The 2015 NBA Draft went down on June 25th and may have built a foundation for one crazy free agency period this summer. We didn’t see quite as many trades as rumors suggested we would, but we did see some top prospects fall and a few teams make picks we never saw coming.
While teams aren’t done putting work in on their rosters for the 2015-16 NBA season, we can an least reflect on the damage done in this year’s draft. We won’t know for sure how the draft went until years from now, but there’s nothing like grading a draft. With that, let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers from this past Thursday night:
Winners: Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks
Los Angeles was involved in DeMarcus Cousins trade rumors for the past week but that deal never went down and yet they still opted to pass on big man Jahlil Okafor at second overall. That could go badly, but with a plethora of talented bigs hitting free agency (Brook Lopez, Marc Gasol, Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge being the big ones), the Lakers bet on themselves being able to lure one of them into the bright lights of Los Angeles. It wasn’t a bad bet, and they also were able to spend their second overall pick on D’Angelo Russell, an elite scorer who has the size and skill-set to man the point or play the two spot. Larry Nance Jr. was a minor reach at the end of round one, but should provide instant offense off the bench for a Lakers team that badly needed depth. Overall, the Lakers exit the draft with an impact guard and should be in position to make a play for one or two big free agents.
Miami may be the top overall winner here, as Justise Winslow was easily a top-four prospect entering this draft and he slid all the way down to them at the 10 spot. Winslow has an NBA-ready game and body and should be able to start right away if the Heat will let him. Heat GM Pat Riley was said to be coveting Winslow and when he fell to the Heat, the move was a no-brainer. Winslow looked very confident and comfortable in his one and only season at Duke, where he helped the Blue Devils win a national title. That should help him fit in nicely in South Beach, where the Heat are still trying to find a way to win without LeBron James. With Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside already in place, Winslow could push the Heat over the top.
It’s anyone’s guess if Kristaps Porzingis is the real deal, but many draft experts felt he was the top talent in the entire draft, so it’s highly possible the Knicks got a mega steal at four overall. He certainly offers a good amount of upside, as he’s a true seven footer than can run the floor and shoot from outside. Phil Jackson is banking on him being a cornerstone for the franchise, as he tries to rebuild the Knicks back into a winner. New York was also able to add the versatile and athletic Jerian Grant, who can score and pass the ball at a high level. With the right moves in free agency, a horrid Knicks team could suddenly have the right pieces to push for a playoff spot again.
Losers: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics
Atlanta started this year’s draft with the 15th overall selection and ended with two second round picks. They traded away their best asset in this draft to save cash to possibly retain both DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap, but if they can’t they end up being big losers here. The 15th pick could have ended up being a solid get like Sam Dekker or Kelly Oubre, but instead the Hawks bet on keeping the veteran guys that helped them get the Eastern Conference’s top seed this past season. Maybe it ends up working out, but as far as the draft goes, they failed to come away with a tantalizing prospect or a high impact player.
Boston actually got some nice offensive talent in this draft, as they picked up three quality guards in Terry Rozier, R.J. Hunter and Marcus Thornton. Unfortunately, Hunter can really only play the two and Thornton is a combo guard. The Celtics remain stacked at the wing spot and they badly needed a true impact player. They still might get one or two in free agency, but their log-jam at the point and on the wings only gets worse. Hunter is a lights out shooter that could develop into a star, but overall the Celtics’ draft class lacks pizazz and overall looks bland.
Think there was a bigger winner or loser on draft night? Let us hear it in the comments below!
