By Anton Miller
With the 2008 NBA Draft just a few days behind us, here are grades for every team, along with the players they acquired.
Atlanta Hawks: No picks
No picks mean no grade.
Grade: Incomplete
Boston Celtics: J.R. Giddens (no. 30), trade cash to Washington Wizards for rights to Bill Walker (No.47)
Ray Allen will only continue to age, so Giddens made a lot of sense at this pick. He is a great athlete who will most likely mature around Kevin Garnett and the older Celtics. However, passing on Chris Douglas-Roberts seems foolish. Bill Walker had been quietly rising up draft boards until he re-injured his knee. How he recovers will determine how well this draft went for the Celtics.
Grade: B-
Charlotte Bobcats: D.J. Augustin (no. 9), Alexis Ajinca (no. 20), Kyle Weaver (no.38)
The Bobcats have concluded that Raymond Felton is not the answer at the point guard position. However, Augustin is very small and Brook Lopez and Jerryd Bayless would have been much better picks. They took Ajinca to fill their center spot, but he is not likely to pan out and considering this team is not in contention or will be soon they should have gone for the home run with DeAndre Jordan. Kyle Weaver is a solid pick who does a little bit of everything.
Grade: C-
Chicago Bulls: Derrick Rose (no. 1), traded 3 second round picks for Omar Asik (no. 36)
The Bulls made a good albeit very easy pick at number one, but came up empty elsewhere. The excitement of getting Asik, a sleeper was tempered by his new contract that makes him unlikely to ever pull on a Bulls uniform.
Grade: B
Cleveland Cavaliers: J.J. Hickson (no. 19), traded future second round pick to Miami for Darnell Jackson (no. 52), traded cash considerations to Seattle Supersonics for Sasha Kaun (no. 56)
Despite all the wheeling and dealing, the Cavaliers had a very unimpressive draft. Darnell Jackson and Kaun are not guaranteed to even make the roster, let alone an impact. Hickson will take a few years seasoning before he can help. Lebron has seen nothing that will convince him to stay when his contract is up in 2010.
Grade: D+
Dallas Mavericks: Shan Foster (no. 51)
Foster can certainly put the ball in the basket, so the Mavs did the best with what they had. This is a franchise on the decline.
Grade: B
Denver Nuggets: Traded no. 20 to the bobcats for a future 1st rounder, acquired Sonny Weems for a 2009 2nd round pick
Weems is an exciting athlete who could be a replacement for J.R. Smith if he leaves.
Grade: B
Detroit Pistons: Traded draft rights to D.J. White (no. 29) to Seattle for draft rights to Walter Sharpe (no. 32) and Trent Plaisted (no. 46), Deron Washington (no. 59).
The Pistons were busy on draft night. Deron Washington could be into a replacement for Tayshaun Prince if they deal him and was as solid a pick as it gets deep into the draft. Plaistead could turn into a solid role player, but Sharpe does not fill a need at all.
Grade: B-
Golden State Warriors: Anthony Randolph (no. 14), Richard Hendrix (no. 49)
If the draft were on talent alone, Randolph would be a top 5 pick. However, he really needs to bulk up and does not seem ready to contribute. LSU has a history of athletic tweeners (Stromile Swift, Tyrus Thomas) who are average NBA players. Hard to blame Golden State for the selection, as there really were not too many other options. Hendrix could turn into a pleasant surprise.
Grade: B
Houston Rockets: Traded rights to Nicolas Batum (no. 25) to Portland for rights to Darrell Arthur (no. 27) and Joey Dorsey (no. 33); traded rights to Arthur to Memphis for rights to Donte Greene (No. 28) and 2009 second-round pick; Maarty Leunen (No. 54).
I thought the Rockets did exceedingly well for their position. Dorsey is a bit of a repetitive pick with Chuck Hayes already on the roster, but he can carve out his niche in the league. Greene could turn into a dynamite shooter and Leunen will be one of the sleepers of the draft.
Grade: A
Indiana Pacers: Traded Jermaine O’Neal for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and Roy Hibbert (no. 17), traded Ike Diogu and Jerryd Bayless (no. 11) for Brandon Rush (no. 13), Jarret Jack and Josh McRoberts
The Pacers got more value than I could have ever imagined for JO. The only thing the Pacers could regret is if Bayless turns into a star, but Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert are nice players.
Grade: A-
Los Angelos Clippers: Eric Gordon (no. 7), DeAndre Jordan (no. 35), Mike Taylor (no. 55)
Not a lot of people have been talking about the Clippers draft, but I think it was a huge success. Gordon is an outstanding scorer who will be better than some players drafted ahead of him. Grabbing Jordan at 35 is highway robbery if he even develops a little bit and Taylor could turn into the surprise of the late 2nd round.
Grade: A-
Los Angelos Lakers: Joe Crawford (no. 58)
A lack of depth on the bench is all that is holding the Lakers back at this point; they didn’t do much with the draft but that is not their fault.
Grade: C
Memphis Grizzlies: Traded Mike Miller, Jason Collins and Brian Cardinal and rights to Kevin Love (no. 5) to Minnesota for Marko Jaric, Greg Buckner and Antoine Walker and rights to O.J. Mayo (no. 3); traded rights to Donte Greene (No. 28) and a 2009 second-round pick to Houston for Darrell Arthur (no. 27)
Chris Wallace further solidified his reputation as the GM no one understands. Mike Miller is still in his prime and trading Kevin Love for OJ Mayo and a platter of bad contracts is questionable. Picking up Darrell Arthur was a decent move.
Grade: C-
Miami Heat: Michael Beasley (no. 2) traded two future second-round picks and cash for rights to Mario Chalmers (No. 34), traded rights to Darnell Jackson (No. 52) for a Cleveland 2nd round pick in 2009.
Not dealing away the number two pick is the best result that could happen to the Heat, who with a core of Beasley, Wade and Marion, will be in the playoffs next year. They made a hard push for Mario Chalmers, who is a good fit on a team in need of guards.
Grade: A-
Milwaukee Bucks: Joe Alexander (no. 8); Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (no. 37), traded Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons for Richard Jefferson
Alexander was a solid pick at 8. Mbah a Moute was a reach, but brings defense and rebounding on a team that doesn’t have any. Getting Jefferson for Yi and Simmons was a great deal.
Grade: A-
Minnesota: Traded Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker, Greg Buckner and the draft rights to O.J. Mayo (no. 3) to Memphis for Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, Jason Collins and the draft rights to Kevin Love (no. 5), Nikola Pekovic (no. 31), traded Mario Chalmers (no. 34) to Miami for two future second-round picks and cash.
Minnesota felt they still have something in Randy Foye, and thus dealing away OJ Mayo makes sense. They also got Mike Miller a great scorer, Love whom they wanted all along and cleared cap space for the big free agent summer of 2010. Well done.
Grade: A-
New Jersey Nets: Brook Lopez (no. 10); Ryan Anderson (no. 21); Chris Douglas-Roberts (no. 40), traded Richard Jefferson for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.
The Nets were happy to have Lopez fall into their laps at 10. He is the best inside scorer on their roster immediately, and getting Douglas Roberts at no. 40 was a gift. Anderson and Yi are similar players, but the hope is that one of them will turn into something. That said, getting so little for Jefferson reminds some of the Gasol deal.
Grade: C+
New Orleans Hornets: None
Grade: Incomplete
New York Knicks: Danilo Galinari (no. 6)
While the fans hated this pick, Galinari is very talented and thus, this pick could go either way, making it tough to grade for now.
Grade: B
Orlando Magic: Courtney Lee (no. 22)
Smart pick. Fills need. Enough said.
Grade: B+
Philadelphia 76ers: Mareese Speights (no. 16)
Speights is far from a sure thing, but the middle of the first round was full of this type of player.
Grade: C+
Phoenix Suns: Robin Lopez (no. 15), traded rights to Malik Hairston (no. 48), a future second-round pick and cash considerations to San Antonio in exchange for draft rights to Goran Dragic (no. 45).
Lopez was an easy pick, as his size, defense and hustle are much needed. The Dragic deal seems pretty silly.
Grade: C+
Portland TrailBlazers: Traded Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and rights to Brandon Rush (no. 13) to Indiana for Ike Diogu and rights to Jerryd Bayless (no. 11); traded rights to Darrell Arthur (no. 27) and Joey Dorsey (no. 33) to Houston for rights to Nicolas Batum (no. 25); traded rights to Omer Asik (no. 36) to Chicago for three future second-round picks; traded rights to Mike Taylor (no. 55) to L.A. Clippers for 2009 second-round pick.
Portland continues to set themselves up to be a contender for years to come, while making other team’s look dumb. Grabbing Bayless to pair with Brandon Roy was simply a brilliant move, as they complement each other very well. They stocked up on picks while grabbing another first rounder Batum.
Grade: A+
Sacramento Kings: Jason Thompson (no. 12); Sean Singletary (no. 42); Patrick Ewing Jr. (no. 43).
Thompson was a reach at 12, and Singletary and Ewing Jr. are not NBA players.
Grade: D
San Antonio Spurs: George Hill (no. 26); traded rights to Goran Dragic (no. 45) to Phoenix for rights to Malik Hairston (no. 48), a future second-round pick and cash considerations; James Gist (no. 57).
The Spurs really wanted Nicolas Batum, and him going one pick ahead was frustrating. Hill was a reach, while Gist has athleticism but not much else. They did swindle Phoenix however.
Grade: C+
Seattle Supersonics: Russell Westbrook (no. 4), Serge Ibaka (no. 24), Devon Hardin (no 50), traded Sasha Kaun to Cleveland for cash, traded Walter Sharpe (no. 32) and Trent Plaisted (no. 46) to Detroit for D.J. White (no. 29)
Westbrook has as much talent as anyone, but it remains to be seen whether he can put it all together. Ibaka was a terrible pick, as he might not even come over and has not proven he really knows how to play yet. Hardin was a steal and they got good value for DJ White. If any team with picks deserved an incomplete simply because we do not know yet, it is Seattle.
Grade: C+
Toronto Raptors: Traded T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the rights to Roy Hibbert (no. 17) to Indiana in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal and the rights to Nathan Jawai (No. 41).
Toronto gave up quite a lot for JO, and Jawai is quite a project. Not well done.
Grade: C-
Utah Jazz: Kosta Koufos (no. 23), Ante Tomic (no. 44), Tadjia Dragicevic
The Jazz drafted the replacement for Okur in Koufos, and Tomic is a talented player. As for Dragicevic who knows. The Jazz did as well as they could.
Grade: B+
Washington Wizards: Javale Mcgee (no. 18)
Mcgee is somewhat of a project, but at this point in the draft so were all the other big men choices.
Grade: C
Leave a reply to Winners/Losers of the 2008 NBA Draft