Clippers own Minny's 2011 first rounder, top 10 protected, and unprotected in 2012. 1. Could Minny trade their 2011 first rounder, the top 10 portion of that first rounder with below top 10 protection, if they own another 2011 or 2012 first round pick free of any constraints? 2. Could Minny trade their 2011 first rounder, with below top 10 protection, if they own some other first rounders that have convoluted top 10, top 12, top 14, or some other top pick protection built in? Reason for my question: As I sift through the 2011 first round draft picks, everyone basically owns their own pick if they are a bad enough team. In other words, they only lose their first round pick to another team if they are good enough to be either in the playoffs, or in the case of Minny, outside of the top 10 in draft order. That Minny pick with just top 10 protection is the only pick that has a remote chance of actually being used by the other team because of the protections built into all the trades. So, why couldn't Morey, for instance, make a trade that included swap rights for 2011 to another team, say Minny for instance. Odds are we will be in the lottery. Minny is going to the lottery. Our pick swap with the Knicks is basically over anyways. They're going to the playoffs. And even if it wasn't, we still own the rights to swap. Could we set up a pick swap agreement with Minny where if their pick is in the top 10 that we have the right to swap our 2011 pick with theirs?
I believe Minnesota has no control over that pick at all right now. The Clippers have the ability to trade it, but it would still be top 10 protected for Minnesota. The deal with "protected" draft picks is that the the team that is owed the pick (in this case, the Clippers) will receive compensation for it somehow. In this case, if that pick ends up as a top 10 pick via the lottery, then Minnesota gets that pick, but they would have to give the Clippers their 2012 first round pick, which would be unprotected. Minnesota does not have the ability to trade their 2012 pick at all.
If Minny got someone else's first rounder, they could trade it around no problem, but still could not trade one of their own. I'm not sure if they could trade their 2013 1st today....it would probably have to be a deal where they trade "the first available" 1st rounder contingent on completing the GSW trade.
No control over it right now. But if they land in the top 10 after the ping pong balls pop, then they have total control over it, don't they? So, why couldn't they trade that right to have total control of that pick if it lands in the top 10?
Because teams can't trade out of the first round two years in a row. If that pick lands in the top 10, then Minnesota would have to give the Clippers their 2012 first round pick. So if the Wolves give up their rights to that top 10 pick there, and they are forced to give up their 2012 first round pick, then they would end up with no 1st round pick two years in a row.
But, if it was a swap, they would have a 2011 first round pick guaranteed. I'm not sure I completely understand the OP, but the impression I get for a previous argument I had with Bima (and lost) is that you can't do nearly as much with trading draft rights as you would think you'd be able to do.
So, if they owned another team's first rounder outright, they still couldn't trade their first rounder? Does the rule apply to their own pick or does the rule apply to trading out of the first round altogether?
