James Wiseman rumor must be the Minnesota Timberwolves blowing smoke

The latest rumor that the Minnesota Timberwolves may take James Wiseman first in the 2020 NBA Draft must simply be the Wolves blowing smoke.

We don’t know who the Minnesota Timberwolves will take with the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

In fact, we don’t know much at all about the top portion few picks of this year’s event.

But what we do know — or, at least, what we thought we know — is something we’ve known for months: Memphis big man James Wiseman is not a fit with the Wolves.

If a recent report is to be believed, however … we’ve been wrong all along.

Timberwolves Rumor: James Wiseman is the Wolves’ target at No. 1 in NBA Draft

This weekend, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman reported that the Wolves are planning to take Wiseman No. 1, regardless of any redundencies with incumbent star big man Karl-Anthony Towns.

Or, according to Wasserman, even if the Wolves don’t take Wiseman, they’ll trade the pick to someone who will.

"Multiple sources have told Bleacher Report the name they keep hearing now for the Timberwolves is James Wiseman. “Some within the Golden State Warriors think Wiseman is going No. 1, whether Minnesota keeps the pick or not,” one source plugged into the conversation said.It’s an intriguing development given the obvious questions about whether Wiseman and Karl-Anthony Towns can play together."

Now, those are two very different things. In fact, Wasserman goes on to say that the Charlotte Hornets, who hold the No. 3 pick, “want Wiseman badly”.

The obvious conclusion to draw is that the Wolves are simply trying to drum up additionally trade interest in the top selection, which to this point has been difficult to do. There have been plenty of reports suggesting that Golden State would take Wiseman at No. 2, and this rumor doesn’t change much other than signal to the Warriors that their preferred guy may not still be on the board.

It’s still hard to believe that the Wolves would actually draft and keep Wiseman. He’s a legit 7-footer without the ability to stretch the floor. Despite his athleticism, Wiseman also doesn’t move all that well laterally, and trying to field a competent defense with both he and Towns on the floor would be difficult, to put it lightly.

Now, the assumed alternatives at No. 1, LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards, also are not good defensively, but they at least fit the roster better in the year 2021 than trying to pair two 7-footers together in the frontcourt.

At this stage, it’s fair to assume that this Wiseman rumor is something of a smokescreen. In fact, on the heels of the Bleacher Report story, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony said that everyone thinks the Wolves will be taking Ball with the first pick.

In other words, nobody knows what’s going to happen yet, and it would be a shock if Gersson Rosas and the Minnesota Timberwolves front office even knows at this point.

But that also doesn’t mean that the rumors won’t continue to get more fascinating as we draw closer to next week’s draft. Stay tuned.