During media day on Monday, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards had a viral quote about never believing that he could become a point guard while expressing how excited he is to play alongside LaMelo Ball.
"I feel like I'm a natural two guard, at heart. I never thought I could develop any point guard skills. Finchy harps on me passing the ball, but we got LaMelo, so I'm happy," Edwards said.
After this quote, there was a range of reactions on social media, with some fans calling Edwards one-dimensional, while others said it's a positive that he knows his strengths and weaknesses.
Look, I don't love the part about him saying, "Finchy harps on me passing the ball," but I tend to side with the latter in this debate.
Edwards doesn't need to be an elite playmaker to be a top-tier star
Simply put, Edwards not being able to become a heliocentric-style point guard like Luka Doncic or prime James Harden shouldn't reflect poorly on him. Not everyone is cut out to be a floor general or point guard, and that's fine.
Michael Jordan is arguably the best player of all time; he wasn't a superb playmaker and always played alongside a traditional point guard. Likewise, for Kobe Bryant. You can add Dwyane Wade to this group as well. Not bad company, huh?
When you're as skilled a scorer as Edwards, being a spectacular playmaker isn't necessary. Refer to the names above.
Every star needs some sort of support around him to cover his weaknesses. For Edwards, he needs playmaking, and Ball provides otherworldly playmaking to support him.
And if you're questioning Ant's work ethic because of this quote, I implore you to look at his career trajectory. Few players have continuously improved and added to their game in the way that Edwards has.
With that being said, you have to find other ways to impact the game outside of scoring to be a top-tier player. For Edwards, it'll come down to defense, something he talked about openly at media day. The good news is that Ant has all the tools to be an elite defender, and since he'll no longer be overtaxed on offense, there's a strong chance he fulfills his two-way upside this season.
Basketball is a game of trade-offs. If Edwards continued to have that amount of scoring and ball-handling duties, it would've been impossible for him to be a two-way force. No player can be reasonably asked to create everything for his team and play elite defense for every second of the game. While I've criticized Ant's defense last season, I've always acknowledged this roster context.
Just look at the heliocentric players I mentioned earlier. Luka and Harden are both poor defenders. Both players aren't laterally quick. That's a factor. So is the offensive burden Luka carries now, and Harden did in his prime, though. Some folks could point to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as an outlier, but let's not forget he's surrounded by great defenders.
As long as Edwards can fulfill his two-way upside, it shouldn't matter that he's not a high-level playmaker. Again, every star has flaws they need covered up. So what if Ant needs a playmaker next to him? If he can improve on defense, he'll be just as impactful, if not more impactful, than if he were a great playmaker like Luka. And there's nothing wrong with Edwards acknowledging this.
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