UA-59049186-1 2016 NBA Draft Winners & Losers - Good if it Goes

2016 NBA Draft Winners & Losers

Winners

Phoenix Suns:

Draft Picks: 4. PF. Dragan Bender, 8. PF. Marqueese Chriss, 34. PG. Tyler Ullis

Breakdown: The Suns killed it yesterday. I knew that the Suns would leave the draft with either Chris or Bender, but I never imagined they’d find a way to get both. I love what the future front line of the Suns could look like and you can really tell the Suns have a plan as far as how they want to implement both of those players and I like the direction. I also love Ulis in the 2nd round. He was a 1st-round talent that just fell because of his size. I think he can be a very good back up PG in this league and at some point either Brandon Knight or Eric Bledsoe is gonna have to get traded because Devon Booker is no SF.

Detroit Pistons:

Draft Picks: 18. PF. Henry Ellenson, 49. Michael Gbinije

Breakdown: Probably more luck than good drafting, but Ellenson, who is a bonafide top 10 prospect, fell right into the Pistons’ lap at 18 and he’s a perfect fit. He and Drummond should make for a good tandem since they are polar opposites whose flaws are each other’s strengths and vice versa. Gbinije wasn’t a bad 2nd-round selection either as he is a 6’7 wing that can shoot.

Atlanta Hawks:

Draft Picks: 12. SF. Taurean Prince, 21. SG. DeAndre’ Bembry, 44. SG. Isaia Cordinier

Breakdown: The Hawks had a very good draft. They essentially traded Jeff Teague for Taurean Prince and I think that is gonna work out very well, as Prince is 1 of the biggest sleepers in this class. I wasn’t a fan of the Bembry pick. It’s not that he can’t play, but they passed on guys like Richardson, Skal, and Davis to get him in a draft where they ultimately ended up taking 3 wing players. Cordinier at 44 was a good selection and he has a ton of upside, plus they can keep him overseas for now.

Philadelphia 76ers:

Draft Picks: 1. SF. Ben Simmons, 24. SG. Timothe Luwawu, 26. SG. Furkan Korkmaz

Breakdown:
I think the Sixers had a really good draft. When you have the 1st overall pick in the NBA Draft, it’s really hard to get a bad draft grade (unless you do something stupid like draft Anthony Bennett), but the Sixers got it right. Simmons is the best prospect in the draft and the Sixers got him. The Sixers also had 2 other 1st round picks and they got good players with both picks. 2 things kept me from giving the Sixers an A+. Number 1: I thought they should have drafted a PG and Demetrius Jackson was sitting right there for the taking. Number 2: I thought they should have used 1 of their other 1st rounders on an American player and only take 1 draft-and-stash guy. But both of the foreign prospects they drafted are good prospects for where they took them so I won’t harp on that too much. Overall, the Sixers got a lot better yesterday.

Los Angeles Lakers:

Draft Picks: 2. SF. Brandon Ingram, 32. C. Ivica Zubac

Breakdown:
I don’t think there is anything the Lakers could have done to have a better draft. They literally drafted players for the 2 positions they needed most AND they picked the best players at those positions on the board at the time they picked. Ingram was the other star-caliber prospect in this draft and can be a cornerstone piece for the Lakers and Zubac had a 1st round grades by many experts and was great value where they got him.

Memphis Grizzlies:

Draft Picks: 17. G. Wade Baldwin, 31. PF. Deyonta Davis, 35. SF. Rade Zagorac 57. PF. Wang Zhelin

Breakdown: I LOVE what the Grizzlies did in this draft. I thought there were better players the Grizzlies could have taken at 17, but Baldwin definitely fills a need for the Grizz and he’s potential insurance in case Conley bolts in free agency. In the 2nd round, they got 1st-round value in Davis and Zagorac and are now in a very good place.

Oklahoma City Thunder:

Draft Picks: 11. PF. Domantas Sabonis

Breakdown: I love what the Thunder were able to pull off on draft day. They traded Serge Ibaka to the Magic and in return got Victor Oladipo, Ersan Illysova, and this pick. Sabonis is a top 10 prospect and is another rough, tough physical board that will make the Thunder even tougher on the glass.

Golden State Warriors:

Draft Picks: 30. C. Damian Jones, 38. SG. Patrick McCaw

Breakdown: For that team, Jones definitely makes more sense than Davis because of his shooting ability. Jones makes Ezeli instantly expendable. Then in the 2nd round they bought 1 of the Bucks’ 2nd-round picks and got a 1st-round talent in McCaw, whose versatile skill set and 2-way ability will make him an ideal fit in Golden State. I don’t know if both of these guys will be contributing as soon as next year, but I expect them to contribute at some point.

Losers

Boston Celtics:

Draft Picks: 3. SF. Jaylen Brown, 16. PF. Guerschon Yabusele, 23. C. Ante Zizic, 45. PG. Demetrius Jackson, 51. PF. Ben Bentil, 58. SF. Abdel Nader

Breakdown: The ONLY reason I didn’t give the Celtics an absolute F is because they somehow lucked up and got Jackson at 45 in the 2nd round and Bentil was a good value at 51. Literally every other pick they messed up in my opinion. First of all they took a wing that can’t handle or shoot 3rd overall, good luck with that. Then they got a good player in Yabusele who I like, but they could have probably gotten him at 23 and should have used that pick on Skal or Davis. And then they had a opportunity to take 1 of those 2 at 23 but took Zizic. Even if they wanted to go international they took the wrong international center as Zubac is the better prospect. This team desperately needed an athletic big that can protect the rim and they didn’t get 1 despite having every opportunity to draft 1. In the 2nd round they got 2 picks right, but Nader will never ever play a minute in the NBA. Danny Ainge just wasted a huge opportunity to vastly improve the Celtics for the future. What a waste of assets.

Toronto Raptors:

Draft Picks: 9. C. Jakob Poeltl, 27. PF. Pascal Siakam

Breakdown: The Raptors completely missed the boat on this draft. Poeltl is a solid player and is potentially ready to contribute now in the NBA but how does he fit with Jonas? The Raptors desperately needed a PF that could both stretch the floor and rebound as Patrick Patterson can do the former but can’t do anything else needed on the floor from the 4 spot. Siakam is a role playing prospect that should have been picked in the middle of the 2nd round and they passed on guys like Skal, Davis, and Murray to take him. I just don’t understand what the Raptors were doing.

Orlando Magic:

No Draft Picks

Breakdown: The Magic made single handily made the dumbest move of last night. They gave up really good assets to get 1 year of Serge Ibaka. Ibaka gives the Magic the 1 thing they needed most, but they just gave up too much to get him. Ibaka only has 1 year left on his deal and is accustomed to winning. The Magic probably aren’t gonna even make the playoffs next year, so it’s possible you lost the 11th overall pick and Oladipo for potentially 1 year of Ibaka. I just don’t think that was very smart.

Charlotte Hornets:

No Draft Picks

Breakdown: The Hornets traded the 22nd overall pick, their 1 and only pick, for Marco Belinelli. How the hell that makes sense to anyone is beyond me.

Utah Jazz:

Draft Picks: 52. PF. Joel Bolomboy, 55. PG Marcus Paige, 60. PG. Tyrone Wallace

Breakdown: The Jazz traded their 1st-round pick in a 3-team deal to get George Hill. I like Hill and the Jazz have enough young players, so I don’t have a much of a problem with that. But my issue is they didn’t get a single player who I believe will ever play in the NBA. They could’ve had Kay Felder or Cat Barber and passed on both for Marcus Paige???

Sacramento Kings:

Draft Picks: 13. C. Georgios Papagiannis, 22. SG. Malachi Richardson, 28. C.
Skal Labissiere, 59. SG. Isaiah Cousins

Breakdown: Drafting Richardson and having Skal fall in their laps at 28 saved their grade from being an F but all in all, I have no idea what the hell is going on in Sacremento. The Kings’ biggest needs were in the backcourt at PG and SG. They were targeting 3 players with the 8th pick coming into the draft and all 3 of them went in the top 7, so I definitely like their decision to move back 5 spots and pick up another 1st-rounder in the process. But then they completely wasted the pick taking Papagiannis, who I’m just gonna guess never sees the light of day as an NBA player and if he does it’ll be nothing more than a 11-13 guy on the bench. And if they really loved this guy that much, they could have gotten him at 28. Now I love their other 1st-round picks. Richardson filled a big need for them and even though they didn’t need another center, the talent of Skal was just too great not to pick at 28th overall.

Twitter: @The_Coach_Buck

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