Draft report card: Spurs come up big
It’s the easiest call of the NBA Draft: The San Antonio Spurs won.
That’s not to say other teams didn’t do very well on Thursday, when 58 players were selected as the league’s newest members. But the Spurs being able to take generational French talent Victor Wembanyama puts them at the head of the class.
A breakdown of which teams had Excellent drafts, those that had Good drafts and others that will have to Wait and See:
EXCELLENT
DALLAS MAVERICKS Picks Dereck Lively II (12) Olivier-Maxence Prosper (24).
Dallas got the big man it wanted and created opportunity by moving Davis Bertans. Hard to argue that it wasn’t a good night. And now free agency awaits. Prosper is another player with big potential and was extremely hard to guard at Marquette.
DENVER NUGGETS
Picks Julian Strawther (29), Jalen Pickett (32), Hunter Tyson (37),
Pickett should have gone in the first round. He’s that good, and the NBA champions just got another do-it-all guy who will also serve as insurance should Bruce Brown leave in free agency.
DETROIT PISTONS
Picks Ausar Thompson (5), Marcus Sasser (25), James Nnaji (31)
No matter what, the Pistons were going to get better and deeper on Thursday night. Thompson is incredibly athletic (even by NBA standards) and plays defense with a ton of energy.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Picks Brandin Podziemski (19), Trayce Jackson-Davis (57)
Play to your strength, and the Warriors got another shooter to add to the mix with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Podziemski could add something right away, and came to Golden State on the same day that the Warriors swung a deal for Chris Paul by sending Jordan Poole to Washington.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Picks Amen Thompson (4), Cam Whitmore (20)
Thompson is a great move and gives Detroit another great option as it builds. If Whitmore is healthy, then Houston got an absolute steal by getting the Villanova forward at No. 20.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Picks Cason Wallace (10), Keyontae Johnson (50)
Wallace was great for Kentucky in his lone college season and played perhaps his best game in the Wildcats’ finale in the NCAA Tournament. He can score he didn’t look to score quite often enough at times in college. ORLANDO MAGIC Picks Anthony Black (6), Jett Howard (11)
Paolo Banchero got a couple more shooters to help him out, and the young and talented Magic got more young talent. An excellent night again and it’s time to start thinking about Orlando as a team that should make a run at the playin — at minimum.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Picks Victor Wembanyama (1), Sidy Cissoko (44).
Their grade was secured at the very moment that the last pingpong ball appeared at the lottery last month. Wembanyama was a no-brainer, and now it’s up to the Spurs to start the real work — get him into the gym, see how he fits, and figure out what the plan is going forward.
TORONTO RAPTORS Pick Gradey Dick (13)
Dick showed up to the draft in a red-and-black jacket — a nod to Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” and his Kansas roots. The color scheme will work in Toronto as well. Dick is a pure shooter, and no team can have too many of those. The jury’s still out on what the Raptors will be this coming season, but this kid will be a rotation piece.
UTAH JAZZ
Picks Taylor Hendricks (9), Keyonte George (16), Brice Sensabaugh (28)
Hendricks is what an NBA big pretty much is now a power forward who can also defend centers. George was the Big 12 rookie of the year at Baylor and is a proven scorer. He’s good from the line, has three-point potential and can get to the rim. There’s some work to do, but he’s a serious prospect.
GOOD
BROOKLYN NETS
Picks Noah Clowney (21), Dariq Whitehead (22), Jalen Wilson (51)
Clowney is an athletic big from Alabama whose game is still a bit unfinished. Whitehead has enormous potential and was highly recruited by Duke, but foot issues are a concern. Wilson was the Big 12 player of the year at Kansas. The Nets likely didn’t choose three elite programs accidentally. Lot to like here.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS Picks Brandon Miller (2), Nick Smith Jr. (27), Amari Bailey (41). Miller made sense over Scoot Henderson because the Hornets have a point guard already. But Henderson might be the more NBA-ready player.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Picks Jalen Hood-Schifino (17), Maxwell Lewis (40).
Hood-Schifino got NBA coaching in college last season Indiana is coached by Mike Woodson. He’s a winner his high school teams won, his Indiana team went to the NCAA Tournament and he’ll obviously benefit from time with LeBron James.
MIAMI HEAT
Pick Jaime Jaquez Jr. (18) A four-year college player whose game got more complete each year, Jaquez has a notorious work ethic that should fit in quite well with the Eastern Conference champions. NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
Pick Jordan Hawkins (14) Hawkins was a big part of UConn’s team that won the national title last spring, earning his way onto the All-Tournament team. New Orleans got a winner.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Picks Scoot Henderson (3), Kris Murray (23), Rayan Rupert (43).
Henderson has shown that he’s NBA-ready. The Blazers drafted well. But really, the only question now is whether Damian Lillard is happy or not. Murray is the twin brother of Sacramento’s Keegan Murray and had a big season for Iowa — averaging just over 20 points per game.
WAIT AND SEE
BOSTON CELTICS
Picks James Njaji (31), Jordan Walsh (38)
Still only 18, Njaji started playing the game about seven years ago and is not even close to reaching his potential yet. Big prospect. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES Picks Gregory Jackson II (45), Tarik Biberovic (56) Prospects. They’re not expected to provide any real help anytime soon.