Grades Thread

Cavs – B
I like the Bennett pick. He’s one of the most talented players in this draft and can be a matchup nightmare. Karasev gives them a much needed floor spacer. Would have liked to see them use one of there picks on some defense. Felix is just OK.

Magic – A
Love the Oladipo pick. He may never be an offensive force but will always give full effort and play great defense. Great way to establish culture with a rebuilding team. I really liked the Osby pick as well. he’s another high character guy who give max effort. Mature and a good teammate.

Washington – B+
Porter is a safe pick but a good one. He has a low floor and ceiling. Not overly athletic or quick but knows how to play the game and is a good leader. Good pick for a team with good pieces already in place. Rice Jr. is a good potential pick and good scorer already.

Charlotte – A-
I think a lot of people will criticize this and it is admittedly a little bit of a reach but I loved it for the fit. Zeller will never be a superstar but he’s about as sure of a thing as you can get and the Bobcats need something positive after striking out for the most part in the draft over the years.

Phoenix – B
Len is a pretty good pick and not much of a reach here. Health issues aside, he has a chance to be a very nice player. He does everything well but nothing great. Goodwin a nice value at 29 with lottery potential. Oriahki is a motor guy with decent skills.

New Orleans – C+
Holiday is a nice PG and Noel didn’t really fit with them. Burke would have been a nice pick but I’m not convinced he will be better than Holiday. Also picked up an extra pick in next years loaded class.

Sacremento – B
McLemore is a GREAT value here he has as much potential as anyone in the draft but I’m not convinced he’s a great pick here. Sacremento desperately needs an identity change and although McLemore isn’t a low character guy, his lack of leadership and assertiveness isn’t ideal.

Detroit – C-
I’m not crazy about Caldwell-Pope. He’s got pretty solid potential but when I’ve seen him play nothing about him really stands out to me. McCallum is a decent backup pick.

Minnesota – B
Muhammed is a good potential pick but I’m not a big fan. I see him going the way of Gerald Green in that they were both massively hyped and then slipped on draft night and I think Muhammed will have a similar career. I like Dieng a lot at 21. He give you defense, effort and character and teams can never have enough of that. Brown at 52 is an absolute steal. He has great size and does just about everything pretty well but nothing great.

Portland – A
I love McCollum although I’m not sure about the fit here. He’s a big time scorer. Crabbe, Withey, and Jerrett are all nice pieces to a team that already has a lot of talent.

Philadelphia – A-
Snagging Noel is a great move, although his question marks are well documented. I’m not convinced he will every be more than a shot blocker and finisher but he still has good value. Carter-Williams has a very high ceiling and could wind up being better than Jrue Holiday. I’m a big Wolters fan. He has great feel for the game and has elite PG size. Kazemi is a good energy guy.

Oklahoma City – B+
I like the Steven Adams pick. I think it is the perfect blend of need and value he has a very high ceiling but is raw. OKC can give him the time and environment he needs to succeed. The Roberson pick is a bit of a head scratcher. He was a good college rebounder but I’m not convinced he’ll be able to do that in the NBA due to his lack of strength. Abrines has a typical Euro game and is a smart pick for OKC.

Dallas – B
Larkin is too small to be anything more than a decent backup. He will struggle guarding most PG’s in the league. Muscala could be a decent backup player.

Utah – B-
Burke is a nice pick but I’m not quite as high on him as others. Gobert is huge but I’ll be shocked if he become a good player.

Milwaukee – ???
The Bucks took two players that are virtually unknown. Could pay off, or could mean someone gets fired. No doubt that both Ledo and Adetokoumpo have loads of potential, but I’m not sure that making both picks is a good combo.

Boston – D
I’m not an Olynyk fan and for a team that just entered full scale rebuilding, I thought they could afford to take a major chance. Iverson doesn’t do much for me.

Hawks – B+
Atlanta ends up with two international prospects. Both could end up being nice pieces. Nogueira has a lot of potential but the questions surrounding him (work ethic, attitude) could be his downfall.

Chicago – B
Snell is a pretty nice player and a good fit. The Bulls don’t have many needs at all so taking a guy fits there identity here makes a lot of sense.

Brooklyn – A+
Considering the trade that just went down, I love this pick. Plumlee is the high energy/athleticism guy that can really help a now old team off the bench. Mature, high character, intelligent, great pick.

Indiana – F
Solomon Hill at 23 is a massive reach. They don’t have a lot of needs but I’m not sure he can really help them at all. They could have traded into the second and still gotten him.

New York – B
Hardaway is a nice player and could help replace J.R. Smith should he leave.

L.A. Clippers – B+
Solid pick. Always a good idea to put shooters around CP3 and Bullock can shoot.

Denver – C+
Erick Green can score but not much else.

San Antonio – B+
A solid but unspectacular SA draft. Jean-Charles could develop into a nice player. Thomas is a great value late in the draft.

Houston – B
Canaan is a Houston type of player. He can fill it up and is fearless. His size is questionable though.

L.A. Lakers – F
I actually like Ryan Kelly and it makes sense in D’Antoni’s offense but there’s no way that this pick makes any difference to this team. They could have taken Oriahki, Mbakwe, Lorenzo Brown or Deshaun Thomas and made a much bigger impact.

Miami – C
They got the rights to James Ennis. He’s a decent player but this team just won the title…who cares.

Thoughts?