Philadelphia 76ers
Players and Grades:
None
Overall Grade: N/A
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Milwaukee Bucks
Players and Grades:
Andre Jackson (Pick 36 ) --> C
Chris Livingston (Pick 60 ) --> C-
Overview:
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The Bucks took some project players here and I appreciate their willingness to swing for the fences while in championship contender mode. On the other hand, taking two players who cant really shoot it was a bit of a puzzling move for me especially with Maxwell Lewis and Seth Lundy still on the board at 36. I don't see how either of these players can get on the court with Giannis right away but Jackson could carve himself out a nice role as Giannis's backup as he works on his jumper. He's an excellent passer, athlete, play finisher, and overall swiss army knife but lack of jumper makes him Ben Simmons-esque out there. He would need to play with shooters around him at the 3 and 5 and luckily Milwaukee has just that. As for Livingston, he's pretty raw and will likely take time to develop his jumper before he's thrown out there for any meaningful minutes. Therefore, even though I really like Andre's game, I have to give this a lower grade strictly off of wonky fit and therefore lack of playing time from both players.
Overall Grade: C-
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Chicago Bulls
Players and Grades:
Julian Phillips (Pick 35 ) --> C
Overview:
The Bulls took more of a project level player with this pick. Julian is only 19 and showed flashes in high school of a reliable jumper and pull up game but at this level he's strictly an on ball perimeter defender and slasher. There is nothing wrong with that but for a Chicago team that feels like its stuck in mediocrity and looking for success now, I feel there were better NBA ready players on the board that could help right now. (like Seth Lundy, Keyontae Johnson, Trayce Jackson Davis, Amari Bailey etc.) This is not a bad pick in the second round at all but I just believe the Bulls have more pressing issues than a skinny 3 and D project wing.
Overall Grade: C
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Players and Grades:
Emoni Bates (Pick 49 ) --> C-
Overview:
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The Cavs take a swing on one widely known names in the draft. In High School, Emoni was getting lots of media attention around the U.S and drawing comps as the next KD. Fast forward a few years and things have been on constant decline for the 6'9 forward. Two less than impressive seasons at Memphis and then Eastern Michigan, have plummeted Emoni from sure fire lottery pick going into last year, to a late second rounder this year. Cavs take a swing here on a player that shown potential to be a tough shot maker and solid shooter. But lack of feel, IQ, defensive ability and finishing around the hoop, make him a one trick pony. Ultimately, with a pick this late in the second I don't expect too much and it was a solid pick with some upside but I liked a few players who were taken after him more.
Overall Grade: C-
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Boston Celtics
Players and Grades:
Jordan Walsh (Pick 38 ) --> C
Overview:
The Celtics pulled off a huge trade the day before the draft landing them Porzingis and 2 first rounders for Marcus Smart in a great trade for them. The Celtics then traded that first rounder many times in this Draft and accumulated a bevy of second rounders for the future. Ultimately, I think this was a smart move and adds to the assets Stevens can use in future trades to improve this championship contending roster right now. The big negative for me here is with the final trade down of the night. At pick 34 the Celtics select Colby Jones who would have been an A grade for me as he slipped on draft night and is a player ready to come in and contribute right away, much like Malcolm Brogdon when first brought to Milwaukee. Instead, Celtics trade back 4 spots and get another future second rounder and draft more of a project player in Walsh who most likely will not see the floor this year. For a team that wont have money to spend in free agency to even retain some of their rotation guys, I believe its important to take these ready now guys for cheap to fill out the back end of your rotations and Jones would have been perfect for them to make up for the Smart loss. Walsh is a project with no real jumper but he provides elite athleticism, defense and even solid passing instincts. But lack of floor spacing will limit his minutes and I expect a ton of G-League games for him this year. Overall, it was a great 24 hours for Stevens and the Celtics replenishing draft capital and getting Porzingis, but the trade down of Jones drops this overall grade a tad for me.
Overall Grade: A-
Atlanta Hawks
Players and Grades:
Kobe Bufkin (Pick 15 ) --> A
Mouhamed Gueye (Pick 39 ) --> C
Seth Lundy (Pick 46 ) --> B-
Overview:
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The Hawks had themselves a nice night at the draft. Bufkin was a top 12 guy for me throughout the draft process and he's somebody with very little holes to his game. Lundy was a great value pick and really brings Atlanta some more wing depth that can shoot and make winning plays. Gueye is the project pick of the bunch and his skillset is rather intriguing. He will likely spend time with development before we see any real action from him but the others should be able to contribute and fight for meaningful rotation minutes. Bufkin provides Atlanta now with an efficient and selfless combo guard that just plays basketball the right way. Bufkin can come in off the bench and help run the second unit to give Trae some rest and he provides enough off ball versatility and defensive ability to be able to play in 3 guard lineups if Atlanta goes with that. As for Lundy, he will be able to come in and provide quality minutes as a tough, physical, 3 and D wing player who has shown to be a good teammate and leader. Overall, Atlanta comes away with a couple of very good rookies who I had higher on my board.
Overall Grade: B
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Miami Heat
Players and Grades:
Jaime Jaquez (Pick 18 ) --> D+
Overview:
I’m almost sure the Miami Heat are going to make me regret this grade but I had Jaquez ranked in the early 40s/Late 30s area and they took him at 18. He’s an older player and overall solid but I don’t think he makes catch and shoot 3s at the level the Miami Heat are accustomed from role players and will struggle to fit the system. As far as I can tell, he is a tough nosed player and Miami thrives in players like that. But strictly from what we saw at UCLA, Jaquez was ball dominant and very iso scoring heavy. He struggled with consistency in Catch and Shoot situations and I don’t think Miami drafted him to be a spark plug scorer on the bench for them. Overall, if Miami traded back to got additional draft compensation and then took him I’d be more understanding of this, but for Pick 18 this is just way too high and I don’t see a path to rotation minutes.
Overall Grade: D+ (would not be surprised if this is a B in 2 years)
Charlotte Hornets
Players and Grades:
Brandon Miller (Pick 2 ) --> A-
Nick Smith Jr (Pick 27 ) --> B+
James Nnaji (Pick 31 ) --> C+
Amari Bailey (Pick 41 ) --> B
Overview:
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The Hornets had themselves a night. They left this draft with 4 players I had ranked as first rounders and should be ecstatic about adding this much talent to their depleted roster. I’m one of the ones who doesn’t think the gap between Scoot and Miller is that large at all, but I was really starting to like the idea of Scoot paired with LaMelo and he was my higher rated player as well so this drops the grade for BM a tad. Ultimately the Miller pick is very good as well and should fit beautifully with the rest of this roster. Nick Smith Jr was a top 5 prospect coming into this year but injury and team fit led him to fly down draft board. Ultimately, Charlotte decided to take a swing on a player than can provide a great scoring prowess with on/off ball ability and some passing touch as well. Later at 31, another swing with 18 year old James Nnaji who is built like a grown man and still very raw but could carve himself out a nice Clint Capela type role in the NBA one day. Lastly, Amari Bailey was a good pick as I view him as a very safe option for PG who should provide excellent bench minutes in Charlotte and can even play next to LaMelo at times as well. Overall, a very nice draft night that gives Charlotte an influx of talent they do desperately needed.
Overall Grade: B+
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New York Knicks
Players and Grades:
None
Overall Grade: N/A
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Orlando Magic
Players and Grades:
Anthony Black (Pick 6 ) --> B+
Jett Howard (Pick 11 ) --> C+
Overview:
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The Magic had a very interesting draft. Personally, I was very high on Anthony Black but this fight is a little weird for me. On the other hand, with Ausar off the board he was by far the best prospect available in a position of need. Sure he’s not the best shooter right now, but he does everything else at a great level and shooting is something they addressed with pick 11 and Free Agency. Pick 11 was in fact a shooter but I’m lower on the Jett pick because he was the 3/4th best shooter on my board and went 1st over both Hawkins and Dick. Still, the Magic have coveted positional size in their recent Drafts and it will allow them to play with countless variations of lineups this next season so that is exciting. Overall, I really love the players the Magic took but the less than ideal fit of Black and reach on Jett drops the grade a tad for me.
Overall Grade: B
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Brooklyn Nets
Players and Grades:
Noah Clowney (Pick 21 ) --> C
Dariq Whitehead (Pick 22 ) --> B-
Jalen Wilson (Pick 51 ) --> C-
Overview:
The Nets had a very average Draft for me. They had back-to-back picks and came away with two solid players. Clowney is the safer option and provides athleticism and a nice looking jumper for the PF position. He’s still to skinny for me and percentages weren’t that good from the field. In addition, he’s a good shot blocker but struggles on the perimeter at times from lack of discipline. He has chance to be a very good 3 and D big but as of now is pretty average. Dariq is a good upside swing as he was a top 5 projected pick going into College. He shot it very well and showed some good moves into 3s and Mid range but injury caused him to lose a chunk of his athleticism this year. He lost his burst and ability to get to the rim but Brooklyn will hope that the latest surgery will work wonders for him. Jalen Wilson at 51 was a pretty average pick and I don’t see it amounting to much for this team. Overall, a solid draft but there were players on the board like GG, Nick Smith, Leonard Miller, Brice, etc. I would have liked with these picks much better.
Overall Grade: C
Indiana Pacers
Players and Grades:
Jarace Walker (Pick 8 ) --> A
Ben Sheppard (Pick 26 ) --> B
Mojave King (Pick 47 ) --> C-
Isaiah Wong (Pick 55 ) --> C
Overview:
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The Pacers had a good draft and added a bunch of talent to the roster. Jarrace Walker was a great pick and was what most mocks had at the Pacers selection anyway. He provided an all around game and elite defensive versatility to the PF position and should be an immediate high impact player for them. Ben Sheppard has will be a better Chris Duarte and help provide on/off ball wing depth as a scorer and shooter with some passing to his game. King and Wong in the second were solid picks, where King is mainly a one dimensional off ball player and solid defender and Wong is a crafty average level Point guard that provides solid depth to this squad. Overall, the Pacers added talent and toughness while keeping their options open for future drafts and free agency.
Overall Grade: B+
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Detroit Pistons
Players and Grades:
Ausar Thompson (Pick 5 ) --> B+
Marcus Sasser (Pick 25 ) --> C-
Overview:
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The Pistons had a solid draft as well. Ausar is an unselfish do it all type of player with elite athleticism, high IQ on both ends and hood on/off ball ability. I would have preferred Walker in this spot but Ausar is still a great pick that will fit nicely next to Cade, Ivey and Duren and not step on anyone’s toes. Sasser was a good veteran guard picked at end of first and I like the player but I think value was maybe a little too high. He will provide toughness, scoring, defense and overall tenacity as a bench guard for this squad. He won’t rack up a ton of assists or defend 1-4 but he will compete, make the right plays, score when he needs to and bring good energy when he gets on the court. Overall, I liked the Ausar pick much more than the Sasser pick but I think it was a good draft that will provides immediate help and upside to the Pistons.
Overall Grade: B-
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Toronto Raptors
Players and Grades:
Gradey Dick (Pick 13 ) --> C+
Overview:
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The Raptors addressed their shooting needs by drafting Gradey Dick but this doesn’t move the needle for them as much. It is probably time to start full rebuild and let go of Siakam for future assets and that’s why this pick isn’t the upside home run swing that I thought they would want to take by going with Whitmore, George, Bufkin, or Hood Schifino. Instead the Dick pick is solid overall, addresses a need right and provides some upside as well but with VanVleet gone I think On ball creation might have been the Raptors biggest need and Dick doesnt show ability to be a full time creator in the NBA. Overall, a solid pick but there were better options on the board to take a swing on.
Overall Grade: C+
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Washington Wizards
Players and Grades:
Bilal Coulibaly (Pick 7 ) --> D+
Tristan Vukcevic (Pick 42 ) --> C-