[Al PerezParticipant]

Winners of the Draft (in no particular order)

1. Philadelphia 76ers – They won the draft as soon as they won the Lottery. Simmons is a once in a generation talent and has a chance to be a Superstar in a league where Superstars run the show. Simmons combined with a healthy (hopeful thinking) Embiid and Saric infused into this mismatched roster will push things forward. Add the fact that they got Korkmaz/Luwawu at the end of the first rd puts an exclamation point on the night. All they need is a PG that can run the show and hit outside shots and they can start moving towards respectability. Eventually they will need to trade one or both of Okafor/Noel but that hasn’t happened yet and there is no reason to rush it. Let Embiid work himself up to 20-25 min per game and just let Simmons run the show for now. The future looks bright for Philly and the process is coming to an end

2. LA Lakers- getting Brandon Ingram is a slam dunk pick and adds to a potentially deadly young core that can thrive in this small ball era. He adds perimeter shooting and much needed length to the defense. Then they got Zubac in the 2nd which is a great coup. He has the size/skill combo in a C and he has starter potential down the line.

3. Boston Celtics- I love and I called the Jaylen Brown pick. If you’re not going to get a trade that you deem viable then you might as well swing for the fences. Brown has superstar potential in a league where you need a superstar to win a championship. Boston most likely isn’t going to get a superstar in FA so you have to draft and groom a player and hope he can develop into one. Brown needs a lot of refinement but his skills aren’t as raw as they seem and I believe that if any coach can develop and mold this potential into a two way impactful player then it’s Brad Stevens. Then to add the French Draymond Green (Yabusele) add 16 seemed like a reach but as rumored the Spurs really liked him and we had to add a draft/stash so might as well take the guy with the most potential. Elite athlete at 6’9 270 lbs. with an improving jump shot out to the 3 pt line and ball skills that suggest he can be the prototype small ball 4 ala Draymond Green. Zizic was the best big man on the board at 23 and I am on board with adding an elite rebounder with rim protecting skills even if he lacks some lateral quickness. But we’ve seen players become better athletes as soon as they get in an NBA environment. I loved the Davis pick but the trade was so much better. Ya Davis could be really good but to get a first rd pick for him down the line when we already have Jordan Mickey developing in our system was too good to be true. Demetrius Jackson is going to push Terry Rozier and it’ll make them both better. Bentil has a chance to stick and fill a significant backup role as a rookie because I think his game is ready now…could be steal of the draft. The last pick Nader doesn’t do much for me but hey why not Danny, you do you.

4. Phoenix Suns – Dragan Bender to Phoenix seems like the best thing for both parties. He isn’t in a huge pressure environment to be ready right away and most likely gets plenty of time at the 4/5 right away on a team that looks like it’s going to ship off some veteran pieces real soon. They went all in on the Chriss trade who they probably were going back and forth on in the war room right before the Bender pick. Chriss and Bender can both play at the same time and can develop together into a formidable force out west. They mesh well together a dare versatile enough to work with numerous lineups. Chriss is more of a 4/3 and Bender more of a 4/5 so I like the risk taking the two kids with the two of the highest potential in the draft besides the top 2. Then they got to add Ulis early in the second rd and he will grow with the young pups and Booker and could eventually be a starter but will definitely be an outstanding backup.

5. Oklahoma City Thunder – Sabonis is one of my favorite players in this draft class. Could have All Star potential, I am really high on him. And they got Victor Oladipo to add to Westbrook in what has become the most explosive (athletically) backcourt in the NBA. Ilyasova adds a stretch 4 to the roster and all for a player they had overrated so long ago. This basically puts the nail in the coffin that the Harden trade was a colossal bust as they should of kept him instead of Ibaka but that’s hindsight. However an explosive 2 guard between Westbrook/Durant is exactly what got this team to the Finals in what seems ages ago. They can add a rim protector in FA and they are set to compete with the elites yet again if Durant goes back for one more shot. They got elite value back on a player that has fallen out of favor and has plateaued in his development.

6. Denver Nuggets – when you are a small market team you need to develop your own Superstars and that starts with always taking the BPA no matter what your roster looks like until you are a legit contender. A Mudiay and Murray backcourt is exactly what this team needs to move forward. I see them moving a package of core players for someone as they have (Gary Harris, Malik Beasley, Will Barton, Danillo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, and Joffrey Lauvergne) to offer to a team(s) in an attempt to bring stability to a roster. Yes that means I see the only untouchables on this team as Mudiay/Murray/Jokic/Nurkic going forward or atleast for now. Harris and Beasley seem so to overlap skills so using one as trade bait and one as a 6th man would be smart. Whose more likely to except a 6th man role behind a shiny new rookie, a 3rd year player trying to improve upon his breakout sophomore campaign or another rookie who “fell” in the draft due to a medical red flag but is otherwise a potential 3&D stud? I’ll say Beasley stays and Harris goes. They have flexibility to make multiple trades with multiple players involved and can build around a set core of young up and coming studs.

7. Sacramento Kings- wait what?!?!? No just hear me out….if they had drafted Skal or Malachi at 13 then 22 and took Papagiannis at 28 then nobody would say a thing. Papagiannis has a ton of potential and maybe he was going to get selected earlier than we thought and during that run of International guys and they couldn’t get him with that late first. However I do know Vlade can spot a future C prospect when he sees one. A 7’2 18 year old kid with size and good mobility and great hands is a gamble worth taking. Malachi has a chance to be a 3&D all around wing player that can hit 3’s at a high clip. Skal has all the potential in the world and it will just take someone to be patient and get his body to a certain point where he isn’t a weakness on the floor and can have chances to shoot that beautiful jumpshot. Isaiah Cousins with the 2nd to last pick was a nice coup too. Could see him sticking as the 3rd PG on roster. I think a Demarcus Cousins trade is on the horizon I think both sides are done with each other and a future big man combo of Skal/WCS/Papagiannis has a lot to like about it.

8. San Antonio Spurs – yes the Spurs out of all teams need to be listed as a winner because per usual something happens where they end up getting an elite raw talent in which they will mold into atleast a rotation player….Dejounte Murray has elite potential and I believe has the most potential out of any PG prospect in this class. He gets to go to the Spurs who will develop him and his jumpshot. He gets to learn behind Tony Parker; another gem they got at the end of Rd 1. And he has no pressure to perform right away. This is a Win-Win from both sides and don’t be surprised to see Murray in the Top 10 in re-drafts two to three years down the line.

I will be posting my Losers of the Draft later this week.

[Al PerezParticipant]

Not that I express my opinions and hope for a bunch of thumbs up….but if you’re going to thumbs down someone you should atleast give a reasoning to why…as this is a basketball forum….same goes for my Mock I posted a couple of weeks ago and got ripped for having Brown to the Celtics….so lets debate!

[Al PerezParticipant]

Not that I express my opinions and hope for a bunch of thumbs up….but if you’re going to thumbs down someone you should atleast give a reasoning to why…as this is a basketball forum….same goes for my Mock I posted a couple of weeks ago and got ripped for having Brown to the Celtics….so lets debate!

[kobyzParticipant]

 I will take suns and spurs out of this list, suns just gamble on two high risk high reward players… Spurs failed to move up in the draft to take yabusele and gamble on a kid with upside but also to me a long shot to be a good player as he is so raw with holes and unconventional game… I would put clippers and warriors in instead… Like i said in other thread clippers got two great value bigs in brice who has the atheltic tools and game to flourish as a complimentary player around stars, remind me very much otis thorpe, also the second rounder they got just seems written about him productive rotation big… Warriors with also two players i like, i think damian jones has much more talent than what he got to show at vanderbilt, playing at that system with no real pg in baldwin make him underachiever, they also got the second round steal of the draft, mccaw, prospect with all around and two way talent, could be similar player to doug christie…

[kobyzParticipant]

 I will take suns and spurs out of this list, suns just gamble on two high risk high reward players… Spurs failed to move up in the draft to take yabusele and gamble on a kid with upside but also to me a long shot to be a good player as he is so raw with holes and unconventional game… I would put clippers and warriors in instead… Like i said in other thread clippers got two great value bigs in brice who has the atheltic tools and game to flourish as a complimentary player around stars, remind me very much otis thorpe, also the second rounder they got just seems written about him productive rotation big… Warriors with also two players i like, i think damian jones has much more talent than what he got to show at vanderbilt, playing at that system with no real pg in baldwin make him underachiever, they also got the second round steal of the draft, mccaw, prospect with all around and two way talent, could be similar player to doug christie…

[mopoParticipant]

Spurs – I liked Dejounte Murray the same way I liked Marshon Brooks. I was convinced that the Nets would trade him away and he would blossom in to a star. I think he’s in China now. 

Kings – I heard you out. I just think drafting 2 big guys to this roster is a complete waste. Also, Skal and Malachi were 2 guys that needed to land on stable teams to continue developing and gaining confidence. Sacramento is the opposite of that. 

Celtics – Can be argued they couldn’t lose the draft with the amount of picks they had. Instead they reached with all 3 1st round picks. I like the upside of Jalen Brown, but didn’t care for the rest of them. The lotto protected 1st rounder for Davis and 35th wasn’t a good move IMO. They had to flip some picks to save face though. 

 

I thought Memphis getting Baldwin IV was a solid pick at 17. Davis was easily worth a lotto pick so getting him for a lotto protected pick was a great value. That pick may very well turn in to a 2nd rd pick at some point. Zagorac and Wang are both fine stashes, although I think Memphis is more likely to trade them if they improve overseas. 

I thought Nets did alright as well. Thad may still be a good player, but the time for rebuilding is like 2 years ago. They need to swing for the fences. Both LeVert and Whitehead have a chance at being dynamic players. 

[mopoParticipant]

Spurs – I liked Dejounte Murray the same way I liked Marshon Brooks. I was convinced that the Nets would trade him away and he would blossom in to a star. I think he’s in China now. 

Kings – I heard you out. I just think drafting 2 big guys to this roster is a complete waste. Also, Skal and Malachi were 2 guys that needed to land on stable teams to continue developing and gaining confidence. Sacramento is the opposite of that. 

Celtics – Can be argued they couldn’t lose the draft with the amount of picks they had. Instead they reached with all 3 1st round picks. I like the upside of Jalen Brown, but didn’t care for the rest of them. The lotto protected 1st rounder for Davis and 35th wasn’t a good move IMO. They had to flip some picks to save face though. 

 

I thought Memphis getting Baldwin IV was a solid pick at 17. Davis was easily worth a lotto pick so getting him for a lotto protected pick was a great value. That pick may very well turn in to a 2nd rd pick at some point. Zagorac and Wang are both fine stashes, although I think Memphis is more likely to trade them if they improve overseas. 

I thought Nets did alright as well. Thad may still be a good player, but the time for rebuilding is like 2 years ago. They need to swing for the fences. Both LeVert and Whitehead have a chance at being dynamic players. 

[Author]

Posts