Jun 22 2019
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The NBA Draft is always one of my favorite nights of the year. From the fashion show in the green room, to the post-selection interviews, the NBA draft always makes for a magical night. However, I have two major complaints about the draft.

One: the insiders need to stop spoiling the picks. The best part of draft night is the immediate reaction to the picks, which is completely nullified by the Woj v Shams race to Twitter. Seriously, what do they get out of tweeting the pick 30 seconds before Adam Silver announces it? I literally had to unfollow both Woj and Shams last night, and I still couldn’t check Twitter without every pick getting spoiled.

This might be the one thing the NFL does better than the NBA. You don’t see Adam Schefter tweeting out “The New York Giants are focusing in on Duke QB Daniel Jones with the 6th overall pick”. It would completely ruin the NFL draft, so why does the NBA continue to allow this?

Two: Look, I get the trades aren’t finalized until July 6th, so technically the players are wearing the “correct” hats. But there’s no reason why DeAndre Hunter should be wearing a Lakers hat! It makes no sense. This problem is so stupid and could be fixed so easily. Get on it, Silver.

As fans, we get so caught up in the team building aspect and sometimes lose sight of what the night is really about. These young men have worked their entire lives for this moment. They’ve dreamed about this night since they were five years old. It’s a truly life-changing moment physically, emotionally and financially. That is what the NBA Draft is all about.

I’m no draft expert, so I can’t explain how Coby White and Lauri Markkanen are going to run pick-and-rolls together next season. But I do have a fairly good understanding of steals, reaches and moments. Here are my 2019 NBA Draft Awards:

Man of the Hour: David Griffin

We all know how well Griffin has righted the ship in New Orleans, so I’ll keep this simple. The Pelicans now have among the best young talent in the league and an unholy amount of future draft picks. They also have this guy.

I do want to say one thing before we crown Griffin as the second coming of Masia Ujiri. Accumulating assets is not particularly hard, but turning those assets into a superstar (or two) and building a championship caliber rotation is extremely difficult. Just ask Danny Ainge, who never had the guts to pull the trigger for a second star and missed his window of opportunity. (Granted, the Nets traded landed Boston Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and briefly Kyrie Irving, but we all know they coulda/shoulda/woulda got Paul George, Kawhi Leonard or Anthony Davis, too.)

Right now, none of that matters. New Orleans has freakin’ Zion and a boatload of fun, talented young players. Step one is complete. Take a bow, David Griffin.

Worst Allocation of Assets for Good Players: Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks traded picks 8, 17 and 35 to New Orleans in order to secure the 4th overall pick. Typically, I’m all for the “go get your guy” approach, but in this draft – where the talent in this range was extremely flat – I don’t understand it. There’s a good chance that Hunter or (even better) Jarrett Culver would have been available at #8, so why bother trading up?

In the end, the Hawks acquired DeAndre Hunter and Cam Reddish. Both players should thrive in the Hawks system with Trae Young constantly finding them open looks. Check out The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor on how the Hawks are building their team around Young. If Hunter and Reddish pan out, no one will remember or care that they squandered some assets to get them.

Biggest Trainwreck of an Organization: Phoenix Suns

The Suns inevitably screwed up the draft for what feels like the millionth time in a row. Here’s Ross Homan’s breakdown of the Suns draft night:

– Traded pick 6 for Dario Saric and pick 11 Cameron Johnson
– Traded a 2020 first round pick for Aron Baynes and pick 24 Ty Jerome
– Traded pick 32 and TJ Warren to Indiana

Before the draft even began, the Suns traded T.J. Warren and pick 32 to create cap space. They did a good job trading down and acquiring Dario Saric, but their selection at 11, Cameron Johnson, was one of the weirder ones of the draft. He’s an elite shooter with some passing ability, though his age and defensive ability limit his upside considerably. This pick doesn’t even fill a need for Phoenix. They need defenders and Johnson won’t help Phoenix there.

Phoenix then gave up a 2020 first round pick for Ty Jerome, a prospect I ranked in the 40s for his lack of NBA athleticism. He’s an elite shooter and passer, but there are serious worries about how he’ll hold up against professional athletes. For what feels like the millionth time, Phoenix failed to add talent in the most unexpected, Suns-y way possible.
Grade: F

Ross Homan, The Rookie Wire

Swiftest Shift in Team Philosophy: Memphis Grizzlies

Wednesday’s trade of Mike Conley officially ended the Grit ‘n Grind era in Memphis, but Grizzlies fans don’t have to wait long for the next era to begin. Last year, the Grizzlies drafted Jaren Jackson Jr. fourth overall. Many scouts had Jackson ranked second on their boards behind only Luka Doncic. Jackson himself would’ve been a great franchise centerpiece.

This year, the Grizzlies leaped into the second overall pick in the lottery and nabbed Ja Morant. Morant became the first player in the history of college basketball to average 20 points and 10 assists per game last year. He exploded onto the scene in the NCAA tournament, posting an absurd 17-16-11 stat-line in Murray State’s first round win over Marquette. After Zion, Morant looks like the next best bet to become a superstar from this draft class.

But the Grizz weren’t done yet. With the pick acquired from Utah in the Conley trade, Memphis was able to move up from the 23rd pick to the 21st for Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke. I’ve seen Clarke ranked as high as second on multiple draft experts’ big boards, so to say the Grizzlies got a steal here would be a massive understatement. Furthermore, he projects as a perfect fit next to Jackson in the front-court.

With Jackson, Morant and Clarke, the Grizzlies have their core in place. If they can acquire and develop shooters and defenders on the wings, this could become a Western Conference powerhouse in the near future.

Worst Pokerface: Philadelphia 76ers

Everyone knew the the Sixers were targeting Washington’s Matisse Thybulle in the first round. Everyone. Boston capitalized and forced Philadelphia to give up an early second round pick (33rd overall) to get him.

This positioned Boston one slot ahead of the Sixers in the second round. Once again, literally everyone knew the Sixers wanted Purdue’s Carsen Edwards. Once again, the Celtics stole him from Philadelphia, but this time they kept him for themselves. If Elton Brand had kept his cards a little closer to his chest, this draft could’ve gone a lot better for a Sixers team in desperate need of cheap talent.

Runner-up: Golden State Warriors

Strictest “Best Player Available” Approach: Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs drafted the small, scoring point guard Darius Garland 5th overall, despite already having Collin Sexton on their roster. Then, they stole Kevin Porter Jr. with the last pick of the first round, who was projected as a late-lottery pick. He’s another ball dominant guard, adding to the Cavaliers collection which includes Garland, Sexton and Jordan Clarkson. There are definite fit issues in Cleveland, but I still kinda like their approach, though. Fit does not matter when you are as bad as the Cavaliers are right now, only finding talent.

Eustacchio Raulli gives an in-depth look on the new-look Cavaliers. Cavs fans: It’s definitely worth your time.

Worst Take: Bill Simmons Hates Celtics’ Draft

Like it or not, Simmons is the face of the Celtics’ fandom. He made it clear throughout draft night that he was not a fan of Boston’s moves.

Yet, the opinions from the draft gurus I follow on Twitter diametrically opposed Simmons’. Max Carlin absolutely loved the Celtics’ draft, as he outlined here. They drafted his 12th, 4th and 33rd ranked prospects with picks 14, 24 and 33, while picking up an extra (late) first round pick next year. Basically, this epitomizes the difference between people who know the draft and those who don’t. Simmons doesn’t pretend to be any sort of draft expert, but his Celtics takes have been damaged in the wake of Kyrie Irving’s dismantling of his beloved franchise.

On a side note: I am selfishly angry that the Celtics stole my guy Carsen Edwards. Like many basketball fans, I fell in love with Edwards during the NCAA tournament. The highlights from his 42-point explosion against the eventual national champions were the stuff of legend. Now, he’s on one of my least favorite teams in the league. Sigh.

Runner-up:

Craziest Non-Draft Storyline: Diss Track Battle Between Damian Lillard and Marvin Bagley

Marvin Bagley went on ESPN’s First Take on the morning of the draft mostly to discuss draft-related topics. At some point, Bagley claimed to be a better rapper than Damian Lillard, who has produced two full albums with a third “coming soon”. Lillard immediately fired back with a pair of diss tracks against Bagley, who quickly retaliated himself.

Bagley’s brazenness was impressive, but I think Lillard won the battle. Although, Lillard has long been my favorite player in the league, so perhaps I’m too biased to decide a winner. (I definitely am.)

I’m not sure how the NBA has reached a point where this type of stuff is headline news. But here we are and it’s glorious. #ThisLeague

Moment of the Night: Jordan Bone’s Draft Surprise

Tennessee’s Jordan Bone was a fringe draft prospect whose dreams of hearing his name called were dying with each selection. There were only four picks remaining in the second round when Bone’s brother starts giving a concession speech to the draft party’s large crowd.

Except a funny thing happened mid-speech – Bone was drafted. Please take a minute and watch this video. I promise it will be the best thing you watch all day.

Posted inBasketball NBA NBA Summer 2019
Tagsatlanta hawks boston celtics brandon clarke cam reddish carsen edwards cleveland cavaliers damian lillard darius garland David Griffin deandre hunter ja morant jaren jackson jr. jordan bone marving bagley matisse thybulle memphis grizzlies NBADraft new orleans pelicans philadelphia 76ers phoenix suns zion willamson

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