Sunday's NBA Draft lottery just provided some clarity for Cameron Boozer and the rest of the top NBA Draft prospects.
The Washington Wizards, which finished with a league-worst 18-64 record, came out on top and will have their pick of this loaded class. That will likely be one of three players: Boozer, BYU's AJ Dybantsa, and Kansas' Darryn Peterson, though plenty can change in the pre-draft process, which begins in earnest this week for the NBA Draft combine in Chicago.
Shortly after the lottery results, ESPN's Jeremy Woo published an updated mock draft to reflect the official draft order. In it, Boozer would be set to team up with a would-be teammate at Duke that never quite materialized.
ESPN post-lottery mock draft has Cameron Boozer teamming up with Cedric Coward
Woo has Dybantsa going No. 1 to the Wizards, and then the Utah Jazz grabbing Peterson at No. 2. That would clear the way for the Memphis Grizzlies to draft Boozer with the No. 3 pick, pairing him with Cedric Coward, who was very nearly a Blue Devil last year.
Coward committed to Duke out of the Transfer Portal from Washington State a year ago, but he blew up during the pre-draft process and ultimately remained in the NBA Draft. He was selected 13th overall by the Grizzlies, and the dream pairing between Coward, a dynamic wing, and Boozer, the ultimate National Player of the Year, never quite materialized.
One year later, Boozer and Coward could be the face of the rebuild in Memphis.
The Grizzlies traded several cornerstones over the past year, and could move on from another in the coming months.
Memphis dealt Desmond Bane to Orlando for multiple future first-round picks last offseason. During the season, they went into a full-scale rebuild by trading Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Jazz. The next domino to fall could be Ja Morant, if the Grizzlies want to start from absolute scratch.
Or, they could hope that landing Boozer will allow them to jump right back into contention with Morant in the backcourt and talented wings like Coward flanking them both.
For Duke's other likely first-round draft pick, Woo sees Isaiah Evans landing at No. 23 with the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks looked like a team jumping into a rebuild after trading Trae Young, but they instead leaped right back into being a threat in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta gave the Knicks all they wanted in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, and Evans would be another nice chess piece with his ability as a 3-and-D wing off the bench.
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