NBA Draft: Wizards To Explore Trading Up From No. 9

The Washington Wizards were disappointed that they were unable to move up in the 2020 NBA Draft Lottery. The franchise landed the No. 9 pick but there’s a chance that they won’t be picking at that spot.

GM Tommy Sheppard—speaking with local media, including Heavy.com, via a zoom conference call on Thursday—said he’ll look to move up in the draft while adding that moving down also remains a possibility.

“I have eight calls to make tomorrow and over the course of the next week, to talk to the teams ahead of us and see what their needs are and see what they want to do. Then, talk to the teams behind us and see what their needs are,” Sheppard said.

In addition to the No. 9 pick, Washington owns the No. 37 overall pick. Sheppard added that he’s “very, very open” to acquiring another second-round pick.

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Top-5 Prospects In 2020 NBA Draft

G Anthony Edwards, Georgia – Edwards has the ability to be a face of a franchise, though his inconsistency leaves much to be desired. He’s an offensive maestro, though if he doesn’t develop into a superstar, he’ll have to change his game up to fit into a NBA system.

C James Wiseman, Memphis – Does Wiseman like basketball? Does he understand where to be on the floor? Will he dial in and work on his efficiency woes? These are the questions surrounding the 19-year-old center who otherwise looks the part of a No. 1 overall pick.

G LaMelo Ball, Illawarra – Ball didn’t take the traditional route for top prospects entering the draft; he opted to play in Australia. Regardless, he’s in the mix for the top overall selection. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has the Wolves taking Ball in his latest mock draft. Not sure that a backcourt of Ball and Russell works defensively, but it would certainly

Obi Toppin, Dayton – Toppin is a polished 22-year-old prospected who should be able to contribute right away, especially on the offensive end. What is his ceiling? Some teams concerned about that may pass on him. He’s no LeBron James but he could help out nearly every club.

Deni Avdija, Maccabi Tel Aviv – Avdija is a 6-8 wing with point guard play-making skills. He’d fit seamlessly in any offense as he can contribute with or without the ball.

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Timberwolves Win Lottery, Hornets Move Up

The big winner of the draft lottery was the Timberwolves. The team had a 14% chance at landing the pick (tied with Cleveland and Golden State for the top odds.

The Warriors ended up with top pick and there’s already chatter about what trades the team could be thinking about. Golden State may look to deal the pick and they could do so while attaching Andrew Wiggins and his $27.5 million salary to bring back a significant piece.

The Hornets came away with the No. 3 pick. They were in the spot that the Wizards would have had if the league went with the normal reverse standings, however, the league decided to lock in the bottom eight teams into the top-8 slots. Charlotte had a 6.7 chance at moving up to No. 3.

Chicago jumped four teams to land the No. 4 pick. The franchise has a new front office, so we could see some trade movement from the Bulls this offseason as Arturas & Co. look to make their mark on the franchise.

Full First-Round Draft Order

1. 1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. 2. Golden State Warriors
3. 3. Charlotte Hornets
4. 4. Chicago Bulls
5. 5. Cleveland Cavaliers
6. 6. Atlanta Hawks
7. 7. Detroit Pistons
8. 8. New York Knicks
9. 9. Washington Wizards
10. 10. Phoenix Suns
11. 11. San Antonio Spurs
12. 12. Sacramento Kings
13. 13. New Orleans Pelicans
14. 14. Boston Celtics (from Grizzlies)
15. 15. Orlando Magic
16. 16. Portland Trail Blazers
17. 17. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Nets)
18. 18. Dallas Mavericks
19. 19. Brooklyn Nets (from Sixers)
20. 20. Miami Heat
21. 21. Philadelphia 76ers (from Thunder)
22. 22. Denver Nuggets (from Rockets)
23. 23. Utah Jazz
24. 24. Milwaukee Bucks (from Pacers)
25. 25. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Nuggets)
26. 26. Boston Celtics
27. 27. New York Knicks (from Clippers)
28. 28. Los Angeles Lakers
29. 29. Toronto Raptors
30. 30. Boston Celtics (from Bucks)

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