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Last week was the NBA draft which went as expected with very let us say interesting decisions from certain teams. Of course, all the young players who got drafted are winners for fulfilling this lifelong dream, but here is my list of winners, losers, and what is happening over there? From this year’s draft.
The Winners
The Atlanta Hawks
One of the teams that were absolute winners was the Atlanta Hawks, while my Raptors are in a place of uncertainty my second favorite team seems to have plan and approach going forward with the east being up for grabs. Trading down with an apparently desperate New Orleans Pelicans team (more on them later) acquiring an unprotected 1st round pick in next year’s draft, while still getting the guy they wanted in Georgia’s Asa Newell along with the trade with Boston seems like the Hawks are putting together a good team around Trae Young to maybe have a Indiana like run next season.
VJ Edgecombe & the future of the 76ers
Not often do I give the Philadelphia 76ers praise, but their drafting VJ Edgecombe was one of the smarter moves the franchise has made in recent years. Adding Edgecombe with Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain is a wonderful foundation for a promising future in Philadelphia where they can finally bury everything that is Joel Embiid and the Process era sooner than expected.
Khaman Maluach
As much as it pains to do this as a Tar Heels fan but Duke center Khaman Maluach was a massive winner last week. Obviously, his teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel were winners as well where hopefully they will change the culture and/or situations in Dallas and Charlotte, but Maluach was the big winner especially after listening to his interview with ESPN’s Monica McNutt how he wants to represent Africa proudly was touching and I am rooting for the young giant to succeed and turn things around in the valley.
Moms
My last winner is all the moms from draft night! Big wins for all the basketball moms with these emotional moments of realizing their kids’ dreams come true are always going to be win. Now I would not be me as a red-blooded American male if I glossed over the head turner of the night with Dylan Harper’s mom, Maria who looked absolutely stunning and also loves the game of basketball since she was Dylan’s first coach. My question is are there more Maria Harpers out there? Just asking for some friends (laughs).
The Losers
Ace Bailey
Now on to the losers from the draft and I might as well get right to with Rutgers star prospect Ace Bailey, who not only came out of the draft without his desired destination but also looked incredibly foolish throughout this entire process. With some questions already about his commitment and who he had represented and managing his situation, Bailey did not make things better by not working out for and interviewing certain teams. One of those teams being the Utah Jazz who drafted him anyway because Danny Ainge and his son Austin did not bend the knee and did what you’re supposed to do in a draft which take the best player available, so we will see if this grows to something worse or not.
The Portland Trailblazers
Now to one of the few teams who did not have a good draft night in the pacific northwest, where the Blazers took Chinese big man Yang Hansen in the middle of the first round when he was projected to be a mid to top second round selection. The addition of Hansen along with UConn’s Donovan Clingan and whatever the plan may be with DeAndre Ayton is head scratching as to why Portland is tripling down centers who are similar in their flaws. The buzz Hansen is that he is “Chinese Jokic” which feels like a stretch because if he were he would have a top five pick but clearly Portland is betting that generous comp will become a reality for them.
The New Orleans Pelicans
And now we get to the biggest and obvious losers from this year’s draft, the good ole New Orleans Pelicans who continued cursed, snakebitten, doomed, or all of the above as an NBA franchise in a cursed city. With Joe Dumars returning to the front office, it seems like it is off on a bad foot with some of the decisions that were made around and at the NBA draft that has left so many more questions instead of answers.
What’s Happening Here?
Derik Queen
Keeping things in NOLA with some of my “What’s happening here?” and Maryland big man Darik Queen starts this off. I was fascinated by how Queen dropped in the lottery considering his performance in the tournament and his potential made his at least a top ten selection. While Queen has his flaws, he could be the replacement of or some kind of insurance policy if the Zion Williamson era is ending, but the same concerns about Zion can also be for Queen which would a huge disaster. However, if he becomes a Jokic-like center then the excessive trade to move up ten spots for Darik Queen would be worth it.
Cedric Coward
The Memphis Grizzlies had a great draft and got the guy they wanted all along in Washington State’s Cedric Coward who became late rising name as the draft drew closer. Coward could be a good replacement or upgrade after trading Desmond Bane to Orlando. Things looked rough for the Grizzlies but now look a bit more hopeful with some of the trades and adding Coward could put in playoff mix in the hypercompetitive west.
The Brooklyn Nets
And we will end this section with the team that perfectly embodied the phrase of “What’s happening here?” in the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets came into the draft with four first-round picks but added one more via the Kristaps Porzingis trade to make it five but there was no way the Nets would use all five picks, right? Wrong! Nets GM Sean Marks not only used all five selections but drafted players with similar skill sets, potential and development.
No offense to Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf, and Drake Powell who are all high-IQ passers that have some sort size but the reality of them all getting enough floor time to grow into anything is unlikely. Then we factor in what this roster currently looks like which can change as the summer rolls on, but it seems like there is no sharp vision still of Brooklyn which may continue some more down times which is unfortunate for this suffering fan base.