THE GRADES ARE IN
The Post’s Zach Braziller breaks down a wild NBA draft in B’klyn
A wild draft night at Barclays Center started with the blockbuster Russell Westbrook trade between the Lakers and Wizards, a sign of the chaos to come.
From the trade frenzy that followed, to unexpected selections after the first three picks, Thursday night’s NBA 2021 Draft didn’t disappoint.
The Post’s Zach Braziller gives out his draft grades:
ATLANTA HAWKS
No. 20: Jalen Johnson,
+
SF, Duke; No. 48: Sharife Cooper, PG, Auburn
I get taking a big swing on a talent like Johnson, a 6-foot-9 wing, but there are red flags everywhere, from his injury history, to his controversial decision, to his opt-out during the season at Duke, to his on-court struggles even before that. The ability is there — Johnson was a projected top-five pick entering last season — but so are the character and production concerns.
BOSTON CELTICS
upside.No. 45: Juhann Begarin,
+
SG, Guadelupe
A 6-6 guard with a
7-foot wingspan, Begarin has an NBA frame. Without a first-round pick, the Celtics took a chance on a raw 18-yearold international prospect with ample
BROOKLYN NETS
No. 27: Cameron
*
Thomas, SG, LSU;
No. 29: Day’Ron Sharpe,
C, North Carolina; No. 49: Marcus Zegarowski, PG, Creighton; No. 59: RaiQuan Gray, PF, Florida St.
The Nets may have found some decent bench pieces here, especially in the 6-11, 265-pound Sharpe. Thomas could provide instant offense in small doses, although his defense and jumper may not be up to par to contribute as a rookie.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS
No. 11: James Bouknight,
*
SG, Connecticut;
No. 19: Kai Jones, PF,
Texas; No. 37: JT Thor, PF, Auburn;
No. 56: Scottie Lewis, SG, Florida
The Hornets’ backcourt of LaMelo Ball and Bouknight will be a League Pass must-watch. Jones is more potential than production at this point, but the rim-running big man should benefit from playing with a point guard like Ball. A wing shooter, such as Iowa’s Joe Wieskamp, at 37 would’ve raised this grade.
CHICAGO BULLS
No. 38: Ayo Dosunmu,
*
PG, Illinois
Without a first-round pick for the first time since 2005, the Bulls still wound up with a first-round-caliber player, according to most projections. Dosunmu, who grew up in Chicago and played for Illinois, probably won’t solve the Bulls’ long-term point guard needs, but at worst the Associated Press first team All-American can be a valuable first guard off the bench.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
No. 3: Evan Mobley, )
PF, USC
There is a significant facti ono f scouts and analysts who believe the versatile 7-footer will wind up as the best player in this draft. Mobley and Jarrett Allen could throw nightly block parties if the restricted free agent returns.
DALLAS MAVERICKS No picks DENVER NUGGETS
*
No. 26: Nah’Shon
“Bones” Hyland, SG, VCU Denver needed more backcourt scoring and found its guy in VCU’s creative shotmaker, a 37 percent 3-point shooter who averaged 19.5 points last year.
DETROIT PISTONS
No. 1: Cade Cunnigham,
)
G/F, Oklahoma St.; No. 52:
Luka Garza, C, Iowa;
No. 57: Balsa Koprivica, C, Florida St. The Pistons were draft winners simply by making the no-brainer selection of Cunningham. Unless everyone is wrong, they now have a franchise cornerstone to build around, someone who is well-versed in their successful history (Cunningham talked glowingly of the Bad Boys after he was picked) and sounds determined to make Detroit a winner again.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
No. 7: Jonathan Kuminga *
SF/PF, G-League Ignite; No. 14: Moses Moody, SF, Arkansas The Warriors went saf ew ith one selection and swung for the fences with the other. The pick of the 3-and-D Moody is more likely to help Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green next season, while the 6-8, 220-pound Kuminga could become a star by the time the current core is on its last legs.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
No. 2: Jalen Green, SG,
)
G-League Ignite;
No. 16: Alperen Sengun,
PF/C, Turkey; No. 23: Usman Garuba,
PF, Spain; No. 24: Josh Christopher, SG, Arizona St.
The Rockets upgraded their talent level with a quartet of young prospects that could allow Houston fans to forget about James Harden one day. It is led by Green, the prospect believed to be the most offense-ready player in the draft. Sengun, the 19-year-old MVP of the Turkish Super League, was an intriguing selection, and the physical Garuba could be one of the premier defenders in this draft. Christopher’s stock fell after an underwhelming season at Arizona State, but he’s a shotmaker Houston feels has defensive upside.
INDIANA PACERS
+
No. 13: Chris Duarte, SF, Oregon; No. 22 Isaiah Jackson, PF, Kentucky
High marks for the first pick, choosing production instead of projection and potential. But the Pacers gave up a lot to select Jackson, a project, at 22, sending th eW izards young guard Aaron Holiday and the 31st pick.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
No. 21: Keon Johnson,
*
PG/SG, Tennessee;
No. 33: Jason Preston,
PG, Ohio; No. 51: Brandon Boston Jr., SG, Kentucky
The Clippers got terrific value in Johnson, a gifted athlete who improves their already terrific perimeter defense. Preston, as one of the best passers in this draft, could serve as a reserve playmaker capable of spacing the floor, although there are concerns that his lack of quickness could limit his ceiling.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
The Lakers didn’t make
* any selections, but they shook the NBA world before the draft even started by landing Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster deal with the Wizards. A big three of Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be entertaining. Whether the trio of All-Stars can win a title is another matter.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
No. 10: Ziaire Williams,
.
SG/SF, Stanford;
No. 30: Santi Aldama,
PF, Loyola (Md.)
Memphis traded starting center Jonas Valanciunas and took on two bad contracts to move up seven spots in the draft for a project of a prospect
(Williams) it could’ve had with its original pick. The Grizzlies then moved up again, using their 40th pick and two future second-rounders, to reach for Aldama with the last choice of the first round. Talk about wasting assets and cap space.
MIAMI HEAT No picks MILWAUKEE BUCKS
No. 54: Sandro
+
Mamukelashvili, PF,
Seton Hall; No. 60:
Georgios Kalaitzakis, PG, Greece
The Bucks made some local fans happy by taking Seton Hall’s Mamukelashvili after trading out of the first pick of the second round. He may get to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo in practice, which should be a real welcome-to-theNBA moment for the skilled forward from the Republic of Georgia.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES No picks NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
No. 17: Trey Murphy, SF,
)
Virginia; No. 35: Herb
Jones, SF/PF, Alabama
The Pelicans moved down seven spots and still filled a significant need with the sharpshooting Murphy. Jones is offense-challenged, but the SEC Player of the Year is a workhorse who has strong intangibles and will do dirty work.
NEW YORK KNICKS
No. 25: Quentin Grimes,
+
SG, Houston;
No. 34: Rokas Jokubaitis,
PG/SG, Lithuania; No. 36:
Miles McBride, PG, West
Virginia; No. 58: Jericho
Sims, PF, Texas
After an evening of wheeling and dealing that didn’t include a trade up for a coveted wing, the Knicks still ended up with one of the best perimeter defenders in the draft (McBride), a high-level shooter (Grimes, top right) and an intriguing international guard prospect they can stash overseas (Jokubaitis). Oh, and they added a first-round pick belonging to the Hornets that has protections.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
No. 6: Josh Giddey, G/F,
+
Australia; No. 18: Tre Mann, PG, Florida;
No. 32: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl,
PF, Villanova; No. 55: Aaron Wiggins, SG, Maryland
This is the Thunder and Sam Presti, so of course they kicked the can, trading the 18th selection to the Rockets for protected first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 belonging to the Pistons and Wizards, respectively. Presti made one of the more shocking picks of the first round, going with Aussie playmaker Giddey over high-ceiling Kuminga and Bouknight, two players to whom Oklahoma City had been heavily linked.
ORLANDO MAGIC
No. 5: Jalen Suggs, PG,
)
Gonzaga; No. 8: Franz Wagner, SF, Michigan
Years down the road, we’ll wonder how Suggs lasted until the fifth pick. The Magic had to be doing cartwheels to land the gifted athlete, and three picks later they made another strong selection in the underrated Wagner. Orlando found a pair of two-way difference-makers with its two picks.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
No. 28: Jaden Springer,
*
PG/SG, Tennessee;
No. 50: Filip Petrusev,
C, Serbia; No. 53: Charles Bassey ,C, Western Kentucky
Ben Simmons is still a 76er, for now at least, which overshadowed Philadelphia’s night. That doesn’t mean Daryl Morey had a bad evening. Springer is a sneakygood pick — he defends, shot 43 percent from deep in his lone year in college and is still 18 years old — while the physically imposing Bassey could back up Joel Embiid in the pivot.
PHOENIX SUNS
+
The Western Conference champions sent their only pick (29th overall) to the Nets in exchange for guard Landry Shamet, a veteran who could help them with the possible departures of free agents Cam Payne, Langston Galloway and E’Twaun Moore.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
No. 43: Greg Brown III,
+
SF/PF, Texas
Brown’s stock plummeted, from a potential lottery pick early in the college basketball season to the middle of the second round, after an underwhelming season at Texas. A terrific athlete who is just 19 years old, he was worth a flyer.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
No. 9: Davion Mitchell,
+
PG, Baylor; No. 39:
Neemias Queta ,C,
Utah St.
It’s not about the player, but the fit. Mitchell is the kind of tenacious defender the Kings need, but the backcourt is already full, with past lottery picks De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. Queta could force his way into the rotation on rim-protection alone.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
No. 12: Joshua Primo,
,
SG, Alabama; No. 41: Joe Wieskamp, SF, Iowa
San Antonio could’ve gotten Primo (left), at best a mid-20s selection in most projections, by trading several picks down. There was little value in this reach, unless the Spurs know something nobody else did. If that’s the case, find me on Old Takes Exposed in a few years.
TORONTO RAPTORS
No. 4: Scottie Barnes,
,
SF, Florida St.; No. 46:
Dalano Banton, PG/SG, Nebraska; No. 47: David Johnson, PG, Louisville
The biggest “holy s--t” moment of the night. The Raptors, despite an almost certain need at point guard with Kyle Lowry’s expected departure, passed on Jalen Suggs for the well-rounded yet jumper-challenged Barnes. The Magic should send a gift basket north of the border.
UTAH JAZZ
No. 40: Jared Butler, PG/
)
SG, Butler
After trading out of the last pick of the first round, the Jazz still ended up with a first-round talent in Butler, the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, and landed two future second-round picks from the Grizzlies as well. That’s good drafting.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
No. 15: Corey Kispert, SF,
*
Gonzaga; No. 31: Isaiah
Todd, PF, G-League Ignite Trading Westbrook to the Lakers was a shrewd move. Washington was able to move his onerous contract without taking back bad money, and ended up adding Aaron Holiday and the 31st pick for the 22nd pick that was obtained from the Lakers. Kispert will help space the floor for Bradley Beal, but he has significant limitations otherwise, which was evident in the NCAA Tournament, when the AllAmerican struggled against athleticism and length.