2020 NBA Draft: Examining LaMelo Ball, Cole Anthony and Most-Discussed Prospects

There will be no Zion Williamson in the 2020 NBA draft. Nor will there be an RJ Barrett, Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. or Luka Doncic.

Put simply, there are no players among this year's cohort on whom experts and draft analysts can put a finger and say, "He's going to be an impact player from day one." Instead, both front-office executives and draftniks alike will be poring over film—especially with all in-person workouts prohibited amid the coronavirus pandemic—hoping that whenever the 2020 draft is held, they'll be selecting the next Jayson Tatum, not the second-coming of Markelle Fultz, Anthony Bennett or Josh Jackson.

In a draft class as unpredictable and lacking in depth as this, scouting is an inexact science. None of what were thought to be the top available prospects—Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman and Cole Anthony—had particularly impressive 2019-20 seasons.

Dayton's Obi Toppin, meanwhile, shocked college basketball with his Naismith Award-winning season, leading the Flyers to a likely No. 1 seed had the NCAA tournament been held. But was it a fluke? Was his competition in the Atlantic 10 too weak? Those are exactly the questions that executives around the league are going back and forth over.

Three prospects—Edwards, Ball and Wiseman—have been most often discussed as potential No. 1 picks. But a fourth, Anthony, could sneak into the top three or four, especially with the teams projected to be picking in those spots needing guards.

LaMelo Ball, PG, Illawarra Hawks

The youngest Ball brother has arguably the most potential of anyone in the draft, but he also brings the most question marks. His lone season overseas, which he opted for when his NCAA eligibility was unlikely, answered some questions but left others still unknown.

He proved that he can play at the professional level, sure. But he's yet to be in a system that doesn't completely revolve around him. He didn't shoot well, especially from the three-point line, and he did nothing to shed his reputation as a below-average defender.

For the Cleveland Cavaliers, one of a handful of teams who will likely be drafting in the top five, bringing in another ball-dominant guard like Ball with Darius Garland and Collin Sexton on the roster might not make sense. According to Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor, the organization considered drafting Damian Lillard the year after it selected Kyrie Irving but worried about clogging its backcourt. Instead, the Cavs took Dion Waiters. In Fedor's words, "Whoops."

The team still doesn't know what it has in Garland and Sexton, and if someone like Wiseman is available, particularly with Tristan Thompson's contract expiring this year, it would seem to make sense to bolster the front line instead of adding another guard into the mix.

But as Fedor points out, the Cavaliers don't want to repeat their mistake of not selecting a guard because they've already got one, and there's not a single player on Cleveland's roster with Ball's playmaking ability.

James Wiseman, C, Memphis

The fact that Wiseman, who runs counter to the league's shift to big men who can score away from the basket, is a potential No. 1 pick says so much about the uncertainty in this year's draft. He's been thought of as an elite prospect for quite some time, but his almost nonexistent single season at Memphis didn't answer many questions for a player who poses a number of them.

In his three games with the Tigers before he was held out because of potential NCAA infractions regarding his recruitment, the 7'1" Wiseman averaged 19.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game on 76.9 percent shooting. Only one of those games, though, came against high-major competition, and the lack of available in-person workouts makes him even harder to dissect.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle's Connor Letourneau, the Golden State Warriors—one of the teams expected to be in contention for the No. 1 pick—are high on neither Ball nor Wiseman. At the same time, Cleveland isn't in desperate need of a big man after acquiring Andre Drummond, and both the Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves already have established centers.

Depending on where the draft lottery lands, another team could trade up to select Wiseman, but right now it's too unclear to see who that might be.

Cole Anthony, G, North Carolina

Once thought of as a near-consensus top-two pick in this year's draft, Anthony has also drawn a lot of questions about where exactly he fits in the top tier of this class.

A litany of injuries overshadowed his lone season at North Carolina—both his own and his teammates—and he was asked to carry a large scoring load even for a player of his caliber. And his stats suffered; he averaged 18.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, but he did it on just 38.0 percent shooting.

He's yet to actually declare for the draft, but according to the New York Post's Zach Braziller, his stock right now is volatile, ranging from the top five or six picks to the low teens.

One scout told Braziller that this season raised some questions about his efficiency and need to constantly have the ball in his hands, while another dismissed his performance this season, pointing to the lack of talent around him. Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams at one point this season called his team "the least gifted team I've ever coached in the time that I've been back here."

That Anthony chose to return to the team after having arthroscopic knee surgery when other top-flight prospects have chosen not to won't go completely unnoticed, and ESPN's Jay Bilas noted to Braziller that teams can see what kind of talent—or lack thereof—he was playing with.

It seems unlikely that he'll go ahead of Ball or Edwards, the two top guards in this year's class, but other high-lottery teams like the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls need guards. And in a draft whose deep position is exactly that, Anthony might just make sense.

Follow Keegan on Twitter, @ByKeeganPope.