2010 NBA Draft Grades

1. LA Clippers

#8 - Al-Farouq Aminu
#18 - Eric Bledsoe
#52 - Willie Warren

There is something to be said for a team knowing what holes they need to fill, and then filling them. The Clips got lucky that the SF they targeted all along fell into their laps at #8. Then, they were smart enough to swoop in and grab their Baron Davis replacement in Eric Bledsoe. Willie Warren at #52 was the icing on the cake for the Clippers draft. While he was never worthy of the giant hype he had coming into this year, he is still much too talented to fall as far as he did. Three NBA players at positions of need. If the Clippers drafted like this every year…they would not be the Clippers.


2. Detroit

#7 - Greg Monroe
#36 - Terrico White

Detroit owes Golden State a thank you card for being dumb enough to let Greg Monroe fall into their laps. Monroe will start from day one in Detroit and his skill and basketball IQ will be a welcome thing in the Piston frontcourt. Terrico White is one of the most talented players to fall into the second round. It would not shock me if both he and Monroe were starters in Detroit for a good, long time.


3. Oklahoma City

#11 - Cole Aldrich
#31 - Tibor Pleiss
#48 - Latavious Williams
#57 - Ryan Reid

Oklahoma City came into this draft with one glaring need, to upgrade at center. Mission accomplished. OKC used their glut of late first rounders to move up to #11 and snag Cole Aldrich. Aldrich is ready to start right now on the Thunder and his defense and rebounding will fit them like a glove. Tibor Pleiss and Latavious Williams are high upside gets in the second round. The drafting of Ryan Reid was probably the worst pick in the draft, but at #57, it does not much matter because no one at that spot would make the Thunder’s team.


4. Sacramento

#5 - DeMarcus Cousins
#33 - Hassan Whiteside

This is the ultimate risk versus reward draft. Sacramento adds the two highest upside big men in this draft outside of Favors. Sure, both are headcases with work ethic issues, but that is the risk you run when you want to draft the only two centers in this draft with all star potential.


5. New Jersey

#3 - Derrick Favors
#24 - Damion James

It is hard not to like this draft for NJ. They add a future stud in Favors and a guy in Damion James, who could very well start for them next season. This is about as well as NJ could have done.


6. LA Lakers

#43 - Devin Ebanks
#58 - Derrick Caracter

Devin Ebanks was the steal of this draft. He is a long, athletic wing with an NA body and is the best on ball defender in this draft. How he hell this far is a complete mystery. The rich get richer as the Lakers are smart enough to scoop him up as their Artest/Ariza replacement. Ebanks will play in this league for a long time. Caracter is a player talented enough to play in the NBA, if he keeps his head on straight. Coming to a stable team with good veterans will do him a world of good.


7. Memphis

#12 - Xavier Henry
#28 - Greivis Vasquez

There is a lot to like about this draft for Memphis. Henry is a great value at #12 and should start in the NBA for a long time. He also is big enough to play SF and replace Rudy Gay if need be. Greivis Vasquez is a great fit in Memphis and it would not shock me if he was starting over Mike Conley halfway through this season.


8. Philadelphia

#2 - Evan Turner

Second pick. Second best player. Simple enough.


9. Orlando

#29 - Daniel Orton
#59 - Stanley Robinson

Orlando got excellent value out of both of their picks. Orton is not close to being NBA ready, but he is a big, skilled guy who likes to throw his body around. Working with Stan Van Gundy and Patrick Ewing and practicing with Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat will do wonders to get this kid going. Stanley Robinson is excellent value at #59. He was over-hyped most of the year and possesses few basketball skills outside of being retardedly athletic, but he was easily the best player on the board at #59 and he could fill the Barnes/Pietrus roll in Orlando in time.


10. Toronto

#13 - Ed Davis
#50 - Solomon Alabi

Toronto finally took some steps to sure up their frontline. Davis has a ton of upside and should get every chance to succeed when Chris Bosh bolts. Toronto will have some talented young players to build around going forward in Davis, Bargnani, and DeRozan. Alabi is a seven footer who’s defense should get him on the court right away. If he is the late bloomer that many (including myself) believe him to be, then Toronto may have added two starters tonight.


11. San Antonio

#20 - James Anderson
#49 - Ryan Richards

Typical San Antonio draft. BPA in the first. Check. Talented Euro to stash in the second. Check. Anderson is a talented scorer who will start in the NBA sooner than later.


12. Portland

#16 - Luke Babbitt
#22 - Elliot Williams
#34 - Armon Johnson

Portland had a bit of a mixed bag draft. Trading Martell Webster for Babbitt does not make a lot of sense to me, but Elliot Williams and Armon Johnson were great value picks where they were taken. Again, Portland was incredibly active. But, again, it seemed to be active just for the sake of being active as they did not seem to have much of a plan. Portland just tries to add as many guys as possible every draft and then pray for the best.


13. Indiana

#10 - Paul George
#40 - Lance Stephenson
#51 - Magnum Rolle

Larry Bird drafted three black guys. Hmmm. Who saw that coming? For sheer talent level, this is probably a top ten draft. But, seeing as how Indy’s lotto pick plays the same position as their star player and they still managed to not get a PG, they have to be docked some.


14. Phoenix

#46 - Gani Lawal
#60 - Dwyane Collins

Phoenix’s only true need was to add big man depth. They got two guys in the second round who are NBA ready and willing to do the dirty work to help an NBA team win. The Suns did about as well here as they could have.


15. Houston

#14 - Patrick Patterson

Patrick Patterson was the BPA when Houston was picking and he plays a position of need for them. He may not prove to be an NBA starter, but he should be an excellent bench big who will bring big time effort every night. He should prove an excellent fit in Houston.


16. Boston

#19 - Avery Bradley
#52 - Luke Harangody

Boston is a perfect fit for Avery Bradley. He can be both a backup PG and SG, and should team with Rondo to for an excellent defensive backcourt. Harangody was a great college player, who at worst should do well taking over the Brian Scalabrine role of token goofy white guy.


17. Washington

#1 - John Wall
#17 - Kevin Seraphin
#23 - Trevor Booker
#56 - Hamady N'diaye

Taking John Wall was a no brainer, so I can’t exactly praise Washington for it. After the Wall pick this draft took a nose dive downward, with reaches all over the place. Seraphin is an interesting prospect with NBA talent, but #17 was awfully early for him to go. Booker has an NBA body, but at #23 he was a big reach as well. He will be a career backup at best. N’diaye was a solid pick at #56, as he could make the team and provide solid defense off the bench, What started out with the possibility of being the draft that turned a franchise around, quickly became just John Wall and afterthoughts.


18. Dallas

#25 - Dominique Jones

Dallas moved up into the first round to grab a nice scorer in Dominique Jones, who should be a solid player for them. He will provide scoring off the bench the day he shows up in Big D.


19. Atlanta

#27 - Jordan Crawford
#53 - Pape Sy

It is a tribute to how much I like Jordan Crawford as prospect that Atlanta even cracks the top 20 here. This pick makes zero sense for a team with a million wings and zero point guards or centers. Atlanta passed on Eric Bledsoe, Armon Johnson, and Greivis Vasquez to take another scoring wing. It was easily within their grasp to draft Bledsoe and Solomon Alabi, which would have been a slam dunk. That said, Crawford is a scoring machine who should put the ball in the basket, if he can pry it away from Jamal Crawford.


20. Miami

#32 - Dexter Pittman
#41 - Jarvis Varnado
#42 - DaSean Butler

Miami managed to clear (more) cap space by trading out of the first round, which should help them add players in free agency. Dexter Pittman at #32 was a giant reach for a guy who will likely be in Euro or a buffet like in 3 years. The Varnado and Butler picks however were very nice, and saved Miami’s draft. Butler has first round talent and should fit in nicely with Wade if his knee recovers. Varnado is a guy who does all the things Miami wanted Beasley to do…defend and rebound.


21. Milwaukee

#15 - Larry Sanders
#37 - Darington Hobson
#44 - Jerome Jordan
#47 - Tiny Gallon

Milwaukee could have done a lot better here, but they did add some solid players. Jerome Jordan could prove to be the saving grace of this draft, as he provides excellent value midway through the second round. Larry Sanders is a nice PF and should mesh well with Bogut, but he was somewhat of a reach at #15. Hobson and Gallon are guys who have some upside as well.


22. Minnesota

#4 - Wesley Johnson
#30 - Lazar Hayward
#35 - Nemanja Bjelica
#45 - Paulo Prestes

Only Kahn can manage to make three smart picks and still look like an idiot. Wesley Johnson was the right pick at #4 and should start right away. Lazar Hayward being taken in the first round was the absolute worst pick in this draft. Bjelica and Prestes are nice stash prospects, but neither will help Minnesota right away. Minnesota came into this draft with the ability to add two starter caliber wings and a defense center. They failed miserably. The fact that they could have drafted Johnson, James Anderson, Whiteside, Ebanks, and Prestes is mind boggling.


23. New Orleans

#21 - Craig Brackins
#26 - Quincy Pondexter

Both these players are decent values where they were selected, but New Orleans tanked in a draft that they needed to make a splash in to convince Chris Paul to stay. They shaved some cap space by giving away a lotto pick to OKC and still managed to add two decent players, but they did not improve their team very much tonight, if at all.


24. Utah

#9 - Gordon Hayward
#55 - Jeremy Evans

I like Gordon Hayward, I really do. But, him going in the top 10 is an absolute joke. He is a tweener forward who is not fast enough to guard threes or strong enough to guard fours. He is a bad outside shooter and an average athlete. Sure, he has a basketball IQ off the charts and is a likable kid, but to take him over Ed Davis or Xavier Henry is borderline retarded. Also, who is Jeremy Evans? Anyone?


25. Golden State

#6 - Ekpe Udoh

Ekpe Udoh is a nice player who will help Golden State. But, he is no Greg Monroe. This pick was a pretty big reach that will likely come back to bite Golden State in the ass soon.


26. New York

#38 - Andy Rautins
#39 - Landry Fields

Wow. This is about as bad as a draft can get. Andy Rautins is a guy I like, but he will be little more than a specialist in the NBA if all goes well. To make matters worse, Jon Scheyer is a bigger, better shooting version of Andy Rautins and he went undrafted. Landry Fields is a dime a dozen type player who will have no more than a cup of coffee in the NBA before heading off to Europe. Hard to believe NY took these guys over Ebanks, Jerome Jordan, Warren…



Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, and Denver did not have a pick in this draft. They still did better than the Knicks.