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:
Nico Mannion | Arizona | Guard
STATS: 14 PPG | 5.3 APG | 39.2 FG%
NBC Sports‘ James Ham thinks Mannion is a fit in Brooklyn even if the Nets don’t move Spencer Dinwiddie:
Brooklyn has a pair of quality point guards in Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie, but neither seem capable of playing anywhere near 82 games.
Maybe he forgot Dinwiddie played in 80 games in 2017-18 and he played in each of the Nets’ 64 games before the NBA had to put the season on pause.
Now, if Brooklyn decides to move Dinwiddie, then drafting Mannion would make sense. Unless he becomes more efficient as a shooter, Mannion isn’t going to be a scoring point guard off the bench. But with the way the Nets’ roster looks with Irving and Kevin Durant healthy, a facilitator might be the right fit at the reserve point guard role.
Nets 2020 NBA mock draft radar:
Florida State wing Patrick Williams
Arizona wing Josh Green
Villanova wing Saddiq Bey
Colorado wing Tyler Bey
Evansville forward DeAndre Williams
Oklahoma wing Kristian Doolittle
Pesaro forward Paul Eboua
Kentucky guard Tyrese Maxey
Olympiacos center Aleksej Pokusevski
Western Kentucky center Charles Bassey
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