In spite of the doubters, Vernon Carey has had a phenomenal start to his Duke career, posting averages of 18.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game on 63% shooting. He has proved to the college basketball world that he should without a doubt be selected in the NBA Lottery, despite his old-fashioned play style.
In fact, Carey is very arguably the best center in this draft class, however, Isaiah Stewart will be drafted higher than him due to his athleticism that Carey lacks.
Much more surprising to me than Carey’s success is the success of the Charlotte Hornets, who on paper should be the worst team in all of basketball. Their underdog-inspired and energy-infused play style has earned them a much better record than they should probably have.
Regardless of this, the Hornets should still be picking the best player available, but it just so happens that center is a positional need for Charlotte.
Draft Stock Trend: -3
During the 2019-2020 EuroCup, Killian Hayes has absolutely showed out. He is averaging 12.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 1.8 steals on 44 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent from deep. At 6-foot-4 inches tall, Hayes has the ability to play both guard positions, making him a valuable commodity in the modern NBA. His tight handle and vision on the court are perhaps his most intriguing qualities that should land him in the NBA Lottery.
The Wizards are a nice fit for Hayes as they can prepare to move on from the John Wall and Bradley Beal era and focus on building around Rui Hachimura and Hayes. Even if the team does decide to ride with Beal, as they say they plan on doing, Hayes could be a very nice backcourt compliment to the Wizard’s star.
Draft Stock Trend: +4
The Sacramento Kings have not had an ideal start to their season, yet they have been able to pull themselves back up a bit. Sacramento seems to have a very good young core for the time being, with the only position needing to be addressed is in one of the frontcourt spots.
Adding Western Kentucky’s Charles Bassey would allow Marvin Bagley to move over to his natural power forward position and provide a defensive anchor down low for the offensive-minded Kings.
Although having Bassey as a lottery pick may come as a surprise, his numbers have backed it up for the past two years. In his sophomore season, Bassey is posting averages of 15.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists along with 1.4 blocks on 55 percent shooting. Although an old-school player, Bassey would make a nice pairing with the modern-styled Bagley.