The 2012 NBA draft has finally ended, and now we can we start the all-important work of deciding who the winners and losers are.
Here are my split-second impressions:
WINNERS
The Kings debated trading this pick, but wisely held on, and ended up with their man dropping right into their lap. Thomas Robinson and DeMarcus Cousins will create a formidable front line that could be dominant on the boards. With Evans, Thorton and Ferdette bombing away, having a strong rebounding presence becomes even more important. The King’s background (and ownership situation) may still be in flux, but they’re set in the big man department. Selling that 2nd round pick may not have been the best option, but hey, Maloofs. What can you do?
It wasn’t a secret that the Warriors were also shopping this pick, hoping to bring in a difference maker at the 3. Harrison Barnes slipped past Cleveland and Sacramento, and now the Dubs have a great shooter who can bring some athleticism and leadership. Barnes may not live up to his hype coming out of high school, but he won’t be asked to carry the offense, and can focus on his strengths. Grabbing Festus Ezeli at the 30 was also great value. He’s unlikely to be a star, but he has low bust potential and should be able to step in the Warriors rotation. Draymond Green in the 2nd round was just icing on the cake. Green is one of the most likely to be a rotation player out of all the 2nd rounders.
When you make it to the NBA finals, and none of your key contributors are over 27, you’re a pretty loaded team. When you grab a player that many thought could be a top 5 pick a year ago near the end of the first round, its nearly robbery. Perry Jones III may end up never taking advantage of his amazing gifts and wash out of the NBA in three years. If he does, hey, he was a late first round pick. That happens. If he starts to even scratch the surface of his potential, the Thunder may find themselves with another All-Star caliber, and wondering how to give everybody minutes. No risk, and an awfully big reward. Finally, Ognjen Kuzmic has, by far, the best name in the draft.
I know I’m a big Buckeye homer, but Jared Sullinger deserved better than the 21st pick. If he stays healthy, he can easily be a 15 and 7 guy in the NBA. You don’t get named an All-American two years in a row for being *bad* at basketball. Pairing him with Fab Melo gives Boston 2 highly interesting young big man projects. If only one of them pans out, the draft is a success. If both do, they can rebuild on the fly. Melo is raw and will need seasoning, but he could be a very strong defensive player and now gets a chance to learn from KG, assuming he comes back.
LOSERS
I’m not saying this because Houston picked up some lousy players. They didn’t. Lamb may have a little Kevin Martin in him, and Terrance Jones was a great value, and brings some nice size. Royce White was coveted by several teams, and could end up as an electric stat-sheet stuffer (or, you know, the second coming of Delonte West, for all the wrong reasons). The problem is that Houston has been rearranging the chairs on the S.S. Mediocre. The Rockets were accumulating assets in a hope that they could pry a star player away, Dwight Howard ideally, but Josh Smith, Pau Gasol or even Tyreke Evans would have worked. Instead, they picked up another half dozen of quasi-interesting guys. They either need to get an all-star, or blow everything up in a hurry, lest they find themselves in perennial 7-10 seed hell. Nobody is better at turning chicken crap into slightly better smelling chicken crap than Houston…but it’s still crap.
My beloved Cavs badly wanted Florida’s Bradley Beal, but they couldn’t trade up to beat Washington to the punch, and Charlotte took away MKG which was their plan B. Instead of going with the safer Harrison Barnes, or straight up swinging for the fences for Drummond, the Cavs reached for Syracuse’s Dion Waiters. Waiters may end up being a solid pro, but he never started for Syracuse, and may struggle to create his own shot. Cleveland then traded their other three picks for Tyler Zeller. Cleveland badly needed to upgrade their wing situation, and there were rotation-caliber players in the late first, early 2nd round. If either of these picks doesn’t pan out, Cleveland really wasted a chance to build around Kyrie Irving in a big way. Adding Kalenna Azubuike is interesting, but does he have anything left after basically not playing the last two years?
Pretty baffling night for the Raptors. Toronto wasn’t able to trade the pick, and ended up grabbing Terrence Ross, who is an awfully big reach at #8. The Raptors then grabbed Quincy Acy over Quincy Miller, Will Barton or Tyshawn Taylor. I look at the Raptors roster now, and I see a ton of question marks and marginal players. They would have been much better served by trading their pick for a more established player, or multiple picks later in the draft. I don’t think they got much better today.
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