Philadelphia 76ers roundtable: Pre-lottery 2020 NBA mock draft
9th pick: Wizards- Isaac Okoro
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The Wizards struggled defensively this past season, despite their impressive offensive numbers. General manager Tom Sheppard needs to fix that asap. Washington has a nice core of John Wall (when healthy) and Bradly Beal (assuming he doesn’t get traded). They need to add a defensive stopper on the wing to complement two offensive stars.
Isaac Okoro is arguably the best defensive player in this draft. At 6-foot-6 he’s a versatile defender. Now the downside to Okoro is that he’s limited offensive, especially outside fo the paint, but the Wizards don’t need another offensive star, they need defense and he can provide that easily. If they develop him correctly, he should be passable on offense soon enough.
10th pick: Suns- Tyrese Haliburton
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After the Suns traded Eric Bledsoe a few seasons ago, the team had been in search of a quality point guard. Ricky Rubio was able to fill the gap well enough, but at 29-years-old he doesn’t fit the timeline of Phoenix’s young stars Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. The Suns still need a franchise point guard of the future and Tyrese Haliburton could be the answer.
At 6-foot-5, Haliburton has great size at the point guard position and can play off-ball for when Booker takes over the offense. Last season, he averaged 15.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.5 steals, while making 41.9 percent of his attempts from downtown. He’s a steal with the 10th pick.