2020 is a very risky year to be an NBA scout, GM or President of Basketball Operations. The draft is full of players with both the potential to be stars, and the potential to be major draft busts. There are no consensus instant stars such as Ben Simmons, Zion Williamson, Ja Morant or Karl-Anthony Towns. While Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball are the most likely to be taken with the top 2 picks, there is no guarantee they will become stars, or even be the best two players in the draft.

While this draft does not appear to be a repeat of the 2013 Draft, where prospects such as Nerlens Noel, Anthony Bennett and Trey Burke did not turn out as planned, there is still a chance that none of these players will  become the stars that scouts project. The situations in which these players are drafted into play a very vital role in their development. Players such as Josh Jackson and Ben McLemore (and most other players drafted by Sacramento in the last decade) were never provided with the right situation to thrive. While players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert and Steven Adams were developed with the right amount of attention from their coaching staff and ideal conditions within their organisations.

The players in this draft appear to have similar ceilings to the players of the 2016 NBA Draft, with the average player’s floor being significantly lower than the players from that year. Players like Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball are worrying comparisons for Edwards and LaMelo. Both were regarded by most scouts and reporters as the best 2 players in the 2017 draft. While both are starting to make progress now, they have both been outperformed by lower draft picks such as Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo and De’Aaron Fox. Edwards and Ball have the highest ceilings in this draft, but as seen in previous years, nothing in this league is guaranteed. If you’re a GM you do not want to draft Anthony Bennett at number 1 based on your scouting reports, and then go on to see Antetokounmpo become a top 3 player in the world at the 15th pick. 

On my site I aim to write my own analyses of the top draft prospects. My analyses will consist of how great I think a player can be if they reach their potential, and how close to that maximum potential I think they are likely to reach. Over the next couple of months I hope to fill this site up with  posts about players and hopefully mock drafts too. 

I am a Media student from New Zealand trying to hone my writing skills. Basketball and the NBA Draft are two of my greatest passions. This is why I have chosen to create a blog projecting the potential of the players in this draft.

Thank you for reading, and I hope I can continue to write more posts in the future.