Minnesota Timberwolves: “Most” insiders believe Wolves to draft Edwards

ESPN has a report that “most league insiders” believe the Minnesota Timberwolves will draft Anthony Edwards.

We’re still at least six weeks out from the 2020 NBA Draft, but there are plenty of distinct takes on what the Minnesota Timberwolves will do with the No. 1 pick.

The most recent of those takes comes from ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, who has a report that “most” insiders believe that the Wolves will select Georgia wing Anthony Edwards.

Minnesota Timberwolves: “Most” insiders believe Wolves to draft Edwards

Bontemps published a piece this week on the latest draft intelligence that he’s hearing, and that obviously includes both what the Wolves might do with the No. 1 pick and what the Golden State Warriors might do at No. 2.

Of course, what Golden State does will almost certainly impact the trade value of the No. 1 pick, so any conversations that the Warriors are having are relevant to the Timberwolves.

Bontemps first acknowledges that the Wolves would love to land Devin Booker, but that the Suns aren’t going to up for such a trade. Then, he goes on to say this…

"Most league insiders expect the Wolves to take Georgia guard Anthony Edwards, considered the best positional fit among the top three prospects (including National Basketball League guard LaMelo Ball and Memphis center James Wiseman)."

It’s no secret that Edwards is indeed the best “positional fit” of anyone even remotely being considered as a top-three pick in this year’s draft; in order to find an equal fit in terms of position and theoretical skill set, you’d have to look into the mid-lottery at wings such as Devin Vassell and Saddiq Bey, and possibly Aaron Nesmith.

Bontemps is hardly alone in his assessment, either, as many analysts and insiders feel the same way.

But the Wolves don’t exactly have a binary choice. They have plenty of options.

Just because they don’t take Edwards doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll take guard LaMelo Ball, either — although yours truly is on the record as predicting that’s exactly what they’ll ultimately do. Whether or not they end up keeping him on the roster until the start of next season is another thing entirely.

Bontemps goes on to quote an Eastern Conference executive who suggests that the Wolves may be best served to trade back and pick up multiple draft assets with the intention of packaging one or more of them to “an expiring contract to get a player.”

Sound nice, doesn’t it?

Sure, that’s what Timberwolves boss Gersson Rosas wants to do, but it’s never quite that easy. Undoubtedly, Rosas would love to acquire a third star for his roster, or, at the very least, another starting-caliber player who is already on an NBA roster.

In the process, he’d be willing to give up his No. 1 pick and grab a pick in next year’s draft, when the Wolves don’t have one. If that isn’t possible, he’d surely want to trade back in the 2020 draft and pick up a couple of assets on the way.

Regardless, the best-case scenario is certainly not taking Edwards, who has too many major question marks to be a No. 1-overall selection.