Karl-Anthony Towns got in front of the Zoom camera last night after a Minnesota Timberwolves loss vs the Miami Heat and stood up for his new friend and emerging NBA star, Anthony Edwards. He declared Ant as the 2021 NBA Rookie of the Year and essentially called everyone who doesn’t agree with him, stupid. It is one of my all-time favorite KAT moments.

there's no other rookie like A1.

take it from @KarlTowns. pic.twitter.com/i5g8uBqMZu

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 8, 2021

The sentiment was great but Karl’s declaration has merit too, especially during the back half of this season. In his last 35 games, Anthony Edwards is averaging 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game on 44% from the field and 33% from deep.

LaMelo Ball, Edwards’ only competition for ROY, hasn’t even played during most of Ant’s incredible stretch. He was hurt in a game on March 20 and didn’t return to the floor until May 1. When he was first injured, LaMelo was handedly winning the Rookie of the Year race.

Their averages per game for the season are too close to call a winner and LaMelo’s supporters from early-on are stubborn.

Oddsmakers Disagree with KAT (big time)

Ant’s last 35 games have been enough to rope in two-straight Rookie of the Month awards for March and April. According to FanDuel.com, however, his resurgence isn’t going to be enough to surpass LaMelo Ball for NBA Rookie of the Year. In fact, Ant isn’t even expected to come close.

As of Saturday afternoon, May 8, Ball is an easy favorite at (-550) over Edwards (+300) and the rest of the field. For those who don’t gamble, that means to win $100 on a LaMelo ROY, you’d have to bet $550. On the other side of the coin, if you bet $100 on Anthony and he pulls off the upset, you’d win $300.

Current NBA Rookie of the Year odds (via Fanduel) pic.twitter.com/VbocydruuY

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) May 8, 2021

What do the voters say?

The deeper you look into it, the worse you’ll feel about Ant’s ROY chances. Brian Windhorst votes for Rookie of the Year and he makes it seem like LaMelo Ball should just be etched into the trophy right now.

"I'm gonna vote for LaMelo because he has impacted winning since day 1. But Edwards' second half of the season has Wolves fans excited"

—@WindhorstESPN #NBA #NBATwitter #TheJump #RaisedByWolves #AllFly https://t.co/dsvWJaQC4E

— The Jump on ESPN (@NBATheJump) May 6, 2021

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Earlier today, it was reported by Bleacher Report, that the Minnesota Timberwolves were locking in on LaMelo Ball, with the #1 overall pick in the upcoming November draft. The BR piece is riddled with a “we don’t really want to make this draft pick at all” undertone, but that’s not a surprise if you hang out here often.

If the Wolves are indeed targeting Ball, then it seems to be news to him. LaMelo did a Zoom call with NBA reporters on Monday and said Minnesota is yet to contact him at all.

Has LaMelo Ball had any conversations with the Timberwolves?

“I don’t know. No,” he said on a Zoom call with reporters

— jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) September 28, 2020

Top #NBA Draft prospect, PG LaMelo Ball, did a Zoom chat with reporters today. Here's the part where he talked about the #Timberwolves: pic.twitter.com/07sXFgZlYC

— KSTPSports (@KSTPSports) September 29, 2020

Rosas Smoke Screens

Look, the Minnesota Timberwolves are going to trade their #1 pick. They are happy to have it, because of the opportunities it brings, but Rosas wants nothing to do with actually using it to draft another young talent. This isn’t a secret.

While Ball’s Zoom interview was really poorly timed and made the Timberwolves look a bit stupid on Twitter today, this really isn’t anything to be upset about. According to Darren Wolfson of SKOR North and KSTP, the Wolves front office just hasn’t gotten around to calling Ball yet, but obviously plan to.

Of course the Wolves are going to talk to LaMelo before the draft comes around. But, if they were REALLY that serious about narrowing their choice down to Ball, they would have obviously talked to him before leaking their “plans” to the press.

Told his #Timberwolves interview is still to come, still to be scheduled. As Gupta said on my pod last week, at 1, 17, 33, they have access to all draft prospects. There's lots of appeal, specifically, in going No. 1. Getting interview time won't be hard this year for MN. https://t.co/syE7I5d2WP

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) September 28, 2020

Gathering Assets

LaMelo Ball seems to be the best option at #1, if for nothing more than perceived value. Ball is the best “asset” in this draft. He seems like the guy whose value would stand-pat or increase the most, even after he’s drafted.

The official NBA Draft date has been set for November 13 and I’d expect trade talks and rumors to heat up, right about now. That makes this “leak” to Bleacher Report even better-timed, if not for the Ball interview taking place almost simultaneously.

Grab your popcorn. The next two months should be the most fun Minnesota Timberwolves fans have had, since the days that surrounded the D’Angelo Russell trade.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan