2019 NBA Mock Draft: Will the Knicks’ big gamble pay off?

As discussions pick up between New Orleans and Los Angeles, it is highly unlikely the Lakers will draft this low or even make this pick themselves. More believable to us would be the Lakers making the playoffs with a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis, giving their mid-teens pick to New Orleans and the Clippers keeping their own pick and drafting here. All these moving pieces are making the draft order a kaleidoscope of star-chasing.

So even though this is somewhat of a placeholder for the ultimate use of this selection, don’t discount Doumbouya. The French point forward is too talented to fall out of the lottery at this point, despite a thumb injury that has stolen valuable weeks of intel for NBA teams this season.

Imagine him alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Los Angeles, where the Clippers will use their cap space to sign superstar talent rather than trade for it, meaning they could end up keeping SGA or someone like Doumbouya. The playmaking and size from those two certainly is a fantastic starting place in the modern NBA.

Or if the Lakers were to miss the postseason due should Davis or James miss extended time, imagine Doumbouya in New Orleans, a city where French culture is already ingrained and the franchise would be wide open to give the youngster playing time with the ball in his hands.

He is raw (and very young having just turned 18 at the end of December) but carries immense potential already.