NBA Draft Grades

I not doing a Peter King MMQB today because apparently he has not written anything over the past week. His brother Bob has died so he is back in the U.S. and not covering the World Cup. Also, I don't know how fruitful for mocking his replacement-MMQB will be since Eric Winston actually seemed to have a few sensible ideas (from what I scanned over that he read). So I am having to thrown an audible in for the day.

The NBA Draft is now over and my mock draft has absolutely been torn up. I got the first 5 picks right, the 7th pick correct, and I had the 8th pick correct until I put Heyward in that spot over Aminu because I didn't believe the Warriors were really going to go with defense in the draft. I was wrong. I didn't use alphabetical grades for the NFL Draft this year, I used numerical grades between "1" and "10," so I think I will do that again for the NBA Draft. As always, you can count on my grades looking stupid in a few years.

I had thought about covering Bill Simmons draft diary, but I am pretty worn out from his diaries and live blogs at this point...and it just so happens it isn't terrible and I agreed with Bill a few times. It's scary to agree with him. I may still post it though, never count me out.

Atlanta Hawks

This is the first of many teams whose draft will cause me a headache because of all the trading that went on. Basically the Hawks netted Jordan Crawford, cash and Pape Sy (I won't make any jokes about his name because it is just too easy) in return for Damion James and Tibor Pleiss. I like Jordan Crawford, but I can't help but wonder what his place on the Hawks will be. If Joe Johnson leaves then his role is much clearer to me, but I personally would rather have had Damion James overall. I think he fits a need the Hawks have more. It seems like Jamal and Jordan Crawford are sort of a duplicate player, though Jordan Crawford is much younger. Still, Jordan could end up being a good value where he got drafted, but I think overall I would rather have Damion James.

Few people knew anything about Pape Sy, but the important thing to know is he won't be in the United States next year to play for the Hawks. The Hawks had a choice. They could have less money (which they probably need more money to sign Joe Johnson), Damion James, the 31st pick, and Derrick Caracter or Willie Warren instead of Jordan Crawford and Pape Sy. They may have needed the cash to re-sign Joe Johnson, but I still may have taken the second option. The Hawks are a deep team, but they needed a player who could help on the boards and neither Crawford or Sy are that guy.

Grade: 4

Boston Celtics

I know I am in the minority on this, but I don't see Avery Bradley as a definite point guard at the next level. I got really irritated that ESPN kept repeating this over and over. I think he will end up playing the point at times, but he is a pretty good shooter so I think the Celtics see him as a smaller Tony Allen, but also as a guy who can actually hit a jump shot or a layup, which Allen couldn't seem to do. I like the Avery Bradley pick, though it does concern me he didn't quite meet the hype at Texas after his high school career. I hope he isn't an underachiever. Bill Simmons said in his diary that he was ranked above John Wall out of high school and this is not correct. As seen here and here. John Wall always has been, at least for the previous year before he enrolled at Kentucky, ranked over Avery Bradley. I really wish Bill would just stop talking about college basketball because it is embarrassing. Bradley was a top-flight recruit, that is true, and I have a feeling Thursday was the first day Bill had really heard anything about him. How he is qualified to do a mock draft with Chad Ford after watching only the NCAA Tournament is beyond me.

I do like the Bradley pick and he had trouble fitting in on the Texas team that had major injuries at the point guard position. I think of him a little bit like a mini-Derrick Favors. The Longhorns had so many injuries he didn't get a chance to shine as much as he could have his freshman year. The Luke Harangody pick is one I am torn on. He is smaller than I would like for a power forward and I don't know how well he will do at the next level, but he was productive in college and I generally like players who are productive. So I like the pick, but don't have high hopes he will be better than Brian Scalabrine.

Grade: 7

Charlotte Bobcats

They tried to get in the draft and couldn't do it. They have needs, weren't able to meet those needs, and probably don't have enough cap room to do too much. I think they will be fighting to get back in the playoffs again this upcoming year. On the bright side, I continuously forget there is an NBA team 90 miles from my house. Bobcats Fever! Catch it!

In regards to the Bobcats, I constantly feel like a five year old child who had his favorite big wheel stolen and my parents replaced it with a tricycle I hate. How's that for a Bill Simmons analogy?

Grade: N/A

Chicago Bulls

I also realize I may be in the minority on believing this, but teams are going a little too-bananas in their clearing of salary cap room to sign free agents. Not that James, Bosh, and Wade aren't worth the money, but Chicago, New York and Miami are going all-in to sign them and there will at least be one team left in the dark without a marquee free agent and plenty of salary cap room to overpay less quality players. I understand these players are worth it, but they are shooting for the sky and some team is going to miss badly. I don't completely like what the Bulls are doing. I understand they need salary cap room, but they traded Kirk Hinrich and the #17 pick for almost nothing...a future second round pick. I know some people love this move and I don't hate it, but it is a risk. This free agent thing had better work out for them because they just got rid of a quality guard and passed up drafting another quality player at #17 for the chance to sign a big name free agent. There were good players available at #17 and Hinrich was a productive player. I understand why they are doing this, but going all-in is a big risk for a team that could be a perennial playoff team without adding a Wade, James or Bosh-type player. If the Bulls added a player like James or Wade they won't even need another max-contract player.

Grade: 3 (pending free agency...I don't like this strategy for the Bulls because they had a good team already. I think it is a big risk)

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland didn't give a shit about this draft and for good reason. They are worried about re-signing LeBron James. I wasn't sure to be more annoyed or impressed with Mo Williams' Twitter groveling to not be traded. I'm not sure if the Cavs have given LeBron a good enough reason to stay at this point.

Grade: N/A

Dallas Mavericks

I like the Mavericks trade of cash for Dominique Jones. The Mavs need another scorer and Jones can definitely do that. He is a pure shooting guard and I think he will fit in very well with the Mavs. I do sort of wish the Mavs had kept Alabi since he was a good value at #50, but they did get a future 2nd round pick out of it from the Raptors, which is a team that doesn't look like it has a bright immediate future, so that pick could end up being in the #31-#38 range.

I am a little bit confused about this trade detail from CBSSportsline though:

Raptors acquire No. 50 pick Solomon Alabi from Mavericks for future second-round pick and cast

I knew the Mavs were up against the salary cap a bit, but I didn't know they couldn't afford basic medical needs. Do they anticipate a broken bone in the near future?

Grade: 7

Denver Nuggets

They tried to get into the draft, but couldn't. It's hard to get a pick when you don't have much to give or aren't willing to give much. The best news for them is Carmelo Anthony is thinking about signing an extension.

Grade: N/A

Detroit Pistons

I love the Greg Monroe pick. The Pistons were lucky Don Nelson decided to start paying attention to defense and took an inferior player before them. At his very worst, Monroe is a good passing big man who can come off the bench and provide a Swiss Army knife-variety of needs for the Pistons. He can pass, shoot and even handle the ball. He's not really a center, but he is more of a Lamar Odom-type forward and will meet the needs of the Pistons well. I am not as high on the choice of Terrico White because he is like Rodney Stuckey, but with more of a shooting guard body in my opinion. Still, it was a great pick for the Pistons because White isn't close to a finished product and he can fill in very well when the Pistons decide to put Richard Hamilton out of his misery.

Grade: 8

Golden State

I was always under the impression a team would want to choose a franchise changing player or at least a franchise impacting player at #6 in the draft. Don Nelson and the Warriors are always taking my expectations and flipping them around. You can't draft a guy like Epke Udoh at #6. He isn't an impact player or a franchise changing player. He is a potentially good player, but he isn't a high lottery pick. What the hell do the Warriors have against Anthony Randolph and Brandan Wright? Is Don Nelson absolutely against these players being able to prove they can play? Why ruin the potential of those two by drafting Udoh? Yes, Udoh is a good defensive player, but he isn't a center and I still question how he fits in on Nelson's team that traditionally hates defense. Terrible pick in this spot. Terrible fit for what Nelson really wants to do...which isn't play defense.

Grade: 1

Houston Rockets

I thought this was a great, if not obvious, pick for the Rockets. Maybe this means they won't re-sign Scola. I don't agree with that decision, but Patterson's competition at power forward involves Jordan Hill, so even if Scola is re-signed I see Patterson playing good minutes. Great pick and Patterson is going to be a guy who buys into what Daryl Morey is selling in Houston and will also provide a great insurance policy if Scola doesn't return.

Grade: 8

Indiana Pacers

I didn't completely get the drafting of Paul George by the Pacers. They needed a point guard and their best player is a small forward...so naturally they avoid all point guards and take a small forward with their #10 pick. Was there really no way of getting a point guard of any type out of this draft? Mangum Rolle has a great name, but wouldn't it be worth it to draft a point guard of any type at that point? Scottie Reynolds and Sherron Collins were available. Hell, Mikhail Torrence was available. Rolle is a 24 year old who isn't going to help this year, while the Pacers still need a point guard. I can't really argue too much with the pick of George and Stephenson is a good player (potentially), but I am continually confused as to how a team that has a glaring need continuously ignores that need in the draft two years in a row. The Pacers didn't make any trades to free up cap room and they still have an influx of wingmen on the roster. Why not draft a point guard at some point or move up to grab one or use the pick to trade for one?

Grade: 4 (just based on the fact I like the pick of Stephenson and he is worth the risk)

Los Angeles Clippers

I will regret this statement, but I really love this draft by the Clippers. I had Aminu mocked to the Clippers with a glowing review of the pick until I gave Aminu to the Warriors because I didn't believe they would actually draft a player who likes defense. Then to get Eric Bledsoe...I won't say too much about him, I promise, but he is a great choice to replace Baron Davis one day. Aminu is a perfect fit for this Clippers team and Bledsoe landed in a good spot. Before this season Willie Warren was considered a Top 15 pick and now he was grabbed by the Clippers in the second round? Great pick. Also, Blake Griffin is back this year pending any further injuries. This is like a draft of four quality players for the Clippers.

The one downside is that Bill Simmons has already said he liked Eric Bledsoe in his draft diary and I was the first to stalk Bledsoe, so when Bill starts fawning over him at some point I will be upset. As I said in my comments on the day of the draft, Bill will make up some stupid rule to explain why Bledsoe was overlooked, but it is simple. He was overshadowed by John Wall and anyone who watched him play saw the potential. He was overshadowed by Wall at Kentucky and played out of position all year. Sorry, I guess I didn't quit talking about Bledsoe. I am going to feel stupid when he puts up 2.7 ppg 1 apg and 0.3 steals his first year.

Grade: 9

Los Angeles Lakers

It's almost unfair. I'm not saying the two second round picks the Lakers had will pan out, but I am saying they made great picks and Caracter and Ebanks have a great chance to work out. Ebanks wasn't a first round talent like he had been mocked up by some, but he is definitely worth a second round pick. He has too much talent and the Lakers could use some athleticism off the bench. There aren't too many 6'9" forwards who can guard point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, and power forwards. If there is a team that can work well with Derrick Caracter and his weight issues, it is the Lakers. Having Kobe Bryant on that team will ensure he either quits the first year because he is tired of being called fat and unmotivated or he will excel and end up starting later in the season. If he gets his shit together (by "shit" I mean his weight) then Derrick Caracter can start for a good NBA team. Of course he has never actually gotten it all together, but if he does then the Lakers could be looking at a guy who will get Andrew Bynum's minutes when he gets hurt again. I just hope these two guys get a chance to earn some minutes (assuming Caracter doesn't get unmotivated before Lakers camp this season).

Grade: 9

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies are getting some shit for selling Dominique Jones to the Mavericks, but I don't think he had a place on this team anyway. He wouldn't have gotten the minutes he needed to develop and the Grizzlies didn't have a need for him in my mind after drafting Xavier Henry. If the Grizzlies are planning on starting Henry at SF when/if Rudy Gay leaves then this would be a mistake. Henry is a shooting guard and I think any attempt to have him play small forward will be a bad idea. I don't think he can guard opposing small forwards. I would like to have seen the Grizzlies try to get a big man at #25 instead of selling away the pick, but that's not how it worked out.

Mike Conley hopefully got the message today. His time is going to be very short in Memphis. Greivis Vasquez is a leader, a great passer, a great rebounder, and everything Conley is not...except fast. So Conley can beat Vasquez in a track meet and that's about it. I see Vasquez getting the majority of the minutes at point guard by mid-February. He's not athletic, that's not a shock, and he isn't the best defender, but he will end up starting for this Grizzlies team. Long term, he may not be a starter, but for this Grizzlies team he is a starter. Still, they needed a big man somewhere in this draft and they didn't get it.

Grade: 6

Miami Heat

The Heat have decided to blow everything up and try to get free agents to come to Miami. If it works, then great, if it doesn't work then the Heat may struggle to win 10 games next year. I don't know how to grade this draft without knowing the players around these guys. Assuming Wade and Bosh come to Miami then I like the moves the Heat made in this draft because they got a backup center with a ton of potential (and weight) Dexter Pittman, a great defensive forward who is perfect to be the 8th best player on a good team in Varnado, a leader and intangibles guy in Butler who can handle the ball, and a guy in Latavious Williams who will be a good SF off the bench. Basically, if the Heat ended up drafting a bench for their team, they did a great job. If they drafted starters, it was terrible, and they should have kept the #18 pick. Free agency is making teams do crazy things this year.

Grade: 5 (I have no idea which way to go depending on free agency. It is an 8 with two good free agents and a 2 with no free agents and a 5 with Wade the only free agent signed by the Heat)

Milwaukee Bucks

This is a boom-or-bust draft for me. If the Bucks hit on all the big men they drafted then this will be a great draft for the Bucks. How often do three different big men pan out though? Actually, what are the odds two of these big men will work out? I like the Larry Sanders pick for the Bucks. He needs to add some weight, but part of what makes him effective is that he can run the floor. I don't think Hobson will ever see the floor in the NBA to be honest. I base that on the Bucks trading for Maggette and Chris Douglas-Roberts and I wasn't impressed what little I saw of Hobson while he was in college. I will say I didn't see much, but he probably shouldn't have declared for the draft in my opinion. I am not sure if Jerome Jordan will ever be in the NBA either. He looks like he has great potential, but he is so raw offensively I don't know if he will develop in the NBA. Hobson and Jordan will make a great combination in the D-league though. My favorite part of the Bucks draft is they drafted Robert (Tractor) Traylor again, except his name is Tiny Gallon. The good news is they didn't have to trade the rights to Dirk Nowitzki to get him. Hide the food from Tiny Gallon and give to Larry Sanders, that's my best advice for the Bucks.

Grade: 6

Minnesota Timberwolves

When I saw the Timberwolves draft Wesley Johnson and then draft Luke Babbitt, I just laughed. The T-Wolves just love taking multiple players at one position in the draft and of course they would take two SF in this draft. When I heard Babbitt got traded, it actually made sense, until I saw the T-Wolves were getting a small forward, Martell Webster, back in the trade. The T-Wolves just have to draft or trade over lottery picks don't they? I don't particularly like Johnson as 4th best player in this draft and think the T-Wolves reached to get Lazar Hayward. I do like the T-Wolves got Hayward and Nemanja Bjelica for the #23 pick, that was a good trade. As to why the T-Wolves chose two projects with their other two second round picks (both foreign players) doesn't make sense at all to me. I wasn't aware the T-Wolves were close enough to winning that they didn't need immediate help. Individually, I don't hate this draft, but as a whole they drafted a SF I don't like at #4, a bench player (on a crappy team) at #30, and two projects that aren't ready to contribute anytime soon. The least they could have done is draft a big man to trade Al Jefferson and get some assets back.

I love the report from ESPN this weekend, that if the T-Wolves re-sign Darko then they will trade Al Jefferson. Something about re-signing a shitty player so they can trade a good player seems perfect for the T-Wolves.

Grade: 3

New Jersey Nets

The Nets drafted Favors at #3 and here is a scouting report on him, "If he becomes a more polished scorer he could develop into an Antonio McDyess type talent." That's kind of a low ceiling for the #3 pick isn't it? I don't believe that scouting report, but I thought that was kind of a funny way of describing Favors. I can't wait to see what Favors does with an actual point guard getting the ball to him. I think he has some turd-ish ability on the court and I do hate his body language and how he seems to coast through the game. I would feel that way if I had no point guard to get me the ball too, I guess. I love the Damion James pick, even if he didn't quite do everything at Texas I had anticipated he could do. That's sort of par for the course with a Rick Barnes-coached player. James fills up the stat sheet and I remember him being considered a high 1st round pick at one point. The Nets are on the right track, but a lot of it depends on how Favors shares with Lopez in the paint and how he develops.

Grade: 9 (I am assuming Favors will enjoy having an actual PG getting him the ball and I like Damion James a lot. He does everything well. How will this not translate well to the NBA?)

New Orleans Hornets

So let me get this straight? The Hornets traded the #11 pick AND Morris Peterson to the Thunder for the #21 and #26 pick? There wasn't a gun involved in this transaction? If I am Chris Paul, this is the last straw for me. I am out of there. The Hornets could have had Xavier Henry, Ed Davis or possibly a number of other players who would have a positive impact on the team. So with the #21 and #26 pick the Hornets chose two role players. Brilliant! If you are a team with obvious holes why not draft two role players with a limited ceiling? The least the Hornets could have done is draft a high ceiling guy to give the fans false hope. Don't get me wrong, I like Craig Brackins and I like Quincy Pondexter. I like Pondexter as a small forward off the bench and I love Craig Brackins as the 5th starter on a good team. Maybe I am naive or maybe I am simple, but I don't get how a team with obvious needs doesn't fucking address those needs in the draft and then trades BACK to get role players. How does this make sense? Draft a young guy who has a ton of potential to trick your fans into believing you are trying to put a team around Chris Paul. That's the least the Hornets could do.

Grade: 5 (I like the players, I hate the fact they aren't going to fit the Hornets glaring needs)

New York Knicks

The pick of Andy Rautins was a crowd pleaser, but the fact he isn't worth the #38 pick in the draft shouldn't be. Rautins can shoot and he played good defense in the zone system at Syracuse, but I really, really have doubts about how his skills translate to the NBA level. Landry Fields seems like a guy who plays basketball very well and that's about it. He was on the first team for the weakest major conference in college basketball this year (Pac-10)...so he has that going for him. I don't get how these were the two picks for the Knicks with Lance Stephenson, Devon Ebanks, and Solomon Alabi available. All of those guys would have been good values at the point where the Knicks picked and provide a tremendous amount of potential and more basketball skill than the Rautins and Fields. Basically, the Knicks chose two guys who may not have even been drafted in the early second round. It sounds like they are another team who is really, really hoping to get LeBron James and another marquee free agent. They are like the Heat in that if they land those guys then the Fields and Rautins picks may not look so bad.

Grade: 4

Oklahoma City Thunder

I have to give the Thunder some credit. They had a weakness inside and they went out and tried to find players to fix that weakness. I just yelled at the Pacers for not doing this very thing so I can't be a hypocrite. As much as I don't like Cole Aldrich, he will be better than what the Thunder have now and you know what you are getting from him. He is at worst a backup center and the Thunder needed size. I don't see Aldrich ever being a star or a starter, so I don't think he was worth the #11 pick, but again, at least the Thunder tried to address their needs. The Thunder gave up two first round picks to trade up and get Aldrich, one of which they would have traded anyway, so it may end up being worth it. Ryan Reid had no business being drafted and I would be shocked to see him make the team and not be in the D-league this year. I like the Pleiss pick, though he apparently is signed to Germany until 2012 and then wants to go play in Spain after that. Maybe the Thunder can change his mind. I wanted to see them draft a SF to back up Durant, but they needed to get taller and they tried to do that. So they are taller now, congratulations to them.

Grade: 6

Orlando Magic

I didn't realize so many "experts" hated Daniel Orton as much as they do. He backed up DeMarcus Cousins this year at Kentucky so it's not like we got a great look at what he can do and no one said he was going to be an All-Star his first year in the NBA. If there is a team in the NBA that can afford to take a risk on a player at the center position it is the Magic. I do hope Orton doesn't learn some of Dwight Howard's bad habits, though I think he already has a more sophisticated offensive game compared to Howard. I hated Stanley Robinson in the first round, but at #59 this is a great pick. He is an athlete and will be a great rebounder off the bench...assuming he makes the team.

Nitpick time! What lowers this grade dramatically is the Magic are a deep team, but I still believe they needed another point guard out of this draft. What was wrong with taking a PG at #29 and then drafting a big man in the second round? The Magic need a better backup than what is available now. If Nelson gets hurt again, they are screwed.

Grade: 6

Philadelphia 76ers

They only had one pick and they chose the right guy. Favors would have been tempting to draft and there may come a time when the 76ers wish they had taken DeMarcus Cousins, but Evan Turner could very well be a star in the NBA. I actually think he was held back last year because he had to play the point guard position at Ohio State. I actually think Evan Turner was badly misused out of necessity at Ohio State. He played too much point guard for my liking. It isn't the best place for him and to have another player on the roster who is like Iguodala is not a bad thing. Iguodala is a great #2 option, but he isn't a #1 guy. Evan Turner can be that guy.

Grade: 9

Phoenix Suns

It is not secret to those who read this blog that I like Gani Lawal. In fact, there were so many times last year I thought he was a better player than Derrick Favors (no, I wasn't drunk or high). He outrebounded and outscored Favors last year. Lawal works very hard on the boards and I didn't always see Favors do that. Maybe I just had higher expectations for Favors. As a Duke fan, Lawal is the guy I didn't want to see on the floor during the game. I wanted him in foul trouble the entire game because he had the ability to kill Duke inside. The Suns made a great pick with him. Dwayne Collins is a bit undersized for a power forward and I always had the feeling he just wanted to punch someone. You aren't beating him to a rebound without a fight. He has a little bit of Ben Wallace in him I believe. The Suns needed these guys and they made great picks. I just hope these two guys are given a chance to succeed.

Grade: 8

Portland Trailblazers

The Blazers needed a rebounder in my opinion. I have fond feelings for Elliot Williams from his time at Duke but I don't think he was the right guy at #22 for the Blazers. Granted, the Blazers do have a deep team, but I feel like they could have taken advantage of their depth better. Babbitt isn't a terrible pick at #16, but it appears the Blazers are set at small forward, at least in the starting lineup. I guess when you have a team with so much depth it is hard to find guys in the draft who don't duplicate what you already have. I thought the Blazers were in a position to get a difference maker in the draft if they had chosen to and they only chose rotational guys. Of course what does Kevin Pritchard care? He was getting the hell out of there anyway. I would have drafted the shittiest players available if I had gotten fired and still had to draft for the team that fired me.

Grade: 7

San Antonio Spurs

I always tend to give the Spurs the benefit of the doubt. Then they go and draft the guy who I find to be quite overrated, James Anderson. So clearly someone is wrong and I still don't think it is me. Not to say Anderson can't succeed on the Spurs, but he is a guy who is similar to Roger Mason Jr to me. He can shoot and doesn't seem to have too much interest in doing anything else. Anderson doesn't enjoy driving to the basket, which means he doesn't seem to be an ideal fit to be the replacement for any of the older players on the Spurs. Who knows, maybe the Spurs teach him to drive better or he will fit in perfectly in their system. Ryan Richards is a guy who I have heard a little bit about and I feel like the Spurs tend to know what they are doing in the overseas market. For me, the best news for the Spurs is that Tiago Splitter is looking to come to America and I think he could have a bigger impact on the Spurs than either of these picks.

Grade: 6 (I bumped it up a point because the Spurs generally are good drafters and there is a 35% chance I am wrong about Anderson)

Sacramento Kings

The Kings were very smart to ignore the maturity issues and take DeMarcus Cousins. True centers with skill don't come along very often and Cousins is a guy who could easily average 20 ppg and 10 rpg for a few years. He was a good choice for the Kings. The pick of Hassan Whiteside I hated and I loved. I hated it because I feel like they already took a semi-risky center pick at #5 and didn't need Whiteside on the team. The Kings could very well have twin towers in their future, but they could also have invested all their cards in two risky big men. I didn't like the pick for those reasons. Otherwise, I love the Whiteside pick because he has a huge amount of potential and he can reach that potential. To take a guy who could be as good as Whiteside could be in the second round is just tremendous. The odds of both these guys busting aren't great, so the Kings probably got a quality center out of this draft, even if it took two picks to do it.

Grade: 9

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors just re-drafted Chris Bosh. A left-handed lanky power forward from the ACC. I don't think Davis is just a complementary player at all. He came from UNC which has a system that focuses on the team concept and few players are going to score a ton of points on average during the year. I honestly can't think of a better power forward to replace Bosh with in this draft. I think both players have a similar skill set. I am not saying Davis will be Chris Bosh, but he feels similar to him. Solomon Alabi was also a great pick at #50. How he lasted that long I don't know. He's incredibly raw, but he also works hard and was a great value pick in the second round. Alabi can get better. The Raptors may not have had an incredibly impressive draft, but they did get better in regards to their power forward and center position.

Grade: 8

Utah Jazz

Was there any doubt the Jazz were going to take a white guy? Maybe the Jazz should have moved back in the draft to feel more comfortable. I know how good Gordon Hayward has looked and I know he is full of intangibles, but he wasn't even the best player available and may not have been the best small forward available. I know people have doubted Hayward his whole life and he has proven them wrong. He looked good in the NCAA Tournament and those who watched Butler before that knew he was good the entire year. He just isn't a #9 pick. He fills a need for the Jazz, I will grant that, but the Jazz needed a power forward to replace Boozer or another scoring guard. Henry or Ed Davis would have been much better choices. I guess I am one of those underestimating Hayward again. I just don't think he is going to be the 3rd/4th best player on a championship team...and I am assuming Utah wants to be a championship team. Jeremy Evans had no chance at being drafted and rather than take an athletic power forward like Stanley Robinson or a player with a high ceiling who hasn't reached his potential like Derrick Caracter, the Jazz wasted the pick on Evans.

Grade: 2

Washington Wizards

The Wizards got John Wall. He is the best player in the draft and the team's fortunes could very well turnaround. Now if they could just do something with Gilbert Arenas. The Wizards stole Kirk Hinrich from the Bulls and they even got a great foreign prospect in Kevin Seraphin. How ironic will it be this next season when the Bulls cleared out all this room to get marquee free agents and the Wizards beat them out for a playoff spot? I'm not saying the Wizards will make the playoffs, but Seraphin was the best foreign prospect in this draft as well as a guy who is a power forward, a position of need for the Wizards. I could make this a "10" if they had just not overdrafted for Trevor Booker. I like Booker, but not in the first round. That was a terrible reach. There were so many better players on the board at that point. If they had drafted Damion James, Terrico White or Hassan Whiteside I think they would have knocked this draft out of the park. Booker is a hard worker and he will be productive, but I think the Wizards could have done better.

Grade: 8

A week without a Peter King column is a sad week.