NBA Draft 2020: Top 3 options for Minnesota Timberwolves with No. 1 pick

2. Anthony Edwards

Wing | Georgia | 6’5 | 225 lbs | 19 years old

Picking between LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards (19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists) with the No. 1 pick is admittedly a process of splitting hairs. There is no ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ decision in the selection itself; there is merit to preferring either player over the other, whether a front office is tantalized by Ball’s pick-and-roll mastery or Edwards’s overwhelming scoring dynamism.

However, there are major ramifications with regards to how these individual players are deployed within Minnesota’s offensive structure, and with regards to what the ultimate vision is for each prospect. Ball requires more nontraditional tinkering and schematic resourcefulness, as is expected when finding a balance between the redundant pick-and-roll stylings of Ball and D’Angelo Russell.

But envisioning an offensive and defensive design where Edwards is playing to his strengths while diminishing some of his unpolished traits, at least in the short term, is a far simpler task because of his physical profile and off-ball scoring skillset.

An offense crafted around Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell would cater to their gravity as both scorers and playmakers — a steady diet of pick-and-pops (of the inverted variety), dribble-handoffs, and facilitation from the elbows and pinch post. Most of the creation load will be placed on them, which then requires a supporting cast lined with capable off-ball players who move astutely without the ball and can be relied upon to capitalize on the advantages that these two stars create.

Enter Edwards, who’s at his best attacking tilted defenses as a forceful downhill slasher and off-ball cutter, where he’s able to juke defenders with sound footwork and score at the rack with both grace and power.

Such an off-ball role would also help nudge Edwards toward a more incisive attacking style, both in regards to neutering his preference for high-difficulty jumpers (he attempted far more 3s than shots at the rim, per barttorvik.com) and limiting his shaky decision-making as an on-ball creator.

Though he only shot 29.4% from 3 as a freshman, the results were much better when he shot off the catch and wasn’t tasked with launching off the bounce. And while the defensive side of this equation is still undesirable — Ball isn’t alone with regards to apathy and absent-mindedness — Edwards’ strong 6’5, 225-pound frame, and 6’10 wingspan should make him capable of defending an opposing team’s ball-handler at the point of attack, allowing Russell to be somewhat hidden off-ball.

But in the same vein as Ball, there are real questions about an Edwards-Minnesota marriage panning out, particularly in terms of his freedom to make mistakes as a rookie/sophomore despite Minnesota’s impetus on winning quickly — so that he can grow as a decision-maker and so the front office can determine whether he can be a real primary down the road — and in terms of Edwards’s learning curve as he adapts to playing within a team construct after years of monopolizing the ball.