Undrafted NBA Free Agents 2020: Predictions for Top Names After Signing Contract
The top undrafted free agents face a tougher path than usual to forge roster spots in the NBA.
With no Summer League and a shortened training camp to prepare for the December 22 season start, Myles Powell, Devon Dotson and others may have a hard time breaking into the rotation right away, if at all.
Powell is headed to a familiar building after signing with the New York Knicks. The Seton Hall product had plenty of memorable moments inside Madison Square Garden during his time in the Big East.
Dotson, who starred at Kansas, is headed back to where he grew up to chase his NBA dream. He inked a deal with the Chicago Bulls after he was not one of the 60 selections on Wednesday night.
Powell, Dotson and many others have tough paths to get to permanent spots on the NBA rosters, but if they follow in the footsteps of Fred VanVleet and Duncan Robinson, they could carve out solid roles either this year or in coming seasons.
Myles Powell
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Powell was one of the most captivating college basketball players over the last four years.
The guard out of Seton Hall averaged over 20 points per game in his junior and senior seasons and brought Seton Hall back to relevance in the Big East.
Powell finished his career as a 30.6 percent shooter from beyond the arc. He shot over 36 percent in his sophomore and junior campaigns.
The New Jersey native could be an intriguing back-end roster piece for the Knicks as they try to piece together their squad for the first year of the Tom Thibodeau era.
After Elfrid Payton was waived on Thursday, the Knicks have three guards currently under contract. Reggie Bullock is the lone shooting guard of the trio.
Depending on which players the Knicks can land in free agency, Powell may have a shot to earn some minutes in a bench role.
Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard told the New York Post's Zach Braziller that he Knicks really liked Powell as a prospect.
“Everything was positive,” Willard said. “They really liked him. They were high on him.”
If Powell impresses in the limited training camp workouts with his shooting and tenacity on and off the ball, he could earn a Day 1 roster spot.
That does not equate to playing time right away, but if he earns more time in front of Thibodeau and his coaching staff, he may work his way into minutes as the season goes on.
Prediction: Role player off the bench for Knicks.
Devon Dotson
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Dotson may have warranted a second-round pick based off the improvements he made at Kansas.
He increased his points per game total by close to six and contributed more in assists and steals per game for Bill Self's squad.
Now he comes into Bulls camp as an undrafted free agent looking to earn a roster spot in a crowded squad that has Coby White and Zach LaVine on top of the guard depth chart.
The situation in Chicago could benefit a first-year player, like Dotson, since Billy Donovan is coming in as a new head coach and could make alterations to the roster based off what he sees in training camp.
Dotson could contend for the minutes left vacant by Kris Dunn and Shaquille Harrison, but he still faces a fight to become a regular member of the gameday squad.
The Bulls have 12 players under contract before their draft picks ink deals, per Spotrac, Patrick Williams would move that total up to 13. Second-round pick Marko Simonovic could be stashed in Europe.
If Dotson performs well in training camp, he could earn bits of playing time early in the season off his two-way deal.
Until Donovan makes it clear which players are permanent members of his rotation, it is hard to see where Dotson breaks through to earn a large chunk of minutes in the first part of the 2020-21 season.
Prediction: Dotson earns some minutes off bench to start.
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