Mudiay Schedules Wolves, Lakers Workouts, Could Be Top Pick In 2015 NBA Draft

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers, who own the first and second overall picks, respectively, in the 2015 NBA Draft, have both scheduled Emmanuel Mudiay for pre-draft workouts.

Shams Charania of RealGM.com reported the development early Friday, citing an unnamed source claiming that the Timberwolves’ front office, led by general manager Flip Saunders, is considering Mudiay, Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins for the core of the starting line-up.

The Timberwolves have Ricky Rubio, their starting point guard the past season, under contract for the next four seasons at roughly $55 million, but there have been multiple rumors that the Spanish player wants out of Minnesota and that the franchise is willing to trade him at the right price.

In 2014, Mudiay passed up on the chance to play college basketball in the United States and chose the Guangdong Southern Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association. The Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks complete the first five picks in the rookie draft scheduled for June 25, 2015 in Brooklyn.

Mudiay is expected to attend pre-draft workouts with those teams, according to the same report. Other top prospects in the rookie selection include centers Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky) and Jahil Okafor (Duke), guard D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State) and forward Justise Winslow (Duke).

In 12 games for the Chinese club, Mudiay averaged 18.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals. He was one of the most highly touted players out of high school in the United States in 2014.