Minnesota Timberwolves: James Wiseman is not worth the risk at No. 1

The Minnesota Timberwolves could take a big swing by picking James Wiseman with the top pick in the NBA Draft.

It’s been a month since the Minnesota Timberwolves won the NBA Draft Lottery, snagging the top overall pick.

Since then, Wolves fans have been driving themselves mad trying to figure out what the team should do with the pick. Most believe the team should either select Georgia freshman wing Anthony Edwards, or trade the pick as part of a package for an established star.

But what would things look like if the Timberwolves swerved in a different direction entirely, and selected Memphis freshman center James Wiseman with the first overall pick?

It seems so long ago, but at the beginning of the 2019-20 NBA season, Wiseman was seen by many as the likely top pick in the draft. What changed in the last 11 months?

Well, Wiseman didn’t get much time to shine on the national stage. Just three games into his freshman season with Memphis, Wiseman was deemed ineligible by the NCAA for payments made to Wiseman’s family by Memphis head coach Anfernee Hardaway.

The top recruit in the country only played three games in college. Wiseman impressed in those outings, averaging 19.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, and three blocks per game in just 23 minutes. Unfortunately, it’s hard to glean any real information from his college performances as Wiseman played against South Carolina State, UIC, and a loss to Oregon.

Wiseman’s huge frame (7-foot-1, 240 pounds) and athleticism make him an intriguing prospect to pair in the frontcourt with Karl-Anthony Towns and create one of the most formidable front lines in the NBA.

The best big men that Towns has ever played with in his five-year career is Gorgui Dieng and a 39-year-old Kevin Garnett. KAT could finally benefit from not having to do all of the heavy-lifting in the post.

Minnesota could use Wiseman initially as just a rim-running center. Minnesota could have and exciting tandem with KAT and D’Angelo Russell running the pick-and-roll, with Wiseman patrolling the baseline, picking up easy dunks, grabbing offensive rebounds, and put-backs.

That would be a good way to bring Wiseman along slowly, while the offense runs through KAT and Russell.

While a frontline of Towns and Wiseman could send the NBA 20 years into the past, the pairing likely wouldn’t be a good fit for the modern NBA.

Wiseman himself doesn’t have many traits of a modern NBA big. His game hinges entirely on dominating in the post. Wiseman can’t venture a shot much past 18 feet, and certainly won’t be attempting many threes in the NBA.

To go along with his limited offensive game, Wiseman dimply doesn’t know what he’s doing on defense. Similar to KAT, Wiseman chases blocks, and it out of position more often than not. Pairing KAT and Wiseman on the floor together would be a disaster defensively for the Wolves, and other teams could score at will in the post.

Obviously, things can change. Wiseman is only 19 years old and who truly knows how much he’s improved since we last saw him play a collegiate game.

But the Wolves would be best to steer clear of pairing Wiseman and KAT together with the first pick, as tempting as that may be.