Revisiting the top 10 picks of the 2020 NBA Draft, looking at their start to the season and their future prospects.
Welcome back, NBA fans. No, this time I won’t be feverishly pointing out my favorite team’s faults. I need a little break from that. This time I’m going to be revisiting the top of the 2020 NBA Draft. The top 10 picks, to be specific.
This has been a weird year. As condensed as it was, I would call it fair to say these rookies essentially had no training camp or preseason. Now that teams are beginning to take form, we can take a look at rookie progress.
We’re going to discuss their impact so far, their future potential, and more. This won’t necessarily be a ‘they should have drafted this guy instead’ type of piece, but I still may mention an alternative if I see fit. Let’s make like Conor and hit the floor (running in our case…not in his).
Reassessing the top 10 picks of the 2020 NBA Draft
Pick No. 1 (MIN): Anthony Edwards, SG
The Minnesota Timberwolves were put in a bit of a tight spot in this draft. What they really needed was a 3-and-D wing to pair with their offensive stars in D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns. There was not an obvious choice at the top of the draft that suited that need. Wiseman doesn’t fit with KAT and LaMelo next to D-Lo is not something I’d prefer if I were a Timbs fan. So they went with Anthony Edwards, an explosive guard with scoring promise.
So far, there have been flashes of a player worthy of that pick. He has looked comfortable at times on the floor, rising up to hit a three in a defender’s face or crushing the opponents’ spirit with a monster dunk. So far, though, it has just been flashes. Right now his per-game averages are 13.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. His shooting splits are pretty meh right now at .373/.333/.833. He leads all rookies in PPG but out of the 21 rookies playing 15 or more minutes per game, he is 19th in field goal percentage.
His fit on the Timberwolves is a bit curious too. D-Lo, Ricky Rubio, Malik Beasley, Jarrett Culver, and Josh Okogie all need minutes at the guard positions and all are more established than Edwards. Okogie can survive at the three because of his defensive skill set, but the rest would be out of position at the three or beyond. The Timberwolves’ need at the draft has yet to be rectified.
They still desperately need a lanky 3/4 that can play both ends. Even if the guard glut was sorted via trades or injuries the fit is not perfect. Edwards needs the ball in his hands and does not provide much on the defensive end. There is hope for Edwards yet to be a great player, but the makeup of the Timbs is going to have to change in order for that to happen.
VERDICT: Inconclusive. The Wolves certainly did not botch this pick. Maybe you’d rather have LaMelo in the long run or even Patrick Williams as the fit that this roster needed. But Edwards can still pay off. Texting with a buddy of mine who is a long time Timberwolves fan (pray for him), my stance before the draft was always to trade the pick for a couple of good to great players, including the wings that they needed. I still agree with that.