An Early Look At The 2019 NBA Draft

It’s ridiculously early to look at the 2019 draft but that’s the world we live in today. Duke of course has at least three likely lottery picks in RJ Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish. The Sporting News has a look at various draft prospects including those three.

Here’s what one observer says: “Barrett is the best player in college this year, in terms of NBA talent. He has great size (6-6) and point guard instincts, sort of like James Harden. So I think things will go through him, but what does that do to the other two guys?

”If Reddish does not get the ball, he tends to fade during games. Williamson needs to get it in transition. I don’t think any of the three fall out of the lottery just because of the talent level, but it might not be smooth there.”

Also interesting is Boston’s position in the draft. The Celtics will probably get Sacramento’s pick which could be pretty high and higher still depending on whether the Kings end up in the draft lottery. Boston could also get Memphis’s pick which could also be a lottery pick and if the Clippers somehow make the playoffs, Boston will get theirs as well.

We can imagine that Danny Ainge would like to get Barrett but that’s probably a stretch since he’s projected to go first. There’s a lot of uncertainty about Williamson still so it’s hard to project his outcome now. Two lottery picks though would probably pay for Cam Reddish and he would be a huge asset for a team like Boston and a coach like Brad Stevens.