NBA Draft Grades

Here is my list of each teams drafts from best to worst...


1. Memphis

#8 - Rudy Gay
#24 - Kyle Lowry
#45 - Alexander Johnson
Via Trade - Stromile Swift

It is hard to argue with the draft Memphis had. They managed to swindle the player with the most star potential in the draft for a guy that was a role player for them. They made a solid value pick taking Lowry at #24. He will be their PG of the future. Alexander Johnson was a first round talent, so getting him for peanuts was another steal. I am no fan of Stromile Swift, but he is decent and since Memphis probably would have done the trade without him in it he can’t hurt any. Jerry West still has it.


2. Portland

#2 - LaMarcus Aldridge
#6 - Brandon Roy
#27 - Sergio Rodriguez
#30 - Joel Freeland

Despite what Stephen A. Smith seems to think, I love what Portland did. They went from a directionless bad team to a bad team with a plan. They nabbed 2 of the 6 best players in the draft. Got possibly the steal of the draft in Rodriguez at #27 and Freeland is a very talented guy who can be left in Europe. Most importantly and no one else seems to want to say this, Portland has set themselves up as the early leaders in the Greg Oden sweepstakes.


3. New Orleans

#12 - Hilton Armstrong
#15 - Cedric Simmons
#43 - Marcus Vinicius

Value was the name of the game here. While every other team was getting creative, New Orleans just took the best player available at every spot. Armstrong and Simmons will be solid NBA players and Marquinhos in the 2nd round was an absolute steal. This is a team on the rise.


4. LA Clippers

#34 - Paul Davis
#52 - Guillermo Diaz

The Clippers got more value out of the #34 and #52 than the Knicks got out of their two 1st rounders. Davis and Diaz are both guys who will likely make the Clips and contribute some. This is as good as you can do in the 2nd round. Thank god the Knicks stink, because at the rate they are going, I won’t be making fun of the Clippers for a good long while.


5. Utah

#14 - Ronnie Brewer
#46 - Dee Brown
#47 - Paul Milsap

I admit it, I love Ronnie Brewer. The fact that he fell to #14 is bafoonery to me. If he can get his jumper more consistent he could be a top 5 player from this draft. I’m not a big fan of Dee Brown’s NBA chances, but if he can play in the NBA this is the perfect situation with his old running mate. Milsap is a solid banger and rebounded who should make their roster.


6. New Jersey

#22 - Marcus Williams
#23 - Josh Boone
#54 - Hassan Adams

Love the Williams pick, dislike the Boone pick. Marcus Williams should never have fallen past 13 and every team that passed on him who needed a PG are going to feel like Atlanta did watching Chris Paul last year. Boone is a stiff in training, but NJ does need bigs and their options were limited. I’d have taken Alexander Johnson, but Boone isn’t an awful pick since he won‘t be asked to score. Hassan Adams gives NJ another athlete, as if they needed one.


7. Seattle

#10 - Saer Sene
#40 - Denham Brown
#53 - Yotam Halperin

Seattle seems to have polarized people. Considering they didn’t want to pay a player lottery money, taking a flyer on a 7 footer with big upside who can be left in Europe is a smart move. The red flag here is that this is the 3rd straight year Seattle has drafted a project big man in the 1st round. In the 2nd round is where Seattle really excelled though. Denham Brown is a 1st round talent in my opinion and Halperin is another nice prospect who can be left in Europe to develop.


8. Cleveland

#25 - Shannon Brown
#42 - Daniel Gibson
#55 - Ejke Ugboaja

Who would dislike a draft in which you land Ejke Ugboaja? Not I. Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson are the right kind of guards to put around LeBron James. Both are good athletes and shooters who play better when playing off the ball. Good thing cause the ball belongs to LeBron.


9. Minnesota

#7 - Randy Foye
#36 - Craig Smith
#57 - Loukas Mavrokefalidis

Why Minnesota didn’t just take Foye at #6 I do not really know, but all is well that ends well I guess. Minnesota got a guy who can come in and play right away to put along side KG who desperately wants to win now. Craig Smith is a solid 2nd round pick and he will be a good NBA backup big. The Greek guy who’s name I refuse to type again is said to be a decent Euro prospect, better than a handful of Euros who went ahead of him.


10. Charlotte

#3 - Adam Morrison
#50 - Ryan Hollins

The stache lands in Charlotte. Charlotte needed a go to scorer and a box office draw…mission accomplished. Hollins was an underachiever at UCLA but his size and skill set is intriguing this late.


11. Toronto

#1 - Andrea Bargnani
#35 - PJ Tucker

Toronto may have been happier with the #3 pick than the #1, odd how that works. They wanted Bargnani all along but he seemed like a stretch with the 1st pick in the draft. They tried to move down but no one was biting so Toronto decided to stay at #1 and just get their guy there. Bargs is as good a #1 pick as anyone in this even draft and he should help bring the up tempo Euroball style to Toronto that has made Phoenix so successful. PJ Tucker is another risk/reward pick as he was a very good college player who is a bit of a tweener with no jump shot. In 5 years this may be the best team draft of the night…or it may be the worst.


12. LA Lakers
#25 - Jordan Farmar
#58 - Danilo Pinnock
Via Trade - Maurice Evans

LA couldn’t ask for more than hometown product Jordan Farmar falling right in their laps. With the awful play of Smush Parker in the playoffs LA seems to need a new PG and the unselfish Farmar will fit nicely with Kobe and his band of merry misfits. Pinnock will be in the NBDL this time next season, but getting Mo Evans from Detroit was a steal.


13. Orlando

#11 - JJ Redick
#41 - James Augustine

The Magic didn’t have the sexiest draft of the night. It isn’t filled with tremendous upside and freak athleticism, but they did get 2 solid players at their 2 need positions. Redick will fill the Magic’s hole at SG and drastically improve their average outside shooting. Augustine could be the 4th big man the Magic have been looking for. No potential superstars here, but there is something to be said for adding 2 team players who are winners to a team already on the cusp of contention.


14. Chicago

#4 - Tyrus Thomas
#13 - Thabo Sefolosha

Solid but not outstanding draft for the Bulls (despite what ESPN seemed to think). Chicago takes the gamble on Tyrus Thomas, who has a bit too much bust potential for my liking this early. He goes into a good situation though and could become the best player in this draft. Thabo is the big tall SG that Ben Gordon is not. They will make a good combo or Thabo may just allow Chicago to move Gordon in a trade for KG or Ben Wallace.


15. Dallas

#28 - Maurice Ager

Dallas seems to have mastered the fine art of getting talent very late in the 1st round. Ager will play for them eventually and his scoring punch will be nice off the bench. Think of him as Stackhouse’s understudy.


16. Golden State

#9 - Patrick O’Bryant
#38 - Kosta Perovic

This has the potential to go down as a complete waste year if O’Bryant does not pan out. Perovic will never be an NBA player, so he was a wasted pick. I think O’Bryant becomes a player, but never underestimate Golden States ability to screw things up.


17. Houston

#32 - Steve Novak
#44 - Lior Eliyahu
Via Trade - Shane Battier

Houston has been the team getting hammered the hardest other than the Knicks for their draft. I think they probably overpaid for Battier, but I love his fit here playing off of Tmac and Yao. He is a good defender so Van Gundy will love him, and he will knock down the open jumpers Yao and Tmac supply for him. Novak is a pure gunner and he gives them a gunner off the bench. Eliyahu will be left in Europe to see if they can catch lightning in a bottle. Trading away Gay may go down as one of those “I can’t believe they traded him for that” moments in retrospect, but for now it is not as bad a move as most seem to think.


18. Philadelphia

#16 - Rodney Carney
#36 - Bobby Jones
#56 - Edin Bavcic

Philly did some good, but I hate that they passed on Marcus Williams. He was a steal to them at #16. Carney is a nice player but he is a bit of an overlap with Iguodala. Jones is another athletic wing who can defend. Marcus Williams and Jones would have rated out a whole lot higher, but for King this was one of his better showings.


19. Boston

#21 - Rajon Rondo
#49 - Leon Powe
Via Trade - Brian Grant
Via Trade - Theo Ratliff
Via Trade - Sebastian Telfair

I guess Boston is just trying to stockpile a buffet for Philly to pick from in order to get Iverson. If they do land AI then I guess this draft was a success, if not, it was just being busy for the sake of being busy. I hate the Telfair for the #7 trade, even if it did get them free of Lafrentz’s god awful contract. Rondo is nice, but Williams is better and was still on the board. Powe could be a steal in the 2nd round.


20. Indiana

#17 - Shawne Williams
#31 - James White

Fate realigned and Indy was in the exact same situation as last year…a top 10 talent falls in their lap and all they have to do is be the voice of reason and take him. They did last year with Granger and reaped the rewards, but this year they screwed it up. Marcus Williams could have been Indy’s starting PG this year, but instead they take a talented but raw SF who is similar to Danny Granger. James White in the 2nd is a gamble that I do not like. He is a tantalizing athlete but not a great player and a bit of a malcontent.


21. Atlanta

#5 - Shelden Williams
#33 - Solomon Jones

Williams will be a solid meat and potatoes player for Atlanta but #5 was simply too high for him. Atlanta picked a bad year to start drafting for need. Had they done that last year they would have Chris Paul. Rudy Gay or Brandon Roy should have gone here and you could easily move down some to nab Williams plus a proven NBA talent. Solomon Jones is a good athletic big but is super raw offensively.


22. Detroit

#51 - Chiekh Samb
#60 - Will Blalock

Blalock is a solid get with the last pick, but I am not a fan of trading Mo Evans for basically nothing. Detroit did not plan on making a splash with this and it is a good thing, because they didn’t.


23. Sacramento

#19 - Quincy Douby

I am not a Douby guy. I admit it. Maybe I am missing the boat and he will be a good NBA player but I see a poor man’s Salim Stoudamire. #19 was way too high for him. Sacto could gamble though as they have no pressing needs.


24. Washington

#18 - Oliksiy Pecherov
#48 - Vladamir Veermenko

Invasion of the European big men. Washington was in a tough spot when all the big men dried up before they picked. Pecherov is a nice player who can rebound and shoot from distance, but lacks inside game and toughness in the paint. Good player but not the immediate impact guy they needed. Vlad is a decent gamble in the 2nd round, he has NBA talent he just needs to put his game together in Europe.


25. Milwaukee

#39 - David Noel
#59 - Damir Markota

I do not want to love in a world where David Noel gets drafted and Mike Gansey does not. Ditto that for Darius Washington, Kevin Pittsnogle, and Louis Amundson. Noel is a good athlete but an average college basketball player. That last part does not bode well for his NBA future. If you live in Belgium, look for David Noel coming to a team near you soon. Markota will stay in Europe and see if he develops.


26. Phoenix

Future 1st Round Pick

Phoenix is either cheap or planning something as they moved both their 1st round picks for little more than cash and cap relief. Possibly trying to find a way to keep both Marion and Diaw.


27. New York

#20 - Renaldo Balkman
#29 - Mardy Collins

What can I say about the debacle that is the Knicks that has not already been said? Probably nothing but I will try anyways. Balkman is a good role guy who would have been a solid mid 2nd round pick. As the #20 pick though he is humongous reach. I feel about this pick like I felt about David Lee and Nate Robinson last year. You don’t take career backups this early. Mardy Collins may become a player, but NY needed a combo guard like my dog needs a unicycle. Long live Isiah for making the draft exciting.



Denver and San Antonio both traded their only pick. Miami had no picks. All 3 did better than the Knicks.