2017 NBA Draft: The good and the bad of an eventful draft

Breaking down the good and the bad from an eventful 2017 NBA Draft

Here are some takeaways from the 2017 NBA Draft. We provide some of the good and the bad from an eventful night.

The Good

Sacramento Kings

I think the general consensus from the draft was the fact that the Kings did extremely well for themselves. After many unsuccessful years in the lottery, the Kings finally hit a home run. They drafted the SEC Tournament MVP in De’Aaron Fox with the fifth overall pick. Fox will now be running the show in Sacramento and will become the immediate face of the franchise.

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The Kings also received the 15th and 20th picks in exchange for trading away the 10th pick. The 15th pick turned into Justin Jackson and the 20th pick turned into Harry Giles. Jackson, the 2017 ACC Player of the Year, will come in and contribute right away at the small forward position. Jackson adds perimeter shooting and length, and will be a solid addition.

Giles, the former top rated prospect in 2016, was a risky selection due to his health and injury history, but was worth the risk at 20. If he is anywhere close to the player that he was at Oak Hill, the Kings got an absolute steal. With the 34th pick, the Kings took Frank Mason, the Big 12 Player of the Year, who also was the National college player of the year. Mason, although undersized, is tough as nails and had one of the best seasons in Kansas Jayhawks’ basketball history.

He just knows how to play, compete, and win. He will come in and play back up minutes to Fox. With Buddy Hield also in Sacramento, the Kings now have the Big 12 Player of the Year from 2015, 2016, and 2017 on their roster.

Los Angeles Lakers

With the second overall pick, the Lakers took Lonzo Ball, who will immediately come in and be the new face of the Lakers. Magic Johnson wants to rebuild the Showtime Lakers, and Ball was just the pick to get that ball rolling again. Ball, a pass-first point guard with an incredible basketball IQ, will be a tremendous addition to an already young core in Los Angeles.

The Lakers took the junior forward out of Utah, Kyle Kuzma with the 27th overall pick. Kuzma is a versatile forward who will be a nice complement to Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. The Lakers also added Josh Hart and Thomas Bryant with the 30th and 42nd picks respectively, after trading the 28th pick to the Jazz.

Hart was a sensational pick, who brings a winning pedigree to the Lakers. He does a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor, and is one of the best rebounding guards in the draft. Bryant, the former Indiana Hoosier, will add depth to the Lakers’ frontcourt, and will bring his hardworking mindset and motor from Bloomington to Los Angeles.

The Bad

Orlando Magic

The Magic selected Jonathan Isaac out of Florida State with the sixth overall selection. The major problem here is the fit. Will Isaac be able to fit in at the three with Aaron Gordon at the four? We saw the disaster that occurred when the Magic forced Gordon to play small forward. Will a similar problem happen when Isaac plays small forward?

He is a tweener, not a natural small forward and not a natural power forward. He needs to get much stronger in order to improve his slim frame, but there is a lot of defensive potential there. Ending the Elfrid Payton era and adding a Dennis Smith Jr., or adding a scoring and shooting machine in Malik Monk may have been the better direction.

Smith or Monk would have brought tremendous athleticism and scoring to Orlando at the guard position. The Magic also got Wesley Iwundu in the second round. The former Kansas State Wildcat is a seasoned veteran who brings length and versatility, but will be nothing more than a rotation piece off the bench. The Magic didn’t make any moves that will help make a substantial impact for next season.

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Miami Heat

Many Heat fans were probably disappointed with the Bam Adebayo selection at 14, with players like John Collins, Harry Giles, OG Anunoby, and Justin Jackson still on the board. Bam is a physical beast, but he has a limited offensive game, and it is uncertain whether his abilities will translate to the NBA or not.

Not many people expected Bam to be the pick at 14, and pairing him next to Whiteside doesn’t spread the floor out very much.