2020 NBA Mock Draft: Latest Predictions for Saddiq Bey, Rising Prospects

The 2020 NBA draft is now scheduled to take place October 15, meaning teams have four months to home in on their top targets.

Consequently, the draft picture could look quite a bit different once the event rolls around than it does right now.

With no consensus top prospect in this draft class, the early draft order is likely to come down to individual team preferences. For example, the Golden State Warriors would take Georgia's Anthony Edwards with the top pick, according to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle. However, Edwards may not be the choice for every franchise—and he may not even be the optimal choice for the Warriors.

Letourneau recently mentioned Villanova forward Saddiq Bey was a prospective Warriors target:

"According to league sources, some Warriors decision-makers believe that Bey is an NBA-ready wing with a chance to become a franchise building block. Whether that would be enough for Golden State to use a top-five pick on him remains unclear. If the Warriors decide they must have Bey, they'd probably be best served trading down to the late lottery."

Trading down a few spots and snagging Bey would provide the Warriors with value and also shake up the draft.

2020 NBA Mock Draft, Round 1

1. Minnesota Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards, SG, Georgia

2. New York Knicks: LaMelo Ball, PG, Illawarra Hawks

3. Chicago Bulls: James Wiseman, C, Memphis

4. Cleveland Cavaliers: Killian Hayes, PG, Ratiopharm Ulm

5. Phoenix Suns: Obi Toppin, PF, Dayton

6. Charlotte Hornets: Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa State

7. Atlanta Hawks: Onyeka Okongwu, PF, USC

8. Detroit Pistons: Isaac Okoro, SF, Auburn

9. Washington Wizards: Deni Avdija, F, Maccabi Tel Aviv

10. Golden State Warriors: Saddiq Bey, SF, Villanova

11. San Antonio Spurs: Cole Anthony, PG, North Carolina

12. Sacramento Kings: Tyrese Maxey, SG, Kentucky

13. New Orleans Pelicans: Devin Vassell, SF, Florida State

14. Portland Trail Blazers:  RJ Hampton, SG, New Zealand Breakers

15. Orlando Magic: Nico Mannion, PG, Arizona 

16. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Brooklyn): Isaiah Stewart, C, Washington

17. Boston Celtics (from Memphis): Patrick Williams, PF, Florida State

18. Dallas Mavericks: Theo Maledon, PG, ASVEL

19. Milwaukee Bucks (from Indiana): Jaden McDaniels, SF/PF, Washington

20. Brooklyn Nets (from Philadelphia: Precious Achiuwa, PF/C, Memphis

21. Denver Nuggets (from Houston: Vernon Carey Jr., PF/C, Duke

22. Philadelphia 76rs (from OKC): Tyrell Terry, PG, Stanford

23. Miami Heat: Aleksej Pokusevski, PF, Olympiacos

24. Utah Jazz: Leandro Bolmaro, SF, FC Barcelona

25. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Denver): Aaron Nesmith, SF, Vanderbilt

26. Boston Celtics: Kira Lewis Jr., PG, Alabama

27. New York Knicks (from LAC): Jalen Smith, PF, Maryland

28. Toronto Raptors: Tre Jones, PG, Duke

29. Los Angeles Lakers: Jahmi'us Ramsey, SG, Texas Tech

30. Boston Celtics (from Milwaukee): Grant Riller, PG, Charleston

*Records and a spin of Tankathon's Lottery Simulator used to determine draft order.

10. Golden State Warriors: Saddiq Bey, SF, Villanova

If the Warriors do trade down—or if they simply land outside of the top four—adding Bey would make a lot of sense. Here we have a mock trade with the Phoenix Suns that gives Golden State Bey at a reasonable spot.

Bey is considered by most experts to be a mid-first-round selection. A recent joint-mock from NBC Sports' Rob Dauster and ProBasketballTalk's Kurt Helin, for example, has Bey going at 14 to the Portland Trail Blazers.

For the Warriors, Bey would be a three-and-D prospect who fits perfectly into the team's makeup, as Dauster recently explained:

"What we have here is a multi-positional defender that shoots the cover off the ball and can be a playmaker off the bounce. I think he's just as good of a prospect as Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, Eric Paschall and Josh Hart, and all four of those guys have turned into players that will last in the NBA for a while. Bey is next in line."

While Bey is a relatively underrated prospect, his name could become more prominent as the draft approaches.

3. Chicago Bulls: James Wiseman, C, Memphis

Karen Pulfer Focht/Associated Press

Though he hasn't commanded the attention of Edwards or LaMelo Ball, Memphis center James Wiseman has started to gain some traction as a potential No. 1 pick.

Dauster and Helin, for example, recently mocked him to Golden State at first overall and labeled him a premier modern-NBA prospect: "Wiseman has all the physical tools that you want out of a five in the modern NBA. He's 7'1" with a 7'6" wingspan, an exceptional athlete that can really get up and down the floor and finish above the rim. He has all the tools to be a rim protector that can guard in ball-screens and switch on the perimeter if needed."

For the Chicago Bulls, Wiseman could replace the oft-injured Wendell Carter Jr., who has appeared in just 87 games in his two NBA seasons. And while Carter has shown some promise, Wiseman has the potential to be a legitimate difference-maker.

This would likely leave the door open for the Bulls to trade Carter either during the draft or down the road.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers: Killian Hayes, PG, Ratiopharm Ulm

In this mock, the Cleveland Cavaliers pick at No. 4 and land Ratiopharm Ulm point guard Killian Hayes. Like Bey, Hayes is a prospect whose reputation appears to be rising through the draft process.

"Hayes is now viewed by NBA personnel as a surefire lottery pick, having slowly but surely eclipsed French counterpart Theo Maledon, who had been the more highly regarded player for the past couple of years," Jeremy Woo of SI.com recently wrote.

While the Cavaliers added point guard Darius Garland in last year's draft, there's no guarantee that he is the offensive centerpiece Cleveland has been missing. Even if a Garland-Collin Sexton backcourt is the future for the Cavaliers, Cleveland could find ways to fit Hayes into the lineup.

"You could argue having one 'true' point guard matters less than having two or three playmakers share the ball and share the floor," Woo wrote. "And that's where the appeal begins with Hayes, who is arguably the most capable, mature decision-maker among the top guards in the draft."

Hayes is a polished prospect with plenty of pro experience who should immediately provide the Cavaliers with an offensive boost.