Minnesota Sports Forum

My first choice was to trade down and pick Okongwu, Vassell, Patrick Williams or Deni Advija - depending on how far down we ended up and who/what else we could get in return. So I'll be watching those four over the course of the season. Okongwu is out with a bad toe, so we don't have anything on him yet. Thus far, the other three look pretty good in very limited preseason and regular season action.

My second choice was to take Wiseman at #1. His combination of elite length and athleticism gives him a high floor as well as a high ceiling in my view. And I think we needed another big more than another wing. Nevertheless, Edwards has always intrigued me with his tantalizing combination of athleticism, size for his position and skill set at such a young age. And I was relieved we ended up with him instead of LaMello Ball.

So far, Edwards has been impressive. Watching him up close in his short time here has made it clear that he's nothing like Andrew Wiggins. Edwards has swagger and intensity that we never saw from Wiggins. As we already knew, he's also a much better ball-handler and more skilled than Wiggins. I remember seeing flashes of some really good passing/playmaking skills from Edwards watching his college highlights. He has shown those same flashes in his limited action so far with the Wolves. I like that Butler's his favorite player. That tells you something about the kind of player Edwards wants to be and you can do far worse than wanting to be like Jimmy Butler, a two-way all-star who plays with intensity, plays to win and makes his teammates better.

There's a long way to go for all these young rookies. Based on what we've seen so far, I still would have preferred to trade down for one of the four I mentioned or take Wiseman at #1. But from what we've seen of Edwards so far, I'm excited to have him here and I won't be surprised if I ended up being thankful that the Wolves ignored my advice and took Anthony Edwards at #1. :)

Upon reflection of all the ups and downs this franchise has had in relation to draft picks I think it all boils down to tangible basketball skills and great physical characteristics. Wiggins by all accounts was deficient in the basketball skills and got by on superior athleticism. Edwards is a great athlete and streaky shooter, that is where the comparisons should have ended. Both Edwards and Wiseman had great basketball skills and physical profiles. I think both will be solid NBA players. At draft time I gave the slight edge to Edwards. Im glad we got a player that can get shots up off the bounce. We needed it with our one dimensional wings.

I watched last night's game with my son and nephew, both of whom also have followed the Wolves over the years, so they cast a similarly leery eye toward rookies. But Edwards made our collective jaws drop a couple times. We all collectively almost lost it when he pulled the Dirk one-footed mid-post fadeaway for a hoop. That was basically the cherry on top of what had been a series of impressive plays.

We've been burned so often by high-lottery rookies that it's hard for me to get too excited, but there is no question Edwards has a massively high ceiling if he continues to work on his game and his body.

Q12543 wrote:I watched last night's game with my son and nephew, both of whom also have followed the Wolves over the years, so they cast a similarly leery eye toward rookies. But Edwards made our collective jaws drop a couple times. We all collectively almost lost it when he pulled the Dirk one-footed mid-post fadeaway for a hoop. That was basically the cherry on top of what had been a series of impressive plays.

We've been burned so often by high-lottery rookies that it's hard for me to get too excited, but there is no question Edwards has a massively high ceiling if he continues to work on his game and his body.

Ha, I'm glad mine wasn't the only jaw that dropped!

One of the reasons Edwards was an easy choice for me at #1 (even though I think Wiseman will be very good and, with Chriss now out, the odds-on favorite for ROY), is I was eager to see how his offense would elevate without 3 defenders hanging on him. With shooters like KAT, D-Lo and Beasley out there, he's never going to be double teamed- at least not at 19, maybe later. He said it himself after the second game- the game seems much easier to him in the pros than it was at Georgia. And not being the only offensive option has greatly improved his shot selection. He's not shy by any means, but he seems to largely be focusing on threes and drives...this guy is good enough to not need the mid-range game.

Q12543 wrote:I watched last night's game with my son and nephew, both of whom also have followed the Wolves over the years, so they cast a similarly leery eye toward rookies. But Edwards made our collective jaws drop a couple times. We all collectively almost lost it when he pulled the Dirk one-footed mid-post fadeaway for a hoop. That was basically the cherry on top of what had been a series of impressive plays.

We've been burned so often by high-lottery rookies that it's hard for me to get too excited, but there is no question Edwards has a massively high ceiling if he continues to work on his game and his body.

I didn't intend to watch the replay, but now I think I have to.

TheFuture wrote:

Q12543 wrote:I watched last night's game with my son and nephew, both of whom also have followed the Wolves over the years, so they cast a similarly leery eye toward rookies. But Edwards made our collective jaws drop a couple times. We all collectively almost lost it when he pulled the Dirk one-footed mid-post fadeaway for a hoop. That was basically the cherry on top of what had been a series of impressive plays.

We've been burned so often by high-lottery rookies that it's hard for me to get too excited, but there is no question Edwards has a massively high ceiling if he continues to work on his game and his body.

I didn't intend to watch the replay, but now I think I have to.

Still think the best play that made me go out crap. Is when he drove at Gobert and
Pushed Gobert back going to the rim.

jester1534 wrote:

TheFuture wrote:

Q12543 wrote:I watched last night's game with my son and nephew, both of whom also have followed the Wolves over the years, so they cast a similarly leery eye toward rookies. But Edwards made our collective jaws drop a couple times. We all collectively almost lost it when he pulled the Dirk one-footed mid-post fadeaway for a hoop. That was basically the cherry on top of what had been a series of impressive plays.

We've been burned so often by high-lottery rookies that it's hard for me to get too excited, but there is no question Edwards has a massively high ceiling if he continues to work on his game and his body.

I didn't intend to watch the replay, but now I think I have to.

Still think the best play that made me go out crap. Is when he drove at Gobert and
Pushed Gobert back going to the rim.

All this and...he looks like he already knows how to play defense. Oh and that left handed pass on the break wasn't too shabby either.

monsterpile wrote:

jester1534 wrote:

TheFuture wrote:

Q12543 wrote:I watched last night's game with my son and nephew, both of whom also have followed the Wolves over the years, so they cast a similarly leery eye toward rookies. But Edwards made our collective jaws drop a couple times. We all collectively almost lost it when he pulled the Dirk one-footed mid-post fadeaway for a hoop. That was basically the cherry on top of what had been a series of impressive plays.

We've been burned so often by high-lottery rookies that it's hard for me to get too excited, but there is no question Edwards has a massively high ceiling if he continues to work on his game and his body.

I didn't intend to watch the replay, but now I think I have to.

Still think the best play that made me go out crap. Is when he drove at Gobert and
Pushed Gobert back going to the rim.

All this and...he looks like he already knows how to play defense. Oh and that left handed pass on the break wasn't too shabby either.

That pass was awesome, I think he is already proving he needs more minutes. I have only watched the first two quarters, but our wings keep me excited. The defense seems terrifying, and I am loving the ball movement. I was questionable on the DLo trade, but Cam was right. The guy makes shots.

Still looking forward to that slam on Gobert, Jester.

Heres a question. Would you prefer:

Wiggins, Wiseman and next years 1st round
or
DLo and Edwards

TheFuture wrote:

monsterpile wrote:

jester1534 wrote:

TheFuture wrote:

Q12543 wrote:I watched last night's game with my son and nephew, both of whom also have followed the Wolves over the years, so they cast a similarly leery eye toward rookies. But Edwards made our collective jaws drop a couple times. We all collectively almost lost it when he pulled the Dirk one-footed mid-post fadeaway for a hoop. That was basically the cherry on top of what had been a series of impressive plays.

We've been burned so often by high-lottery rookies that it's hard for me to get too excited, but there is no question Edwards has a massively high ceiling if he continues to work on his game and his body.

I didn't intend to watch the replay, but now I think I have to.

Still think the best play that made me go out crap. Is when he drove at Gobert and
Pushed Gobert back going to the rim.

All this and...he looks like he already knows how to play defense. Oh and that left handed pass on the break wasn't too shabby either.

That pass was awesome, I think he is already proving he needs more minutes. I have only watched the first two quarters, but our wings keep me excited. The defense seems terrifying, and I am loving the ball movement. I was questionable on the DLo trade, but Cam was right. The guy makes shots.

Still looking forward to that slam on Gobert, Jester.

Not a slam just attacking the chest of Gober to the hoop. It's very Harden like.