Draft Grades: Winners/Losers

[thelead]

Sorry boys, I love your forum but you don't get to grade these until 3-4 years out at least.

Agreed. No one knows how this all plays out. No one. Not you, nor I, nor the pros that get paid to do it.

Well no kidding, this is obviously just based on everyone's personal pre draft boards. This feels just as silly. No one's saying these grades are etched in stone forever. Let people have fun and say how teams did relative to their personal board, it's fine

I’m not saying don’t have fun. It’s just silly if we’re being honest. I do enjoy reading it though for the lulz, and for the insight/thought process.

[ItsDanger]

Liked what Utah did. Houston taking Whitmore is a great gamble. TWolves got a steal in Miller at 33. Cissoko, great value pick, at 44 (why weren't other bad teams in on this guy around 30ish?). Denver getting Pickett (who I wanted badly for my Raps) is a great fit for them, surprised he went that high. Liked the Nets selections for them. Dallas came out well with high end role players.

Didn't like what Pacers, OKC, Pistons, Hawks did at all. I see lot of players stuck in bad spots. Seen too many guys over the years have their careers go sideways just for this reason alone.

[MotownMadness]

Utah looks like my early favorite there

[Big J]

This is why this is dumb. This is from 2022. This thread is basically useless.

Rockets: Jabari at 3 was the obvious pick; they leaked too much smoke perhaps on Paolo. Maybe Orlando wanted Paolo since day 1, maybe their smoke got Orlando to reevaluate their big board. They lost the best player in the draft, perhaps not due to fault of their own. However, got great value in Eason at 17, TyTy at 29. Note, I am not saying Jabari at 3 is bad value. Jabari is the #2/3 player this draft.
OKC: Huge loss this draft in reaching hard for Dieng (not first round talent), Jalen (reached hard for late first round talent). Chet at 2 was reasonable; cannot really lose if you take potentially the best player in the draft. If you look at Presti's moves after drafting Westbrook, Durant and Harden, his moves have not been that impressive. Could just be a cat catching a dead mouse situation.

Kings: Huge loss on taking a soon 22 year old Keegan Murray as 4. If they followed consensus, should have taken Ivey and traded down. Doubly so if we believe the rumors that teams were calling the Pistons at 5 to trade up for Ivey.

Rockets, OKC and Kings all had great drafts.

I'll be a homer and say Toronto. Koloko will be the 2nd best big from this draft class.

LOL brah. **** Genius down here.

I'll be a homer and say Toronto. Koloko will be the 2nd best big from this draft class.

I agree, he will never surpass Walker Kessler.

Losers:
Hated the Spurs draft. They always try to get too cute. They're going to stay mid for years. Sochan is a more grounded Kuzma. #9 is way too high to take him. It's Primo 2.0 where they seemingly take a guy they are in love with half a round too high because they're the smartest guys in the room. Branham can shoot but they are loaded at SG and that's ALL Branham can do is shoot. Then they took yet another combo guard with Blake Wesley? And he CAN'T shoot? It's remarkable how inept the Spurs are since Duncan left. It's almost like he masked how overrated Pop is.

While I love Mark Williams I question the pick since they literally just took Kai Jones last season. But maybe they view him as a 4/5 instead of straight center like Williams so I can't hate on the pick too much. I really don't understand why CHA felt the need to trade the #13 pick for a probable much later 2023 pick and a slew of 2nds though, so overall I am not a fan of their draft.

Sochan looks legit-good.
Mark Williams is great--no reason to ever not pick who you believe BPA just because you took a bust at the same position the previous season.

Loser:

OKC: too many wild swings. They need to start just hitting doubles and get back to respectability at this point.

OKC got 1/4 picks right and that proves what I said wrong? Eff outta here.

[HumbleRen]

Loved what Utah did with the draft.

Lakers did really well on the margins too.

[CP3nthusiast]

Anyone else kinda lukewarm on the Cason Wallace pick for the Thunder?

Love him as a player, don't love the fit. They have a gluttony of guards now. SGA, Giddey, J-Dub, Wallace, Dort. Assuming Chet plays the 4, who are they gonna bench? Do they have a single wing defender?

Interesting a team this far along in their rebuild is still going BPA in the draft. Wallace is gonna be good so maybe fit doesn't matter at all and I'm gonna look stupid for questioning the pick but I would've liked to have seen him on a team like Utah or Washington, where he'd have more playing time and more room to develop his offensive game.

[CptCrunch]

Anyone else kinda lukewarm on the Cason Wallace pick for the Thunder?

Love him as a player, don't love the fit. They have a gluttony of guards now. SGA, Giddey, J-Dub, Wallace, Dort. Assuming Chet plays the 4, who are they gonna bench? Do they have a single wing defender?

Interesting a team this far along in their rebuild is still going BPA in the draft. Wallace is gonna be good so maybe fit doesn't matter at all and I'm gonna look stupid for questioning the pick but I would've liked to have seen him on a team like Utah or Washington, where he'd have more playing time and more room to develop his offensive game.

Casen is by far the BPA. Presti places emphasis on value when it comes to his actions whether it comes to picks or players. Cason had a case to be a top 5 draft prospect and best PG this year, and def had a few supporters in the analytical community. Fit of course is horrendously bad with SGA and Giddey.

[The-Power]

Anyone else kinda lukewarm on the Cason Wallace pick for the Thunder?

Love him as a player, don't love the fit. They have a gluttony of guards now. SGA, Giddey, J-Dub, Wallace, Dort. Assuming Chet plays the 4, who are they gonna bench? Do they have a single wing defender?

J-Dub and Dort are either Forwards or can slot in there. So I don't see the gluttony of Guards. I also don't see the fit as particularly bad. To me, Wallace's best chance to be a long-term starter is by being an elite Guard defender and a floor spacer as well as a reliable connective passer on offense. If he can do that, he fits with both SGA and Giddey. If you wanted him to dominate the ball, it might not be a great spot for him but I don't see how he'd justify that on any team that drafted him. He's just not good enough as an on-ball creator to project him to be a lead-Guard on offense in the NBA.

[EvanZ]

Anyone else kinda lukewarm on the Cason Wallace pick for the Thunder?

Love him as a player, don't love the fit. They have a gluttony of guards now. SGA, Giddey, J-Dub, Wallace, Dort. Assuming Chet plays the 4, who are they gonna bench? Do they have a single wing defender?

Interesting a team this far along in their rebuild is still going BPA in the draft. Wallace is gonna be good so maybe fit doesn't matter at all and I'm gonna look stupid for questioning the pick but I would've liked to have seen him on a team like Utah or Washington, where he'd have more playing time and more room to develop his offensive game.

Yep, it's a weird fit. Why is Presti so anti-shooting? You have Shai, Giddey, Jalen Williams, Cason...I mean is Dort their best shooter? In the regular season I guess it "works", but I just think come playoff time without shooting it's going to be tough.

[CP3nthusiast]

Anyone else kinda lukewarm on the Cason Wallace pick for the Thunder?

Love him as a player, don't love the fit. They have a gluttony of guards now. SGA, Giddey, J-Dub, Wallace, Dort. Assuming Chet plays the 4, who are they gonna bench? Do they have a single wing defender?

J-Dub and Dort are either Forwards or can slot in there. So I don't see the gluttony of Guards. I also don't see the fit as particularly bad. To me, Wallace's best chance to be a long-term starter is by being an elite Guard defender and a floor spacer as well as a reliable connective passer on offense. If he can do that, he fits with both SGA and Giddey. If you wanted him to dominate the ball, it might not be a great spot for him but I don't see how he'd justify that on any team that drafted him. He's just not good enough as an on-ball creator to project him to be a lead-Guard on offense in the NBA.

So what's their starting lineup then? Giddey, SGA, Williams, Chet and another big man? Or is it Giddey, SGA, Dort, Williams and Chet? Wallace comes off the bench, gets 18-20 minutes at most?

You're right about him being better suited playing next to a lead guard. But I would've liked to have seen him do that on a team like Indiana (who has Haliburton) or Orlando (who has Banchero and Fultz) or even Washington with Poole, where he'd have more of an opportunity to grow as a creator.

[zimpy27]

Biggest loser was LAL picking JHS so high. Even if he were good, he's a horrible fit with the team, what's going on.

Jazz passing on Whitmore at 16 was a head scratching move to me as they picked a less talented but still ultra cancerous wing right afterward at 28. I think Sensabaugh is good value at 28, but if you disliked Whitmore for being a low BBIQ blackhole who feuded with his coaches, made his teams worse, didn't try hard, had a bunch of really concerning injury history, then I have some bad news for you about Sensabaugh. Obviously the two players are different, but Sensabaugh is a much better shooter whereas Whitmore is a much better driver and defender so I think Whitmore should have a fairly large edge here.

JHS is actually a great fit for the Lakers. They need a starting guard that can defend big guards and run the PnR.

Problem is JHS with a couple years experience fits the Lakers now, current JHS is too young to expect immediate impact. I think he will get a lot of run as a backup.

[NYPiston]

Losers
1. DET – took Ausar too high for my liking and I really don't understand the fit with Ivey and Cade at all. I thought multiple better options were on the board although I do see how picking at #5 in this draft wasn't easy. I'm actually fine with the Sasser pick but it clearly doesn't outweigh the concerns I have.
.

Defense. He's one of the best projected defenders in the draft to go with elite athleticism and probably the highest upside player left at 5.
It's clearly a high risk pick because he has a lower floor than guys like Hendricks and Walker but his fit will be versatile defending on a team that lacks it currently even if the shot doesn't come around. Cade and Ivey have the physical tools to be good defenders but they've struggled at the NBA level thus far, plus Ausar fits in the sense that he doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective.

However, I could see why people would question the pick because we really don't know what Ausar is since he's pretty raw and played such a low level of competition, a joke really is what Overtime Elite is. As Weaver said, he wanted to take a homerun swing not go for a bunt and that's what this pick was.

[Nuntius]

Anyone else kinda lukewarm on the Cason Wallace pick for the Thunder?

Love him as a player, don't love the fit. They have a gluttony of guards now. SGA, Giddey, J-Dub, Wallace, Dort. Assuming Chet plays the 4, who are they gonna bench? Do they have a single wing defender?

Interesting a team this far along in their rebuild is still going BPA in the draft. Wallace is gonna be good so maybe fit doesn't matter at all and I'm gonna look stupid for questioning the pick but I would've liked to have seen him on a team like Utah or Washington, where he'd have more playing time and more room to develop his offensive game.

Not lukewarm at all. Taking Wallace is a preamble to trading Dort. Combine the Dort deal and the Bertans deal (that they also took in the Wallace deal) and you suddenly can match a star's salary and go after them.

[Nuntius]

Losers
1. DET – took Ausar too high for my liking and I really don't understand the fit with Ivey and Cade at all. I thought multiple better options were on the board although I do see how picking at #5 in this draft wasn't easy. I'm actually fine with the Sasser pick but it clearly doesn't outweigh the concerns I have.
.

Defense. He's one of the best projected defenders in the draft to go with elite athleticism and probably the highest upside player left at 5.
It's clearly a high risk pick because he has a lower floor than guys like Hendricks and Walker but his fit will be versatile defending on a team that lacks it currently even if the shot doesn't come around. Cade and Ivey have the physical tools to be good defenders but they've struggled at the NBA level thus far, plus Ausar fits in the sense that he doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective.

However, I could see why people would question the pick because we really don't know what Ausar is since he's pretty raw and played such a low level of competition, a joke really is what Overtime Elite is. As Weaver said, he wanted to take a homerun swing not go for a bunt and that's what this pick was.

Ausar wasn't the only great defender at his range, though. Black, Walker and Hendricks are all great defenders (to say the least) as well. This draft was loaded with defensive talent in this range.

I also don't quite agree with Ausar having the highest upside left. I tend to think that Ausar has a higher floor and less bust potential than people think (mainly due to his high feel for the game and reported high character) but I think that his ceiling is also a bit lower than people think and that Black has a significantly higher ceiling. That said, you didn't quite take Black so Ausar was definitely a fine option.

It seems to me that your team buys Ausar's 3-point shot and that they believe that they can improve it. And, to be fair, you have improved Stewart's shot so there's a problem a reason why you think you can do it.

[Nuntius]

Anyone else kinda lukewarm on the Cason Wallace pick for the Thunder?

Love him as a player, don't love the fit. They have a gluttony of guards now. SGA, Giddey, J-Dub, Wallace, Dort. Assuming Chet plays the 4, who are they gonna bench? Do they have a single wing defender?

J-Dub and Dort are either Forwards or can slot in there. So I don't see the gluttony of Guards. I also don't see the fit as particularly bad. To me, Wallace's best chance to be a long-term starter is by being an elite Guard defender and a floor spacer as well as a reliable connective passer on offense. If he can do that, he fits with both SGA and Giddey. If you wanted him to dominate the ball, it might not be a great spot for him but I don't see how he'd justify that on any team that drafted him. He's just not good enough as an on-ball creator to project him to be a lead-Guard on offense in the NBA.

So what's their starting lineup then? Giddey, SGA, Williams, Chet and another big man? Or is it Giddey, SGA, Dort, Williams and Chet? Wallace comes off the bench, gets 18-20 minutes at most?

Well, the 4 consistent starters that OKC used last year was SGA, Williams, Dort and Giddey. At the 5 spot, Jaylin Williams started 36 times, Poku started 25 times and Robinson-Earl started 20 times.

I think that their starting lineup to start off next season is SGA, Williams, Dort, Giddey and Chet. Wallace coming off the bench to start off.

You're right about him being better suited playing next to a lead guard. But I would've liked to have seen him do that on a team like Indiana (who has Haliburton) or Orlando (who has Banchero and Fultz) or even Washington with Poole, where he'd have more of an opportunity to grow as a creator.

We wouldn't have many more minutes than OKC has for him. We have Haliburton, Mathurin and Nembhard and we want to give them as many minutes as possible.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Biggest loser was LAL picking JHS so high. Even if he were good, he's a horrible fit with the team, what's going on.

Jazz passing on Whitmore at 16 was a head scratching move to me as they picked a less talented but still ultra cancerous wing right afterward at 28. I think Sensabaugh is good value at 28, but if you disliked Whitmore for being a low BBIQ blackhole who feuded with his coaches, made his teams worse, didn't try hard, had a bunch of really concerning injury history, then I have some bad news for you about Sensabaugh. Obviously the two players are different, but Sensabaugh is a much better shooter whereas Whitmore is a much better driver and defender so I think Whitmore should have a fairly large edge here.

JHS is actually a great fit for the Lakers. They need a starting guard that can defend big guards and run the PnR.

Problem is JHS with a couple years experience fits the Lakers now, current JHS is too young to expect immediate impact. I think he will get a lot of run as a backup.

My big issue is that JHS sucks, but JHS' max ceiling is DLo, who is already on the team.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Sorry boys, I love your forum but you don't get to grade these until 3-4 years out at least.

you must be fun at parties.

[azcatz11]

Sorry boys, I love your forum but you don't get to grade these until 3-4 years out at least.

you must be fun at parties.

It's called entitlement and it's out of control. Imagine telling people they can't post draft grades in a draft forum...my god man

[EvanZ]

We don't get to know if the grades are correct for 3 or 4 years. But if we don't grade them now, we can never check who was right or wrong. So you kind of have to do it now. With that said here's my full recap:

Watch on YouTube

[basketballwacko2]

My draft night made me wish that I'd bought more booze! I think 2-3 teams did really well. Clearly SA, unless Wemby turns into a flop, which I doubt. Dallas did great! And I think Utah did well.

I have been a Pacer fan since I was about 6 years old going all the way back to the ABA. I've watched this team take some good players in the draft and I've watched them botch it up. I'd like to think that Walker was a great pick, IDK time will tell. The Pacers front office is pretty good when it comes to trading, but they have had a habit of picking 2nd round talent in the 1st round. I can go all the way back to 1993 on that statement. But will only go to 2017, at #18 they got TJ Leaf, 2018 at 23 Aaron Holiday and 2019 they took Goga at #18. This year they took Sheppherd at #26. Not far from the 2nd round, and this was guard #8 for the current roster.

Then there is the trade that moved them from #40 to 47 and they got $4.3 million for Mr Simon's bank account! Then drafted some guy that will never play in the NBA but he's a guard too. Then there was 55 who cares!

Pacers draft grade C-