2019 NBA Mock Draft: Fallout from Zion Williamson’s injury gives others a chance to shine

The arms race in the Anthony Davis sweepstakes is officially upon us. Who you believe has the best package has a lot to do with how you view individual players, including the very best in the game, from LeBron James to Kevin Durant to Kawhi Leonard. Each could be beckoning Davis from separate teams. The Lakers can use the opportunity to play with James to Davis, which we already know appeals to the seven-year Pelican, as well as a package of several young players to get the trade done. New York can offer an even better pick but not much else, as well as the chance of Davis playing with another star. Boston has a better package of players as well as several more picks. However, the way each team handles the draft will play a part in which partner New Orleans prefers because the trade won’t happen until Kyrie Irving opts out of his contract with the Celtics on July 1.

So if New Orleans doesn’t like what Boston ends up doing in the draft, perhaps adding Bol to the Lakers’ young core helps get the deal done. It’s truly tough to imagine Boston not outbidding the Lakers in terms of pure asset capital but the games all these franchises will play on draft night is worth considering when we run through a mock like this. The Lakers, Celtics and Knicks will all firmly have New Orleans in mind when they make their selections in June.

Bol presents severe risk and intoxicating reward. A foot injury for someone as tall and physically underdeveloped as Bol is concerning, to be sure, but equal in magnitude is the potential of a player Bol’s size who can make plays with the ball in his hands and shoot 3s. He will be a flash point in 2019, just as Michael Porter Jr. was with many of the same concerns last summer.