While The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has long had LaMelo Ball as the top prospect on his big board for the 2020 NBA Draft, he has not had him as the top pick in his mock draft. When taking team needs and rumors and reports around the league into account, Ball would typically fall out of the top spot.
However, in Thursday’s latest update from Vecenie, Ball now holds the No. 1 spot. Vecenie talked about the numerous reasons for moving Ball to the top spot with a snippet of that to follow:
“So who do they rate as the top player? No one is particularly sure at this juncture. But my guess is Ball makes a lot of sense as the guy they think has the highest upside. He had a terrific half year playing in Australia against pros, and his advanced numbers across the board are better than Edwards’. Both were wildly inefficient, but Ball had a ridiculous 3-to-1 assist rate to turnover rate. He rebounded well and had a high steal rate. And even beyond that, the scouting tells you that his ability to make plays with ball in hand is special. I have him at No. 1 because his upside as a playmaker and passer is exceptionally high. But my bet is that this projection gets adjusted again before the draft happens — whenever that may be.”
Vecenie also notes how none of the top three prospects stand out as the best fit in Minnesota versus the others, making the decision even more difficult. Ultimately, it appears it came down to Ball having the highest upside of the three.
At this point, though, Ball won’t be able to separate himself from the likes of Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman unless there are in-person workouts with teams, which doesn’t feel likely. If that is the case, expect these rankings of prospects to remain largely fluid and unpredictable until draft night.
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