NBA Draft Rumors: Latest Buzz on 2020 Lottery Trades and Potential Picks

On Thursday, the 2020 NBA draft was supposed to take place, in which the league's 30 teams would have been selecting future stars and adding them to their rosters. But like much of the sports world, the draft was affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, the NBA draft won't take place until Oct. 16 after the scheduled completion of the 2019-20 season in Orlando, Florida. That gives teams plenty of time to keep analyzing film of top prospects and trying to decide which players they'd like to target in the draft.

Here's some of the buzz surrounding the teams likely to own the top picks and on some of the top prospects who will be available.

What would the Warriors do with the top pick?

After going an NBA-worst 15-50 this season, the Golden State Warriors are one of three teams that will have a 14 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick. They're guaranteed to not fall lower than No. 5, and they're the only team assured of having a top-five selection.

That is, if they decide to keep their first-round pick. Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers told NBC Sports' Monte Pool in May that the team would "consider" trading its top pick. While that might not happen, it's noteworthy that he didn't completely rule it out.

Plus, based on some of the recent rumors about prospects that Golden State has interest in, it might be better suited to move down if it's set on one of these players.

According to ESPN's Jonathan Givony, the Warriors are "high" on Iowa State point guard Tyrese Haliburton. They also have interest in Florida State shooting guard Devin Vassell and Villanova small forward Saddiq Bey, according to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, and those two could be available beyond the first five picks.

However, this speculation could be for nought if Golden State ends up with the No. 1 pick, as Letourneau previously wrote that the Warriors would likely take Georgia shooting guard Anthony Edwards if they land that selection and decide not to trade down.

It will be interesting to see who Golden State drafts to add to a lineup that should feature Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, assuming both are healthy, and could quickly bounce back to being an NBA title contender.

How is the Cavaliers draft board shaping up?

Like the Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have a 14 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick in the draft lottery. And they may be in a position to draft one of Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball, who are the three players who compose the top tier of the Cavs' draft board, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

However, it doesn't appear the Cavaliers have sorted out their ranking of those three top prospects.

"At least one member of the front office views Ball as the top player in the class," Fedor wrote. "But others view Georgia's Edwards as the better prospect. Another remains intrigued by James Wiseman's upside and measurables. That still seems to be Cleveland's top tier: Ball, Edwards and Wiseman, in no particular order."

Fedor also noted that Deni Avdija would be an obvious fit for the Cavaliers and that several members of the front office previously took trips overseas to watch him play. Could Cleveland potentially trade down a few spots and take him instead of one of its top-tier prospects? Perhaps that could be something to look for when the draft gets closer.

Where does LaMelo Ball end up in the draft?

One of the most exciting prospects to watch from this year's draft class will surely be 18-year-old point guard LaMelo Ball. After playing in Australia's NBL for the Illawarra Hawks, the youngest of LaVar Ball's three sons is now set to enter the NBA and could be one of the first players selected in this year's draft.

It's no secret that LaVar Ball has been heavily involved in his sons' basketball careers, as he pushed for the Los Angeles Lakers to draft his oldest son, Lonzo, in the 2017 draft, which they ended up doing with the No. 2 overall pick. Could he have an impact on where LaMelo Ball gets drafted this year?

According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, there are some league sources who "believe the Ball camp will try to steer the 18-year-old point guard to the Knicks." Although Berman also noted that could be challenging to do if New York doesn't land at least a top-four pick in the lottery. The Knicks have the sixth-best odds of getting the No. 1 selection.

Perhaps New York would trade up to try to land Ball, or it could address a different need with its top pick, as Ian Begley of SNY reported that the Knicks want to acquire a big man who can shoot this offseason, whether that's through the draft or free agency.