The Winners and Losers of the NBA Draft

The NBA Draft, as per usual, had its highs and lows. We had some tradecraft conspiracies at the top and some surprising picks throughout the night. But, we didn’t see too many trades, which was kind of surprising. Anyway, now that the dust has settled, we have some clear winners and losers. Here they are.

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Winner: Detroit Pistons

Detroit’s rebuilding overhaul can’t be going any better. It took a little bit, but Cade Cunningham proved himself as the franchise’s #1 option. With their crown jewel in hand, the Pistons knew they needed some sidekicks. So, they went to work.

They sat there and watched as Jaden Ivey fell into their laps with the fifth pick. Move over Killian Hayes, there’s a new backcourt in town. Ivey’s electric athleticism and dynamic shot creation should work well with Cade. That duo makes Detroit a must-watch team next season. But wait, there’s more.

If you want to blame Sacramento for Ivey falling to the fifth pick, go ahead. But GM Troy Weaver pulled off a heist later in the lottery. He tricked the Knicks into giving him Jalen Duren for basically nothing. All it cost was a future first-round pick that Detroit acquired earlier from the Jerami Grant trade. Whispers of signing Deandre Ayton in free agency are gone. There’s no need. Not when the Pistons got a similar player for a fraction of the cost.

Now, with a core of Cade, Ivey, Duren, and Bey, things look bright in Motor City. However long it takes the Pistons to get back into contention, you better bet a lot of money this night will have something to do with that.

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Loser: Deandre Ayton

Speaking of Ayton, his contractual situation continues to take a downward spiral. I continue to sympathize with Ayton. Not only does his team, a potential title contender, not want him, his options for leaving narrowed on draft night.

Phoenix doesn’t want to pay Ayton the max, but they’re also going to arrange a sign-and-trade to get anything in return for their former #1 overall pick. But, the list of teams in need of Ayton is narrowing. The Pistons drafted Duren and took on Kemba Walker’s contract. San Antonio took Jeremy Sochan. New York seems hellbent on throwing themselves at Jalen Brunson.

So…Ayton is kind of stuck. While he deserves a new contract, he has nowhere to go. His hopes of a max contract are dead, so he’ll have to continue a relationship with the Phoenix Suns. All the while, the Suns didn’t spend a penny or move an inch.

F*** you Sarver.

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Loser: Denver Nuggets

After trading for the #30 overall pick days before the draft, there were rumblings that Denver would try and make a play closer to the lottery. They didn’t do that, which isn’t why I’m disappointed. I just wasn’t impressed with their two picks yesterday.

First, they took Kansas forward Christian Braun. For starters, Braun is a high-floor, low-ceiling guy. While he can contribute immediately, I don’t think he’s much of a future asset. Sure, he works well with Nikola Jokic, but can he score against the best defenders in the world? The jury’s still out on that one.

And then, with the 30th pick, the Nuggets took an even more confusing player. Peyton Watson hardly played in college, and when he did play? The results left a lot to be desired. Let’s just leave it at that. Anyway, for a Denver team contending, why are they taking a developmental pick?

Denver’s window in the west is pretty wide open. I mean, no offense to Golden State, but they’re not invincible. It’s hard to imagine a veteran Nuggets team finding space for Watson, a player who needs time to develop. Were they trying to hit the jackpot with another player like MPJ? If so, I shouldn’t be the one to tell them that’s not a drafting strategy.

I know Tim Connelly was a front-office guru, but this is all Denver could muster? Really?

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Winner: Jalen Brunson

I don’t know if I’ve seen a team act this way for a free agent. The New York Knicks are doing everything imaginable to make Jalen Brunson a Knicks.

New York has been interested in Brunson for weeks, and rightfully so. But they took things to a new level last night. Consider this third base of trying to impress a potential employee. Tom Thibodeau already hired Jalen’s dad, Rick, to be a part of his coaching staff. Some may call that conflict of interest, but I call it good business.

The Knicks also continued to clear cap space. Kemba Walker was traded to clear $9.2 million. New York not drafting a first round rookie saves even more money. All of it for one guy. Brunson.

Now, are the Knicks stupid for doing this much for Brunson, a player who isn’t an All-NBA talent or even an All-Star? Probably. I like Brunson, but doing this much for him seems excessive. Brunson is a complimentary player. His role in Dallas suits him perfectly.

Their questionable motives aside, the Knicks want Brunson, BAD. If Dallas wants to re-sign their second-best player, they’ll have to tango with the Knicks, who seem primed to give Brunson a nine-figure deal.

All of this while Brunson sits back and waits. His two options are getting paid a boatload of money and going to New York Curry. His other option is playing on contending team where he is a key player. There’s no losing for Brunson in this situation.

And last night proved just how much leverage he has in his contract situation. Deandre Ayton weeps in the corner.

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Loser: Sacramento Kings

Groundhog Day is the best way to describe the Kings. It’s the same thing day after day, year after year. You start to pity them after a while. Sacramento had one of the most valuable picks in the draft. The #4 pick was a gateway to Jaden Ivey, a game-changing guard. 

I’m going to assume a lot of calls were made for that pick. Now, were those offers all that good? Maybe not. But I think that one of those calls involved the Kings trading down a few spots with more future assets, all for Ivey.

With all that leverage, smart teams would look to squeeze everything they could out of it. Instead, the Kings did what they do best. Screw stuff up. Now, I have no problem with the player they selected. Keegan Murray fits perfectly with their roster, and I liked him a lot coming out of Iowa.

Other than Sacramento, the only other team with connections to Murray was Detroit. Other than Detroit, I don’t think anybody wanted Murray until picks 9-10. So, the Kings could have taken Ivey, traded down, and still gotten Murray later down the board. All the while getting more future assets.

Instead, they took the player they wanted and got nothing else. Now, Ivey didn’t want to be in Sacramento. The phrase he used in an interview was that Sacramento was “not the worst place” for him to be, which sums up the Kings in a nutshell.

My response to that is…so what? Just pick the dude and trade him. This isn’t rocket science. Even in a situation where the Kings had all the cards in their corner, they lost. What’s next? Are they going to fire Mike Brown after one preseason game?

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Winner: OKC Thunder

I think we were all getting a little weary of OKC’s masterplan before this draft season started. All those picks are cool, but what’s the plan with them? Well, this draft was one giant flex for Presti and the Thunder.

First, finally got some lottery luck and landed the #2 pick in the draft. And unlike the teams around them, they kept it simple. They were locked onto Chet Holmgren, the unicorn from Gonzaga. After that, the Thunder did something they’d never done before.

The Knicks didn’t want to use the #11 pick, so the Thunder stepped in. They threw three first-round picks at New York – none of which were theirs and all of them having protections on them. With the 11th pick, they took Ousmane Dieng, a highly developmental player.

They followed that up by taking Santa Clara’s Jalen Williams with the 12th overall pick, a pick that I loved. And finally, to round it all off, they took Jaylin Williams from Arkansas near the top of the second round. The Thunder once again got what they wanted in this draft. 

But, they showed us that they’re willing to unload picks if it means getting the guy they want. I’m sure that isn’t the last time we’ll see them do this. As OKC enters competitiveness, I think the players selected in this draft will help guide them in the right direction.

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Loser: New York Knicks

It’s not like the New York Knicks weren’t busy during draft night. While they were active, their moves were incredibly disappointing. And it put them one step closer to overpaying Jalen Brunson. It was a tough night, to say the least.

At pick #11, there were a lot of options for New York. Even their decision to trade the pick wasn’t bad, but what they got wasn’t great. 3 future first-rounders that are heavily protected? All for what? Future flexibility? That’s cool, I guess, but you could have just taken Adrian Griffin. Just saying.

Soon thereafter, the Knicks gave Charlotte one of the picks they received from OKC plus four future second-round picks to acquire the draft rights to Jalen Duren, the #13 pick in the draft. If the Knicks landed Duren, I thought that was a smart maneuver. 

But, of course, the Knicks didn’t keep him. They paired him with Kemba Walker and exiled them both to Detroit. All for another conditional first-round pick that is unlikely to amount to anything. Sure, they cleared cap space, but this entire draft screams insecurity from the Knicks.

The Knicks had a disastrous 2021 offseason where they paid a lot of money to players who didn’t deserve it. Now, as part of their damage control plan, they’re…planning to throw a nine-figure deal at Jalen Brunson. There were game-changing players that the Knicks left off the table with their labyrinth of moves. But, in classic Knicks form, their attempts to fix previous mistakes led to even more of them.

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Winner: Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving is once again getting what he wants. Get me out of Cleveland because Lebron sucks? Here’s a young, up-and-coming Celtics team with tons of young talent. Free-agent in the summer of 2019? Hey KD, make the worst decision of your career and join me in Golden State! You too, James!

And now, once again, Kyrie Irving wants out. To no one’s surprise, the Nets won’t commit to giving him a long-term extension. With all the games he’s missed and the drama he’s caused, it makes sense. Irving’s response? Trade me.

And now, once again, Kyrie Irving wants out. The Nets aren’t committing to giving Irving a long-term deal. With all the games he’s missed and the drama he’s caused, it makes sense. Irving’s response? Trade me. This is all happening as the Nets juggle Kevin Durant’s relationship at the same time.

Trading Irving isn’t likely to make him happy, but there’s no way to keep him. But, a move is expected to be made in the next couple of days. So, Irving’s unreliability scheme hasn’t affected him from getting new job offers.

It’s just another example of a star bullying a franchise into submission before leaving town in a mess. When Irving eventually gets traded, it’ll mark another unsuccessful attempt at a superteam. And KD? Well, he’ll want to leave, too. Why would he stay once all his co-stars just got up and left?

To say things are a mess in Brooklyn would be an understatement. However, the winner from all of this is, unfortunately, Kyrie Irving.

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Winner: San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs have been getting younger in recent seasons. They’ve made way for all sorts of new blood, somewhat abandoning their dynastic practices. It’s only a matter of time before Gregg Popovich hangs it up, but the Spurs are already starting their rebuild.

With their three first-round picks, I thought they accomplished their goals. They went with potential, potential, and more potential. With the ninth pick, they took Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan, one of the best defensive forwards in the draft. I compare him to Draymond Green, which says enough about his upside.

Later, with the 20th pick, they took Malaki Branham. The guard from Ohio State can score from all three levels effectively and is someone who plays off-ball well. And finally, with the 25th pick, they settled on the raw and unproved Blake Wesley. If the Spurs work some of their developmental magic, Wesley could tap into his shooting and scoring potential.

The Spurs know what they want. They’re stockpiling youngsters who need some ironing out. Since the Spurs are so good at that, they’re no longer going with safe choices in the draft. Taking Josh Primo in the lottery last year proves as such. For a historically bland team, I have to say, this new version of them is pretty fun.

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Overall Draft Outlook

If we’re being honest, this draft kind of fell flat. Paolo Banchero’s surprise rise to the #1 pick was surprising. For the next 15 minutes, I thought someone was going to get traded in that top three, but nothing ever happened.

I enjoyed making fun of the Kings, but other than that, this draft was pretty pedestrian. There weren’t any big trades involving players. De’Anthony Melton was the only notable player to be moved. I was hoping to see guys like Collins, Turner, Hayward, Brogdon, or Randle moved, but nothing happened.

I’m sure that will change once free agency starts, but, for the most part, this draft was kind of boring. Oh well.

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What Are Your Thoughts On This Draft? Leave A Comment Down Below!

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