There is no possible way that the University of Kentucky does not produce a lottery pick in 2020, and Tyrese Maxey is more than likely going to be the individual who shoots up draft boards in order to do so. The only reason that he is not in the lottery now is due to the outrageous amount of point guards on the board.
Maxey was a top-ten high school product and is likely going to take on the lead scoring role for the Wildcats this season. He is not a pure point guard, as he often plays better off of the ball and is not a great distributor, but he is one of the better pure scorers in the draft.
Houston is another one of those teams that will not be picking remotely close to the lottery this year, but could use another shooter in Mike D’Antoni’s system.
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Here, back-to-back Kentucky products come off the board, with the second being Chicago’s own Kahlil Whitney. Whitney is an absolutely raw athlete capable of playing on both sides of the floor at a high level. His jumper isn’t exactly where it needs to be yet, but he is quickly improving his range. He also needs to look to tighten up his handle in order to capitalize on his strengths as an athlete on the perimeter.
The Bucks are clearly contenders, thus the team can certainly afford to take a swing at the fences with a player like Whitney. He reminds scouts a bit of Nassir Little, but perhaps he does not have quite the upside Little did and is much more NBA-ready as well.
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Make no mistake about it, the Charlotte Hornets will be finishing in the bottom three this season and will not be close to a playoff berth. However, with the way the current standings ended up, the Hornets will go ahead and grab the best player available in Killian Hayes.
Hayes is an American-born player who spent most of his life in Europe and is currently playing there professionally. He is a prolific passer and has a very tight handle. His athleticism also makes him an impressive scorer, but he has yet to prove anything with his jumper. In addition, standing at 6-foot-5, his size impresses.
Terry Rozier is simply not going to get the job done for the Hornets, and considering they are very much a rebuilding team, a 25-year-old guard who shoots the ball inefficiently isn’t the route they need to go. P.J. Washington is looking like a great pick for Charlotte and Hayes would be a nice compliment to help the slow rebuilding mess in Charlotte.