The Minnesota Timberwolves were awarded the first overall selection just one week ago.
Several mock drafts have come out over the course of the past week since the Minnesota Timberwolves won the NBA Draft Lottery and almost all of them agree: Georgia wing Anthony Edwards is projected to be the first overall selection.
While the 2020 NBA Draft is unlike most other years in the sense that there is a set group of players at the top of the draft (last year it was Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, and RJ Barrett), there still is a common theme of one particular player being mocked to the Timberwolves with the first overall pick: Edwards.
It is almost unanimous that this year’s draft class is much weaker than the previous, and even the year before that. However, that does not mean the first overall pick does not carry value.
A core of D’Angelo Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Anthony Edwards is incredibly appealing. However, the team also does have other needs that are going to have to be addressed this coming offseason, such as the defensive side of the court and overall bench – it would not be surprising to see Minnesota move their pick for either more depth or in combination with other assets to obtain another star-level player.
Still, though, as it stands currently, Edwards is likely on his way to Minnesota. SB Nation, NBC Sports, ESPN, and Bleacher Report all have the Timberwolves selecting him.
On the flip side, the other option seemingly would be former Illawara Hawks’ guard LaMelo Ball, who won rookie of the year in the NBL this past season. Selecting Ball, though, would likely mean Russell moves over to the shooting guard position and takes on more of a score-first role rather than also facilitating an offense.
The other (least likely) alternative would be Memphis’s James Wiseman, who only played three games this past year. Wiseman would be an interesting selection if the Timberwolves wanted to improve upon the overall floor of their defense. However, with spacing issues as well as the existence of Towns already on the roster, Minnesota will likely go with one of the more perimeter-centric options – most likely Edwards.