Official 2020 NBA Draft Thread

[KillMonger]

This FO doesnt draft for depth. They take chances on high upside, which is why you see them draft guys like Giannis but then later Thon Maker, Bruno 2Years and Bamba

Im expecting them to take a flyer on a high upside player, maybe a player that falls out of the lotto, or a euro like zaymons favorite player Pokusevski

Personally im a big nesmith fan and would love to see him, but i dont see him being a Weham guy, and think someone like josh green or RJ Hampton being on their short list

I think it's more accurate to say they don't draft for *need* and instead opt to take the player they feel as the highest ceiling or the "best player on the board".

Like if Augustin leaves, the obvious hole in the roster is backup point guard/ball handling depth.

But I don't think they will take a PG if they have another position graded higher, even if it's a PF.

The only exception should be picking another center.

PG or a guard should be high on the list if not the highest.....I mean barring any trades we got Okeke and Aminu coming back so that SF/PF position has been filled as they are both tweeners that can play both and don't even mention the center position.....The caveat is what they decide to do in the trade market makes this very interesting

[The Effect]

This FO doesnt draft for depth. They take chances on high upside, which is why you see them draft guys like Giannis but then later Thon Maker, Bruno 2Years and Bamba

Im expecting them to take a flyer on a high upside player, maybe a player that falls out of the lotto, or a euro like zaymons favorite player Pokusevski

Personally im a big nesmith fan and would love to see him, but i dont see him being a Weham guy, and think someone like josh green or RJ Hampton being on their short list

I think it's more accurate to say they don't draft for *need* and instead opt to take the player they feel as the highest ceiling or the "best player on the board".

Like if Augustin leaves, the obvious hole in the roster is backup point guard/ball handling depth.

But I don't think they will take a PG if they have another position graded higher, even if it's a PF.

The only exception should be picking another center.

No matter what happens with DJ, the biggest hole is clearly at SG

Doesnt mean they will take one, but if they are drafting for need, thats the position

[Knightro]

No matter what happens with DJ, the biggest hole is clearly at SG

Doesnt mean they will take one, but if they are drafting for need, thats the position

The biggest long-term need may very well be SG, but unless Fournier unexpectedly opts out, the Magic have multiple rotation caliber shooting guards on the roster for next season.

Augustin and Carter-Williams are unrestricted free agents. Right now it's Fultz and literally no one else.

[penny_nz]

I'm very biased, as he played for the NZ Breakers in the NBL where I got to see him play, but would love to grab RJ Hampton. He was really smooth and solid, I read a line which was spot on that he doesn't have one real stand out offensive go to move yet. But his shot looked fine etc

Basically give me a guard, that can either shoot the lights out or be a scoring threat that supplements a Fultz led offense

[KillMonger]

I'm very biased, as he played for the NZ Breakers in the NBL where I got to see him play, but would love to grab RJ Hampton. He was really smooth and solid, I read a line which was spot on that he doesn't have one real stand out offensive go to move yet. But his shot looked fine etc

Basically give me a guard, that can either shoot the lights out or be a scoring threat that supplements a Fultz led offense

seems like a high ceiling player that the magic might take, seems like a project at this point tho.......but he's one of the few prospects that actually has tape against nba players.....he didn't play that well but his first step penetration was VERY real....his opp struggled to stay in front of him.....i like him

[penny_nz]

seems like a high ceiling player that the magic might take, seems like a project at this point tho.......but he's one of the few prospects that actually has tape against nba players.....he didn't play that well but his first step penetration was VERY real....his opp struggled to stay in front of him.....i like him

You could tell when he went up against LaMelo that he wasn't as polished offensively but was better defensively and still had his moments. You're right his first step was rapid. He passed up quite a few open 3 looks, but when he did shoot it he looked good.

I'm all for taking a bit of a project at the 15 range, but on the basis they are an offensive project. We don't need another defensive star we'll try and convert to be offensively capable

[Knightro]

Hampton's profile becomes more appealing if you think he can be a full-time wing vs. a primary ball handling guard.

All stats are per 100 possessions. Heights, weights and wingspans are all from The Ringer's Draft Guide. Ages are current.

Isaac Okoro
19 years, 7 months
6'6" 225 lbs, 6'9" wingspan
23.2 PTS, .51/.29/.67 splits, 8.0 REB, 3.7 AST, 1.7 STL, 1.6 BLK, 3.5 TO, 4.9 PF

Devin Vassell
20 years, 0 months
6'7" 194 lbs, 6'10" wingspan
25.3 PTS, .49/.42/.74 splits, 10.1 REB, 3.3 AST, 2.8 STL, 1.9 BLK, 1.5 TO, 3.9 PF

Josh Green
19 years, 9 months
6'6" 210 lbs, 6'10 1/4" wingspan
22.1 PTS, .42/.36/.78 splits, 8.4 REB, 4.8 AST, 2.8 STL, 0.8 BLK, 3.0 TO, 4.5 PF

Aaron Nesmith
20 years, 10 months
6'6" 213 lbs, 6'10" wingspan
36.8 PTS, .52/.52/.83 splits, 7.8 REB, 1.5 AST, 2.3 STL, 1.4 BLK, 2.7 TO, 4.5 PF

RJ Hampton
19 years, 6 months
6'5", 185 lbs, 6'7" wingspan
22.7 PTS, .41/.30/.68 splits, 10.1 REB, 6.1 AST, 2.8 STL, 0.8 BLK, 4.0 TO, 4.9 PF

Pegging Hampton as a SG with passing ability (which is exactly what I thought NAW was last year) raises his overall profile to me. I don't think he's a natural enough playmaker or has the vision to be a full time point guard.

But as SG who can move the ball and assume some secondary passing and playmaking duties? You can do worse outside the lottery.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Ok its time for me to lock in on one guy and that guy is Tyrese Maxey. He attacks the rim, is a shifty scorer not afraid to go and punish you. His PnR game is really solid and his mid range game is fire. He isn't super selfish and moves the ball when he doesn't have a good look. Defensively he works and is a bigger sized dude in terms of weight so he doesn't get bullied. He reminds me a little of Lowry lite and goodness that would be massive for this team.

Watch on YouTube

[zaymon]

Hampton's profile becomes more appealing if you think he can be a full-time wing vs. a primary ball handling guard.

All stats are per 100 possessions. Heights, weights and wingspans are all from The Ringer's Draft Guide. Ages are current.

Isaac Okoro
19 years, 7 months
6'6" 225 lbs, 6'9" wingspan
23.2 PTS, .51/.29/.67 splits, 8.0 REB, 3.7 AST, 1.7 STL, 1.6 BLK, 3.5 TO, 4.9 PF

Devin Vassell
20 years, 0 months
6'7" 194 lbs, 6'10" wingspan
25.3 PTS, .49/.42/.74 splits, 10.1 REB, 3.3 AST, 2.8 STL, 1.9 BLK, 1.5 TO, 3.9 PF

Josh Green
19 years, 9 months
6'6" 210 lbs, 6'10 1/4" wingspan
22.1 PTS, .42/.36/.78 splits, 8.4 REB, 4.8 AST, 2.8 STL, 0.8 BLK, 3.0 TO, 4.5 PF

Aaron Nesmith
20 years, 10 months
6'6" 213 lbs, 6'10" wingspan
36.8 PTS, .52/.52/.83 splits, 7.8 REB, 1.5 AST, 2.3 STL, 1.4 BLK, 2.7 TO, 4.5 PF

RJ Hampton
19 years, 6 months
6'5", 185 lbs, 6'7" wingspan
22.7 PTS, .41/.30/.68 splits, 10.1 REB, 6.1 AST, 2.8 STL, 0.8 BLK, 4.0 TO, 4.9 PF

Pegging Hampton as a SG with passing ability (which is exactly what I thought NAW was last year) raises his overall profile to me. I don't think he's a natural enough playmaker or has the vision to be a full time point guard.

But as SG who can move the ball and assume some secondary passing and playmaking duties? You can do worse outside the lottery.

Nba is leaning towards double playmakers lineups. I dont trust Hampton to make the right play consistently. We had some success with fultz, dj mcw. Maybe Hayes, Maledon are our best fits ?

[KillMonger]

Thoughts on Jaden Mcdaniels?

Watch on YouTube

This guy is like a 6"9 Guard

[Knightro]

Nba is leaning towards double playmakers lineups. I dont trust Hampton to make the right play consistently. We had some success with fultz, dj mcw. Maybe Hayes, Maledon are our best fits ?

I don't disagree with the double playmaker concept overall, I think having multiple guys who are willing and able to make extra passes is valuable to any offense.

My concern is that Fultz is such a poor player without the basketball right now that it that it does make finding a great fit to pair with him more challenging.

I'm not sure the Magic can put another poor shooter in the same backcourt as Fultz.

But this draft is loaded with guards who have questionable shots. There are a lot of players in that 10-20 range - Hayes, Maxey, Hampton, Maledon, Mannion - who have shooting as that swing skill. If it develops, their potential goes way, way up. If it doesn't, none of them may be particularly good fits with Fultz.

[Knightro]

Mock Draft from Gary Parrish of CBS Sports

1. LaMelo Ball
2. Obi Toppin
3. Anthony Edwards
4. James Wiseman
5. Onyeka Okongwu
6. Deni Avdija
7. Isaac Okoro
8. Killian Hayes
9. Tyrese Haliburton
10. Saddiq Bey
11. Cole Anthony
12. RJ Hampton
13. Precious Achiuwa
14. Aaron Nesmith
15. Tyrese Maxey SG
KENTUCKY • FR • 6'3" / 198 LBS

Tyrese Maxey enrolled at Kentucky with the reputation of a straight-killer — somebody who could go and get 25 on just about anybody. And, in the season-opener, he looked the part. The 6-3 combo guard got 26 points in that November-win over Michigan State and showed lots of the things that made most assume he'd be UK's leading scorer. But, for much of the season, Maxey was inconsistent. He played more minutes than any other Wildcat. He took more shots than any other Wildcat. But Maxey was only third on the team in scoring. He shot just 42.7% from the field and a mere 29.2% percent from 3-point range. So Maxey's one year in college was a little disappointing relative to preseason expectations. But, regardless, he's still mostly projected as a top-15 pick because he does have elite-scoring attributes, presumably can be a better perimeter shooter than he showed at Kentucky, and is really good at finishing inside the arc in creative ways, mostly with an elaborate floater package. So, sure, there are questions here. But if Maxey reaches his potential he should be getting buckets in the NBA for a long time.

Notables picked after 15

-Vassell 16, Maledon 17, Lewis Jr. 20, Ramsey 26, Green 27

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2020-nba-mock-draft-lamelo-ball-obi-toppin-and-anthony-edwards-in-top-three-of-final-pre-lottery-projection/

[NotACat]

Mock Draft from Gary Parrish of CBS Sports

1. LaMelo Ball
2. Obi Toppin
3. Anthony Edwards
4. James Wiseman
5. Onyeka Okongwu
6. Deni Avdija
7. Isaac Okoro
8. Killian Hayes
9. Tyrese Haliburton
10. Saddiq Bey
11. Cole Anthony
12. RJ Hampton
13. Precious Achiuwa
14. Aaron Nesmith
15. Tyrese Maxey SG
KENTUCKY • FR • 6'3" / 198 LBS

Tyrese Maxey enrolled at Kentucky with the reputation of a straight-killer — somebody who could go and get 25 on just about anybody. And, in the season-opener, he looked the part. The 6-3 combo guard got 26 points in that November-win over Michigan State and showed lots of the things that made most assume he'd be UK's leading scorer. But, for much of the season, Maxey was inconsistent. He played more minutes than any other Wildcat. He took more shots than any other Wildcat. But Maxey was only third on the team in scoring. He shot just 42.7% from the field and a mere 29.2% percent from 3-point range. So Maxey's one year in college was a little disappointing relative to preseason expectations. But, regardless, he's still mostly projected as a top-15 pick because he does have elite-scoring attributes, presumably can be a better perimeter shooter than he showed at Kentucky, and is really good at finishing inside the arc in creative ways, mostly with an elaborate floater package. So, sure, there are questions here. But if Maxey reaches his potential he should be getting buckets in the NBA for a long time.

Notables picked after 15

-Vassell 16, Maledon 17, Lewis Jr. 20, Ramsey 26, Green 27

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2020-nba-mock-draft-lamelo-ball-obi-toppin-and-anthony-edwards-in-top-three-of-final-pre-lottery-projection/

There's no chance this FO passes on Vassell for Maxey. Vassell is the dream wing player

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Mock Draft from Gary Parrish of CBS Sports

1. LaMelo Ball
2. Obi Toppin
3. Anthony Edwards
4. James Wiseman
5. Onyeka Okongwu
6. Deni Avdija
7. Isaac Okoro
8. Killian Hayes
9. Tyrese Haliburton
10. Saddiq Bey
11. Cole Anthony
12. RJ Hampton
13. Precious Achiuwa
14. Aaron Nesmith
15. Tyrese Maxey SG
KENTUCKY • FR • 6'3" / 198 LBS

Tyrese Maxey enrolled at Kentucky with the reputation of a straight-killer — somebody who could go and get 25 on just about anybody. And, in the season-opener, he looked the part. The 6-3 combo guard got 26 points in that November-win over Michigan State and showed lots of the things that made most assume he'd be UK's leading scorer. But, for much of the season, Maxey was inconsistent. He played more minutes than any other Wildcat. He took more shots than any other Wildcat. But Maxey was only third on the team in scoring. He shot just 42.7% from the field and a mere 29.2% percent from 3-point range. So Maxey's one year in college was a little disappointing relative to preseason expectations. But, regardless, he's still mostly projected as a top-15 pick because he does have elite-scoring attributes, presumably can be a better perimeter shooter than he showed at Kentucky, and is really good at finishing inside the arc in creative ways, mostly with an elaborate floater package. So, sure, there are questions here. But if Maxey reaches his potential he should be getting buckets in the NBA for a long time.

Notables picked after 15

-Vassell 16, Maledon 17, Lewis Jr. 20, Ramsey 26, Green 27

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2020-nba-mock-draft-lamelo-ball-obi-toppin-and-anthony-edwards-in-top-three-of-final-pre-lottery-projection/

Would absolutely love to BUY a late 1st round pick for a guy like Ramsey Green Lewis.

[Bensational]

Lewis for me, with aggressive moves to find a 2nd pick to use on Pokusevski.

[Knightro]

Lewis for me, with aggressive moves to find a 2nd pick to use on Pokusevski.

I actually think there's a possibility that Lewis could be a good starting point guard and better than Fultz in the long run.

[Ducklett]

There is quite a bit of smoke that Cole Anthony is dropping down into our range. I think if he is within striking distance you have to make a move to get him. He could be the MPJ/SGA/etc of this class. If you go back to the draft night thread I made post after post about trading for MPJ when he was available at 13-14, and I am getting a similar feeling about Anthony.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

There is quite a bit of smoke that Cole Anthony is dropping down into our range. I think if he is within striking distance you have to make a move to get him. He could be the MPJ/SGA/etc of this class. If you go back to the draft night thread I made post after post about trading for MPJ when he was available at 13-14, and I am getting a similar feeling about Anthony.

Was it this UNC team that had pretty much no one except Anthony? Teams were doubling him knowing the supporting cast was ****?

[jonbob17]

That UNC had bad players as the reason Cole Anthony was awful last year is such flawed logic. They are still UNC, and they got fine supporting players, even if they weren't the 2019 Duke team.
Most of the non-big name traditional schools don't have a bunch of 50 recruits surrounding their scorers. Did Trae Young or Ja Morant have elite talent around them? Seems like just an excuse for Anthony and especially Roy Williams.
I would still bet on Cole Anthony, you can't ignore the prep tape either.

[NotACat]

There is quite a bit of smoke that Cole Anthony is dropping down into our range. I think if he is within striking distance you have to make a move to get him. He could be the MPJ/SGA/etc of this class. If you go back to the draft night thread I made post after post about trading for MPJ when he was available at 13-14, and I am getting a similar feeling about Anthony.

Was it this UNC team that had pretty much no one except Anthony? Teams were doubling him knowing the supporting cast was ****?

Yup, they also had Cole share the floor with 2 bigs who couldn't shoot