Report: The Minnesota Timberwolves Have Won The Lottery And Are Projected To Draft Anthony Edwards Or Lamelo Ball. Should Minnesota Draft A Player Or Trade It Away For Another Star?
In the last decade, the Minnesota Timberwolves managed to get the first pick in the NBA draft in 2015, where they selected Karl Anthony Towns. In the 2014 NBA draft, Kevin Love was traded to the Cavaliers in exchange for the first pick in the 2014 NBA draft, where they selected Andrew Wiggins. So far in his career, Karl Anthony Towns has been successful as he is a 2x All-Star and an All-NBA player. Unfortunately, Andrew Wiggins, who was supposed to have been the next face of the NBA, never panned out and instead became an overrated role player who needed 20 shot attempts to average 25 points! Even though he is only 25 years old while being on a brand new team, the probability of him becoming an All-Star calibre player is unlikely. The truth is, the so-called “maple mamba” had a chance to become one of the best players the NBA has ever seen but lacked the work ethic and the desire to do so. From his leaping ability to his natural scoring touch entering the draft, Wiggins had the tools to be the saviour of a broken organization and even showed glimpses of it. Instead, he regressed as a player throughout the years, which granted him a max-contract! This is why the Timberwolves are currently for sale despite their future duo of D’Angelo Russell and Karl Anthony Towns.
Despite all the mistakes that this organization has made over the last few seasons, their cloudy days of never making the playoffs and being tossed around the league like a dirty rag are starting to end as they currently possess the number one pick in the 2020 NBA draft! Depending on what they can do with this pick, their organization could change permanently! However, what is the best option for the Timberwolves, and why?
Should Minnesota Trade This Pick For Another “Star”
In the 2018 NBA draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves decided to trade Zach Lavine, Kris Dunn and the rights to Lauri Markkanan to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for a year of Jimmy Butler. Even though Butler would end up leaving this team with a massacre, his tenure with the wolves would end up being the most successful they have ever seen since Kevin Garnett won his MVP award! Their drought for missing the playoffs felt like an endless fall with no landing, but thankfully Jimmy Butler came to save the day and end their curse. The cost of this was extreme, considering that Zach Lavine has become an absolute knock-out in Chicago while Lauri and Kris have been solid additions for the Bulls depth.
This trade was one of the worst trades in recent NBA history. The Timberwolves traded away three valuable assets that they could have used as rotational pieces or even traded away to get even better assets. If this trade never occurred, the starting five in Minnesota, depending on if no trades were made would have been Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine, Andrew Wiggins, Lauri Markkanan, and Karl Anthony Towns! Although this team would not make the playoffs in the Western Conference, their future would be brighter than what it is.
Minnesota made this mistake once and missed out on a valuable asset with promise. Lauri Markkenan may not have had a great season this year, but that was because of Jim Boylen’s use of him. Instead of out-lying his strengths on the floor, he forced Lauri to become a stretch big, which is not his game. Lauri can make three-pointers, but he is no Dirk Nowitzki or Kristaps Porzingis. If Minnesota had him, they would be a much more completed team instead of a team of two stars with many holes. This season, the Timberwolves have a chance to draft and develop a future All-Star. Whether that player is Anthony Edwards or Lamelo Ball, they are in no rush to be title contenders and shouldn’t even think that they are even close to that target, especially in the Western Conference. Minnesota has many things that they need to fix before entering this mindset and shouldn’t rush their process like they did in 2018. Sure, Jimmy Butler led the Timberwolves to the third seed at one point in the season for a long time, but the organization problem was that they solely relied on his success. When he went down with a significant injury, Minnesota couldn’t win a game if their life depended on it and regressed to the eighth seed! This was when Jimmy realized that this organization was a one-man show and decided to force the organization to trade him away. Hopefully, Minnesota learned their mistake and will instead look to draft a player. With the Timberwolves already having a star center and point-guard, what player should they consider picking?
Anthony Edwards Or Lamelo Ball?
This NBA draft is not like the previous one, where Zion Williamson was the unanimous first pick in the draft! Instead, anyone in this draft who is projected to go top-five has the argument and chance to be named the first pick! The only question is, who would fit the Timberwolves the best?
With the NBA being led by a guard orientated league, the Timberwolves would most likely attain a guard instead of a forward or center, leaving James Wiseman as a lower pick in the draft. As far as the best forwards go in the draft, Minnesota’s best options would be Obi Toppin, Onyeka Okongwu, Deni Avdija and Isaac Okoro. In contrast, the best guards would be, Anthony Edwards, Lamelo Ball, Killian Hayes, and Tyrese Haliburton. All eight of those players are terrific prospects, but the best asset that a team can have in modern-day basketball is having a guard that can shoot, play-make, and defend the perimeter. With Edwards and Ball being projected to go top-three alongside Wiseman, the Timberwolves, in theory, have a choice between two players. Who would be the better fit? Lamelo Ball or Anthony Edwards?
Since his tenure in Chino Hills, Lamelo Ball has been worldwide to play the sport that he loves. From NBL to his father’s league, Ball took a different route to his basketball career and managed to be eligible for the NBA draft despite not playing in the NCAA. The advantage that Ball has compared to Edwards is that he has overseas experience while playing with other professional athletes. As Luka Doncic stated, playing basketball overseas was much harder than the NBA as the mental toughness and aggressiveness are much more prominent than the NBA. Lamelo has that experience and has developed into a top prospect for any team. His shooting touch may be inconsistent at times, but if he can establish a proper IQ for shooting the basketball while exhibiting maturity, then Ball can become one of the best players to come out of this draft. The only hole he has in his game is defence, something that Minnesota needs if they want to be successful.
Anthony Edwards is one of the best defenders coming into this draft alongside Tyrese Haliburton. Edwards can dribble the ball, has a terrific work ethic, great athleticism, and IQ. His only weakness was shooting the three-pointer as he was below average in the NCAA with the Bulldogs. However, Edwards is the better fit overall in Minnesota due to his perimeter defence and ability to get open. With D’Angelo Russell most likely being the first shooting option for Minnesota, this team desperately needs defence considering that both Russell and Towns are below-average defenders. His shooting is an issue, but it isn’t something impossible to fix. Many players in NBA history have entered the NBA as mediocre shooters and are now average or above-average shooters. Some players that fit this criteria include Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Lebron James, Derrick Rose, and Blake Griffin.
In the end, Minnesota has the opportunity to make or break their franchise. If they decide to trade it for a star, the chances are that they might make the same mistake with Jimmy Butler due to them rushing this pointless narrative of competing for a championship. If Jimmy Butler was still on this team with everything else remaining the same, this team would still not be classified as a contender and would instead be at best a first-round exit! The Timberwolves’ best thing that they can do is to draft a player that can help them win in many years to come. Minnesota is still a young team and is in no rush to win a championship. However, what if they traded this pick for Devin Booker? Would it work?
