We are just over a month away from the NBA Draft (Nov. 18), where the Wolves have the No. 1 overall pick for just the second time in franchise history.
The first time they had it in 2015, they wisely chose franchise big man Karl-Anthony Towns. At that time, they were clearly at the start of a long rebuild after winning just 16 games the year before. The duo of KAT and Andrew Wiggins was much-hyped, but major success never materialized.
A single playoff appearance — helped greatly by Jimmy Butler — and a single playoff game victory was quickly forgotten as Butler left town and eventually was followed by Wiggins at last year's trade deadline.
Five years after the Wolves last had a crack at anyone they wanted in the draft, they are again in an obvious rebuild. But their circumstances are different.
They are trying to build around Towns and D'Angelo Russell, the top two picks from that 2015 draft, and timelines are different when your projected cornerstones are in their mid-20s instead of below legal drinking age.
Combine that with the notion that there is no sure thing at the top of the draft and there emerges the notion that the Wolves might trade the top selection instead of keeping it.
It's rare for a top pick to be dealt before playing for the team that held the pick; the last time it happened, in fact, was when Wiggins came to the Wolves in 2014.
But this year, it's a intriguing combination of something rare being perhaps more likely to happen than not — at least according to betting markets.
