LSU Basketball's Skylar Mays, Trendon Watford Pop Up in the Athletic's Top-100 NBA Draft Board
While it's still a mystery as to when or if the 2020 NBA season will return, the hiatus has provided front offices and coaching staffs more time to spend on this year's upcoming draft.
On Tuesday, the Athletic's NBA draft expert Sam Vecenie released his updated 2020 draft big board and two LSU hoopers made the list. Senior guard Skylar Mays was ranked as the No. 51 overall prospect in the upcoming draft, which as of now is still set for June 25.
Mays brings a skillset that’s incredibly valuable to modern NBA teams. He's a combo guard that will likely be able to defend both guard positions at the next level with his 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame.
His ability to shoot the long ball will ultimately determine his career trajectory. Mays averaged a team-high 16.7 points a game his senior year, shooting 39% from three-point range. The ability to be a 3-and-D combo guard at the next level is a valuable piece to any NBA roster looking to bolster its bench.
Last week, Mays was projected by Vecenie to go to the Boston Celtics in the middle of the second round, a destination that makes a ton of sense on the surface. General manager Danny Ainge has a knack for finding diamonds in the rough and the player development in Boston is pretty hard to beat.
Mays was LSU’s key offensive creator on the perimeter and most consistent performer. He averaged 16.7 points, five rebounds and 3.2 assists while sharing the lead duties with JaVonte Smart. He’s a smart, efficient finisher both inside and outside, making 49 percent of his overall shots and 39 percent from 3. Mays is also a good defensive player, although he’s not quite as big as you want your role players to be on the wing. The idea here is combo guard off the bench who can fill a lot of different roles.
Mays would also be reunited with former teammate Tremont Waters, a duo that had quite a bit of success with the Tigers in their two-year stretch as backcourt mates.
Freshman forward Trendon Watford was also placed in the top-100 by Vecenie and he's a more interesting case as it pertains to LSU. Watford was ranked as the No. 56 overall prospect in the class and will be somebody to follow on what he actually decides to do.
After entering his name in the draft, Watford opted to leave his NCAA eligibility open for a return if he didn't like where his draft stock slotted him. Vecenie included Watford as one of the 11 players he'll closely be monitoring over the coming weeks and months.
"Those are 11 players who all have a very real shot to get drafted, and all of whom will have a very real impact on the college basketball season in 2021," Vecenie wrote.
Wade said in a conference call last week that he had a pretty good feel of which players would be returning but that one player was a lot closer to 50/50. He also mentioned the team is looking to bring in one more big man for next season to further bolster the roster.
"We're not sure exactly what's going to happen with him but we'll be at 13 scholarships by the time classes start, which is where we need to be," Wade said.
