Now that I have that out of me, I want to give to you my first round draft grades, all of which are compiled based on the opinions I have made in the last week watching analysis, highlight tapes, and running form. I base my grades on how the players will fit into the team's current roster, along with the quality talent they brought on:
New Orleans Hornets-A:
This was a gimme when it comes to Anthony Davis. I'm not sure what their plans are for Kaman, but I think he is one of the most underrated players in the league. Dude is one of the few players in the league with a back to the basket game, and can step out and hurt you from mid range. Davis can either mask his defensive shortcomings, or allow Kaman to come off the bench and torch the oppositions bench. Rivers is going to be successful. Him and EG will give them serious scoring punch, and Vasquez should be able to build on his success he had in limited time as a starter.
Charlotte-A:
This grade is more because they didn't take the bait on Beals. MKG is the most likable player I've ever come across. All players love to talk about how much they love hoops and how important winning is to them, but when this guy says it, you really believe it. This team is nowhere close to being good, but at least they have what might become the most well liked guy who's name is not Kevin Durant. If they would have taken Beals their frontcourt would have been a combined 6'1". I LOVED MKG's draft interview last night. Dude wants no attention whatsoever. Scroll to 51 seconds.. Love that guy.
Washington-B:
Beals is solid and actually has a father in his life. Sadly, that means something and is really shocking. His stroke is smooth and will work really nicely with Wall. I don't think Wall is a great passer yet, so I don't think Beals will blow up early. He is a lot like Evan Turner in the mold of SG's that rebound well, which will be helpful for a team that has one of the worst rebounding big men in the game (Nene). Beals and Wall are great at shooting gaps, which should result in incremental buckets each game. Beals has work to do taking the ball to the rack, but shouldn't have to worry about it with soon to be greatest player of all time, Jordan Crawford handling those duties.
Cleveland-F:
Dion Waiters came off the bench. I don't care what tools he has and what his upside may be, but I can promise you this guy will be as productive as DaJuan Wagner was 8 years ago when he was drafted in this slot (I could be wrong about the amount of years and the draft slot, but don't feel like looking it up). This, along with Tristan Thompson was a terrible pick and I feel bad for Kyrie Irving, who single handedly won this team 14 more games than the previous year (Yet again another estimate). In reality, this team had to do something to fill the void left when Anthony Parker announced his retirement recently. On the bright side, this team still has Boobie Gibson.
Sacramento-A:
Packaging up a high character and productive Thomas Robinson with a low character (But not a bad guy) in Cousins could be a really good start for this team. Robinson is mature, muscular, productive and instinctive. Between these two guy's, you have two of the biggest physical freaks patrolling the paint. It's nice to see Sacramento attempting to build something, despite completely botching last years pick in hopes of putting a few extra people in the seats early on. Now all they have to do is get rid of Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton.
Portland-C-:
Damian Lillard is an explosive scorer that should be a nightmare with LA off the pick and roll. I give them credit for doing what all teams should be doing-Taking advantage of Billy King. They shipped off lame duck Gerald Wallace for this pick, and immediately upgrades their PG position (Despite killing their locker room leadership) by moving away from Ray Felton. I don't have a problem with the small time college because it appears every player that comes from a small school always ends up good, unless it's the Titans that draft them. There is no one on the planet that can convince me Meyers Leonard has a chance of being more than a 3, 2 and 1 guy. You know how I know? He has bad running form.
Golden State-A-:
I love what this team is doing. They took serious heat for the Ellis for Bogut trade but now all of a sudden their roster is looking strong. Bogut is a great big and will hide David Lee's defensive shortcomings. Curry will be healthy and won't have to defer to Ellis. It's undecided if Barnes is going to amount to anything, but their roster on paper is looking really good. I got the pleasure of knowing about Barnes early because he went to a local Iowa school, so I hope for Iowa's sake he turns out to be a player. That state badly needs it since Collison left. Plug in Klay Thompson and this team won't have a problem scoring it. Plus, they have Richard Jefferson to do everything and Andres Biedrins to ice down games from the stripe.
Toronta-C:
Not that Terrance Ross was a bad pick, I just have no idea exactly what this pathetic organization is trying to do. Their starting 5 right now is Jose Calderon, Demar Derozan, Terrance Ross, Andrea Barginani and Amir Johnson. Ha.
Detroit-D:
Andre Drummond I guess was good value there, but I don't trust anything Joe Dumars does... Especially when it's in regard to a huge guy that isn't that good and claims his game resembles Kevin Durant (I guess the 29% foul shooting didn't make Drummond think otherwise about that assesment). Detroit can get away with a luxury pick though now that they have Maggette and Austin Daye handling the leg work.
Houston-A:
Royce White is my favorite player in the draft. If anything, I think the anxiety issues make him more appealing. Weird guys are the toughest to defend and get in their head, so on the court I think he will be a stud. He must be even weirder than the media is portraying, because I'm not sure I've seen many freaks like this guy. Dude is like a 6'9" point guard that can do everything but shoot. He is a match up nightmare. His shot might be the most broke one I've seen, but when you can do everything else that he can, it really doesn't matter. Lamb can make up for that with his smooth stroke and ability to knock down off screens and off the dribble. I think he plays stronger than he looks, so both picks should turn out pretty well. I'm still confused why anyone thought three picks in the mid-first round was enough to entice the Magic to deal Dwight, but I guess it is the Magic.
Phoenix-C+:
They lose Nash, but get Kendell Marshall. Everyone knows my obsession with good passers that make their teammates better, and that is exactly what Marshall is. The only problem is that they actually lose Nash, making them immediately worse on the short term. Oh yeah, and the Suns have a really bad front office that doesn't know how to build around quality players. The bright side is that this team has a chance to really outmuscle the opposition, with Robin Lopez and Channing Frye down low doing the dirty work.
Milwaukee-D:
Henson is an atrocious foul shooter, but is very well spoken which I really appreciate. He is well coached and is a good kid and should fill a small void left by Andrew Bogut. Honestly, there is just something about this guy that I get a vibe he won't be good. My instincts tell me something, I've learned it's smart to listen to them.
Philly-F:
You would think grabbing Arnet Moultrie (A guy they targeted with their pick at 15) would make me happy. I really believe in grabbing rebounding junkies to fill your roster in late, and Moultrie is that, but with a little shooting range. Hell, he might be able to replace Jodie Meeks as the only guy on the Sixers team who can hit a 3. The problem with Moultrie and Moe Harkless is that they are the exact same player they have drafted every year for what seems like the last six, every since they finally got rid of Billy King, someone they should have sued for trying to dismantle the franchise. The Sixers walked into this draft with no GM, leaving Rod Thorn running the show despite new ownership already telling him he is out the door. That leaves Doug Collins making the picks, who although a great coach, is not a talent evaluator. Thanks to Doug we are rolling with Evan Turner over Cousins (Both are head cases but Cousins is actually good), and Nicola Vucevic (A slow footed white guy with no chance of being good) over Kenneth Faried. This draft is incomplete until they finally make the move of Gay for Iguodola, a trade that will make both Memphis and Philly fans happy, despite the fact that it's a complete wash of a trade.
More to come, sorry for the typos. This post was not edited.
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