Busting Brackets
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NBA Draft 2020: Updated first-round mock draft following lottery drawing

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 30: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks looks on with RJ Hampton of the Breakers during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 30: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks looks on with RJ Hampton of the Breakers during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) /
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MARIETTA, GA – MARCH 25: Nico Mannion and Josh Green attend the 2019 Powerade Jam Fest (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images for Powerade)
MARIETTA, GA – MARCH 25: Nico Mannion and Josh Green attend the 2019 Powerade Jam Fest (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images for Powerade) /

. Guard. Milwaukee Bucks. Theo Maledon. 24. player. 89

The Bucks shouldn’t expect to get an immediate contributor with this pick, given their championship aspirations, but finding a player who can fit the system and play off of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton is still important based on the advanced age of the supporting staff and lack of young, longterm bench pieces (outside of Donte DiVincenzo).

Theo Maledon likely presents Milwaukee with the best player available (at least by consensus) and he’d provide them with size (6’5 with a 6’9 wingspan) and play finishing ability (spot shooting, soft floater game) that the front office would want off the bench.

Milwaukee fits: Josh Green, Tre Jones, Jaden McDaniels

. Wing. Utah Jazz. Robert Woodard II. 23. player. 118

Utah has been on the hunt for a backup point guard for several years now, using the draft and free agency to give guys multiple auditions to no avail. A guard will be considered here (think Tre Jones, Theo Maledon, Malachi Flynn), but the team could also use another backup wing with perceived 3-and-D upside after their defense dropped off a bit this year. Mississippi State’s Robert Woodard II fits that mold with his frame (6’7, 230 pounds) and strong sophomore season beyond the arc (42.9%).

Utah fits: Leandro Bolmaro, Malachi Flynn, Tyler Bey

73. . Wing. Denver Nuggets. Josh Green. 22. player

If Denver’s horrendous effort on the defensive end against Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz is indicative of the team’s ceiling, then the roster needs a serious infusion of impactful point-of-attack and team defenders to throw between Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and Nikola Jokic.

Josh Green could give the Nuggets just that, with the 6’6 Aussie wing possessing outlier hip fluidity and lateral quickness in addition to intuitive on- and off-ball defensive awareness. The shooting and finishing woes will need to be fixed, but his fit on offense as an off-ball playmaker (spot-ups, cuts, connective passing) makes so much sense next to a passer such as Jokic, who excels with off-ball movers.

Denver fits: Desmond Bane, Josh Green, Tyler Bey