The 2020 NBA Draft figures to be one of the least predictable ones in recent memory. While previous drafts have had some form of certainty typically at the No. 1 spot, the 2020 NBA Draft has no level of certainty even in that spot. Three prospects are conceivably up for the top pick and any number of players could follow.
Even through the uncertainty, though, one of the common threads is that LaMelo Ball figures to be the top prospect with the highest ceiling. And as often as teams chase high-risk prospects like Ball, he figures to be at the center of trade rumors moving forward.
Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman recently discussed the possibility of teams trading up in the draft and noted that Ball figures to be the most common target.
“The question is whether there will enough teams willing to trade an asset to move up. The belief is that if teams are looking to move up, it will be a franchise trying to land Ball.”
A variety of things could play into this. First, the top of the draft lottery is littered with teams not needing a point guard. Each of the top four teams – Golden State, Cleveland, Minnesota and Atlanta – have recently-drafted point guard prospects on the roster.
Teams could be eyeing those spots, then, as potential spots to trade up to and draft Ball. The New York Knicks are one of the teams that have discussed trading up while the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards are both teams in search of long-term point guards.
All the uncertainty should lead to an exciting draft night, which is set for October 15.