The Biggest Winners and Losers of the 2021 NBA Draft
The NBA Draft was yesterday and it was crazy. We had surprising picks, players who fell and rose, and of course, we had winners and losers. Now, these moves are being graded basically one day after the draft with no proof that these moves are good or bad. These are entirely my opinion, which likely mean they will all be wrong.
Without further ado, here are the winners and losers from the 2021 NBA Draft;
San Antonio Spurs – Losers
Yeah, this was one was kind of to be expected. The Spurs held the 12th pick in the NBA Draft and they needed some juice. They needed to rebuild, especially with DeMar DeRozan leaving this offseason. The Spurs are no longer in their dynasty and they just need to hit the rebuild button and go all-in on trying to build a contention down the line.
The Spurs have some good young talent, but they lack a generational star like Morant, Doncic, or Trae Young that can just lead them. Sure, the 12th pick wasn’t going to give them that, but you could certainly do a lot better than what they did.
With the 12th pick, the San Antonio Spurs selected Joshua Primo. Now listen. I like Primo as a prospect, I think he can be really, really good. But there’s a reason this pick is being called a reach, because it is. I had Primo as a late first rounder at best and I really wouldn’t be surprised to see him fall into the 2nd round.
But the 12th pick? If you wanted him that damn badly, just trade back to somewhere in the 17-23 range. I don’t think Primo would have gone in that range and you would have gotten some future assets at well.
Primo is 18, the youngest player in the draft. He’s a really good shooter, big wingspan, should prove to be a really two-way player. I know the Spurs have good player development, but Primo is going to take 3-4 years to really prove himself to be worth this pick. But can the Spurs wait that long? Realistically, no.
Are we sure he’s even going to be playing substantially in this upcoming season? No, and that’s why this is puzzling. There’s a reality where he’s in the G-League or on the bench for the whole year, which just shouldn’t happen to lottery players. But that’s just the reality with this pick. The Spurs better have a lot of patience, because they’ll need it for this to fully work out.
Again, this isn’t about Primo. He’s talented, should prove to be good down the line. This is about the Spurs and where they took him. Now they’d better hope he’d turn out good otherwise the Spurs just burned a lottery pick.
Charlotte Hornets – Winners
I really liked what the Hornets in this draft. They know that they have their superstar in Lamelo Ball, the type of guy that is going to be great for a while and can carry a team to the playoffs. He’s on the rise and so are the Hornets. The Hornets have a solid roster, but now it was time to add some defense and big man depth to help them out. They did just that.
Their first move of the night was a trade, acquiring Mason Plumlee and the 37th pick from Detroit. They literally gave up the 57th pick to do so, perhaps the most lop-sided trade of the night. Plumlee is better than Zeller and Biyombo and he has 2 years, $16 million dollars left on his deal. At worst, he’s a backup, one of the best in the league with his passing and defense. Really like that pickup.
Then it was time for the draft. With the 11th pick, they got James Bouknight. Now, I’m not a huge fan of this move. Guys like Keon Johnson, Jalen Johnson, or Moses Moody were on the board. Bouknight is a smooth scorer who can do it all from all 3 levels. Really talented, but doesn’t offer much other than that. I think Bouknight is the perfect 6th man, but when you have Rozier, Monk, and Bridges too? It didn’t make much sense to me, still not a big fan of that addition.
But I was with their 19th overall pick. The Hornets made a move with the Knicks for the 19th pick. They gave up a future first round pick in exchange for the #19 overall pick. With the 19th pick, they took athletic Texas center Kai Jones.
Jones has the potential to be a very good player. Very mobile, able to switch onto guards and bigs. Solid defender. A vertical threat in the pick and roll, fits well with the young Hornets and the Ball-Jones pairing is enticing. He is young and raw, evident by his decision making and thin frame. But if he adds some muscle, he could be a really good player for the Hornets.
With the 37th pick, acquired in the Plumlee-Pistons deal, the Hornets got Auburn’s JT Thor. Thor is one of the youngest players in the draft at only 18 years old. A very raw player, it’s going to take time, patience, and good development to unlock what he can bring to the table. A 6-9 wing who can play on the perimeter, has potential as a shooter. His 7-3 wingspan allows for potential great defense, as a wing stopper and rim protector of sorts. Thor could be good, but it’ll take some time.
The Hornets played their cards well. They acquired Plumlee and JT Thor for essentially nothing. They added Kai Jones with the 19th pick as they completely overhauled their center position, so you’re probably not going to see Bismack Biyombo down low anymore. And just for kicks, they added one of the best scorers in the draft. Pretty good draft night for MJ and Charlotte for the 2nd year in a row as they look to try and make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Los Angeles Lakers – Losers
This one should be fun. For me and everybody else that aren’t Lakers fans. Lakers fans, cover your ears, this could get ugly.
This offseason for the Lakers was going to be incredibly important. Their roster was older and desperately needed an overhaul to get better to contend in 2022. Lebron showed his first signs of slowing down and AD continues to struggle with his health. The Lakers had no real center outside of AD, and the shooting was terrible. Like, the shooting was awful. So the Lakers would have to do a lot of good this offseason to try and match the Bucks and Nets of the world.
Let’s just say things aren’t off to a great start. The Lakers swung a big trade for Russell Westbrook. I’m not the biggest fan, for a lot of reasons.
Lakers Receive: Russell Westbrook, 2024 2nd Round Pick, 2028 2nd Round Pick
Wizards Receive: Kyle Kuzma, KCP, Montrezl Harrell, #22 Pick (Went to Indiana, Isaiah Jackson)
For what they gave up, it wasn’t much. Kyle Kuzma signed an extension last offseason but he was disappointing this season. He’s talented, but the defense isn’t there and he hasn’t lived up to expectations. He’s a role player at best, even though he seems to think he’s Jayson Tatum (spoiler alert, he’s not). He didn’t really fit with the Lakers, I don’t care about this loss. I doubt he ever amounts to anything.
KCP was the Lakers only good shooter these past two seasons. He’s getting paid $13 million for the 21-22 season, but his 22-23 season is only partially guaranteed, so he’s really only got one big year left on his deal. The Lakers are going to miss their starting shooting guard, as they’ll need to find a replacement for him.
Montrezl Harrell is terrible defensively, don’t think the Lakers are going to regret letting him leave anytime soon. Losing the #22 pick does sting a little bit, but I doubt the Lakers could have used that pick to try and contend. They simply don’t have time to develop guys, the time to win is right now.
Also, I’m guessing you can count Dennis Schroder into the “what they gave up.” This all but sealed Schroder’s one, disappointing season in LA. But the Lakers didn’t get fleeced here, they didn’t give up some absurd package. But the guy they’re getting isn’t exactly going to do the Lakers wonders.
When you have Lebron James on your team;
1. A talented #2. In this case AD, so you’re checked off there.
2. A good coach and deep roster. Vogel has been really good, but the roster has yet to be seen.
3. Shooting and Spacing. He had it on the Heat and with his 2nd stint on the Cavs. But Westbrook is the opposite of both of those things.
This isn’t good for the Lakers. Westbrook is a terrible shooter, so he doesn’t give any room for AD and Lebron to operate. So you just gave up a lot of your bench depth for a guy who is a negative for you offensively. Westbrook will be left alone in the playoffs. He always gets off to slow starts to seasons. This just isn’t a good move, it’s a desperate one to try and match the Bucks Big 3 and the Nets Big 3, when you didn’t really need to do that.
Here are some more stats to drive this non-shooting point home, once again courtesy from the wonderful Kirk Goldsberry;
Out of the 70 NBA players that have tired at least 2,000 jump shots over the past 5 seasons, Russell Westbrook ranks last in efficiency with an eFG% of just 41.8 on 4,226 attempts. Westbrook has been the worst volume shooter in the NBA over the past 5 seasons. That’s not me being a hater, it’s just a fact.
Even worse, Anthony Davis is 69th (nice) out of 70 players with those same parameters. So you have two of the worst jump-shooters from the past 5 seasons on the floor at the same time. So the Lakers have the two worst volume shooters from the past 5 seasons. They lost some depth and now they have to try and beat the Bucks and Nets of the world. Yeah, good luck with that.
This move is two steps back, one step forward. Losing Harrell, Kuzma, and KCP isn’t the end of the world. But for that same package, they likely could have gotten Buddy Hield. He would have been the (much) better fit with LA. He is one of the best shooters of this generation, he would have fit like a hand in a glove, giving a lot more room for Lebron and AD.
Instead, you bring in Westbrook, the worst volume shooter from the past 5 seasons. Anthony Davis is the 2nd worst volume shooter from the past 5 seasons. So the Lakers lost depth and lost a whole lot of spacing, just to try and compete with the other Big 3’s in the NBA. I just don’t get this trade all around and while I think Lebron is the great equalizer in terms of just making crappy things work, I don’t know if LA can win a title with this trio.
Unless of course, you get 5 months off with a once in a lifetime pandemic. Then I can see the Lakers having a chance.
Orlando Magic – Winners
The Orlando Magic had two top-10 picks in the draft this year and in my opinion, they hit on both of them. Some people may not like what they got, but that’s because they’re stupid (only partly kidding). But I really do think that the Magic got two great players in the draft.
With the 5th overall pick, Jalen Suggs absolutely fell into their laps because the Raptors went with Scottie Barnes instead. Suggs is one of the best guards in this class and should be a stud. He can do everything on offense except shoot and he’s a great defender. About as close to a sure thing as you can get, he’s really, really good.
Suggs might have been the steal of the draft, there’s no denying that. But some people seem to think that their selection of Franz Wagner with the 8th pick was bad. Some people don’t like Wagner as a prospect (for some reason) and some people wanted to see a shot-creator go at this this spot. That’s valid, but I still like Wagner here.
With the 8th pick, the Magic took Franz Wagner. Wagner was right pick for a lot reasons. Wagner is very young but he has experience in Europe, for one. He is one of the best defenders in the draft, both on and off ball. He can move well with guards and has great length for wings. He is very, very good defensively.
A great passer offensively, a point-forward. Sure, he can’t shoot. Sure, he’s not a natural scorer. But his youth, defense, and passing combination is rare and this was absolutely the right pick. If you think Wagner isn’t good, you’re simply wrong.
I get that the Magic wanted more shot-creation, maybe drafting Bouknight or Moody would have helped them out more. But the Magic took the best guy available at #8. I think Wagner is going to be really good and maybe they didn’t feel like reaching for some of the shot-creators available and just took the best guy available. I get why you would want a shot-creator, but Wagner is still really good.
The Magic got two excellent players in the draft for their rebuild. I really don’t think you can deny that, they had one of the best drafts in the NBA. They got two of the best prospects in the draft, two players who will likely become key pieces for them down the line. Certainly not the worst outcome in the world.
Houston Rockets – Winners
The Houston Rockets were one of the busiest teams in the draft this year. They of course had the #2 overall pick, but they traded up to the middle of the 1st round and had two more picks in the twilight of the first round. The Rockets had 4 first round picks, as they completely re-shaped their franchise for the future in a matter of hours.
The Rockets started off their night with the #2 overall pick. Now, I would have taken the versatile center Evan Mobley here, but it’s not like Jalen Green is bad. An explosive scorer, Green has the potential to be an elite scorer in the NBA. The Rockets seem to have their guard of the future in Kevin Porter Jr. They feel like Christian Wood is going to be there long term and now they’re adding a wing scorer that they’re hoping can anchor them for years to come.
But the Rockets weren’t done there. Houston sent two future first round picks to the OKC Thunder for the 16th pick in the draft. With this pick, they drafted talented Turkic center, Alperen Sengun. Sengun, only 19 years old, was incredibly productive in Turkey. He put up nearly 20-10 in a season. He’s great in the low post with a varied arsenal of moves and he has shown flashes of being a playmaker and shooter.
Defensively, he’s not exactly agile to cover space in the pick and roll, but he’s still a good low post defender. Sengun is the 2nd best center in the draft and while the Rockets didn’t take the best one, they still traded up (eventually) for a center that they did like. Sengun should be a really good player.
Then you had the 23rd and 24th overall picks. These picks came from Portland and Milwaukee, so cheers to them I guess. With the 23rd pick, the Rockets added another big guy in Usman Garuba. Garuba is a little bit smaller at 6-8, but he has a 7-3 wingspan and is incredibly versatile defensively. Good in the pick and roll, likely able to switch onto guards, which is what he did in Spain a lot. Knows his role very well and plays it to a T, a very energetic player. So instead of Mobley, the Rockets got two of the better big guys in the class. Not bad, but I still wish the Rockets tool Mobley at #2, but that’s just a personal preference.
Anyway, the Rockets had yet another first round pick, right after the 23rd pick (because that’s how numbers work). With the 24th pick, the Rockets took a bit of a reach with Arizona State’s Josh Christopher. Christopher is an aggressive scoring wing with a quick first step. Not much of a shooter and isn’t much of a passer, mostly a pure scorer. More turnovers than assists during his one, disappointing season in college. Has the tools to be a good defender at 6-5 with a 6-9 wingspan.
I think Houston should have gone with more a pure point guard, the future after John Wall eventually leaves. Sharife Cooper (who somehow fell to pick #48), would have been more ideal in my opinion. But something that could have compelled the Rockets to take Christopher a lot higher than most draft boards had him going is the fact that he’s close with #2 overall pick Jalen Green. The Rockets are getting a head-start on keeping their potential superstar happy.
The Rockets were very busy. They got their potential cornerstone in Jalen Green at #2. They added big guys like Alperen Sengun from Turkey and Usman Garuba from Spain. They also added the raw Josh Christopher. The Rockets were busy and just added 4 new players to kickstart their rebuild. Not a bad way to start things off.
New York Knicks – Losers
I think that the Knicks were just too damn passive in this draft. They had picks #19 and #21 in the draft. They traded down/out from both spots. They traded down from #21 to #25 and I’m not in love with who they got. They did get a decent 2nd round pick, but they still didn’t really address their center problem. Not the best draft in the world for the Knicks, a team hoping to contend soon.
The Knicks first pick of the day was the #19 pick. But they traded that to the Hornets for a future first round pick. Maybe the Knicks didn’t like who was available, but the guy that the Hornets got, Kai Jones, would have fit well in New York. Taj Gibson is a 36 years old, Nerlens Noel is a free agent this summer, and Mitchell Robinson is injury prone. Why not add a raw center like Kai Jones down low?
Heck, even at 19, Usman Garuba and Isaiah Jackson were on the board. The versatile Jalen Johnson was right in between the Knicks, eventually going to the Hawks with the 20th pick. All of those guys would have helped. But the Knicks traded away their 19th pick for a pick down the line. Cool. Hopefully they don’t the same th-
The Knicks traded the 21st pick as well. They traded with the Clippers down to pick #25. The Knicks also got a future 2nd round pick. Keon Johnson went to the Clippers at #21, somebody who would have been a great versatile defender. The Knicks needed a point guard and a center. Instead they traded away #19 and traded down to #25. Ok, that’s not a big deal, as long as they do well on pick #25.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they didn’t exactly hit a home run with the#25 overall pick. They selected Quintin Grimes from Houston. Grimes started his collegiate career with Kansas back in 2018-19, but was incredibly disappointing after he was supposed to be a one-and-done. He went to Houston and last year he was solid as a catch-and-shoot shooter as well as a on-ball defender.
But here are some problems with Grimes. He really can’t dribble at all and he’s not a playmaker. The shooting helps the Knicks, sure. But who is going to pass him the ball? Derrick Rose? Alec Burks? Not ideal options. Unless the Knicks are 100% sure they’re getting Lonzo Ball, Mike Conley, Lowry, etc, then they needed a point guard here. Might I suggest Sharife Cooper/Jaden Springer? The Knicks needed those two guys a lot more than Grimes, who doesn’t exactly have sky-high potential either.
So the Knicks had two first round picks with a lot of talent on the board that would have helped them. They didn’t do much with those picks. In the 2nd round, they traded with OKC. They went from the 32nd overall pick and got back #34 and #36. With #34, they selected Lithuanian guard Rokas Jokubaitis. With the 36th pick, I think they made their only good draft move.
They got West Virginia’s Miles McBride. Unfortunately he’s not a PG, but he’s very good. Incredibly aggressive on-ball defender who should fit in well with the Knicks. Good catch-and-shooter, a guy who can score in isolation. But again, not a point guard/center.
The Knicks had a chance to have a stellar draft. They need a point guard, some offense, and a center. They had two first round picks and a high 2nd round pick to do so. They messed it up. They didn’t use the #19 pick and watched as Charlotte took a player that would have helped them a lot. They traded with the Clippers from #21 to #25 and watched as Keon Johnson, another play they could have used, went to LA. They then chose a non-point guard/center in Grimes at #25 and then did that same thing again in the 2nd round. Unless they’re betting that Rokas Jokubaitis becomes their franchise guard, this team still needs a point guard badly.
The Knicks had a real chance here to bolster their roster with youth to compliment their veterans, but they didn’t add as much as they could have. The Knicks roster certainly isn’t up there in terms of talent in the East, this just seems like a wasted opportunity for Knicks management.
NBL/G-League/International Players – Winners
This one should be short and sweet. Over the past two drafts, players from the NBL and this year the G-League have exploded. Last year, the rookie of the year, Lamelo Ball, played in Australia, with the NBL. This year, we had multiple G-League and NBL players being selected. The NCAA is now not the only place where talent comes from.
With the 2nd pick, the Rockets selected Jalen Green from the G-League
With the 6th pick, the OKC Thunder selected Josh Giddey from the NBL
With the 7th pick, the Golden State Warriors selected Jonathan Kuminga from the G-League
With the 31st pick, the Washington Wizards selected Isaiah Todd from the G-League
Not to mention the international selections. Jonathan Kuminga was born in the Congo. Franz Wagner was born in Germany. Alperen Sengun is Turkish. Usman Garuba was born in Spain and so was Santi Aldama.
The 34th pick, Rokas Jokubaitis, is Lithuanian. Kings second round pick Neemias Queta is from Portugal. Juhann Begarin from Guadalupe went to the Celtics with the #45 pick. The 50th pick was from Serbia. The 60th pick was from Greece.
If it wasn’t obvious from Team USA facing it’s first real struggles in international play, for perhaps the first time ever, the NBA is becoming more and more international. The last 3 MVP’s have been international players. Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the next two faces of the league. Both are foreign born players.
The influx of international play is great for the NBA and there are more and more great players coming from abroad nowadays. Big win for diversifying the NBA player pool.
Golden State Warriors – Losers
The Warriors had been rumored for months and weeks to trying to acquire another star player. They would do so by involving their two lottery picks, their own pick and one from Minnesota in the D’Angelo Russell trade. Guys like Ben Simmons, Pascal Siakam, and Bradley Beal were all names thrown out there. But the Warriors couldn’t get a trade done and after using these two picks? I doubt any sort of move gets done.
But the Warriors just put themselves in the exact same position that they did last year. Friendly reminder, last year didn’t work.
Last year, the Warriors were better without James Wiseman. The Warriors were excellent down the stretch of the season when Wiseman was injured. The proof is in the stats;
Opponent Offensive Rating W/ Wiseman on Floor: 113.2
Opponent Offensive Rating W/O Wiseman on Floor: 109.8 (+3.4 difference)
The same thing applies offensively;
Offensive Rating W/ Wiseman: 103.0
Offensive Rating W/O Wiseman: 114.2 (-11.2)
So the Warriors were better offensively and defensively without Wiseman. Now, I’m not being fair to Wiseman. He only played 3 games in college and he’s likely going to be a very good player. But he simply doesn’t fit in with the Warriors timeline, I think that’s obvious. But to double down and take two more rookies, potentially putting yourself in the same situation, is pretty stupid, no matter how talented the rookies are.
Jonathan Kuminga was their pick at #7 and he’s the guy who could get into another Wiseman-like situation. He has more experience than Wiseman, but he’s only 18 years old. So how much production can you expect from him? He’s raw and needs time to develop. Not the type of player you want if you want to contend with three 30-year old players in a loaded Western Conference
Then you draft Moody at 14. Moody is still young, only 19 years old. It just doesn’t make sense. And because you held onto the picks into the draft, it becomes harder to move the picks.
Trading the #7 and #14 picks when they’re still picks is great value. Because you’re essentially giving another team a blank canvas. They can trade the picks again or take players for their future. They can essentially do anything they want with them. But now, you have to trade them to a team who wants either Kuminga or Moody, or both. That’s a lot less enticing and if a team doesn’t like Kuminga/Moody, no deal is a likely outcome out of this situation.
So now the Warriors have to rely on two youngsters to try and win a title, something that absolutely failed last year. Curry and Green aren’t getting younger and Klay Thompson has likely regressed from his 2019 form. I’m pretty sure if he moves nowadays, he gets injured, unfortunately. Really don’t understand this draft from the Warriors, a team I was excited to see what they would do. They were the team perhaps most likely to swing a massive trade. But they didn’t do it and I’m pretty sure their title odds didn’t improve at all.
Atlanta Hawks – Winners
The Atlanta Hawks have made themselves great because of the 3 transactions. They drafted Trae Young and Kevin Huerter in 2018. They also drafted John Collins in 2017 and Cam Reddish in 2019. They added guys like Gallinari and Bogdanovic in free agency. They added Clint Capela and Lou Williams via trade. The Hawks front office has been working magic over all 3 aspects of transactions over the past few seasons and they just did it again. Their 2020 NBA Draft was amazing and now they’re poised for another year of contention in the Eastern Conference.
With the 20th pick, the Hawks needed some forward depth. It’s likely that John Collins is returning this offseason, but Onyeka Okungwu is out for 6 months, so they need depth down low. Jalen Johnson was the perfect pick here. He doesn’t give you a whole lot offensively, but he can guard 1-5 and is incredibly versatile on that end. This is a good filler pick for the Hawks, who now have a front court of Capela-Collins-Okungwu-Johnson, which is very young, and very good.
So the Hawks filled a need and then they somehow, someway, filled their other big need in the backend of the 2nd round. With the 48th overall pick, the Hawks drafted another short-king. Sharife Cooper somehow fell all the way to pick #48 and now he’s with the Hawks. He’s a very good player in the pick and roll, a great passer with a knack for drawing fouls. Not much of a shooter, but is going to be a solid backup for Trae Young, as the Hawks get that floor general to lead the 2nd unit.
The Hawks got a replacement forward and a backup guard. The absolute best case scenario for the Hawks as they greatly improved in the draft. Now it’s just time to re-sign John Collins and then you’re set for contention next season.
Also, here’s the Derrick Favors-OKC Trade because why not.
Jazz Receive: Future 2nd Round Pick
Thunder: Derrick Favors & Future FRP
On the Jazz side of things, losing a quality backup in Favors does hurt. The first round pick is likely to be a late round pick, not losing something like a lottery pick. But this move puts the Jazz $13 million below the luxury tax. If they want to bring Mike Conley back, they’ll have to still go over. But now it’s less penalty, as they’re not going over as much. Money move for the Jazz.
Grade: Screw The Luxury Tax
How do the Thunder keep doing this? Another first round pick. They got two future first round picks for the Houston Rockets trade in the draft last night. Sam Presti continues to hoard draft picks like they’re chips at a poker table. Somebody has to stop him before he goes any further.
Grade: Too Much Is Never Enough
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