2023 NBA Draft Rumors: Timberwolves 'Making Calls' to Attempt Trade into 1st Round

The Minnesota Timberwolves are reportedly attempting to trade into the first round of Thursday night's 2023 NBA draft.

According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, the T-Wolves have been "making calls around the league to gauge the market and see if there is a chance to move back into the first round," but they have yet to make significant progress on a deal.

Minnesota owns only the No. 53 pick, which comes in the second round, after it sent its 2023 first-rounder to the Utah Jazz as part of the robust trade package for center Rudy Gobert.

Expectations were high for the Timberwolves entering the 2022-23 season, as they added a perennial All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year candidate it Gobert to a core of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell.

Things didn't go according to plan, though, as Gobert's numbers were down significantly compared to what he did in Utah, Towns missed all but 29 games due to injury and Russell was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Despite their issues, the T-Wolves did manage to sneak into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed after winning their way through the postseason play-in tournament.

The 42-40 Timberwolves were able to take one game from the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round, but they ultimately fell 4-1 to a Nuggets team that went on to win the NBA championship.

While Minnesota has back-to-back playoff appearances under its belt for the first time since making it eight years in a row from 1996 through 2004, there is a lot of work to be done to make the Timberwolves true contenders in a stacked Western Conference.

A fully healthy year from Towns alongside Gobert could go a long way toward helping the team improve, especially with Edwards trending toward superstar status.

The T-Wolves' roster is somewhat lacking beyond that, though, especially when it comes to young, developmental pieces.

Minnesota essentially emptied the cupboard in the Gobert trade, and its reported interest in a first-round pick is likely a sign that it wants a chance to develop some complementary pieces alongside Towns, Gobert and Edwards.

The main issue for the Timberwolves is the fact that they don't have many enticing assets to offer in a trade for a first-round pick, meaning getting into the top 30 could be a pipe dream more so than a realistic possibility.