2022 Draft Winners / Losers

[clyde21]

Winners:

1 Houston: Smith at 3, Eason in the middle of the first, they are hitting on all the needed archetypes and personnel fits.

2 OKC: They took Chet at 2, but knocked it out of the park imo with Dieng at 11 and then Jaylin Williams in the 2nd. Jalen Williams also 12th while a little too high again the right archetype and fit.


Losers:

1 Pacers: Mathurin is fine but 6 is on the rich side, Davis or Daniels would've been better choices in my opinion. Also making Andrew Nembhard the #1 pick of the 2nd when you guys like Jaylin Williams, EJ Liddell, Jaden Hardy, Moussa Diabate and Max Christie were still available is just very uninspired. You can get a guy like Nembhard in FA literally every year.

2 Grizz: this is surprising b/c I love their FO and they usually knock it out the park, but their picks were just odd to me. You trade away Melton just to get Roddy, who IMO was a reach there. LaRavia is a nice fit but Jovic imo would have been even better

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other notes:

- Lakers grabbing Christie 35 is a huge coup. GMs are gonna regret this one.

- Clippers following up taking a steal in Boston last year in the 2nd, and do the same thing again grabbing Diabate in similar range.

- I'm a Johnny Davis guy but I question that fit in Washington next to Beal, hopefully this means Beal is on his way out and Washington can finally do a full reset with Davis and some of the other young guys they have.

[babyjax13]

Winners:
1. Detroit
2. San Antonio
3. New Orleans
4. Houston
5. Oklahoma City

Losers:
1. Charlotte
2. Sacramento
3. New York
4. Memphis

Will add explanations at some point if I have the energy, haha : )

[SeattleJazzFan]

detroit and houston stand out as winners.

[sisibilio]

I'm pretty hyped with the Blazers pick

[Colbinii]

I like what Minnesota, San Antonio, Houston and Memphis did.

Not a fan of Charlotte or Sacramento.

[Dadouv47]

weird to see OKC with some high grades or terrible ones...most are really divided on WIlliams/Dieng I guess. I'm personally happy with Chet/Williams but I didn't like the Dieng pick at all.

[Un4given]

Can't point out any obvious steals or busts but Houston and Detroit are winners for me sorely because it seems like they got the players who were in their best case scenario. On the other hand, Magic and Kings probably could got the players they have picked even if they traded down while acquiring at least something extra so it should be a small loss even if both Banchero and Murray exceed the expectations.

I generally like what OKC did but I have the feeling that there was a room to consolidate a bit more with adding some future assets to their late lotery picks and trade down to #4. Getting Holmgren + Ivey would make them a clear winners of this draft for me.

[JRoy]

SAC and NYK are a bit of a puzzle, maybe the draft will look better after FA.

[CptCrunch]

Winners:

Magic: legendary smokescreen into BPA Paolo at #1 pick
Knicks: actually had a sharp draft trading out of weak 2022 into potentially a legendary 2023 while nabbing a lotto talent (imo) in Trevor Keels.
Pelicans: could have very well taken the 4th best talent in Daniels this year.
Spurs: drafted very nice system players in Sochan, Branham and Wesley at good value slots..
Pistons: got good value in Ivey because Kangz happened, got exceptional value in Duren at 12. As I mentioned in another thread, Duren and Mark Williams are players who offers you 80-100% of Ayton at 1/5 the cost during their rookie contract.

Neutrals:

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.

Losers:

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.
Wizards: Probably worst pick in the entire draft with Davis at 10. At least the Kangz took a top 6-8 talent. Davis shouldn't be in the lotto.

[Yuri Vaultin]

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

[BostonCouchGM]

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.

Bulls. Yikes.

Knicks. Continue to be one of the worst run organizations in all of sports. Embarrassing

Nuggets-I just have no idea why they did what they did. They traded a future 1st to get into the 1st to draft Peyton Watson? A 2-3 year project. While I like Braun they reached badly to take him at #21. I don't mind the draft and stash Kamagate in the 2nd but man. This was a very important draft for the Nuggets. They badly needed available depth due to being so top heavy and they failed spectacularly.

Winners:

OKC-Chet, Dieng, Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams. No more tanking!! Too much talent to justify it now
MEM-LaRavia, Roddy, Chandler. Really improved their depth which was a major concern.
HOU-Smith and Eason
DET-Ivey and Duren
Pelicans-Daniels and Liddell
Portland-Sharpe and Procida
Pacers-Mathurin, Nembhard and Kendall Brown.

[clyde21]

Sochan is a way better defender than Kuzma in almost every way, probably the only legitimate 1-5 defender in the entire class (other than maybe Diabate, or even Smith in some capacities).

it's not a high upside pick but this class doesn't have much upside anyways after a select few guys, taking the best and most versatile defender in the class at 9 who can knock down a 3 isn't a bad play, at the very worst he'll be legitimate trade bait for a team looking for his type in a couple of years.

[clyde21]

i think between Murray, Primo, Vassell, Sochan and Johnson the Spurs have some nice pieces. Murray most likely gets moved at some point and maybe Johnson but Primo/Sochan/Vassell are nice building blocks.

[Colbinii]

Winners:

Magic: legendary smokescreen into BPA Paolo at #1 pick
Knicks: actually had a sharp draft trading out of weak 2022 into potentially a legendary 2023 while nabbing a lotto talent (imo) in Trevor Keels.
Pelicans: could have very well taken the 4th best talent in Daniels this year.
Spurs: drafted very nice system players in Sochan, Branham and Wesley at good value slots..
Pistons: got good value in Ivey because Kangz happened, got exceptional value in Duren at 12. As I mentioned in another thread, Duren and Mark Williams are players who offers you 80-100% of Ayton at 1/5 the cost during their rookie contract.

Neutrals:

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.

Losers:

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.
Wizards: Probably worst pick in the entire draft with Davis at 10. At least the Kangz took a top 6-8 talent. Davis shouldn't be in the lotto.

Where are all the other teams if they are not Winners/Neutral/Losers?

[Upperclass]

Spurs had an amazing draft and are a few moves away from being awful, so that they can pick high in 2023.. Imo they will trade Murray, Dougie and Poetl before the season

[Colbinii]

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.

[CptCrunch]

Where are all the other teams if they are not Winners/Neutral/Losers?

Neutral, this draft isn't very exciting, just touching upon some teams with good management of assets on draft night. I'm sure busts and studs were drafted last night, but nothing really stood out (to me). Wanted to highlight the top draft picks hence the neutral category for Rockets and OKC.

[jman3134]

Winners:

Houston - Jabari Smith, Tari Eason, UDFA Trevor Hudgins
I probably give Houston the throne for the best draft for the 2nd year in a row. Jabari should have been the top pick and his big shot making ability will complement Jalen Green well. Tari Eason was very good value where they were at and he can bring a defensive presence. Trevor Hudgins is one of the best shooting UDFAs. On Jabari alone, this was an A+ draft.

Detroit - Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Gabriele Procida
Ivey has some of the highest upside in this class and he should complement Cade well, operating off ball at times, but also creating open opportunities with his explosiveness. Duren fits as a lob threat and represents another active top level athlete. Procida is one of the most underrated international picks and he has the athleticism to contribute.

Milwaukee - MarJon Beauchamp, Gui Santos, Hugo Besson, UDFA Iverson Molinar, UDFA AJ Green
The Bucks had the draft I was hoping my Grizzlies had. Beauchamp is incredibly underrated and plays with a chip on his shoulder. He fills the prototype of a lengthy wing with upside. While different prospects, Gui Santos falls under the lengthy wing with good ball skills archetype. Besson was also incredibly underrated, as he showed out at the Combine. The Bucks traded for two late round steals. In undrafted free agency, they nabbed two of the best point guards at the Combine and G League Elite respectively (not the best, but among the best as Nembhard was really good). Molinar has incredible explosiveness and Green was the best playmaker at the G League Elite Camp.

San Antonio - Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley, UDFA Dominick Barlow
This is another super win draft for me. Sochan is one of the best players in this draft and a legit defensive force in the making. I like his ability to stretch it, which I think will improve in time. Branham was completely overlooked in this draft, but he was a top 10 or so talent. Wesley I do not believe is anything special as far as prospects go, but he could develop if he has the right attitude. Barlow should have been drafted and has the athleticism, size, and tenacity to make this team and contribute down the road.

[baldur]

Detroit, Houston and okc. Not only because they selected top picks, they selected the perfect bpa and fits for their other first rounders.

[Big J]

Winners

Orlando: made the right choice and picked the only guy with the ability to be “the guy” right away.

Milwaukee: Beauchamp developing under Giannis tutelage is seriously mind bending. He could easily be a mini Giannis.

Spurs: Sochan is filthy on defense. Their team is going to be a nightmare for opposing teams and will win 45 games just on effort if Pop still has the energy to bark at them and keep them in line.

Loser:

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