The Minnesota Timberwolves have been rumored to be open to trading the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft ever since they landed it at last month's NBA Draft Lottery. The latest rumors indicate the players intriguing enough to give up the highest pick in Wolves history are a bit "intriguing" themselves, however.
Javale McGee of the Washington Wizards and Monta Ellis of the Golden State Warriors were the players mentioned by Chad Ford during the ESPN personality's weekly chat session when Marcus in Minneapolis asked Ford "Do you think the TWolves will keep the 2nd pick or trade it?"
"I think they trade. But they won't give the pick away," Ford replied. "I think they're another possible destination for Monta Ellis. I think they're also intrigued if they could swap No. 2 for JaVale McGee."
Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers has also been mentioned, but considering he's on the wrong side of 30 and is owed over $18 million per year through 2014, that seems like it would be a bad option. Better options in this writer's mind, provided they are made available, would be Memphis Grizzlies wing Rudy Gay or Indiana Pacers Danny Granger (which has been rumored for awhile).
It'll be interesting to see what happens over the course of the next two weeks.