The Timberwolves late-season success will hurt Golden State Warriors

Prior to the 2020 NBA Trade Deadline, two teams at the bottom of the Western Conference made a blockbuster trade. The Golden State Warriors sent D’Angelo Russell and a plethora of other players to Minnesota while bringing back Andrew Wiggins and a top-three protected pick.

The Timberwolves currently have the league’s six-worst record, and that’s going to produce a pick outside of the top five. With the NBA Draft lottery the way it is, there is a chance it sneaks into the top-four picks, but that’s a long shot.

The Golden State Warriors own the Minnesota Timberwolves first-round pick, and it’s looking more and more likely that it will land outside the top five.

The Timberwolves haven’t been great over the last few seasons and barely made the playoffs with Jimmy Butler in town. Now, they have the future of their franchise with Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and Russell.

Knowing their pick will more than likely head to Golden State, they have no reason to tank.

Teams like Detroit, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Orlando and Houston are all among the worst in the league. Orlando traded their two key players while Houston and Oklahoma City won’t have their best players for the remainder of the season.

At the same time, the Wolves, while they won’t improve above that sixth-worst record, they are playing good basketball and at full strength. As of Sunday night, here’s how that pick may look on draft night. This is especially important considering the Wolves ranking should stay put.

"“The Timberwolves ended Sunday with the NBA’s sixth-worst record. If it ended the season in that spot, Minnesota’s pick would have an 11.2 percent chance of being No. 4 overall and a 0 percent chance of finishing No. 5. That, essentially, would give the Warriors slightly better than a 1-in-10 chance of picking in the top five,” NBC Sports’ Marcus White wrote."

The Wolves have Detroit, Denver, Boston and Dallas left on the schedule. While losing out could mean the Wolves end with the fifth-worst record in the league, they should be favorites to beat the Pistons.

Minnesota’s late-season success is why they’re in the position they are. They’ve won six of their last ten while the Thunder and Rockets have just one win in that span. The Wolves are the only bottom-six team with a plus-.500 record.

They were at the bottom for most of the season, and that was exciting for the Warriors. But, Karl-Anthony Towns is made sure they didn’t stay at the bottom. KAT has been averaging over 25 points per game over the team’s last ten games.

As a Warriors fan, that should be painful to read, but knowing what’s been going on in his life, you can really only hope the best for the young star.

That said, the Warriors may have a top-five pick, but in this upcoming draft, even a top-seven pick should allow the Dubs to get a high-ceiling prospect. While the hope may have been for Jalen Suggs, a player like Moses Moody may also be an ideal fit.