The 2020 NBA Draft

[BobbieL]

Can shoot, block and rebound at a position of need.

What is the knock on him such that he was projected around 20? seems as good as any other prospect, and perfect for us?

As Flex would say (though he didn't mention Jalen Smith and he's certainly not a guy that fell), it was fluid...rankings were pretty fluid. Seems like he was as high as 13 at one point.

The thing is, there is not much separation between like the top 20 picks...outside of a handful of guys. Jalen Smith is 15 on tankathon's big board and 17 on the ringers.

Mocks might have had him lower.

Based on this draft - mocks and rankings of the media don’t mean anything.

[Ghost of Kleine]

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?s=09

[bwgood77]

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He can show Ayton how to finish.

Love the glasses.

[matt131]

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Already dunks harder and runs faster than Ayton

[grumpysaddle]

For a second I thought we drafted Jaden Smith.

[TeamTragic]

Smith will be motivation for Ayton.

BOOK IT

[Revived]

Cam is absolutely the starter at the 4 this kid will be his back up

Gives us a backup at both 4 and 5.

I think he takes Cam's spot and makes him a super sub and 6MOTY candidate

That’s what I think as well. Lakers just showed that you can win with size in the league.

I think this kid will compliment Ayton well. Of course not immediately but in the long run.

[matt131]

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He can show Ayton how to finish.

Love the glasses.

If Ayton doesn't start to show passion and energy, this dude is gonna kill him in practice.

And the glasses are sick. Such a cool look

[phx#7]

Based on this draft - mocks and rankings of the media don’t mean anything.

Lots of high floors/low ceilings or low floors/high ceilings in this draft. Huge bust potential at the top imo, but not a whole lot separating the high floor players.

[Slim Charless]

means we can maybe spend our MLE on a guard to backup CP3

If the NYK sign van fleet we can easily pick up 1 of their young PGs. If there's talent there than learning under cp3 will bring it out.

[BobbieL]

Gives us a backup at both 4 and 5.

I think he takes Cam's spot and makes him a super sub and 6MOTY candidate

No...I mean MAYBE eventually against certain teams, but still doubtful. Definitely covers us for an Ayton or Saric injury though.

Somebody on twitter, maybe O’Connor mentioned the PElicans as a landing spot for Baynes; the Pels just landed Kira Lewis.

Baynes for Hill perhaps?

[SuperSunsFan]

I like this pick, this dude on paper is brandan clarke on steroid. I don't like the idea of drafting a point guard, like quarterbacks of football this is such a hit or miss position it is better to sign a known quality in free agency or get one through trade.

[Blonde]

Smith looks geriatric with his foot speed. I would get it if this was 1999....

[Saberestar]

What was the deal he turned down?

^this. Everyone assumes we had teams offering everything to trade up. Teams were probably happy where they were and so you take the guy you want at your pick, period.

Yeah, if you want a guy, pick him. Don't mess around, or as others would say, "Get cute". He fits a need, as a backup big...is a great defender and can hit the 3.

Draft for fit is always a mistake IMO.

I think Halliburton, Kira or Vassell are more talented and BPA at #10. But hopefully James Jones is right about Smith.

[Frank Lee]

Smith compliments Saric more than Ayton ....

[Revived]

Did a little research and I'm alright with the pick. Unlike last year, I wasn't as invested in this year's draft with everything going on so when people say Jalen was a reach, it doesn't bother me as much as the Cam pick from last year. Then again, I was wrong about the Cam pick last year so maybe Smith was the right pick

But right out the gate, he's clearly a player that you can play in different line ups (with or without Ayton) and that's important when bringing in front court depth which we need. I also understand the not taking a PG like Halliburton. In the NBA, if you have high aspirations, you can't really rely on a rookie PG as a CP3 replacement when he goes to the bench. I think you need steady hands and I'm guessing that's what we're looking for with our exceptions

Same. This kid also doesn’t have any obvious injury risk to worry about *not yet knock on wood*.

[Qwigglez]

Smith looks like Ibaka and Turner.

[RedIndian]

Smith is strictly a 5 in the NBA. I know a lot of guys on here think he can play the 4, but he's fairly limited in putting the ball on the floor, nor is he quick enough laterally to guard wings.

I think he'll be fine at the 5. Think of him as a shorter Myles Turner or maybe a defensively better version of Thomas Bryant. My only concern with young bigs is that they take time. Smith is pretty thin, and will need to bulk up before he can handle regular NBA minutes. I'm really not expecting much more than 15 mins from him this year.

I don't like the fact that we passed up on Haliburton and Vassell. Both guys would have contributed more straight off the bat.

[TheLogician]

Shams #14 pick

Spoiler:

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Shams #15 pick

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[AtheJ415]

I watched a ton of Maryland this year. I like Smith, but not nearly this high. And before anybody says, "well Cam", yeah, Cam is a good player, but Brandon Clarke is still better and was sitting there at a position of more need. We had a boatload of guards sitting there at a position of need as dire as our PF spot, particularly if Saric is indeed being brought back.

Vassell and Haliburton were guys that would help this team more. Combo guards with playmaking ability who are not defensive liabilities are rare. Both do that.