NBA Trade Rumors: Knicks, Wolves Among Teams Looking to Trade Down in 2020 Draft

The last three NBA drafts have seen a team in the top five move back via trade. The Minnesota Timberwolves are apparently looking to make it a fourth straight.

Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer reported the Wolves are shopping the No. 1 overall pick, in hopes of landing a player to immediately complement Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell. Minnesota could look to trade back and land a vet.

Town and Russell barely got to play with one another before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the Wolves' season. The good friends and building blocks of the franchise's future could certainly use some immediate help in perimeter defense, and, well, a bunch of other places as well. The roster is mostly barren of plus NBA players besides the two stars.

"We have an open mind as we go through all of this," said president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, per The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski. "We want to do what's best for this organization. And it means being thorough, being diligent and looking at every option. Draft, trade, free agency, whatever the case may be."

The Wolves are far from the only team considering moving back in Round 1, in large part because of the lack of top-end talent in this class. There is currently no consensus for the top overall prospect, with mock drafts being more variant than perhaps any time in recent memory a month out from the draft. Uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has played a factor, but this is mostly a result of no one being quite sold on a ready-made star.

The New York Knicks are another team reportedly looking to trade back. The Knicks have the No. 8 pick but feel strongly enough about Kentucky's Tyrese Maxey they're willing to move back if an opportunity presents itself, per Marc Berman of the New York Post.

This may be an instance of a team getting too cute. Maxey appears to be a borderline lottery pick. If the Knicks like him well enough to take at No. 12 or No. 13, they should just pull the trigger at No. 8. Teams aren't going to be willing to part with much to move up four or five spots in the mid-lottery.

That said, the Knicks floating the idea of trading down further solidifies this draft as one teams are looking into move out of than build their team around.