Denver Stiffs Mock Draft 1.0

It’s time to put down your pencils, lean back from your computer screen, take a deep sigh, and let the chips land where they fall — tonight is the 2020 NBA Draft.

Every year it’s a long, steady race to study prospects, watch film (who watches things on film nowadays anyways?), pore over stats, and put together rankings for the NBA Draft. This season was unlike any other, with Covid-19 interrupting the year and throwing draft prep into the blender. What’s come out is the result of a few extra months to study less games than usual for every prospect. It’s hard to come to a decision about certain players without seeing them compete for a full season, work out against other prospects, and even talk to them face-to-face.

Every year I find a few players I fall for, and this year is no different. I have a few favorites up and down the board, and am hopeful that they wind up in a good situation where they can thrive. It’s good when new players find ways to be successful, but many of them won’t find that immediately if at all. You always hope for the best, but not every player drafted will wind up reaching their ceiling. Some may never even see more than a few minutes of actual court time — it’s impossible to know for sure with any player.

Here’s my best attempt at predicting the order of the players selected tonight. There may be a few trades that get announced between time of publishing and the draft, and that’s okay — this is more a way to show which needs teams across the league are trying to fill, and to give a sense of how every domino may fall.

Enjoy the draft. Free agency starts in a few hours, and then training camp, followed by the regular season. The Nuggets will be in positional battles before we can blink an eye.