A rumor making the rounds Monday night and Tuesday is that the Minnesota Timberwolves are shopping Derrick Williams in order to move up in Thursday's NBA Draft, according to an article from The Pioneer Press.
On Tuesday -- after the Pioneer Press article was published -- news broke that the Timberwolves traded their lone first-round pick, No. 18 overall, to acquire Houston Rockets forward Chase Budinger.
From the Pioneer Press:
The Wolves' critical need in the offseason is to land a productive shooting guard -- either in the draft or free agency. If the Wolves do not move up in the draft, they likely will miss out on the top prospects at that position, including Florida's Bradley Beal, Connecticut's Jeremy Lamb, Duke's Austin Rivers and Dion Waiters of Syracuse. All four are projected to go among the first 10 or 15 picks.
Washington's Terrance Ross, a 6 foot 6 sophomore, is one player the Wolves were hoping would be available at No. 18, but strong workouts over the past two weeks have dramatically increased his status to a potential top 10 pick.
Williams, who the Wolves drafted No. 2 overall last summer, averaged 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in about 22 minutes per game as a rookie. He was the only Minnesota player to appear in every game.
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