NBA Draft 2020: Top 4 prospects separate themselves in latest mock draft

The Clippers have built one of the league’s best defensive teams but lack true backcourt depth behind Patrick Beverley, Landry Shamet, and Lou Williams. Finding depth – and an eventual replacement – for some of those guys should be a priority for the Clippers. That brings us to Jones, one of the top defenders in the nation. He prides himself on the defensive end and won’t take any shots away from Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, so that’s a bonus, too.

The Thunder have roughly 8 million first-round picks over the next decade, and this one comes via the Nuggets. Because they have all this draft capital in what could be a long rebuild, Oklahoma City can take a flyer on the Senegal native and allow him to develop. There’s an intriguing skill set there – Sylla is 6-9 with a 7-3 wingspan, has a knockdown jumper, and can handle the ball. He just has to get significantly stronger and he’s still raw, which is expected given he has only been playing organized basketball for a handful of years.

Smith would’ve been a first-round pick last year had he opted to leave Maryland but returned for his sophomore season. He hasn’t made the consistent scoring leap he was expected to, but he has improved on the glass (thanks to him getting stronger this offseason) and really improved as a rim protector (2.3 block per game). Boston needs big man help and Smith can contribute right away.

Simply put, the Lakers need depth. Cheap depth. Whitney has been extremely underwhelming at Kentucky through the first seven games of his collegiate career, but he was a five-star prospect with elite athleticism and NBA size (6-6, 210 pounds). His defense, upside, and slashing ability may be enough to keep him in the first round, and the Lakers could be the team that takes the gamble on him.

Boston’s second pick at the end of the round comes via the Bucks. That will allow them to take a flyer on a talented European prospect in Aleksej Pokusevski, a 7-footer who still isn’t 18 yet plays a key role on Olympiakos B. He’s a reliable three-point shooter who can handle the ball and create while also serving as a rim protector defensively, and that rare skill combination is why he’s a borderline first-round prospect. However, he’s very thin and that lack of strength doesn’t allow him to really compete down low. Pokusevski might be a draft-and-stash big, but his upside is tremendous.