Just this past week, the 2015 National Basketball Association’s amateur draft just occurred and some special young talents were taken by teams throughout the league. This short series of posts will look at the first ten picks made in the draft, draft day trades and their effect on the NBA.
Pick 1: Karl Anthony-Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
Grade: A+
Personally, Anthony-Towns was one of my favorite prospects available in the draft. I was really excited when the T-wolves chose him over Jahlil Okafor. Minnesota needed someone to replace Nikola Pekovic in the middle and they found him in Karl. Much like Minnesota’s 2014 #1 pick, Andrew Wiggins, Anthony-Towns has a huge ceiling paired with breathtaking athleticism. With a great mentor in Kevin Garnett with his new team, look for Anthony-Towns to also fully develop his defensive game. With the number one picks from the past three drafts (the third being Anthony Bennett), the Timberwolves have cultivated a core worth building around.
Pick 2: D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
Grade: A+
The Lakers pleasantly surprised me with this pick at number two. While most expected Jahlil Okafor to be taken, the Lakers chose to go with Russell, a 6’5″ guard who will eventually take over the Lakers from Kobe Bryant. At Ohio State, Russell flashed his versatile game, averaging 5 assists a game to go along his 41% stroke from three-point land. Frankly with his ability to create by himself, but also facilitate for his teammates, he looks to be the perfect replacement for the Black Mamba in Los Angeles. And with Kobe’s tutelage, look for D’Angelo to become a future star within the league.
Pick 3: Jahlil Okafor, Philadelphia 76ers
Grade: B-
This pick by the 76ers admittedly confused me quite a bit when it was made. With Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid already both on the roster, adding another young center just screams conflict. But, true to Philadelphia front office tradition, they went with the best prospect available on the board. Okafor is undoubtedly the most NBA ready prospect in the draft. His size and smooth moves in the post will turn him into an automatic offensive contributor. Of course, in order to contribute, he needs minutes and with the logjam Philadelphia currently has, those may be hard to come by. This pick only got the grade it did because of Okafor’s offensive prowess, and his potential usefulness as a trade chip in the future.
Pick 4: Kristaps Porzingis, New York Knicks
Grade: B-
New York really followed the mantra, go big or go home, on this pick. Taking the relatively unknown power forward from Latvia with the fourth pick. I personally have nothing against the pick, Porzingis has flashed potential worthy of the number four spot. Of course, every other European prospect bust in the past decade have too (think: Darko Milicic and Andrea Bargani). They took a gamble on his upside and are hoping it will pay off. Normally, I would give this pick a B grade, taking a seven footer with a silky outside touch never hurts, but because the pick angered and confused such a large chunk of the Knicks dedicated fan base, I had to dock a couple of PR points.
Pick 5: Mario Hezonja, Orlando Magic
Grade: A
The two most highly touted European prospects went back to back, and Mario Hezonja was the safer pick made by the Magic. With only Tobias Harris on the wing, the Magic needed a shooter, they found one in Hezonja. Other than Okafor, Hezonja is probably the most pro-ready prospect, having played professionally in the Spanish ABC league. The question for the Magic is how much value they will get out of Mario. Will he develop into a strictly spot-up shooter (think: Danny Green), or will he turn into a much more lucrative jack-of-all-trades type of player, capable of passing, rebounding and scoring (think: Jimmy Butler).
Picks 6-10 will be looked at in Part 2.
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Images:
Karl Anthony-Towns, D’Angelo Russell, Jahlil Okafor, Kristaps Porzingis, Mario Hezonja