Who are your draft winners/losers?

Discussion in 'NBA Discussion' started by JSM, Jun 28, 2015.

  1. JSM

    JSM - Lakers Legend -

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    Who had a good/bad draft? Why?

    Winners
    Detroit - SVG got two good fits for him. Johnson is a. NBA ready defender for him (loved seeing him go before the overhyped Winslow). Hilliard is a solid 3&d backup.

    Hornets - MJ is finally learning. He stopped taking risks to jeopardize his job and took the safest, most ready to contribute guy in their range. Frank's offensive game will fit great next to Al. Defensively they'll struggle, but they needed a boost to help them get back into the playoff hunt and they got it.

    Jazz - Utah is one of the best farm systems for bigs, got to trust what their scouts saw in Lyles.

    Suns - Booker. Perfect fit.

    OKC - before their Jackson trade, they were thin. Today they're chock full of depth with NBA'ers. They've got some FA situations to work out and a 1-2 year window before KD and/or Westbrook bolt. Payne was an absolute steal and Johnson will be a solid backup. If he went to another school and wasn't behind KAT & WCS, he would've gone much sooner.

    Houston - they landed Parson's replacement...lucky SOBs. Great value.

    Raptors - Got great value with both their guards. Wright will be a solid backup out of the gates and Powell was an athletic defender I had hoped the Lakers would've considered more.

    Mavs - great 3&d fit with Anderson and landed more media coverage and fans than they can count by taking Singh (smart business decision by Cuban).

    Bulls - didn't necessarily need Portis but you can't pass on that value. With rumors of Gibby on the block, Pau's age, and Noah's uncertainty surrounding his health, he may crack the rotation.

    Losers
    Lakers - most will disagree, went in depth with my thoughts in LD. Guess we'll see.

    76ers - Obviously Jah was the best player there. You don't pass on that. But now they're the Philadelphia 70centers. Need I say more? With all those picks and assets and that what you do with them? They have no plan, no clue...what a mess.

    Knicks - they could end up winning the draft, but they lost big time with the fans, perception, and trust of their paying ticket holders. The backlash Phil has received from this is brutal. Even if Porz is the best player in the draft, we won't know for 3 years. By then it'll be too late for Phil, he'll be ushered out. And Melo will be done. They weren't a team that could afford to take him at 4. Needed NBA ready guys. I really liked the move for Grant, he's their most NBA ready rookie. Then the big they got from Philly, that's another player you won't know anything about for a few years and he have up two future picks (which they're low on) in the process...yikes! For Phil's sake they have to have a monster free agency.

    Kings - WCS for them was a reach. With foot problems and bad workouts/interviews across the board, I would've let him drop a little more. if Lawson's Tweet prediction is true, maybe that's another story. But they should've gone with Mudiay. Vlade said they didn't because he didn't work out for them. Teams take players who don't work for them all the time.

    Hawks - hopefully Bud has a plan for Hardaway (who I like) because it cost him a much needed Dekker and their two second round stashes won't be seen for years, if ever.

    C Bags - how many guards do you need? Rozier was a reach and Hunter might not be able to find the minutes to contribute. Mickey was their only sensible pick.

    Wizards - Oubre is one of my least favorite wings in the entire draft. Whoever took him, regardless of where they took him, would've ended up on the Losers list. Just glad ATL didn't keep this bozo.
     
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  2. John3:16

    John3:16 Moderator Staff Member

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    I think Miami was a HUGE winner. They were lucky Winslow fell in their lap. Dude could be ROY on that team.

    Like you, I wanted Okafor, but it's not like the Lakers drafted some scrub at #2. Russell will be fine and we'll all grow to love him. As for the other picks... ehhh.. Nance might turn out to be really good, but it's not value for the pick, when we could've got him later.

    Wholeheartedly agree with you about the C Bags. Even their fan base was like, "WTF!" Especially after Ainge said he would trade into the top 10. Gotta learn from the great GMs and keep your mouth shut.

    EDIT: Warriors could have a steal with Looney.
     
  3. therealdeal

    therealdeal Moderator Staff Member

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    Winners-

    Lakers- I know your position JSM and I agree on some levels BUT here's where we win: perception. The same argument you used for the Knicks negativity, we've got the positivity. Russell was a gutsy pick and a HUGE splash and the way that Mitch did it caught everyone's attention. The mystery and intensity of that moment was unbearable for us and deeply entertaining for the league. Will Russell be as good as Okafor? I don't know, but the guys in NBA circles seem to think he's got a shot.

    Miami- Just like you said John3:16, they must have been floored when they saw Winslow drop to that spot. I think he was overrated by a lot of people coming out of the tournament. I never saw "star" but I saw a really solid potential for him to start in the NBA. I think he'll feed off the vibe that Riley has created in Miami. It's a great fit.

    Magic- I think they did well with Hezonja at #5, definitely a lot better than their Gordon pick last summer. He's a solid wing player and it'll allow them to let Harris walk and focus on developing their nice guard tandem. He's also got a great ceiling and a lot of talent.

    Detroit- I'm not all that impressed with Hillard, but the Pistons are RAVING about Stanley Johnson and with good reason. He's probably not going to be great, but he wants to be and he ENJOYS putting work in so it's likely he ends up maximizing whatever value he has. He brings a winning attitude and a hard-hat mentality. He'll be a great fit for them and a really good piece to try to build around.

    Oklahoma- They really liked Payne and he seems like a good replacement for Reggie Jackson with a better attitude and a better fit for the franchise. I like Dakari Johnson as a 3rd string Center over there he's a solid kid.

    Denver- Mudiay at 7 could be the steal of the draft. Now they can unload Lawson to Sacramento with very little pressure.

    Losers-

    Boston- WOW. The East Coast loving ESPN tried all season to build up Ainge's tank methods. They were so brilliant for getting so many first rounders. Those are always valuable. Teams always want to get those... Except when they don't. Trying to trade six first rounders to move up in the draft and FAILING? Wow. That's embarrassing. Not to mention blowing the pick once you get to it. RJ Hunter was a good value pick, but Rozier at 16? That's just poor management. Good luck with three defensive point guards that can't score. Great job Ainge.

    Philadelphia- Not because they got Okafor, that was a godsend for them. It's because after they got Okafor they took two more Centers and two more Power Forwards. The f*** is that? Either one of their big men is on the move right now or they're going to be used as trade chips just like Carter-Williams was. Even more, it doesn't matter if they're fairly successful like Carter-Williams was and win the ROY! They'll STILL get traded. No wonder no one wants to be there. Good luck tanking again.

    Sacramento- Could have traded a malcontent for a Top 3 pick, didn't. When their name was called they picked Willie Cauley-Stein, huge mistake. Cauley-Stein is very talented and I suppose every team can use a man of his unique skillsets BUT he's got personality issues that a lot of teams aren't a fan of. A lot of executives fear he's not focused enough, has other things besides basketball on his mind, and won't ever reach his ceiling because frankly he doesn't care enough to do it. Sounds like a great fit next to Cousins...

    New York- All the reasons you said... Although I think Jerian Grant will be great for them.

    Wizards- Any team that gets Oubre gets a whackjob... No thanks.

    Milwaukee- Should have gone for Portis over Vaughn.
     
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