Taking An Early Look At The Biggest Winners Of The 2020 NBA Draft

The 2020 NBA draft is officially over, so I’m here to tell you which teams helped themselves the most. It’s not always easy to do something like this right after a draft, but there are clearly some teams that came away with tremendous value, whether that was in the first or second round. With that being said, here’s a look at the teams that I believe won big on draft night (I tried my best to focus solely on prospects, as there are teams that also won and lost trades, but that should remain separate):

Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets had the third pick in the draft, but they were able to land my top prospect, LaMelo Ball. Ball will immediately step in as the lead ball handler for Charlotte, and he should make life a lot easier on guys like Devonte’ Graham, Miles Bridges and PJ Washington. People might think of this as an odd landing spot, but Graham should do well in more of an off-ball role, as he is a shooter and scorer first. He’ll still have plenty of opportunities to create for others, but he should be thrilled to focus on doing what he does best. Meanwhile, Ball fits best on a team with an undersized shooting guard like Graham. Graham can continue to defend point guards, and Ball will get to handle the ball offensively while guarding bigger, slower players on the other end.

James Borrego already had Charlotte moving in the right direction a year ago, but the Hornets will now continue to evolve into an up-tempo team that possesses playmakers all over the floor. The Ball-Washington combination is one to watch in pick-and-roll actions, as Washington has the potential to be one of the best passing forwards in the league as a roll man.

I didn’t love Charlotte taking Vernon Carey with their early second-round pick, but getting Ball was enough to make this night a massive win for Michael Jordan’s team. The Hornets then got Nick Richards, a solid rim-running big, and Grant Riller later in the draft. I’m not Riller’s biggest fan, but it’s admittedly great value for somebody that was a top-20 player on many boards.

Overall, Ball’s creativity is about to completely unlock this Hornets offense, and they now look like a team with a real future.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks might have traded for Clint Capela a year ago, but they still opted to take Onyeka Okongwu with the sixth pick and that should end up being a great decision. Okongwu isn’t quite Bam Adebayo on the offensive end, but he’s going to be a two-way force in this league. Okongwu is the best interior defender in the draft, and he is capable of occasionally stepping out and guarding on the perimeter. Having a defensive anchor like that is exactly what Atlanta needs, especially with Trae Young constantly letting his man get to the rim. Also, Okongwu should be a much better player than Capela on the offensive end. Okongwu is a very good finisher, and unlike Capela, he is a good free throw shooter. It wouldn’t be that surprising if he’s shooting jumpers one day.

Atlanta also drafted Skylar Mays in the second round of the draft. Mays isn’t a high-upside player or anything, but he’s a trustworthy guard that should be able to play some minutes at both backcourt positions. He’s highly skilled, knows how to impose his will on the game and has a lot of experience.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons were picking seventh in the draft, and there was a whole lot of uncertainty in front of them. However, Detroit ended up landing Killian Hayes, who is my third-ranked prospect in this class. Hayes gives the Pistons a lead guard that has the potential to be the best player in this draft. The French guard is as crafty as they come, with great size for his position. He shows some impressive creation ability off the bounce, and I think he’ll ultimately end up being a good outside shooter. His percentages weren’t great overseas, but he has good mechanics.

The Pistons also ended up getting themselves two other first-round picks, and they used them on Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart. Bey is a great 3-and-D prospect, with the size to play both forward spots. He should be a contributor in the NBA for a long, long time. And while I’m not a fan of Stewart’s game, he is a tough, high-character player that can be a handful in the paint. It’s a nice haul for new GM Troy Weaver.  

Sacramento Kings

The Kings were able to get Tyrese Haliburton with the 12^th pick in the draft, and he was my eighth-ranked prospect in this class. On top of just being decent value where they got him, Haliburton is a good fit for the Kings. I’m not exactly sold on Haliburton being a primary ball handler, so having De’Aaron Fox to help run the offense should be a good thing for him. Haliburton does need the ball in his hands a bit, and it’d be a waste not to get him plenty of pick-and-roll opportunities, but with his size and ability to hit catch-and-shoot jumpers, he should do some great things playing off of Fox. Fox is one of the most explosive point guards in the league, but Haliburton will mix in a special dose of savvy, making this one of the best young backcourts in basketball.

The Kings also landed Jahmi’us Ramsey in the second round. Ramsey could have been a first-round pick if he worked on his weaknesses in another year at Texas Tech, but he still has a nice future in this league, and he could be called into action sooner rather than later, as Bogdan Bogdanovic has one foot out the door, and Buddy Hield is hoping his teammate holds it open for him.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers landed my sixth-ranked player with the 21^st pick in the draft, which is an absolute home run for Daryl Morey. Maxey’s shaky jumper is the only reason he isn’t viewed as a consensus top-10 prospect, but Maxey was a solid shooter in high school and displayed some clean-looking mechanics in his televised pre-draft workout a couple of weeks ago. And with his ability to get to the basket and hit floaters in the in-between game, he looks like a future three-level scorer. Maxey is also a straight-up bull on the defensive end, so it’ll be fun watching him and Ben Simmons get after opposing perimeter players this year. Not only do I think Philadelphia landed a steal, I think there’s a pretty good chance they found themselves a future borderline All Star.

Philadelphia also drafted Isaiah Joe and Paul Reed late in the second round. Joe is one of the best shooters in this draft, and he should get plenty of open looks playing off Simmons and Joel Embiid. Morey knew he wanted to add shooting to this Sixers team this offseason, so he went out and got Danny Green, Seth Curry and Joe. Not bad. Meanwhile, Reed is a super athletic power forward that oozes talent and has been a productive player on both ends of the floor. He was 28^th on my final board, but he was once a top-15 player for me. He definitely has a lot to work on, but this could end up being a huge steal, especially if he ever finds a consistent jumper.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks have a lot of holes in their rotation, and they don’t have a whole lot of cap space. That means they really needed to add some impact players in this draft, and they did well in adding Josh Green, Tyrell Terry and Tyler Bey. Terry was my 16^th-ranked prospect in this draft, and Green wasn’t too far behind at 21. Meanwhile, Bey is 48^th on my board, but this is one of the best possible landing spots for him, as the Mavericks know how to develop talent.

In Green, Dallas just picked up an athletic 3-and-D player that should work extremely well off of Luka Doncic, while also taking on the more difficult defensive assignments. His jumper isn’t yet a finished product, but there are reasons to believe he’ll be a trustworthy catch-and-shoot guy in the near future. On the other hand, Terry is an absolute sniper, capable of hitting off the dribble and as a stand-still shooter. He is very dangerous with the ball in his hands, so he should take a ton of pressure off Doncic. Dallas really needed a secondary playmaker, and I think Terry could be it. Meanwhile, Bey is a versatile defender that showed some promise as a shooter in his final year at Colorado. He’s a long way away from being a threat from the three-point line, but he can be a huge steal if he ever becomes one. He’s a special athlete.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder are trusting the process right now, as Sam Presti is going out of his way to accumulate draft picks and swing for the fences with those picks. Oklahoma City came away with an impressive group of players in this draft, getting Aleksej Pokusevski at 17, Theo Maledon at 34 and Cassius Winston at 53. Pokusevski was the boom-or-bust pick of the draft, as he has the potential to be one of the NBA’s next unicorns, but also the ability to be a complete bust. He’s just a really polarizing prospect. But a team like the Thunder can afford to take these risks, and they honestly have no choice but to search for stars in the draft. Whether it’s fair or not, Oklahoma City is not an enticing free agency destination, so the Thunder have to find their studs this way. Maledon is another value pick for Oklahoma City, as he is a skilled combo guard that was projected to go in the first round. It’s unclear exactly why he dropped to the second, but he has a lot of potential, and he should pair nicely with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the future.

Cassius Winston is the opposite of the two players Oklahoma City selected before him. Winston played four years of college basketball and should be ready to come in and give the Thunder some good bench minutes right away. A good shooter and unbelievable leader, Winston’s a great guy to have in the locker room throughout this rebuild.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have proven to be the kings of value over the last two years, as they landed Brandon Clarke with the 21^st pick in the 2019 NBA draft and then found a way to get Desmond Bane and Xavier Tillman this year. Bane was my 18^th-ranked prospect in the class, and he just might be the best shooter this draft has to offer. He’s a marksman from deep and a smart player on both ends of the floor, so he should come in and give Memphis a punch at the shooting guard position. Meanwhile, Tillman is a do-it-all big man that fits like a glove on this Grizzlies team. He’s an elite post defender with great playmaking ability on offense. Plus, Tillman’s outside shot is improving. The Grizzlies hit big on Ja Morant with the second-overall pick last year, but they’re now adding quality pieces all around him.

The Grizzlies also signed Killian Tillie as an undrafted free agent. If it wasn’t for injury concerns, Tillie might have been a first-round pick, as he’s an agile big man that can step outside and shoot the three, while also making good decisions with the ball in his hands. Memphis only had the 40^th pick when the night started, but they landed three of my top-25 prospects.  

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Washington Wizards – All the Wizards had to do was sit back and wait for Deni Avdija to fall in their laps, but they deserve some credit for stopping his slide, and they now have a jack-of-all-trades forward that should fit in very nicely with Bradley Beal and the rest of this young Washington team.

San Antonio Spurs – Devin Vassell is a 3-and-D wing that has upside as a shot creator, and they also nabbed Tre Jones, a two-way point guard that was born to play for Gregg Popovich and is a jumper away from outplaying his draft slot by about 20 spots.

Milwaukee Bucks – The Bucks desperately need to fill out their rotation, but they don’t have many assets, which means they couldn’t afford to miss on second-round picks. Well, they didn’t, grabbing Jordan Nwora and Sam Merrill, two shooters that I believe are ready to play immediately.

New Orleans Pelicans – A few days ago, the Pelicans traded Jrue Holiday in a deal that brought back Eric Bledsoe and George Hill, so point guard definitely wasn’t a position of need for New Orleans, especially with Lonzo Ball on the roster. But David Griffin was able to get Kira Lewis Jr. in the draft, and the speedster really shouldn’t have been available for them. With Lewis Jr., Ball and Zion Williamson in the fold, the Pelicans are going to be a nightmare to defend in transition.