2015 NBA Draft Team by Team Thoughts and Grades

By: Raashaan Myers

 

 

Minnesota – Karl Anthony Towns F/C Kentucky, Tyus Jones PG Duke – I love the selection of Towns for the needs of the Timberwolves. A team that was awful defensively needed that anchor on defense and pairing him with another defense first guy in Gorgui Deing will make for a nice young big man duo. Great selection via trade to pick up Jones from the Cavs. To me Ricky Rubio is on his way down and out he can’t stay healthy and Jones playing for his hometown team in time should become the new floor leader for the young and explosive TWolves.  A+

LA Lakers – DeAngelo Russell SG Ohio St, Larry Nance Jr PF Wyoming – I HATE this pick for the Lakers. Russell is a gifted scorer and passer and he definitely plays an appealing style that will sell jerseys, but plainly you can’t pass on the best pure low post big man of the last 18 years in Jahlil Okafor. Nance is another head scratching selection for the Lakers taking Nance who is a good player but could have taken Kevon Looney or Montrezl Harrell at that spot at the same position and are higher rated. Not a great day for Hollywood but they will judge this team by free agency. B-

Philadelphia – Jahlil Okafor C Duke – Interesting selection by the Sixers here. Clearly Okafor was the best available talent on the board but passing on Emmanual Mudiay and locking down a much needed position at PG and adding a 4^th PF/C type player in the last 3 draft makes for a loaded frontcourt. The best thing Philly gets is more tradable assets to make some much needed roster upgrades. A

NY Knicks – Kristaps Porzingis F Intl, Jerian Grant PG Notre Dame – I can’t stand teams taking these Euro guys this early plainly because most times you have no idea when or if they will ever come over to America, and when they get there most times they are busts. Well they say this guy is supposed to be a combo of Dirk Nowitzki and Darko Milicic whatever that means. LOL Love the trade to pick up Grant for the Knicks. NY needed to bolster their team defensively and also have a guy who can run a team and knock down shots. Grant can do all those things. Good pickup. B

Orlando – Mario Herzonia SG Intl – See my comments from above. And this guy they call the Euro JR Smith. SMH C

Sacramento – Willie Cauley-Stein F/C Kentucky – The 2^nd UK kid comes off the board, but I think it is a stretch taking Willie this early. He is phenomenal defensively, but pretty much a defense only player with limited upside offensively. Best case scenario he can become Tyson Chandler and worst case scenario he can become Stromile Swift. We’ll see. B-

Denver – Emmanuel Mudiay PG Intl – Mudiay decided to go overseas to China rather than play for Larry Brown at SMU. Well it didn’t pay off in terms of protecting his draft stock. He is a monster athlete at the PG position but he is more athlete than player at this point but has tremendous upside and defensive potential. Good pick for the Nuggets at #7. A-

Detroit – Stanley Johnson SF Arizona – Interesting decision by the Pistons to try and lock down the wings teaming Johnson with young star Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. That gives you two very young, very long, very athletic defensive minded guys to wreak havoc in transition. B+

Charlotte – Frank Kaminsky F Wisconsin – Michael Jordan since his debacle of a selection of Bismack Boyombo with the #8 pick several years ago has since really put a premium on drafting winning college basketball players. He continues this trend with National POY Kaminsky and you get an interesting guy to pare down low with Al Jefferson.  Nice pick. B+

Miami – Justise Winslow SF Duke – The Blue Devils check in with their second player in the draft with Winslow and I love this pick for a team that may lose Dwyane Wade in free agency. Winslow is an NBA ready defender and showed considerable offensive growth down the stretch of the season helping lead Duke to the National Championship. A-

Indiana – Myles Turner F/C Texas – I like the selection of Myles Turner to the Pacers. They need an heir apparent to PF David West as well as insurance for Roy Hibbert down the road. Turner never lived up to the hype coming out of high school as the #2 overall player coming out but he still has huge upside as an athletic big man who can also shoot. Has to improve his motor and hustle defensively.  B-

Utah – Trey Lyles PF Kentucky – Not sure what the Jazz are doing with Lyles here at #12. Lyles is a very skilled big man and underrated athletes, but with Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert down low not sure what his role will be. Definitely smells like there may be a trade in the works.  C

Phoenix – Devin Booker SG Kentucky – The Suns pick up Booker to bring some much needed scoring and shooting to their lineup. Booker may be the most NBA ready player coming out for UK in this class and I think that he will make an early and immediate impact for Phoenix. I like it. B+

Oklahoma City – Cameron Payne PG Murray St – Payne was the “trendy guy” following the footsteps of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Elfrid Payton. 2 of the 3 weren’t nearly as successful as projected early. Not sure if Payne will do the same or not. Was a young man who had a strong finish to his sophomore season and he parlayed it into a lottery pick. Congrats to the former Racer. B+

Washington – Kelly Oubre SF Kansas – Oubre becomes another guy like Turner and Mudiay who is drafted more for his potential than actual production in their one year stead before the NBA. Oubre can be a guy who can add some much needed punch on the wing for the Wizards and could make for an interesting due with Otto Porter and insurance for the oft injured Bradley Beal. B

Boston – Terry Rozier PG Louisville, RJ Hunter SG Georgia St – Rozier jumps up draft boards from where he had been projected for most of the process. He brings much needed scoring and another defensive perimeter threat to pair with Avery Bradley. This does make for a crowded backcourt with the Celtics taking Marcus Smart in the top 5 last year, but they say it is a guard’s game these days. Adding to the guard theme Boston added Hunter as well who can really fill it up from deep and is a very smart and aggressive offensive player. The Celtics needed scoring and they certainly have filled those needs.  A-

Milwaukee – Rashad Vaughn SG UNLV – I like the selection of Vaughn for the Bucks at this point in the draft as the best available scoring guard. Milwaukee was one of the best defensive teams in the draft but also one of the worst offensively. Vaughn can fill it up and give Kris Middleton some help getting buckets. B+

Houston – Sam Dekker SF Wisconsin – Houston effectively gives them a replacement for Chandler Parsons who they lost via free agency last year to the Dallas Mavericks. Dekker is a great athlete, a good shooter, and extremely competitive. He fits the running style of the Rockets and should be a good fit for Harden and Co.  A-

Toronto – Delon Wright PG Utah – Wright is another long and athletic guard that can add depth to both guard positions behind Kyle Lowery and Demar Derozan for the Raptors. He is smart, tough, a good defender, and very passionate player.  B-

Dallas – Justin Anderson SF Virginia – Anderson will bring some toughness and defensive skills to the perimeter for Dallas. He can shoot it, score off the bounce, high IQ, and he won’t cause your franchise any issues.  B

Chicago – Bobby Portis SF Arkansas – I’m not buying that Portis is a small forward as he is listed by the NBA. He is more of a face up PF that has versatility. His motor has always been questionable to me but he does have skills and he is a good defender when he is engaged. Key for the Bulls will be to keep Portis motivated and hustling.  C+

Brooklyn - Rondae Hollis-Jefferson SF Arizona – This trade is a good one for the Nets needs as a team with some offensive talent but challenged defensively. Hollis-Jefferson is a great defender, has great length, and plays hard with size and athleticism.  B

Memphis - Jarell Martin PF LSU - The Grizzlies pick up a versatile face up forward in Martin who plays a very similar style as their All Star starting PF Zach Randolph. For a playoff team that has pretty much all their starting spots filled it is about filling needs and adding Martin will help get some rest for the bigs of Memphis who are getting older.  C

San Antonio – Nikola Milutinov F/C Intl – He’s tall and apparently plays for the Boston Celtics of Serbia! We’ll hopefully see him in 3 or 4 years.  C-

Brooklyn – Chris McCullough PF Syracuse – The selection of McCullough is a bit of a stretch at this point by the Nets when there were higher rated players in the draft. Chris is a good athlete and has a great deal of potential but he will take some time to develop coming off injury.  D+

Golden State - Kevon Looney PF UCLA – Looney is a very talented player who had some apparent injury concerns that made him drop a bit in the draft and the Warriors took advantage. Looney brings length, athleticism, scoring touch, and toughness to the table for a team that needs some more athletic big men down low. B-

 

2^nd Round notable selections and thoughts

Houston - Montrezl Harrell PF Louisville – Harrell will bring another guy who likes to run the floor and get up and down for the Rockets. He will bring energy and low post scoring presence to a team that sometimes struggles to score down low pairing with Terrence Jones at that spot.

Boston – Jordan Mickey PF LSU – I LOVE this pick for the Celtics. The Celtics needed to find a defensive presence down low that could also score and Mickey can give you that. An excellent athletic defender who can also knock down the midrange jumper.

Cleveland – Rakeem Christmas PF Syracuse, Dom Pointer SF St Johns – Christmas was one of the best players in college basketball last year but because he was a senior I really feel that hurt his draft stock. He can score down low at a high clip, he is a very good shot blocker, and he will give the Cavs a much needed low post scoring presence. Dom Pointer played a role of a “Baby LeBron” for the Red Storm in college as an open court playmaker from the SF position. Now he will have a chance to learn under the best player in the world if he can make the roster which I think he can. Smart player, versatile scorer, and a tough competitor the Cavs did well in the 2^nd round.

Portland - Pat Connaughton PG Notre Dame – Connaughton is a guy who can bring long distance accuracy and a quick release to the Blazers. A lot like a more athletic Kyle Korver and underrated athlete Connaughton is a guy who can get into the rotation early as a reserve for Portland.

Phoenix – Andrew Harrison PG Kentucky – The Suns select their 2^nd Wildcat of the draft bringing in Harrison to the very crowded backcourt of Phoenix. Harrison had a great work up to the draft and it will be interesting to see how he performs as he is good enough to break into the rotation for the Suns with his size and playmaking ability at the PG position.

Oklahoma City – Dakari Johnson C – Kentucky – The Thunder seem to be in constant pursuit of someone to play center and after adding Enes Kanter last year they turn to another UK product in Johnson. Dakari will be a guy who can rebound and score down low immediately but he will have to get into better shape and work on his quickness and agility as well as a midrange jump shot if he wants to compete for playing time in OKC.

New Orleans – Branden Dawson PF Michigan St – The Pelicans only pick in the draft was a good one in Dawson. While Branden has always been undersized he has always been a tough and productive player on the college level. A stud athlete and gritty competitor Dawson can bring some much needed toughness off the bench behind superstar Anthony Davis.

Philadelphia – JP Tokoto SF North Carolina – Tokoto comes to Philly in almost the exact same role that last year’s selection KJ McDaniels filled before being traded to Houston late last season. JP is a tough and gritty defender with elite athleticism that he utilizes to his full capability in the open court. Great pickup at pick #58 in the draft.