If Naz Reid was ten years older, he would be a sure-fire lottery pick. His kind of old-school, back to the bucket offense is prehistoric in today’s perimeter-centric league, but Reid’s talent is too much to pass on. With no player in their young core regarded as an above-average shooter, the Cavs will have to go out in free agency and bring in some floor spacers.
Prospect Rank: 27
All signs point to the Brooklyn Nets landing multiple superstar free agents. Thus, the next move that should be made by the Nets is to surround these hypothetical stars with role players who excel at particular aspects of the game. Matisse Thybulle is far and away the top perimeter defender in this class, and Brooklyn should be all over acquiring a young defensive anchor.
Prospect Rank: 29
Carsen Edwards to Golden State makes too much sense. Not only does he fit perfectly into their style of play, but the team also lost two twenty point-per-game scorers for 2019-2020. Edwards can help take on a volume scoring rate off the bench at an early stage in his career, a rare opportunity on a championship-caliber team such as Golden State.
Prospect Rank: 28
Taking the best player available here would be the way to go for a retooling team like San Antonio, but the best payer left on the board as of now is a center. Instead, they take the second best player on the board: Luguentz Dort. Dort has some nice skills as a scorer and defender, but will need to improve his outside shot to be an affective fit with Dejounte Murray in the backcourt.
Prospect Rank: 30
The fit is not important for Detroit with the 30th overall pick. Daniel Gafford is a bargain this late in the first round and the Pistons should be all over him. Taking Gafford will allow Detroit to have a solid, young frontcourt off the bench with Thon Maker.