NBA Mock Draft 6.0: Is anyone’s ceiling higher than Anthony Edwards?
By Ian Levy
Minnesota Timberwolves. Obi Toppin. 6. player. 86. . Big
The Timberwolves will be entering next season with a re-worked core. D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley were both acquired at the trade deadline but because of injuries to Karl-Anthony Towns and the interrupted season, they’ve played just 23 minutes together. On paper, that group has plenty of appeal as a dynamic, up-tempo offensive unit and plenty of questions to answer defensively.
Selecting Toppin would definitely mean leaning into strengths and potentially exacerbating those defensive weaknesses. Toppin has tremendous upside as a transition finisher and pick-and-roll rim-runner, drawing (perhaps overly optimistic) comparisons to Amare Stoudemire. However, he presents the same kind of defensive issues as Stoudemire and putting him next to Towns could be a disaster. That being said, his potential is probably more appealing at No. 6 than digging for a defensive-minded wing or rolling the dice with a backup point guard like Cole Anthony or Kira Lewis.
Learn more about Obi Toppin with our full scouting report.