Back in 2020, the Warriors drafted a young prospect by the name of James Wiseman. He would later choose to exit and is now associated with the Pistons. Notably, the Timberwolves possessed the opportunity to include Wiseman in their roster since they had the No. 1 overall pick going into the draft. Instead, they selected Anthony Edwards. While that move is proving quite beneficial, it is not what two renowned podcasters thought would happen. As a memory of their “worst-case” scenario contingency plan, things have panned out quite differently.

In 2021, Bill Simmons discussed the Timberwolves draft picks. Considering Ant-Man’s recent outburst in the playoffs, he decided to re-highlight a few of his thoughts. He once said, “I do like Edwards, but if your case for not taking Wiseman is ‘we already have Karl-Anthony Towns’, that’s fireable,”. KAT has been the primary Center/ power forward for the Twolves for 9 years now. Since his importance was not underestimated even in 2020, the franchise would have felt that their first-pick opportunity shouldn’t have been spent on another athlete who plays the same position. However, the millionaire sports personality was open to a little experimentation.

“They (Wiseman and Anthony Towns) could have played together and would have been a real problem,” Simmons continued. “Worst-case scenario, just trade Towns. Wiseman, it’s like those guys don’t pop up in the draft”.

According to reports, there were hardly any mock drafts before the main selection day that pitched Wiseman with the Western Conference team. In fact, the player himself wasn’t considering the Timberwolves as an option. In an appearance on a podcast years ago, ESPN Sportswriter Brian Windhorst revealed, “Wiseman does not want to come to Minnesota because Karl Towns is there. From what I understand Wiseman doesn’t even want to do anything with the Wolves.” The same information would later be confirmed by ‘The Athletic’ writer Jon Krawczynski.

Even if Wiseman did not want to play for the Timberwolves, he would have had to go their way if selected during the draft. Fortunately, that did not happen. If Minnesota ever had doubts about selecting Ant-Man over the Center, then all of their doubts would have evaporated by now.

Anthony Edwards vs James Wiseman: A Comparison of Stats

Almost four years after the draft, James Wiseman’s NBA career is yet to record any significant milestone. During his rookie season with the Warriors, he appeared in only 39 games and scored 11.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game. During the 2023-24 regular season, which marked his first run with the Pistons, his performance drastically declined and went to 7.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game.

While Wiseman is yet to make a mark, Anthony Edwards has found some major success with the Timberwolves. Serving as their lead scorer, the player ended his recent regular season run by securing an average score of 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. His average score further increased during the playoffs, during which he assisted the franchise in eliminating the Suns and proceeded to the Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2004.

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He has secured the most 30-point playoff games in Timberwolves history, surpassing the earlier record set by Kevin Garnett. Furthermore, he recently became the 2 player overall to have consecutive 40-point postseason games to his name at the age of 22 or younger.

Possessing the Mamba Mentality of his idol and having received praise from Michael Jordan himself, Edwards is certainly on his way to becoming the next face of the NBA.