The future of the Minnesota Timberwolves is already the most promising in the league, thanks to young talents like Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. But what if it was even brighter? What if the ‘Wolves had a third player that had as much potential as their other two young studs? That possibility was almost a reality. As Zach Lowe of ESPN reports, the ‘Wolves nearly selected Giannis Antetokounmpo instead of Shabazz Muhammad in the 2013 NBA Draft.
The Wolves have time to explore all these paths, provided Mitchell nudges Prince to the fringes of the rotation when Minnesota falls out of the playoff race. Shabazz Muhammad playing five fewer minutes per game than Prince isn’t ideal for a rebuilding team, and the Wolves need to see what they have in him, too. Side note: They nearly picked Giannis Antetokounmpo over Muhammad before settling on Muhammad as the clock was ticking in the draft room, per several sources.
Not to take anything away from Muhammad, but a Giannis, Wiggins and Towns trio would have been at once thrilling and terrifying. Sure, there would be spacing issues, but forget about the players as they are now, and instead imagine them in their fifth or sixth seasons. Giannis already causes match-up nightmares, and those would only intensify when defenses (and offenses, for that matter) would have to account for Towns and Wiggins. Seriously, forget trying to score on that team, because it wouldn’t happen. Even if you got past the length of Giannis and Wiggins on the wings, you’d have to deal with Towns at the basket, which teams are already realizing is no small task.
It’s not as if the ‘Wolves are suffering for their decision. In fact, if they had picked Giannis, there’s no guarantee everything else would have played out the way it did: falling ass-backwards into Wiggins and then lucking into Towns. Still, it’s always fun to wonder “what if,” especially for something as enticing as a Wiggins/Towns/Giannis three-headed dragon that would have wreaked havoc on the rest of the league.
(Via ESPN)
