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Tim BontempsESPN
Five months after being originally scheduled, the Minnesota Timberwolves picked Anthony Edwards on Wednesday night with the first pick of the 2020 NBA Draft.
The Golden State Warriors took James Wiseman to the center with the second pick, and the guard Lamelo Ball came forward as the Charlotte Hornets’ third pick.
Edwards, lant ft-5, a 220-pound Atlanta defender who spent his lawn collegiate season in Georgia, joins star center Carl-Anthony Towns and a young Timberwolves corps led by point guard D’Jello Russell. Edwards averaged 19.1 points per game and was the Southeastern Conference freshman of the year.
“It’s an indescribable feeling,” Edwards told ESPN immediately after the selection. “My family is emotional. I think I will be emotional when I get out of here. I am blessed to be in this state.”
Edwards, Wiseman and Ball, all at different times, are estimated to be top picks in the draft. Edwards, however, was the best positional fit for Minnesota – Wiseman shares Towns and B shares in the same position as the Town Sale – and he emerged as a potential top pick in the days leading up to Wednesday’s draft.
Wiseman, a 7-foot-1 center who has played just three games for Memphis University this season, gives Golden State a measure of physical skill to go with Dremond Green on the Warriors’ frontcourt. After five straight trips to the NBA Finals due to injuries to Stephen Curry and Clay Thompson, he could potentially help the team’s defense after the Warriors.
Asked what it brings to the Golden State, Wiseman said, “Versatility.”
“I can rebound, run the floor, block shots,” he said. “I can make room on the floor for my size. I’ve been playing a lot of pick-up games this summer. I’m really improving my game every day. I’m ready. I’m ready.”
New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball’s younger brother Ball is a gifted passer, which will give the Hornets some much-needed star power. He has a way to get to this point before being taken by Charlotte on Wednesday night, to play in Lithuania and then Australia.
The Ilavara Hawks have an average of 17.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 12 games for Australia’s National Basketball League.
The conspiracy in the draft began with the pick of No. 4, where the Chicago Bulls took on Florida State forward Patrick Williams. In the days leading up to the draft, rival teams had no doubt that Arturas Kornisovas, first-year executive vice president of basketball operations in Chicago, would oversee its first draft. Eventually, the Bulls selected the fastest growing player on the draft board, which goes all the way to Draft Night.
Williams eventually reached the top five of the week, leading from the lottery to the draft. Last year’s sixth ACC Man of the Year, he became the highest-drafting seminal since Dave Cowens finished fourth by the Boston Celtics 0 years ago.
Asked why he is confident in the NBA even though he is not a starter in college, Williams said, “If you work hard enough all day, I mean you have nothing but confidence. And I just give credit. To my college college teammates, to my college coaches. They kept encouraging me all season, to put me in a position to succeed all season, so I need to give credit to my work and then to my coaches and teammates. “
After the Bulls took over Williams, the Cleveland Cavaliers – ranked fifth for a second straight season – selected Burn Wing Isaac Okoro, who last season picked up 12.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and a 2.0 support average, the only year at Ub Burn.
Okoro was the second-team All-SEC selection, as well as making All-Freshmen and All-Defensive teams. After making Colin Sexton and Darius Garland guards over the past two seasons, Cleveland joins the wing player to go with them.
Wednesday night’s draft was originally scheduled to take place in June, as it usually does, but was postponed until NOB completed its season in a bubble at Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resort, due to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic.
The site for the draft also changed due to the epidemic. Instead of staying in New York, as he usually does every June, he was virtually housed on ESPN’s campus in Bristol, Connecticut, where NBA Commissioner Adam Silver took the first round and Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum took the second place as usual.
The delay in holding the draft due to the epidemic allowed both NBA teams more time to prepare the draft than before, and also means that the prospects for getting into the NBA have spent more time than the court.
As a result, instead of moving from the draft to the NSBA’s annual summer league in Las Vegas, the colored people will go almost straight into its early NBA season, as training camps around the league are set to begin on November 1st.
Other Lottery Elections:
6. Atlanta Hawks: On Neyka Okwongwu, C, USC
7. Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes, PG, France
8. New York Knicks: Obi Topin, PF, Dayton
9. Washington Washington Wizards: Danny Avadija, SF, Israel
10. Phoenix Sons: Jalen Smith, PF, Maryland
11. San Antonio Spurs: Devin Vassel, SG, Florida State
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