Why Pick 33 in the NBA Draft May Be More Valuable to Wolves Than Pick 28

On the surface, it's a trade that may be hard for some to understand. On Monday night, the Wolves sent Julius Randle — their starting power forward and a former All-NBA player — to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a three-team trade. In that deal, the Wolves also sent the 28th pick in this draft to Brooklyn for pick 33. They moved down five spots and dumped Randle's salary, getting nothing else in return (except for Mouhamadou Gueye, who they immediately waived).

We've already covered some of the main reasons for the trade. It brought the Wolves the financial flexibility to re-sign Ayo Dosunmu and make future additions. It may be addition by subtraction, considering Randle's inconsistency and what this means for Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid's roles.

Another element that's worth discussing is that the 33rd pick may actually be a more valuable asset for Minnesota than the 28th pick was.

How does that work? Well, all first-round picks are subject to the rookie wage scale. There are set values for each specific pick. Teams can offer between 80 percent and 120 percent of that value, but virtually every first-rounder gets the 120 percent number. The contracts are four-year deals with the first two years guaranteed and then two team options, followed by restricted free agency.

Last year's No. 28 pick, Hugo Gonzalez, signed a four-year, $14.3 million contract with the Celtics that came with $5.7 million guaranteed in the first two years. His cap hit was around $2.8 million as a rookie.

Second-round picks are not subject to the same parameters. Teams can sign second-rounders to any sort of contract, and they're usually a lot less favorable than first-round deals. They often contain little guaranteed money, if any. Many of them are two-way deals. Plus, the new CBA created second-round pick exceptions, which allow teams to sign players to three or four-year deals without immediately dipping into their cap space or using avenues like the mid-level exception.

Last year's No. 31 pick, Rasheer Fleming, signed a four-year, $8.7 million deal and made the rookie minimum salary ($1.27 million) in his first year. Other than Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner, who went with picks 33 and 34 to the Hornets, every other player in the early second round made the rookie minimum last year. That's less than half of what Gonzalez made as the 28th pick.

Of course, if the Wolves keep the 33rd pick, they'll have to wait and watch five players come off the board after their original 28th selection. But there's not much difference in the kinds of players who will be available at those two picks. They should get a very similar caliber of prospect on a more team-friendly contract.

One real concern is what Tim Connelly said about the second round last year, when the Wolves held the 31st pick but ultimately traded back to 36 and then again to 45, where they took Rocco Zikarsky. Connelly said the second round has become "agent-driven" and said there were a bunch of deals done before the round even began. That'll be something the Wolves will have to navigate, but perhaps they'll be more prepared for it this time around. In theory, they should be an appealing destination for a player early in the second round.

Because it's a valuable asset, the Wolves could also look to package the 33rd pick and something else to move up higher than 28 in Tuesday night's first round.

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