The Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder completed a trade with each other during the 2020 NBA Draft— featuring the No. 17 pick and Ricky Rubio.
As first reported by The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski, the Timberwolves and Thunder discussed and completed a trade centered around Minnesota sending Oklahoma the No. 17 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft for Ricky Rubio and picks No. 25 and No. 28.
The Thunder have made it clear they are not interested in holding onto veteran players as they enter a rebuild. Trading away Rubio to a team looking to win-now like the Timberwolves makes the most sense, especially to gain a better draft asset.
Oklahoma City ended up selecting Aleksej Pokusevski with the No. 17 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft— aligning with the organization’s long-term approach. He has legitimate playmaking and shooting potential but needs to add a lot of weight to his frame.
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The Timberwolves could involve Ricky Rubio as the lead guard for the bench, or potentially move D’Angelo Russell to the two-spot. With Anthony Edwards being the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, it seems more like the former is more likely than the latter.
It’s clear the Minnesota Timberwolves need to do what they can to win-now by surrounding Karl-Anthony Towns with helpful contributors. Meanwhile, it’s rebuilding time for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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