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The 2020 NBA Draft is set for Thursday, June 25, and despite the coronavirus pandemic, we need to start looking at prospects and where they might land. After the NBA Draft Lottery takes place, teams will know where they’re selecting in the first round. Even though we don’t know where each team will pick, there’s no reason we can’t start speculating where prospects will end up on draft night. In this segment, we’ll be looking at each top prospect and breaking down their best and worst possible destination in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Patrick Williams, SF, FSU
Best possible destination: Boston Celtics
There’s a lack of big men in this draft class and Williams has a lot of appeal. He’s a great athlete who can finish easily around the rim — usually with a dunk. The thing about Williams that makes him a great fit for the NBA is his shooting range. He can step out and knock down the NBA 3-pointer. Whether that translates to the next level is still to be seen. Williams is probably more of a 3 in the League, but for the Celtics that shouldn’t matter.
Boston has a stable of combo guard/forwards in Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics are essentially wing heavy. Williams would add another guy who fits that mold, but one who can also play more of a traditional PF type of game. He’s a bit undersized at 6’8” but makes up for it with length. If I were a team in the East I wouldn’t want to see Williams land in Beantown. He could end up being a top 5 player in this draft, it’s so wide open.
Worst possible destination: Dallas Mavericks
It’s hard to say that a team with Luka Doncic would be a bad fit for any young prospect. The thing is the Mavericks have Kristaps Porzingis, Dwight Powell, Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith. That’s a lot of size down low and I’m not sure Williams would fit in anywhere. I wouldn’t see a clear path to playing time for Williams. Honestly though, an athletic specimen like Williams can realistically fit anywhere, but somebody has to be at the bottom of the barrel, right?