2020 NBA Draft

[jonjames]

I like Lewis. Super quick, could thrive in transition, long, takes defense seriously and should do great against Guards on that end. But I would be really surprised if he moved up into the top-tier of prospects. Shooting and ball handling need a lot of work and when you primarily operate from the perimeter these limitations are costly. You can work on them, of course, but only so much and especially when expectations are that you become a top-player.

He can absolutely be a good player but thus far he hasn't shown me anything that screams star potential. As of now, I expect him to be a long-term starter who earns his salary by being a pest defensively, running the floor and being an opportunistic scorer. I'd have him in the lottery for now, I guess, but I lack the imagination for him to break into the top 3 honestly. He'd have to really show off in college far beyond what he's shown to date.

I understand where you are coming from, but humbly disagree. For the reasons you mentioned (not sure I agree on handle), he is a good candidate to spend 2 years in college developing imo. His reads are bad at this stage, but he has absolute elite measureables, is an incredibly bouncy athlete, and has a burst that cannot be taught. He is a high motor guy for sure at the next level, which teams love.

His offensive game is no where near NBA ready, as you said. But, he is extremely young and at an early stage of his development. He hasn't matured physically either, but this is all about the projection game. If he can develop in college, without jumping too soon to the league (I don't envision him breaking into the top 3 next year b/c he is years away on offense), I think he could easily be top 3 in 2021. He needs to learn to make the reads necessary to play basketball at an NBA level. He puts his head down too frequently and relies on his physical gifts to get by defenders. When he actually works on his game, develops a stop and go handle, and learns to shoot, the sky is the limit.

How would you compare lewis to say Theo Pinson at the same stage? Im afraid he might go down the same road if he doesn't develop as envisioned.

[Hoopz Afrik]

I feel like Ayo Dosunmu is gonna fly up the boards.

[jman3134]

I like Lewis. Super quick, could thrive in transition, long, takes defense seriously and should do great against Guards on that end. But I would be really surprised if he moved up into the top-tier of prospects. Shooting and ball handling need a lot of work and when you primarily operate from the perimeter these limitations are costly. You can work on them, of course, but only so much and especially when expectations are that you become a top-player.

He can absolutely be a good player but thus far he hasn't shown me anything that screams star potential. As of now, I expect him to be a long-term starter who earns his salary by being a pest defensively, running the floor and being an opportunistic scorer. I'd have him in the lottery for now, I guess, but I lack the imagination for him to break into the top 3 honestly. He'd have to really show off in college far beyond what he's shown to date.

I understand where you are coming from, but humbly disagree. For the reasons you mentioned (not sure I agree on handle), he is a good candidate to spend 2 years in college developing imo. His reads are bad at this stage, but he has absolute elite measureables, is an incredibly bouncy athlete, and has a burst that cannot be taught. He is a high motor guy for sure at the next level, which teams love.

His offensive game is no where near NBA ready, as you said. But, he is extremely young and at an early stage of his development. He hasn't matured physically either, but this is all about the projection game. If he can develop in college, without jumping too soon to the league (I don't envision him breaking into the top 3 next year b/c he is years away on offense), I think he could easily be top 3 in 2021. He needs to learn to make the reads necessary to play basketball at an NBA level. He puts his head down too frequently and relies on his physical gifts to get by defenders. When he actually works on his game, develops a stop and go handle, and learns to shoot, the sky is the limit.

How would you compare lewis to say Theo Pinson at the same stage? Im afraid he might go down the same road if he doesn't develop as envisioned.

I think this is a good and fair question considering where Pinson was coming out of high school. I would say his shot is years better, particularly form wise. His playmaking still needs to develop, as I believe Pinson's did by his senior year. I think Lewis has a higher motor and even more defensive potential. That is more of a compliment to Lewis, than a detraction from Pinson.

It is important to remember that Pinson played sparingly early on in his Tar Heels career, and also suffered from several foot injuries. These definitely stunted his development a bit. He also never developed his shot over his four years.

Lewis is already coming in with superior form, but he needs to make some tweaks. Playmaking wise I would say they were at similar levels coming in. And offensively, Lewis better utilizes his athleticism than Pinson did entering college. With that said, Pinson never really developed over his four years and I expect Lewis to take a significant jump from high school to his freshman season. There's almost no chance in my mind that he is benched most of the year like Pinson his freshman season. Opportunity (sink or swim) will accelerate his development relative to Pinson.

[Coeur]

From nobody to lottery- Jalen Hill UCLA

[Mark_83]

I feel like people are sleeping on Samuell Williamson. I don't think he'll go first overall or anything like that, but he's one of the prospects for 2020 that has impressed me the most. Good size and length for his position, smart player, with solid athleticism and a good pull up game. Just a very smooth player out there. I could see him surprising and getting into the lottery.

[karkinos]

i'm loving the scottie lewis discussion

odds are he's going to play for 2 years rather than one and done. exception would be gators going far in the tournament and also having a weak class where there is a complete mystery as to who the top 4 players will be. as i've pointed out earlier, i have low faith in this entire class being able to fill the top 10 draft picks because while i think there are good prospects, i don't think they are ready for the nba.

[clyde21]

i'm loving the scottie lewis discussion

odds are he's going to play for 2 years rather than one and done. exception would be gators going far in the tournament and also having a weak class where there is a complete mystery as to who the top 4 players will be. as i've pointed out earlier, i have low faith in this entire class being able to fill the top 10 draft picks because while i think there are good prospects, i don't think they are ready for the nba.

nah, he's already on the older side for a fs, he should be a 1AD.

and like you said, top end of this class isn't really that impressive at this point.

[clyde21]

very preliminary list right now, more of a watch list than anything else:

1. Scottie Lewis, SF, Florida
2. R.J. Hampton, PG/SG, NZ Breakers

3. Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia
4. Bryan Antoine, SG, Villanova
5. Cole Anthony, PG, North Carolina
6. Ochai Agbaji, SG, Kansas

7. Precious Achiuwa, PF, Memphis
8. Joe Wieskamp, SG/SF, Iowa
9. E.J. Montgomery, PF/C, Kentucky
10. Isaiah Joe, SG, Arkansas
11. Tre Jones, PG, Duke
12. Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa St.
13. Tyler Bey, PF, Colorado
14. Theo Maledon, PG, ASVEL
15. Daniel Oturu, C, Minnesota

outside of Lewis and Wieskamp if you consider him one, there is no wing talent.

we're gonna need some wings to step up here. maybe one of the Kentucky or Duke guys steps thru.

[karkinos]

i mean physicially cassius stanley has dsj level athleticism

[Goudelock]

very preliminary list right now, more of a watch list than anything else:

1. Scottie Lewis, SF, Florida
2. R.J. Hampton, PG/SG, NZ Breakers

3. Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia
4. Bryan Antoine, SG, Villanova
5. Cole Anthony, PG, North Carolina
6. Ochai Agbaji, SG, Kansas

7. Precious Achiuwa, PF, Memphis
8. Joe Wieskamp, SG/SF, Iowa
9. E.J. Montgomery, PF/C, Kentucky
10. Isaiah Joe, SG, Arkansas
11. Tre Jones, PG, Duke
12. Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa St.
13. Tyler Bey, PF, Colorado
14. Theo Maledon, PG, ASVEL
15. Daniel Oturu, C, Minnesota

outside of Lewis and Wieskamp if you consider him one, there is no wing talent.

we're gonna need some wings to step up here. maybe one of the Kentucky or Duke guys steps thru.

So what you're saying is that if you need a good presence in the post, your team is pretty much screwed in this draft.

[clyde21]

Spoiler:

very preliminary list right now, more of a watch list than anything else:

1. Scottie Lewis, SF, Florida
2. R.J. Hampton, PG/SG, NZ Breakers

3. Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia
4. Bryan Antoine, SG, Villanova
5. Cole Anthony, PG, North Carolina
6. Ochai Agbaji, SG, Kansas

7. Precious Achiuwa, PF, Memphis
8. Joe Wieskamp, SG/SF, Iowa
9. E.J. Montgomery, PF/C, Kentucky
10. Isaiah Joe, SG, Arkansas
11. Tre Jones, PG, Duke
12. Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa St.
13. Tyler Bey, PF, Colorado
14. Theo Maledon, PG, ASVEL
15. Daniel Oturu, C, Minnesota

outside of Lewis and Wieskamp if you consider him one, there is no wing talent.

we're gonna need some wings to step up here. maybe one of the Kentucky or Duke guys steps thru.

So what you're saying is that if you need a good presence in the post, your team is pretty much screwed in this draft.

we'll see, some people have Wiseman/Stewart/Carey in this range but I'm not as high on them yet

[jman3134]

I may just be the biggest Carey hater on these boards. Not rooting against him (seems like a good kid), but I don't see the potential at all.

[nolang1]

there are gonna be some older freshmen in the next draft, Scottie is already older than Zion/RJ, and Cole and Antoine will both be 20 by draft night, Precious will play the entire year as a 20yo

Yes and this is where people could use some rationality and say that a player like James Wiseman, who is relatively young for a college freshman, is actually not hopelessly far behind when it comes to skill development or basketball IQ.

[No-Man]

very preliminary list right now, more of a watch list than anything else:

1. Scottie Lewis, SF, Florida
2. R.J. Hampton, PG/SG, NZ Breakers

3. Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia
4. Bryan Antoine, SG, Villanova
5. Cole Anthony, PG, North Carolina
6. Ochai Agbaji, SG, Kansas

7. Precious Achiuwa, PF, Memphis
8. Joe Wieskamp, SG/SF, Iowa
9. E.J. Montgomery, PF/C, Kentucky
10. Isaiah Joe, SG, Arkansas
11. Tre Jones, PG, Duke
12. Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa St.
13. Tyler Bey, PF, Colorado
14. Theo Maledon, PG, ASVEL
15. Daniel Oturu, C, Minnesota

outside of Lewis and Wieskamp if you consider him one, there is no wing talent.

we're gonna need some wings to step up here. maybe one of the Kentucky or Duke guys steps thru.

No disrespect whatsoever and all opinions are cool, but being hip is one thing, this is **** crazy imo, esp those

[Upperclass]

It'll be Cassius Stanley vs Wiseman for #1 next year. I'd go with Stanley

[No-Man]

It'll be Cassius Stanley vs Wiseman for #1 next year. I'd go with Stanley

Now, this really is crazy stuff, Stanley is alright but 1#?!?!

[LofJ]

Are you guys not high on Anthony Edwards? He seems to have the full package to me - athleticism, work ethic, confidence, and skill.

[The-Power]

Are you guys not high on Anthony Edwards? He seems to have the full package to me - athleticism, work ethic, confidence, and skill.

I'm fairly low on him because he's lazy on the court. Perhaps worse than any other top prospect I've watched in recent years. Virtually non-existing defense and likes chuck up a lot of terrible shots on offense when he has the ball.

Tremendous potential but unless he dramatically changes his approach to team basketball I'd venture a guess and say he'll be one of those hyped up prospects people love coming out of high school or even before the draft – either because they prefer to watch highlights or convince themselves that these guys are young and will learn – but who will fail because they never put it together mentally.

I'll wait to see if colleges does something to him but color me skeptical: his effort-level in HS was really that bad, close to zero competitive fire at the team level. But a lot of people on this board are fairly high on him, so there's plenty of love for him here.

[GimmeDat]

I have Edwards #1 right now just based on him being the most talented/upside guy in his class, but it seems the effort stuff is a legitimate red flag. I'm hoping for an uptick, otherwise he's not staying in that #1 spot at all.

[clyde21]

very preliminary list right now, more of a watch list than anything else:

1. Scottie Lewis, SF, Florida
2. R.J. Hampton, PG/SG, NZ Breakers

3. Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia
4. Bryan Antoine, SG, Villanova
5. Cole Anthony, PG, North Carolina
6. Ochai Agbaji, SG, Kansas

7. Precious Achiuwa, PF, Memphis
8. Joe Wieskamp, SG/SF, Iowa
9. E.J. Montgomery, PF/C, Kentucky
10. Isaiah Joe, SG, Arkansas
11. Tre Jones, PG, Duke
12. Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa St.
13. Tyler Bey, PF, Colorado
14. Theo Maledon, PG, ASVEL
15. Daniel Oturu, C, Minnesota

outside of Lewis and Wieskamp if you consider him one, there is no wing talent.

we're gonna need some wings to step up here. maybe one of the Kentucky or Duke guys steps thru.

No disrespect whatsoever and all opinions are cool, but being hip is one thing, this is **** crazy imo, esp those

again, very preliminary list, more of a watch list really, but yes, these are the most intriguing guys to me right now. Lewis/Hampton by far the best two I've watched.

Antoine I really liked the first go around, quick twitch, explosive, can get downhill and finish above the rim, quick and smooth J, but little skinny and doesn't offer much as a playmaker. more of a true SG than a CG type so he needs to really develop more of an off-ball game that's his biggest ? for me heading into the season.

Agbaji i'm big big on, love his physical profile, good BB instrincts, love how he slashes and plays off-ball, can finish at the rim, can hit open 3s, defends the 1 and 2 easily.

Wiescamp is a long wing type that can shoot, can play both in trans and half-court, and is passable defensively with good length. i'll take that in the top-10 at this point given that he'll continue to develop heading into next year

Montgomery I agree there's a bit of projection there, but really liked what I see from him to finish the year, really mobile big, can hit outside shots and put the ball on the floor, can switch defensively even tho he's not necessarily a rim protector...hoping we see a PJ type jump from him from Y1 to Y2

Bey is strong, uber athletic combo F who can really hit the boards, might have been best pound for pound rebounder in college last season

Oturu is strong, mobile, productive in the PnR, has good touch inside and can run in trans. expect him to have a strong soph season