With the Draft being over, it's time to look at which teams came out with the best overhauls and which teams left people scratching their heads.
Brand Penner/USA Today
July 30th, 2021
Winners:
1. Top 3 Picks (DET/HOU/CLE): The Pistons, Rockets and Cavs were all able to get their guys who all could be franchise changing players. The Pistons took the best player in the draft in Cade Cunningham and snagged College Basketball Player of the Year Luka Garza in the 2nd round alongside Isaiah Livers and Balsa Koprivica. The Rockets took the scoring guard of Jalen Green while getting even more talent with Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba, and Josh Christopher with later first-round picks, and Cleveland got the modern-day big man Evan Mobley. All A draft picks.
2. Golden State Warriors: It seemed most likely that the Warriors would trade atleast one of their lottery picks but after waiting for smokescreens to clear they ended up getting both of the guys they wanted. Jonathan Kuminga fell to 7th, and Moses Moody fell to 14th. Even with how big of a risk Kuminga is, for him to fall into the Warriors lap at 7th is a big win with the potential he has and the Warriors having time to develop him. Moody will fit right in with the Warriors system and I see him playing a 3-and-D role early in his career while there being loads of potential in other parts of his game.
3. Charlotte Hornets: One of the surprises of the draft was James Bouknight falling outside the top 8, and when the Hornets had their pick at 11th they didn’t hesitate to pick one of the most gifted scoring guards in the draft in Bouknight. I love this pick because Bouknight could compliment Lamelo Ball and his playmaking well. That wasn’t it with the Hornets as they got lottery talent at 19th with the athletic forward Kai Jones who has the ability to stretch the floor. In the 2nd round, Hornets picked up JT Thor who became a fan favorite around those who do In-depth analysis and an underdog type mentality wing in Scottie Lewis.
4. Atlanta Hawks: Getting talent like Jalen Johnson and Sharife Cooper where the Hawks got them at with the 20th and 48th picks are nothing but wins and more wins. Bringing in Johnson’s versatility is a huge plus and with the uncertainty of if the Hawks bringing back John Collins, the Hawks got their insurance. Cooper, who should have never fallen to 48th, is staying home and will be able to learn under Trae Young. I love this for Cooper as I see Cooper’s playmaking ceiling being as high as a Trae Young, and with the shooting concerns Cooper has, learning from Young is absolutely a plus.
5. Los Angeles Clippers: Walking out the draft with a trio of Keon Johnson, Jason Preston and Brandon Boston has to be considered a win. There’s just loads of potential with all three picks and the development we just saw from Terance Mann just from the playoffs makes these three picks that more exciting. Keon Johnson definitely fits the mold and mentality of this clippers team and his ability to lock-down on the perimeter and be a slasher offensively should help him see some playing time soon especially with Kawhi Leonard being out with his injury. A team full of “redemption” or shouldn’t even be here type of guys, Preston is another one of those guys and could help right away with the looming guard problems the Clippers may face if they aren’t able to keep Reggie Jackson. Boston was one of my favorite second-round talents in the draft and developing in the Clippers program could help him reach some of his potential very soon.
Losers:
1. Sacramento Kings: The Kings taking Davion Mitchell at 9 absolutely blew my mind. For a Kings team that already has a backcourt of De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton for the near future, taking a guy who doesn’t have much potential compared to the other prospects and will be the same age as De’Aaron Fox in a couple months (Fox has already played 4 years in the league) it just came as a stunning move to me. I understand that Buddy Hield’s time in Sacramento could be over very soon but you still have a guy like Delon Wright and a 20 year old Jahmi’us Ramsey to develop. Regardless, I’ll give the Kings somewhat the benefit of the doubt after taking care of a need with their 2nd round pick at 39 with big man Neemias Queta out of Utah State, becoming the first ever native of Portugal to be drafted.
2. Bucks 60th Pick: Geogios Kalaitzakis is a draft stash who could still very well end up coming into the NBA hopefully by 2023 and playing some kind of role, but c’mon Bucks, Alex Antetokoumpo, the brother of NBA champs Giannis and their older brother Thanasis all on the same team, should have did it atleast for the memes.
Questionable Moves
Raptors take Scottie Barnes at 4: After it seemed like Jalen Suggs with the obvious pick at 4 the Raptors played us all and took the versatility forward of Scottie Barnes at 4. Even when the reports came out that the Raptors started falling in love with the idea of Barnes at 4, I figured it was just a fake smokescreen to try to play teams that may have wanted to move up like a fiddle, but I was wrong. Barnes could still very well end up as a great fit and piece for this Raptors team and this pick does make sense with the future of Pascal Siakam in Toronto looming in the air. This was just something I didn’t expect as I felt that Jalen Suggs was there guy this whole time.
Spurs take Josh Primo at 12: Even with me being a big fan of Primo, the Spurs taking him at 12 was surprising to me. Not long ago he was thought of as 2nd round talent and even though buzz came out earlier in the week that teams started to love the idea of him getting taken in the teens, I never really thought he would be taken this high. There were definitely guys left on the board that would have fit the Spurs mold who were projected to go higher than Primo if you wanted to take a shooting guard at that spot like Moses Moody and Keon Johnson. Nonetheless, even with it being questionable, I’m a fan of it for the simple fact that it’s Josh Primo.
Jazz take Santi Aldama at 30: Aldama was a guy who really wasn’t on draft or big boards this whole draft process. Aldama was said to have a “mysterious” draft process which made it harder for analysis on him. Aldama was the MVP of 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship and played two years at Loyola University of Mayrland. This pick just feels like a reach to me and someone the Jazz could have gotten in the 2nd round if they wanted to.
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