University of Georgia freshman Anthony Edwards was chosen by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the #1 overall pick in Wednesday night’s NBA Draft. Edwards, considered a strong athlete with an explosive burst and high upside, averaged 19 points per game in his only season in Athens. In Minnesota, Edwards will join a team that struggled in 2019-2020, but has young talent, with the franchise hoping that the rookie will eventually form a “Big 3” in the Twin Cities next to All-Star forward Karl Anthony Towns and point guard DeAngelo Russell.
With the #2 selection, Golden State went with size, selecting University of Memphis 7’1″ freshman center James Wiseman. The Wiseman pick came on the same day that Golden State lost veteran guard Klay Thompson to injury, revealed to be an Achilles tendon tear on Thursday morning.
Point guard LaMelo Ball went to the Charlotte Hornets, joining big brother Lonzo as top picks in the draft, as Lonzo Ball went to the Lakers with the #2 selection a few years ago.
This year’s draft was originally scheduled for June 25th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, before multiple delays occurred due to this year’s pandemic. Commissioner Adam Silver announced the picks at the ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.
Along with the annual draft, the evening brought a fair amount of wheeling and dealing from league executives. Houston agreed to send Trevor Ariza and the #16 pick to Detroit for a future first-round pick. Philadelphia swapped veteran forward Al Horford and a protected future first-round pick with Oklahoma City, while the Timberwolves reacquired veteran point guard Ricky Rubio in a separate trade with the Thunder. In the Horford deal, the 76ers will acquire Danny Green and Terrance Ferguson. A trade that will send guard Dennis Schroder from Oklahoma City to the Lakers remains in the process of being finalized.