ESPN Still projects Anthony Edwards going to Golden State Warriors

Following the NBA Draft Lottery, ESPN is still predicting Anthony Edwards will wind up in a Golden State Warriors uniform next season.

The NBA Draft Lottery finally arrived and with it came pretty good news. Though the Golden State Warriors fell short of landing the top pick, they did remain in the top-three by securing the No. 2 overall pick behind only the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Initially, this made it feel certain that the Warriors would not be able to select Anthony Edwards – who is reported to be their main target in the draft. Edwards is a bulky guard with high potential as a scorer and perimeter defender, almost exactly the type of player the Wolves would like to add alongside D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns.

However, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has the Wolves going after LaMelo Ball instead of Edwards in two of his mock drafts. The idea of dual playmakers in the backcourt is interesting but Minnesota could find success with the dynamic between Ball’s slashing ability and Russell’s improvements as a pull-up shooter.

For the Warriors, this means Edwards will fall directly into their lap. Edwards can act as a prolific bench scorer for the Dubs. He averaged nearly 20 points per game as a freshman and will translate quickly to the NBA level as a top-notch athlete.

This is good as the Dubs would otherwise have targetted James Wiseman. While Wiseman has plenty of positive attributes – the Dubs really never needed a big-man in the paint and they won’t need one now. Drafting Wiseman seems like more of a risk than Edwards, especially considering that the Memphis center only appeared in three games last year.

It should be mentioned that the Dubs will also be shopping the market for potential trade suitors. This pick will have some value attached to it and pairing it with players like Jordan Poole or even Andrew Wiggins could bring in a notable return.