Team

Picks

Grade

Analysis

Atlanta

Patrick Beverly (46)

F

This poor team is in a bit of trouble.  They made their starting lineup better with the acquisition of Harrington and Thomas for Jamal Crawford in a sign-and-trade deal, but with 6 PGs already under contract, they certainly did not need Beverly here.  46 is a tough pick, but if they had a GM, players like Norel or Vaden may have helped them a bit more than Beverly.

Boston

Ricky Rubio (4) and Chase Budinger (31)

B-

Rubio is a talented guy, and the Spaniard GM gets his Spaniard player for the future, but after making his team so much better with the acquisition of Jason Richardson, Boston is a stud PG away from being competitive soon.  With so many good PGs in this draft, they could have done better with this pick.  Budinger is an intriguing pick with big potential if he can ever learn how to play defense at this level.

Charlotte

Eric Maynor (16)

A-

Charlotte fills out their starting lineup with the best available PG at the 16 pick.  The starting five of Maynor, Crawford, Redd, Aldridge and Nene is formidable, but with only 8 guys under contract and no more room under the cap, it may be difficult for the Bobcats to go the length of the grueling season!

Chicago

Patrick Mills (42) and Chinemelu Elonu (53)

B

Patrick Mills was a potential steal this late before he got injured this past week, putting his chances of ever making it into the Bigs at risk.  Elonu could be a nice player in the distant future and could eventually pair with Hibbert to be a nice center combo.  The Bulls traded their first round pick and received Udonis Haslem and Nicolas Batum, both of whom should make a difference right away.

Cleveland

Johnny Flynn (9) and Tyler Hansbrough (10)

B

Johnny Flynn is a great pick for this team that needed a PG to go with their cadre of bigs.  Unlike many, I believe that Hansbrough was not picked too early, but I do believe he was picked by the wrong team.  With 58 million dollars already tied up in the contracts of their big men, getting another one here is suspect, especially with no true small forwards on their roster and players like Gerald Henderson, Terrence Williams and Earl Clark still available.

Dallas

Jermaine Taylor (36)

B

This certainly isn’t a bad pick for a team that could use some backcourt help.  But with someone like DeMarre Carroll still on the board, the Mavs may have done better to bolster their relatively thin frontcourt here.

Denver

Victor Claver (30), Marcus Thornton (33), Emir Preldzic (60)

D

Claver is hurt and who knows if he will make it over to the states.  Thornton has some nice upside, but there were so many more NLL-ready players still available at this point and Preldzic was simply there.  The Nuggets will still be great next year because of their returners, but they didn’t do much in this draft to help out.

Detroit

Wayne Ellington (22)

A-

Rarely does a player taken earlier than he went in the NBA draft garner this good of a grade, but the Pistons did a great job getting the man most ready to step in for the departed Jason Richardson.  Unfortunately, it is difficult to forget that he took on the horrific contracts of Eddie Curry and Jamal Tinsley in that deal!

Golden State

Dante Cunningham (39)

C-

I don’t give the team an F for trading the first pick in the draft for Ramon Sessions, simply because that was a different GM and should not reflect upon the current front office – but WOW, what a horrible trade.  Cunningham is fine for a team that needs some help up front, but with so many big men on his team in the NBA he may have trouble making the team, whereas a guy like Derrick Brown could have helped out right away.

Houston

Terrence Williams (12) and Taj Gibson (29)

A-

Two good picks for the new Houston GM in his first draft.  With the injury to Yao threatening his season, he has created a solid, if not outstanding, starting five of Nash, Stuckey, Williams, Gibson and Ilgauskas.  With not much behind this starting five, look for Houston to be back in the lottery next season.

Indiana

Hasheem Thabeet (5), Jordan Hill (7), Jeff Teague (24), Derrick Brown (40), Goran Suton (54), Lester Hudson (56)

F

Indiana had a chance to get several good players to make his team competitive right now.  Instead, they made a deal that might set them back at least another year.  It is difficult to give an F to the team that got the only real superstar in the draft, but trading Thabeet, Hill and Arenas to get Griffin was simply insane.  Jeff Teague is a head-scratcher with DJ Augustine still there and so many holes to fill.  Someone like Casspi would have made infinitely more sense with CJ Miles currently on top of the depth chart at SF.  The best pick of the draft for them may have been Derrick Brown who will be a solid backup for Griffin.  If Suton ever makes the NBA, he could be a solid defender.  Lester Hudson is already injured and his career appears to be in jeopardy before it begins.  Trading 6 GM points for Suton and Hudson is absolutely ridiculous and taking on the contracts of Blount and Duhon in the Arenas trade isn’t much better.

LAC

No Picks

D

Trading their two picks for Luc Mbah a Moute and Roko Ukic is a suspect move.  There were certainly several more talented players available at pick 25 that would have helped the Clippers, but Lee chose to go with solid sure bets over the unproven potential of draft picks.  Time may prove this grade way too low.

LAL

Blake Griffin (1)

A

By trading away the only stud in the draft, the Lakers made themselves into instant NLL contenders.  Adding Arenas, Hill and Thabeet to the stable of SG/SF combo players was a stroke of genius.  Wizkid will be smiling all the way to the playoffs this season!

Memphis

BJ Mullens (20), Omri Casspi (25), Robert Vaden (50)

B+

Memphis certainly needs help up front and Mullens was the second best center in the draft; unfortunately, he may be just a bit too raw to help out right away.  Casspi may have been the best player available at 25, but with Stephen Jackson and the newly acquired Manu Ginobili on the team, you have to question where he will find minutes for the youngster.  Vaden can shoot, and if he makes the NBA, he could be a solid backup SG for the future.

Miami

Stephen Curry (6), Jodie Meeks (41)

B

Curry was who TMAC wanted, and he makes sense if Miami is really planning on moving Baron Davis as TMAC announced at the draft.  Thabeet may have made a bit more sense with Diop as the only center on the roster, but if Miami can get a center for Davis, the point may be moot.  Jodie Meeks has proved he can score at a rapid pace, so his upside may make him a steal in the 2nd round. 

Milwaukee

No Picks

B

Getting a solid backup center in DeAndre Jordan in a trade for their first round pick is a good move for a team that needed a center and a draft that had very few to offer.  With a full roster, the Bucks traded their 2nd round picks for far more GM points than they were worth.

Minnesota

Jack McClinton (58)

B

Though the T’Wolves could not really enjoy this year’s draft, they have a very good team returning and McClinton could end up being a steal as he can certainly shoot the ball from just about anywhere.

New Jersey

Austin Daye (21), Taylor Griffin (52)

C

Daye is a very good pick at 21, but with the potential loss of Jason Kidd, the Nets may be without a PG and several will still available here.  Unfortunately, without a GM, you take what you can get.  Griffin will be a wonderful addition to the NBDL for a few years before he heads over seas.

New Orleans

DeJuan Blair (19) and Ahmad Nivins (49)

C-

Somebody likes small forwards!  Blair will be moved for the rights to Sam Young and DaJuan Summers, so the Hornets drafted 3 SFs to go with Mike Miller and Andre Iguodala.  With Marion being moved via sign and trade or leaving via free agency, Blair would have actually made sense as a pick for the Hornets.  This is a very talented group of players that the Hornets drafted, but it just doesn’t seem to fit their areas of need.

New York

Earl Clark (17), Nick Calathes (47), Nando De Colo (57)

B-

The Knicks were very happy to have Earl Clark fall to them at 17.  He will be a nice backup to Rudy Gay, and if he plays well, may allow the Knicks to let Gay go at the end of the year.  Calathes looks like a European lifer, but he has good skills, so his rights may one day be valuable.  Nando De Colo is a PG with some size and potential who will also be a bit of a longshot to be in the league in the near future.

Oklahoma City

Tyreke Evans (3), Toney Douglas (34), Jon Brockman (43)

A-

I’m a little biased here, but this is my honest assessment.  The Thunder trade Evans and Brockman along with 3 horrible contracts (Walton, Bonner and Battie) to Sacramento for Boris Diaw, Beno Udrih and James Johnson, thus the Thunder actually draft Johnson and Douglas.  Johnson may allow the Thunder to play Diaw at his more familiar PF spot and Douglas, though not a high need position for the Thunder, was an absolute steal at 34.  He will play a lot in the NBA as a rookie, thus his potential in the NLL is quite high.

Orlando

Gerald Henderson (13), Christian Eyenga (38), Segio Llull (44)

B+

Henderson is a steal talent-wise at 13, but with Richard Jefferson and Peja on the team, it is hard to see where Henderson will get minutes.  The same can be said of Eyenga.  Llull has already his intentions to stay in Europe, so we will have to see.

Philadelphia

Darren Collison (26) and DeMarre Carroll (37)

A

The Sixers would have loved to have Mullens fall into their laps to replace the loss of Big Z, but Darren Collison may be the next best thing, as he may get a chance to play right away with the potential loss of Andre Miller.  DeMarre Carroll will compete for playing time with Darrell Arthur in both the NBA and the NLL, thus whoever wins the battle in the NBA, the Sixers are winners here.  He is a steal at 37.

Phoenix

Brandon Jennings (11) and Sergiy Gladyr (55)

F

I would like to say this grade occurred because the Suns have no GM, but after seeing what the last GM did to this team, I’m guessing the results would have been similar.  Jennings may be good one day, but PG is about the only position that is not of great need to Phoenix and someone like Gerald Henderson could have come in and started from day 1.  Hopefully a new GM can come in and make sense out of this mess.

Portland

Jrue Holiday (15) and Jonas Jerebko (45)

B-

Obviously, the Blazers were hoping Ty Lawson would fall to them, but they ended up with Hioliday who may be more of a project than a day one starter.  Jerebko could be a nice player for them in the future, but until they unload one of their big three contracts, we won’t be seeing the Blazers in the finals again any time soon.

Sacramento

James Johnson (18) and Henk Norel (48)

B

Tyreke Evans (acquired in the trade with OKC) will be a starter from day one, giving the Kings a great young backcourt in Evans and Mayo.  Brockman and Norel will fight for time, but Brockman’s energy will be welcome with Diaw’s departure.  It is difficult to see who will start for this team, perhaps Evans, Mayo, Walton, Odom (if he resigns) and Lopez.  This may be asking a lot from the youngsters, but Toronto rode youngsters to a title, so only time will tell.

San Antonio

DeMar DRozen (8), Sam Young (27), DaJuan Summers (28)

A

One of the best drafts of the day!  The Spurs get a great backcourt player in DeRozen, who along with Parker and Courtney Lee give the Spurs a very nice backcourt.  Getting the rebounding machine DaJuan Blair to pair with Dalembert up front, gives the Spurs some long arms and great rebounders up front, allowing that backcourt and Josh Howard to concentrate on putting the ball in the basket.

Toronto

Ty Lawson (14), Jeff Pendergraph (32), Danny Green (35), Robert Dozier (59)

A

 Very good draft for the defending champs!  Ty Lawson will compete immediately with Mario Chalmers and either way, the Raptors have two good PGs.  Pendergraph will be a nice backup to Martin and Bynum and Danny Green has tremendous potential.

Utah

James Harden (2)

F

This is hard for me to say since I believe that Harden is the 2nd best player in this draft, but Utah has Kevin Martin and Zach Randolph and not much else. Drafting a player with a game so similar to Martin, instead of the center Thabeet or the PG in Flynn or Evans that he absolutely needs makes no sense, especially with no cap room to play with.

Washington

Rodrigue Beaubois (23), AJ Price (51)

A-

If Beaubois can play in the NBA, like he plays in the summer, he could be a nice pick here, but the summer is rarely an indicator of success in the bigs.  Price may be the steal here, as his intelligent play at the point could make him, not Beaubois, the heir-apparent to the aging Billups.