26 trades, 60 picks, and over 3 hours of action! The NBA Draft featured an unparalleled night of triumph and pain for so many young players last night. There were absurd reaches (the Suns), massive falls (Bol Bol), and an unbelievable Twitter battle between Woj and Shams (only to have both of them beaten by Jordan Clarkson!!).
I know we shouldn’t render our final verdicts on teams’ draft decisions until after free agency, but some teams I just don’t understand. I also know that most of these players won’t work out. The odds are more in the favor of most of these players being traded, cut, or waived until they are out of the league in only a few years. But for one night though, every player drafted has a night they can remember forever. No one can ever take away the moment when Commissioner Silver calls their name and that young man goes on stage to shake his hand.
Seeing young players’ dreams become a reality is something I will always love to see because it is a dream we can all strive and hope for in our own lives – not making the NBA but fulfilling our dreams.
With all of that being said, the NBA teams making the picks didn’t nail every move they made tonight. In fact some teams made some really bad moves. A couple teams had some great moves though too! Like I said, I will try to reserve my judgment with some teams because free agency is right around the corner – some teams I just can’t resist though.
However, I think the worst thing overall for your team is to not have anyone care about what you did at all. However, just because your picks weren’t flashy doesn’t mean I don’t care. There is a big difference between those two worlds.
Take the Grizzlies for example. They had a good night drafting. They picked Ja Morant with the second overall pick which was the right move. It wasn’t flashy but I liked it. The Knicks fall into this category. They didn’t reach and they make the right pick with RJ Barrett at number three. The Wizards fall into the category of teams I don’t care about because of the moves they made. They drafted Rui Hachimora who will be good, but it wont matter because they are such a mess right now and I think their front office will screw it up somehow – thus I don’t care about their pick.
So now my general thoughts about some of the teams from last night:
Philadelphia’s trade for Matisse Thybulle from Boston was a good move from a defensive point of view because they can stop anyone on defense now, but do they really not care at all about spacing? He has literally zero offensive game. Coupled with Simmons and Embiid, this team has three important players who can’t shoot or won’t shoot. If I’m a Celtics fan I have to be furious that Ainge gave Thybulle away for Ty Jerome (who I liked at Virginia) because I think he’s a much better fit with Boston than Philly.
I’m going to admit this – I don’t know what the Suns are doing. Like I said (as I grit my teeth saying this): I will reserve absolute judgment until after free agency (un-grit teeth) …but I have absolutely no faith in their ability to nail it in free agency. When they traded out of TJ Warren’s contract, I thought they were on the right track because they started making room to sign free agents.
When it comes down to it, Cameron Johnson was just not the right pick here at #11. He was projected to be a late 1st round pick at the earliest which means they didn’t need to reach this high for him. He is the best shooter in the draft without question, he just can’t play a lick of defense and he’s 23 years old which means he’s about finished developing as a player. He is who he is – like most seniors in the draft.
Sticking with the not great picks in this draft…I didn’t like Orlando picking Chuma Okeke. Okeke is a really good big man who is a strong rebounder and finisher. He was one of the best players in the SEC last year and NCAA Tournament before he tore his ACL. I just think the Magic needed to focus more on guards this draft because they already have approximately 500 forwards/centers on their roster (they actually have 7 assuming they don’t lose Vucevic to free agency).
There were also a few other teams that made good picks with the limited selections they had. The Miami Heat took a great player in Tyler Herro from Kentucky – I just don’t know how he fits in with Dion Waiters and Goran Dragic who both dribble the air out of the ball. He may struggle to get minutes with that backcourt. I’m also very high on KZ Okpala so I think the Heat trading for him is a win for Miami.
The Lakers picked a good player with the 46th pick when they drafted Talen Horton-Tucker who is 6’4” and has a 7’1” wingspan. He has the ability to defend spots 1-4 on the court and he’s on a cheap second round contract which doesn’t hurt their cap situation.
Kyle Guy was a good move by Sacramento when they traded for him with the 55th pick. He may not make their final roster and he won’t be a star in the league, but how many times have we seen the last few second round picks or undrafted players make a difference for a team because of their effort plays. TJ McConnell and Fred VanVleet (undrafted) have become incredibly important role players on their rosters despite not being considered highly regarded prospects. Kyle could be that Guy.
The Celtics had a pretty decent draft with the potential to have a fantastic draft if their gambles pay off. Taking Romeo Langford (a pre-season top 5 pick before injury) is a great grab at 15 if he stays healthy. He has a ton of potential and his size allows him to defend both guard positions. He also can get his shot off over smaller defenders. Carsen Edwards had one of the greatest college basketball performances of all time when he went off for 42 points against Virginia in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last April. Grant Williams was one of the strongest players in college basketball last year and he’ll compete on every possession.
The Celtics also created about $31 million in cap space which allows them to go after a max free-agent or multiple mid-level guys. They have clearly gotten over Kyrie Irving and Al Horford as they turn their eyes towards players like Nikola Vucevic and Malcolm Brogdon in free agency. A tough downgrade for a team who were set to land Anthony Davis last season. Also they promised Aaron Baynes they wouldn’t trade him if he opted into this contact and then they traded him on draft night. That is cold-blooded and messed up. I know it’s a business but moves like that have to affect players on the Celtics and prospective free agents. He's now done this to Isiah Thomas and Baynes. Coupled with the rumors they may try to unload Hawyard and the rumors circulating their young core all of last year, how many times can Danny AInge do something like this before his actions damage his reputation with players around the league.
The two teams that won the night were the Pelicans and Hawks. The New Orleans Pelicans nailed it with the first pick (Zion Williamson) and then grabbed Jaxson Hayes, the best center in the draft who could play besides Zion as a rim defender. Hayes is a late bloomer, but he runs the floor really well and can grab lobs like Clint Capela or DeAndre Jordan. Lonzo Ball is going to have a field day on offense with them. The Pelicans are building a team that fits well together and can grow to be a very versatile team with tons of switch-ability on defense. I still don’t know how they are going to score, but that’s where the $31 million in cap space they created comes in handy this offseason.
The Hawks got exactly every player they wanted to get. They grabbed both Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter. Both players who can defend well and space the floor for John Collins and Trae Young. I’ve repeated how bad Young’s defense was last year, so these guys help with that immediately. They needed defense and they got defense. Just like the Pelicans, they have a really great young core who all will have roles to play on this team.
Finally the Twitter battle between Shams and Woj was legendary last night. While Woj didn’t try to vary how he phrased each tipped pick on Twitter, their arms race was at an all-time high as they battled even after the draft had finished. They were tied all night until late in the first round when Shams slipped up! Shams picked the wrong player for Cleveland – he tipped it would be Keldon Johnson when in fact the pick ended up being Dylan Windler.
Just when we though Woj was going to win the night, he then typed “Winder” instead of “Windler” which put him back down to zero and tied with Shams. However, an unexpected winner came out of the first round – Jordan Clarkson! Late in the first round, he beat Shams and Woj to about 5 picks, including a trade! It was a legendary heat-check performance by Clarkson and was the best thing basketball thing he’s done since his first game for the Cavaliers against the Celtics two seasons ago. Congrats Jordan, you are now the new Woj!
This was a much more fun draft night that I thought it would be! Now onto free agency!