Everybody loves to grade the NBA draft as soon as it’s over – it’s a natural part of the draft day process. And despite the fact that these grades are wrong as often (or more often) than they are right, I just can’t help myself. Sure, these players have been poked and prodded, measured in every way that GM’s can conceive. They’ve been interviewed repeatedly, tested and watched again and again on video.
Still, even with all of the assessments and ratings, draft busts litter the landscape. Notable Top 5 pick failures from the 2000-2006 drafts (its too early to properly rate the ’07 and ’08 classes) include Adam Morrison, Shaun Livingston, Darko Milicic, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Jay Williams, Mike Dunleavy, Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry, Stromile Swift, Darius Miles and Marcus Fizer. If you delve deeper than that, looking at the full lottery or the entire first round, the number of ‘can’t miss prospect’ failures rises significantly.
Clearly, my initial ‘good draft-bad draft’ ratings should be taken with a heavy dose of skepticism, until these guys prove their worth at the NBA level. That being said, I’ve got some strong opinions that I won’t hesitate to share. We’ll start with the ‘Draft Winners’ today; moving on to the ‘Draft Losers’ column next time. Without further ado, let’s look at six teams that I consider to be ‘winners’ following draft night. Teams are listed in alphabetical order.
Atlanta:
First the Hawks literally stole Jamal Crawford away from the Warriors for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton, neither of whom will ever start an NBA game unless there is a significant injury to the ‘real’ starter. Crawford can score points in bunches, an ‘instant offense’ kind of player for a team that needs more offensive weapons. Then Atlanta nabbed point guard Jeff Teague from Wake Forest with the 19th overall pick, an absolute steal for a guy who could make Mike Bibby expendable sooner rather than later.
Denver:
The Nuggets entered the draft without a pick. But Denver did not sit quietly, making a single strong move that will pay dividends both short term (the window for Denver to compete for championships is right now), and down the line as they develop a point guard to eventually take over the starting role from Chauncey Billups. The Nuggets traded away a future first rounder for Ty Lawson from North Carolina with the #18 pick. Lawson is a perfect fit to learn and contribute as a rookie behind one of the game’s consummate professionals.
Houston:
The Rockets didn’t have a first round pick, and they don’t have many tradable commodities. And Houston has salary cap issues, unable to deal away Tracy McGrady and his fat, long term contract. What does a team like this do on draft night? Simple! They open up the checkbook and start buying second rounders with upside. I’m not sure that Jermaine Taylor, Sergio Llull and Chase Budinger are going to be solid NBA contributors. But the point is they might, and Houston gets all three for pennies on the dollar, without having to offer any of the trio a guaranteed contract. If any one of those three turns into a good NBA player, the Rockets have done well. If two out of three succeed, one of the few teams with a solid recent history of second round draft choices will have done it again!
Memphis:
Chris Wallace is an easy GM to hate. He nearly singlehandedly ruined the Boston Celtics during his tenure in Beantown. Since arriving in Memphis, Wallace is responsible for one of the worst trades in recent memory (Pau Gasol for nothing); just one of many deals that have left the Grizzlies as a true bottom feeder. But Wallace has drafted some key cogs with lottery picks in recent years, and the Rudy Gay/OJ Mayo/Mike Conley trio has the makings of a nice threesome. But none of those three guys played a lick of defense last year, and, as we know, defense wins championships. The Grizzlies three player haul on Thursday Night – Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll and Sam Young are all extremely tough kids and excellent defenders who should improve the Grizzlies mindset on ‘D’ from Day 1 of the ’09-’10 season.
San Antonio:
The Spurs have routinely found talent deep in the draft. Sure, Tim Duncan was the #1 overall selection in the 1997 draft, but San Antonio has been reloading without the benefit of lottery picks ever since Duncan came onboard. Manu Ginobili was picked at the bottom of the second round; 27 players went higher than Tony Parker back in 2001. In an effort to get back into championship contention while Duncan still has some game, the Spurs picked up swingman Richard Jefferson for pennies on the dollar from Milwaukee prior to the draft. Jefferson is a perfect fit here; a savvy veteran with the ability to get to the basket as well as the ability to shoot from the perimeter. Without a first round pick, the Spurs nabbed the free-falling low post power DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh, arguably the steal of the draft. Then the Spurs picked up perimeter sharpshooter Jack McClinton from Miami and Parker clone Nando De Colo from France. Put it together and we’re looking at one the most talented trio of second round potential contributors in recent memory.
Washington:
Ok, the Wizards didn’t have a draft. Given the track records described above, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Instead of prospects, the Wizards got a pair of ‘sure things’. Washington traded the #5 pick to Minnesota for Randy Foye and Mike Miller. Foye, the #7 selection in the 2006 draft, was really starting to come into his own last year before he got hurt. Miller is a former Rookie of the Year with an excellent perimeter shooting touch. The Wiz were looking for complimentary pieces for their Big Three (a healthy Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler) and they found a pair who can contribute right away.
