2020 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: Knicks and Bulls walk away happy

Our latest 2020 NBA mock draft has LaMelo Ball heading to the Chicago Bulls, while the New York Knicks wind up with Anthony Edwards.

The continuously weird nature/absence of the sports landscape right now makes everything more difficult, especially the pre-draft process for both NBA and NFL teams. We don’t even know if/when the season/playoffs will resume, much less what the timeline for the offseason will be.

With all of the weirdness, a single Tankathon sim was again used to determine the order of our first NBA Mock Draft for April. With no one playing basketball right now, we can dive into the film and try to gather whatever league intel exists to attempt to guess these picks.

Many remain quite low on the 2020 NBA Draft class. The main issue is the class is largely unproven, and the impact felt by the COVID-19 pandemic has only created additional uncertainty in that regard. With every prospect done playing, teams are left with far less information than they would have in a typical draft. It’s still possible some sort of workouts are done if the draft is pushed to say, September, but for now, teams are operating with a great degree of uncertainty.

We still aren’t sure when the draft will take place or if the season is even going to resume, but nonetheless, here is the third installment of our 2020 NBA Mock Draft series.

*All stats used are from Sports Reference-CBB*

Another potential stretch-5, Vernon Carey showed decent 3-point talent on a low volume at Duke, making 8-of-21 3-point attempts this season. He could become a rotation big if he’s able to hold his own as a defensive anchor.

Xavier Tillman is a winning player. If the Los Angeles Lakers actually make this pick, he’s the type of guy that would make sense to add to what they have in place. While he only shot 13-of-50 from 3, every other part of Tillman’s game blossomed this season.

Theo Maledon slips here due to the bulk of guards in the 20s. This is a high-upside play for the Toronto Raptors to mold as Kyle Lowry plays out the rest of his prime.

The New York Knicks take a stab at Nico Mannion after he slips past a few guards in the 20s. Once considered a lottery prospect, he’s an interesting high-upside guy at this spot.

Jalen Smith has stretch-5 potential that most big men don’t. He made 32 3s and blocked 73 shots this season. With Steven Adams‘ contract expiring after next season, the Oklahoma City Thunder may look to add a replacement option.

Josh Green is a 3-and-D prospect for the Boston Celtics to mold. His offense is the biggest question at this stage, but he’s a nice piece to add to any team’s wing depth.

Grant Riller has been a four-year scoring machine at the College of Charleston, averaging 22 points per game the past two seasons. He’s a solid threat at all three levels, represented by his 61 true shooting percentage. He is one of the best mid-majors players ever, in the tier with Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. He’s not quite that level of a 3-point shooter, so at 6-foot-3, he’ll slip further than he should as one of the best scorers in the draft. He’s slept on because of his size and where he went to school, but he’s a good player, and the Miami Heat like drafting good players.

The Utah Jazz backcourt doesn’t have much in the way of creation aside from Donovan Mitchell. Jahmi’us Ramsey could provide a punch to the second unit as a rookie and develop into a real scoring threat on his first contract.

Tre Jones got up to 36 percent from 3 as this season, alleviating some of the concerns with him at the next level as a shooter. Since he’s already decided to leave Duke, the Philadelphia 76ers could use another ball-handler and shooter to increase roster flexibility around Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. His IQ and grit would be a welcome sight in Philly.

Isaiah Stewart blocks a ton of shots, is decently efficient inside and has begun experimenting with a 3-point shot. The 3-ball has a long way to go, but he might provide some frontcourt depth for a Denver Nuggets unit that has struggled to find the right lineup combinations at times.

Leandro Bolmaro is a 19-year-old international wing prospect. He projects as wing that sees the floor and shoots a decent volume from 3. With the Milwaukee Bucks likely not looking to add a rookie to a championship-level rotation, Bolmaro is an interesting long-term play.

Kira Lewis is another example of the value on the board in the middle of this first round. A wiry scorer with good court vision, Lewis could end up being one of the more effective guards in what is actually a decent guard class.

Patrick Williams is averaging a block and a steal off the bench at 6-foot-8, while also shooting 32 percent from 3 on over 1.5 attempts per game. The Brooklyn Nets may look to add him as a complementary, higher-upside piece around superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, or they may look to trade this pick for veteran assistance.

A long-term stash type of play for the needless Celtics, Pokusevski is a 7-footer with wing-like tendencies. He’s probably at least two years from contributing in the NBA, as he has yet to be an effective player at any level, but could have one of the highest ceilings in the entire draft.

Precious Achiuwa offers the Minnesota Timberwolves another frontcourt option to mix in. The Memphis product is a high-energy big who was shown flashes from 3, shooting 32 percent on 1.3 attempts in 2019-20.

R.J. Hampton may be the best athlete of all of the point guards in the draft, possessing a combination of speed and lift. At just 18, he could take some time learning, but the ceiling is as a high as almost anyone else left on the board. He was a pick-and-roll ball-handler much of the time in the NBL, and could start his career in a bench role running simple actions like this. His fit next to Markelle Fultz is questionable if he doesn’t develop a better jumper, but Hampton’s upside is hard to pass on at this stage of the draft.