Wiggins/Zach or ANT/McDaniels ?

[thedoper]

Who's your promising youthful duo?

Its fun to have some intriguing talent on the team again. McDaniels is a real wildcard and may only ever be a bouncy big. I think Ant will be an all star one day, though he may never reach the scoring efficiency numbers that Zach is putting up right now.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I know I'm going off the rails with my answer, but my promising duo without hindsight was Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine. I claimed LaVine was going to be the better player out of him and Andrew Wiggins sometime during their second seasons and was high on Towns long before he even declared for the draft. I thought those two would become a very dangerous duo. Obviously, we never really got to see what it could have been, but that was the most promising young duo in Minnesota for me over the last decade or more.

I'm optimistic and hopeful about what Anthony Edwards and/or Jaden McDaniels can become and it's not difficult to imagine what they can blossom into if everything goes right. I just don't have the same confidence with them that I had with Towns and LaVine as young players.

[thedoper]

I know I'm going off the rails with my answer, but my promising duo without hindsight was Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine. I claimed LaVine was going to be the better player out of him and Andrew Wiggins sometime during their second seasons and was high on Towns long before he even declared for the draft. I thought those two would become a very dangerous duo. Obviously, we never really got to see what it could have been, but that was the most promising young duo in Minnesota for me over the last decade or more.

I'm optimistic and hopeful about what Anthony Edwards and/or Jaden McDaniels can become and it's not difficult to imagine what they can blossom into if everything goes right. I just don't have the same confidence with them that I had with Towns and LaVine as young players.

I dont think that is off the rails. Lavine has really become a top notch scorer.

[Lipoli390]

Great question, Doper.

Those who've been on this message board for a long time know that my view is identical to Cam's. I was really high on the potential of a KAT-Zach duo and really disappointed when the Wolves traded Zach. I think that was the most promising duo this franchise has had since the KG-Marbury duo in the 90s.

Having said that, I like the promise of the Edwards-McDaniels duo. I agree with Doper that Edwards looks like a future all-star if he continues to develop as he has so far this season and shores up his perimeter shooting. While he probably won't match Zach's scoring efficiency, he should improve in that area and also become a better defender than Zach. He's also physically stronger than Zach and can eventually bully defenders in a way Zach never will. McDaniels is intriguing. I love how wrong I appear to have been when I criticized the pick. Wildcard is the right term for him. I'm convinced that he'll be an effective bouncy rotation forward at a minimum. But I'm also convinced that he has the potential to be a lot more, possibly a future all-star. I knew about his length and athleticism coming out of college. What has surprised me is his skill level and basketball IQ. He seems to have a really good feel for the game on both ends of the court. I also like his energy and competitiveness - things that were questioned by some pundits leading up the the draft.

So I'm with Doper in viewing the Ant-McDaniels duo as intriguing and exciting. But like Cam, I consider the KAT-LaVine duo the most promising this team has had, at least since the KG-Marbury duo in the 90s. I wish we had been able to see either of those duos (KAT-LaVine or KG-Steph) grow together with the Wolves.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

In Anthony Edwards' last 10 games -- and first 10 games as a starter -- his numbers are clearly better than when he was coming off the bench and may provide more reason for optimism.

31.5 MPG (10 GP, 10 GS)
16.6 PPG
43.2 FG% (6.4 FGM - 14.8 FGA)
33.3 3P% (2.0 3PM - 6.0 3PA)
78.3 FT% (1.8 FTM - 2.3 FTA)
.525 TS%
4.7 RPG
3.2 APG (0.9 TOV)
0.7 SPG
0.6 BPG

Obviously, you'd like to see the scoring efficiency continue to get better -- specifically from three-point shooting and free throw attempts -- but there's no doubt he's been better lately. He also hasn't been turning the ball over, which is always a good sign.

I still think he settles for his jumper more than I'd like, but that's mainly because I see him becoming a tough player to defend when he consistently attacks the hoop. He has such an intriguing blend of physical size, strength, athleticism, and coordination when he does get to the rim. He's been showing off the left hand finishes every game it seems, though I would love to see more strong takes with the right. Those possessions should end in a bucket and/or free throw(s) more times than not as he gets better and better.

In summary, Edwards might be turning the corner in his rookie season. He might be figuring it out.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I'd say at the time of their rookie year, I was cautiously optimistic about LaVine and Wiggins. LaVine definitely had just an absolutely pure stroke and rose up with ease to get jumpers off, whereas Wiggins was a handful when going downhill. But the flaws that were there as rookies - Zach's defense and turnover rate and Wiggins' motor - made it hard for me to go all in on either guy. Let's just say I had some reservations.

I'd say I feel the same about Edwards as I did with LaVine and Wiggins. I'm still not convinced he will ultimately be the type of efficient two-way star we could desperately use on the wing. And it may take years to find out given how young he is. I'm certainly feeling better about him now than a month ago. Check back in another month and I may hate the pick again!

McDaniels was a lower 1st round pick, so the bar is a bit lower and so far he has easily jumped over it. Will he ever be as good as LaVine or Wiggins? Well, he's currently light years ahead of either defensively compared to when they were rookies. Offensively all he has to do is hit the open 3 and he will be an extremely valuable player for the Wolves. Whether he can be a top scoring option like Wiggins and LaVine is a different question and hard to discern with him. Certainly he has the potential.

[rapsuperstar31]

Hard to say at this point, will have a clearer picture over the next year or two. I do like Ant and Mcdaniesl quite a bit, but I also like Wiggins and Lavine quite a bit early on. Really wish we would have drafted the guy I wanted most at 17 Saddiq Bey instead of trading for Rubio and traded back into the late first to still get McDaniels. That trio would have been a hell of a draft.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

We also have to remember that Edwards has probably hurt our team performance a lot more than he helped. I mean, he uses a TON of possessions really inefficiently. I think we all knew this going in - that he needed to get reps and had a lot of potential, but was highly unlikely to be a plus player on the season. That has absolutely played out so far. He is also improving, which is good.

[Lipoli390]

We also have to remember that Edwards has probably hurt our team performance a lot more than he helped. I mean, he uses a TON of possessions really inefficiently. I think we all knew this going in - that he needed to get reps and had a lot of potential, but was highly unlikely to be a plus player on the season. That has absolutely played out so far. He is also improving, which is good.

That's true, Q. And as you said, it's no surprise that Ant has probably hurt more than helped the Wolves since even the best rookies tend to hurt their team's performance. One silver lining in the Wolves poor showing so far this season is that it has opened the door to more time for Ant and McDaniels. I would actually be content with the situation now if we had our two 2021 draft picks. I like the talent and trajectories of Ant, McDaniels, Nowell and Vando. Because of that, I could rest easy missing the playoffs again in this weird Covid season if I knew we still what will certainly be a high lottery pick and a high second-round pick in this year's talent-laden draft.