An interesting night for basketball
By Mo Hussain, Sports Reporter
Last Wednesday November 18, the NBA held this yearâs draft, and while there was much to take note of, here are three key takeaways that you should keep in mind:
Wolves betting on the future
Despite constant speculation surrounding whether the Minnesota Timberwolves would keep their number one overall selection, the squad decided to keep the pick and selected shooting guard Anthony Edwards from the University of Georgia. The 6â5â guard will hope to bring his shooting ability, strength, and athleticism to a Timberwolves team thatâs looking to make some noise with their dynamic duo of Karl Anthony Towns and DâAngelo Russell. âItâs a dream come true. I mean everything I ever dreamed of, everything I ever worked for. Iâm just happy that these guys [the Timberwolves] took a chance on me being the number one overall pick, and Iâm just ready to work,â said Edwards in the Timberwolves introductory press conference.
Jordan doesnât seem to mind LaVar
The Charlotte Hornets selected guard LaMelo Ball with their third overall selection despite the mini controversy surrounding his father (LaVar Ball) and the Hornetsâ owner (Michael Jordan). LaVar has been on the record mentioning how Jordan would not be able to handle him in a one-on-one matchup. âIn my heyday, he would need help, heâs too small,â said LaVar in an appearance on ESPNâs first take in 2017. When talking about the subject at the Hornets introductory draft press conference, LaMelo said with a smile, âI think we know how it would turn out, to be honest.â LaMelo will join Devonteâ Graham and the newly acquired Gordon Hayward in trying to help build the Hornets into a credible playoff contender.
How are these guys going to adjust?
Another big takeaway from this draft was not necessarily a particular draft pick or transactionâitâs arguably the fact that these rookiesâ first year in the league is going to be the most peculiar season in NBA history. Whether itâs because the season will be in the middle of a pandemic, or only having over a month to get to know their teammates and finish training camp because of a relatively fast-approaching NBA season, these rookies are in for a whirlwind. With only about a third of the usual timeline that rookies have before their first regular season game, this crop of incoming stars will have to find some way to prove that that they belong in this league, fast.