How Beasley suspension impacts Warriors' 2021 draft picks

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As the Warriors continue to monitor the development of the Minnesota Timberwolves as it pertains to the 2021 NBA Draft, more rough news is coming out of Minnesota.

The NBA has suspended Wolves guard Malik Beasley for 12 games for conduct "stemming from charges in offseason," the league announced Thursday. 

Beasley is having a tremendous season, scoring 20.5 points per game on 40.6 percent shooting from 3-point range.

The Warriors own Minnesota's top-3 protected 2021 pick stemming from last February's Andrew Wiggins trade. It would become unprotected in 2022 if Minnesota ends up inside the top three picks after the '21 draft lottery.

If the Timberwolves end up with the worst record, the Warriors would have roughly a 60 percent chance at ending up with the No. 4 or No. 5 draft pick courtesy of Minnesota.

At this point, the Warriors should be rooting for the Wolves to end up with the league's worst record, and hope the lottery balls bounce in their favor. Due to the new flattened lottery odds, the Warriors are much better off with the Wolves having the worst record than the second, third or even fourth-worst.

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Given that the T-Wolves' offensive rating nearly is 12 points higher when Beasley has been on the floor this season, it's fair to assume they could suffer even more with the guard missing 12 games. Minnesota has 39 games remaining in the 2020-21 season.

Beasley was sentenced to 120 days in jail earlier this month after pleading guilty to a felony charge of threats of violence from September (h/t ESPN).

With a number of high-value prospects expected to be available early in the 2021 NBA Draft, potentially having two first-round picks would be huge for the Warriors' front office.

We'll see how Minnesota can weather the loss of one of its top scorers.

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