Derrick Williams has seemingly been a trade candidate since the Timberwolves drafted him second overall two years ago. Still, Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders insists the team is not shopping the 22-year-old power forward, as he tells Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune.
"I haven’t said anything about trading him," Saunders said. "That is something that has been speculative. That’s because last year it was pretty public, it came out of the organization that they were looking to trade him last year. It’s just a lot of speculation from the people, social media, everyone talking about trading him."
A report earlier this month indicated that the team believed Williams could be part of a package to move into the top three picks, but Saunders dismissed that idea. Wolves owner Glen Taylor also told Hartman recently that the team was cool on the idea of trading Williams. Still, rumors have persisted.
"Wilt Chamberlain was traded, guys like Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got traded," Saunders said. "Anyone can be trade for the right price. But [Williams is] not a guy that we’re just out there looking to trade."