Anthony Bennett, the top pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, has been placed on the trading block by the Minnesota Timberwolves as first reported by ESPN.
It will be recalled that last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers dealt 2015 top rookie pick Andrew Wiggins and Bennett to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Love.
Despite being made the first overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, Bennett never really lived up to the hype and was a big disappointment.
He has had health and weight problems in his rookie season, leaving the 22-year-old Canadian from UNLV riding the bench in his rookie season.
With the T-Wolves, Bennett hardly made any impact as well. His only shining moment came on November 21, 2014 when he scored a career-high 20 points in a team loss to the San Antonio Spurs (121-92).
Bennett tried to trim down to try and recall the form that made him a favourable pick back in 2013 but apparently there is still a lot of work ahead if he is to survive the NBA style of play.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are set to select first overall in the coming 2015 NBA Draft. The consensus is that the T-Wolves will be picking up either Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor.
With Bennett being placed on the trading block, Towns will likely be the top overall pick this year.
Towns is known for being a defensive player and such should bring the necessary toughness that coach Flip Saunders sorely needs. Towns’ offense is however something that would need to be sharpened and surely the T-Wolves assistant coaches together with NBA vet Kevin Garnett will help hone out his offensive repertoire.
Since news broke out that the T-Wolves were placing Bennett on the trading block, no team has been linked so far.
Based on his performance so far, the belief right now is that Bennett could be a hard player to shop out. He continues to struggle since his entry in 2013 and chances are the UNLV alumnus will have to find a way to trim down his weight and look to improve on facets of his game.
At 22, Bennett can still improve but the question now is which team (and coach) would take on the challenge.
One thing going for Bennett is that he is still young and can still improve. He showed he had extra ordinary talent during his college days so it may all depend on how Bennett.
If he can recall that form that convinced the Cavaliers to draft him in 2014, he can be a force to reckon with. Aside from that, he stands to redeem himself and prove critics wrong who consider him one of the top rookie flops the NBA has ever had.