Right on target... here's Sam Vecenie of the Athletic
dropping his initial 2020 mock draft today:
17. Portland Trail Blazers
Nico Mannion | 6-3 guard | 18 years old, freshman | Arizona
Scouts who have gone to Arizona practices have come away with the impression that the coaching staff is trying to pump the brakes on the pro hype surrounding Mannion just a bit. It’s not that they don’t think he’s a one-and-done or a likely first-round pick or anything. It’s more about evaluators around the industry having him as a potential top-10 pick and Arizona wanting to manage expectations about someone who will be an extremely popular player this season.
Honestly, I do understand why. Mannion is not some incredible athlete who will be able to buzz in and out of the lane in the NBA with ease. He’s a high-IQ guard who gets by with feel for the game. His play with a ball-screen is really strong. In those situations, his footwork is terrific, and he has all of the little tricks you look for to change speeds and directions to find the empty spot in those defensive coverages. And once he does that and gets into the paint, Mannion is really good at using his touch from the midrange and his terrific passing ability to tear the defense apart from the inside. It’s also worth noting that he’s a strong shooter from distance off the dribble.
Still, the question scouts have asked about Mannion is whether he’s athletic or skilled enough to become a starting point guard who can consistently break down defenders. Can his offensive aptitude make up for what will, undeniably, be some real defensive concerns in the NBA? He just doesn’t have the length, lateral quickness or strength to become a plus defender, in all likelihood. This season should do a bit to tell us about that. Still, I am curious to see how his frame and athleticism look as he steps up in competition.
He’s one of the guys I’m most looking forward to watching this season. I’m going to default to what the scouts have told me for now, despite my overall interest in Mannion long-term. After having seen him for two straight weeks last year at Hoop Summit and McDonald’s All-American, I would have had him in the lottery. We’ll see, though.
Another thing worth noting: Arizona has consistently been talking up center Zeke Nnaji quite a bit in the preseason. I am not sure I see the NBA translation there yet, so he won’t feature on this mock draft. But expect him to contribute early for the Wildcats.
18. Orlando Magic
Josh Green| 6-5 wing | 19 years old, freshman | Arizona
Much like many prospects in this class, Green is one whose game features big-time strengths and big-time questions. On the positive end, Green plays really hard and is a terrific athlete. At 6-foot-5 with a 6-10 wingspan, he has good size and length for the wing position. He imposes that athleticism best in transition right now, where he runs the floor hard and creates action plays.
On offense, he’s a strong straight-line driver with a good first step. He’s not a true creator who can change pace or direction to get defenders off balance, but he can catch and attack from a wing, and use his speed to buzz into the paint. He’s also a really good cutter, who should form a terrific partnership on those with point guard Nico Mannion.
Defensively, that motor plays up and he should be one of the better on-ball guys in the Pac-12 on the wing. We’ll see how the help-side defense is, but for the most part he has all of the tools to be a strong player on that end.
The big question for me remains the jumper. Green made shots at a clip that wasn’t particularly unreasonable at IMG Academy during his prep years. But I wasn’t a huge fan of the mechanics when I’ve scouted him. He has a low release point with his elbow slightly flaring, which leads to a flatter trajectory on the arc. His touch isn’t bad and there’s upside, but Green has to do some work on his mechanics to become a floor-spacing wing. To take him this high would be a bet on that upside as a shooter, given that he likely won’t be an offensive creator. Right now, given the dearth of other options, I’m willing to bet on that figuring itself out, given some of his other tools.
