The Minnesota Timberwolves are without a draft pick in this year’s 2021 NBA Draft. This is a result of the Andrew Wiggins–D’Angelo Russell trade that took place in 2020. This will be the first time the organization will be without a draft pick in team history.

Looking back on the trade, Minnesota should have worked a top-10 protection on their first-round pick. The Golden State Warriors appear to have won this trade so far, but it’s far from over. In five years, the landscape of this move may look completely different.

One part of the trade that went largely unnoticed was the Timberwolves’ moving their 2021 second-round pick. Players selected in the second round are on cheaper contracts and are either veteran collegiate players or boom-or-bust talents.

Minnesota’s most recent second-round picks were Jaylen Nowell and Keita Bates-Diop. Nowell has shown flashes and Bates-Diop played well before being traded in 2020.

The 2021 NBA Draft is littered with talent and Minnesota is likely kicking themselves for not having a pick. Luckily, they can still trade for one. It would be nice to trade into the lottery, but Minnesota doesn’t have the assets to do so.

Realistically, they could trade for a late first or second-round pick. Here are some names they could draft in that range:

• Isaiah Jackson, PF/C, Kentucky
• Isaiah Todd, PF, G-League
• Joe Wieskamp, SG/SF, Iowa
• Greg Brown, SG/SF, Texas

Isaiah Jackson is my least favorite of the five because of his limited offensive potential, but playing next to Karl-Anthony Towns may be a nice fit. As a freshman at Kentucky, Jackson won SEC All-Defense with his 2.6 blocks per game. He only shot two 3s all season, which may be an issue long-term.

Isaiah Todd went the G-League route and played well for the Ignite team. He’s a 6-foot-10, 210 lb. forward, who averaged 12.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.7 blocks. He can stretch the floor, shooting 36.2 percent from 3 on 3.1 attempts per game.

Joe Wieskamp had a lot of success for the Iowa Hawkeyes over three years. He’s a 6-foot-6 guard who can play the two or three and his greatest strength is shooting. In his junior year, he averaged 14.8 points on 49.1 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from 3 on 5.1 attempts.

Greg Brown is a talented player out of Texas but will need to work on his shot if he wants to be successful in the NBA. He shot 42.0 percent from the field and 33.0 percent from 3. He’s extremely talented and would be a great fit running the floor with Russell. To go along with his high-flying ability, Brown can play defense as well.

Minnesota doesn’t have a lot of cap space and drafting a young talented player on a cheap contract would be valuable. The NBA Draft takes place on July 29 and Gersson Rosas will be active on that front.