree he'd sign a long-term extension with the Cavaliers killed talks. A league source said discussions with the Wolves never formally received an offer of that No. 1 pick.
If Cleveland keeps that pick, it is expected to select either Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins or Duke's Jabari Parker now that Kansas center Joel Embiid, about as close to a consensus No. 1 pick in a draft once deemed the deepest in years, has had surgery to repair a fractured navicular bone in his right foot and will be sidelined at least four months.
How far Embiid now falls in the draft — perhaps no further than Philadelphia with the third pick or maybe as far as eighth to Sacramento or beyond — will affect the order of nearly every pick until the time comes for the Wolves to select with their 13th overall selection.
That is if the Wolves don't trade up, down or out of the first round by then. If they keep their pick, they'd likely be thrilled if either of the draft's two top shooters — Creighton's Doug McDermott or Michigan's Nik Stauskas — fall to them. Otherwise, they'll pick from a group expected to include UCLA combo guard Zach LaVine, Michigan State power forward Adreian Payne and Michigan State guard Gary Harris.