2020 NBA Draft: Handing out grades to every team in the lottery

Handing out grades for the 2020 NBA Draft

The 2020 NBA Draft was the first to be ever broadcast virtually with the pandemic forcing players to put on team hats from their living rooms, not the Barclays Center. For some players, like RJ Hampton, it was actually a good thing they had all 30 team hats with them as he went from Milwaukee to New Orleans to finally Denver.

But as for the top of the draft, it stayed rather predictable outside of Chicago. The Minnesota Timberwolves were still trying to trade their No. 1 overall pick just minutes before the selection according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

But the trade market didn’t materialize for any of these top teams and they had to make the selection themselves. So, let’s get into draft grades for the entire lottery.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards

Grade: B 

After months of draft prep, especially for the teams not invited to the bubble, it was generally assumed that LaMelo Ball, if he hits his ceiling, is the best prospect in the entire draft. His floor would be much lower however with obvious holes in his game.

The issue with drafting the consensus “best player available” is that Minnesota already has their point guard of the future in D’Angelo Russell.

While some basketball fans, myself included, would like to see teams draft the best player available all the time, ignore roster crunches and figure it out later, the Wolves didn’t get it too wrong with Anthony Edwards.

The fit is just too good to pass up. Edwards’ ceiling might be lower than LaMelo’s, but it’s rarely the wrong decision to draft a wing in the draft, the most valuable position in the league.

Additionally, the Wolves added Ricky Rubio in a trade later in the day which gives them one of the deepest guard rotations in the league. Not the best, but the deepest. And that’s before seeing if Malik Beasley returns in free agency and wondering if Jarrett Culver will ever play again.