Among the uncertainties surrounding the NBA as the novel coronavirus continues to be a major issue in the U.S. is the 2020 draft.
NBA teams won’t be able to look at college players during March Madness, and the rest of the pre-draft process is expected to be limited. The matter of when the draft will actually happen is up in the air, as well. Especially if the league tries to crown a 2020 champion.
For the Brooklyn Nets, based on where the standings were when the league went on hiatus, their first-round pick would convey to the Timberwolves. Minnesota acquired Brooklyn’s top-14 protected pick from the Hawks, which the Nets sent to Atlanta in a trade that delivered Taurean Prince.
But the Nets will not be without a first-round selection. They have Philadelphia’s top-14 protected pick, which Brooklyn acquired when they sent the No. 27 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft — which wound up being Mfiondu Kabengele — to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Nets’ second-round pick belongs to the Boston Celtics, but Brooklyn the Denver Nuggets’ second-round selection.
Right now, the Nets fall have the No. 20 and No. 55 picks.
Here’s a look at one player Brooklyn could take at No. 20:
Tyler Bey | Colorado | Wing
STATS: 13.8 PPG | 9.0 RPG | 1.2 BPG
At 6-foot-7, Bey does a bit of everything. Though he does his best work on the defensive end (also averaged 1.5 steals per game) — thus leading to the 22-year-old being named the 2020 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. His production on that end of the floor is exactly why ESPN‘s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz think Bey is a good fit in Brooklyn:
Given the Nets’ timeline with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the fold, a defensive dynamo such as Bey would make an intriguing fit in Brooklyn.
If he could build off of what he did from long-range in his junior season — Bey shot 41.9% from deep, but only on 31 attempts — he could become a valuable asset.
And then there’s the matter of where he went to college: Colorado — the same school Spencer Dinwiddie attended. Can’t imagine the Nets guard would object to having another Buffalo in Brooklyn.
Thanks big bruh 💯
— Tyler Bey™ (@_TBIDDIES_) March 12, 2019
@_TBIDDIES_ https://t.co/CUxRFoBxv9
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) April 3, 2020
Nets 2020 NBA mock draft radar:
Florida State wing Patrick Williams
Arizona wing Josh Green
Villanova wing Saddiq Bey
Evansville forward DeAndre Williams
Oklahoma wing Kristian Doolittle
RELATED: 2020 NBA Draft presents Nets with ‘incredible opportunity’