What do you do with the number 1 pick?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Trade down. Take Wiseman if we can't pull a trade off.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I'll start out. I'm taking Wiseman and it isn't close for me the more I sit on it. I've made arguments for Ball and Edwards in the past and gone back and forth and ultimately I just want to do what Stan Van Gundy said. I'm gonna form a fucking wall at the rim with two 7 footers and make you beat me with 26 ft jump shots. I'm telling my perimeter players to sell out contesting shots on the perimeter with the intention to funnel those offensive players right into 2 7 footers at the rim. The league is about dunks/layups and 3's and I'm just full sending at stopping the shots in the paint from being efficient and if I lose to 20+ 3's made by hot shooting so be it. I would have loved to have kept Covington in this scenario and had a huge front court of 6'9/7/7 but I'll have to figure out something else at the 3 spot. Rather than consistently trying and failing at getting elite switchable wing players that are extremely rare in this league I'm doubling down on making life a nightmare at the rim and limiting possessions by grabbing every board.

I believe this is how the Bucks defend, with essentially Lopez and Giannis being "the wall". Lopez especially became the poster-child for drop coverage defense. They would willingly give up 3's, BUT they would try to funnel the shot to the opposing team's lesser 3-point shooters while being more diligent with their better shooters.

One thing both these guys (KAT and Wiseman that is) have to do better at (and Dieng had this exact same damn problem) is learning how to wall up verticaly and stay the f*%ck down on pump fakes. Unfortunately, this is one of Wiseman's weakpoints - he easily bites on fakes. We've seen how difficult this is to pound out of people's heads, especially those who are super athletic and never had to learn how to defend in their younger days through smart positioning and using their inherent length (like Lopez). Hell, Naz Reid might actually be a more advanced paint defender than KAT or Wiseman right now based purely on the fact he doesn't leave his feet every damn time and is hard to push around.

Either way, while I agree Wiseman should be our pick if we don't trade down, I think he is a year or two away from being worth much defensively. It's going to take time.

[Wolvesfan21]

Trade down if you get good value. Otherwise if Wiseman impresses in interviews and workouts then take him, if he is the clear cut best player then you can't pass him up. So I voted trade down but with a caveat. I guess it could be the same thing for Edwards too. Seeing how these guys have progressed or not since the long lay off would be a major factor.

[FloriDuh [enjin:13427829]]

To quote the famous line by Patrick Henry, he once said, "Give me Wiseman, or give me death!"

Say the Wolves draft Wiseman. And he turns out to be the next Whiteside with the same skill set.

Is this a good or bad thing for the Wolves?

Edit: Yes, Wiseman has the same skill set as Whiteside, but with a better motor and competitive spirit. I am just trying to see if Wiseman at center can fit next to Towns.

[Wolvesfan21]

Unless Wiseman shows real potential to stretch the floor, defend in space, be able to dribble drive well, I do not see Rosas ever drafting him. He never played, well him and Ryan, Dieng and KAT together. So unless the big can do much more non big things, like playing more like a SF/PF then he won't be drafted. He doesn't I don't think have to be like GIannis of course, but he has to be at least show promise in some SF/PF things. I don't think KAT is a great PF fit either, not prototypical anyways, defensively of course.

I think trading down or taking Edwards are probably the likeliest things to happen right now.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Unless Wiseman shows real potential to stretch the floor, defend in space, be able to dribble drive well, I do not see Rosas ever drafting him. He never played, well him and Ryan, Dieng and KAT together. So unless the big can do much more non big things, like playing more like a SF/PF then he won't be drafted. He doesn't I don't think have to be like GIannis of course, but he has to be at least show promise in some SF/PF things. I don't think KAT is a great PF fit either, not prototypical anyways, defensively of course.

I think trading down or taking Edwards are probably the likeliest things to happen right now.

That's not what this thread is for. What would you do with the pick? Put some flesh in the game. What they're likely to do is different than what some of us what do if we had that opportunity.

[FloriDuh [enjin:13427829]]

I see what you are saying WolvesFan.

Admittedly, I follow the Twolves players, but little of any other NBA player. I see the stat sheet for Whiteside, and I'm like Holy Moly.

But I guess there are many more flaws to his game than his stat stuffing rebound average.

Because as I see Wiseman, I see him limited as an offensive player, but maybe he can be the transcendental defensive center.

[Lipoli390]

In a perfect world -- where the Wolves can't acquire an All-Star player for their picks -- they'd draft James Wiseman first overall and use some combination of 17, 33, Omari Spellman, Jacob Evans, and Jarred Vanderbilt to move up in the draft to nab Devin Vassell.

That's a perfect world. I'd lose my mind if that were to happen.

That may not be a perfect world, but it would be a dam good one.

[Wolvesfan21]

Unless Wiseman shows real potential to stretch the floor, defend in space, be able to dribble drive well, I do not see Rosas ever drafting him. He never played, well him and Ryan, Dieng and KAT together. So unless the big can do much more non big things, like playing more like a SF/PF then he won't be drafted. He doesn't I don't think have to be like GIannis of course, but he has to be at least show promise in some SF/PF things. I don't think KAT is a great PF fit either, not prototypical anyways, defensively of course.

I think trading down or taking Edwards are probably the likeliest things to happen right now.

That's not what this thread is for. What would you do with the pick? Put some flesh in the game. What they're likely to do is different than what some of us what do if we had that opportunity.

I honestly don't know, I haven't even studied these guys at all beyond a youtube highlight clip. If I do make any sort of concrete move I will put skin in the game. I would love to be a fly on the wall during workouts and interviews though. For me anything would simply be a guess right now.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Penny Hardaway is admittedly biased, but here's what he had to say about James Wiseman and where he should go in the draft:

"So to me, he's the No. 1 pick overall, and that's Minnesota," Hardaway continued. "Him and Karl-Anthony Towns, they could work really well together. They would be unbelievable two-some with the way the league is going now. They're both mobile, they're both active. I think that will be a difference-maker having two rim-protectors and guys that are highly, highly skilled on the perimeter."

Link: https://sports.yahoo.com/t-wolves-draft-james-wiseman-011340462.html