#1 Bobcats select Kyle Kuzma
So I have to be totally honest, I didn't like this pick at all when I first saw it. Let's get one thing clear, though: Kuzma is going to be an elite scorer in this league, period. At 6'7" with 92 QKN and 98 JMP, I expect him to be a 20 ppg scorer by year 3 at the latest. My issue with him is that he currently can't do anything else but score. Even his (few) C potential areas have extremely low current ratings, meaning that scoring could very well be all he's ever able to do. Of course, one good TC can change all that, but I felt that Maravich and Barrett were both more versatile and had more visible room to grow. Compared to them, Kuzma's more of a project, not necessarily what you want at #1. More on this later…
#2 Thunder select Pete Maravich
Let's be honest, damn near any pick for the Thunder could be considered a good pick at this point. However, Maravich is probably the best possible player OKC could've gotten, because there's no better way to start rebuilding your franchise than with a star PG. In order to maximize his potential, OKC will need to boost his PAS as soon as possible, but once that gets up to par, the Thunder will have a 6'7" centerpiece able to score, facilitate, and defend at a high level. He will make whoever else the Thunder can grab over the next few seasons look and play much better, which is simply perfect.
#3 Magic select Boban Marjanovic
So in this league we have a slightly shorter Porzingis who plays more like a traditional big, and a far shorter Marjanovic who projects to play like Dirk Nowitzki. Okay then. Real talk though, this was pretty much the only logical pick for the Magic here, unless false9 had already found a landing spot for Hawkins. The thing is, with Josh Jackson running the 3, the Magic are free to focus on developing Boban as a stretch 4/5, which is honestly quite terrifying to think about. Looking at his potentials, it actually may turn out easier to go that route rather than chase the Durant/Lewis/Antentokoumpo dream. All they need is a true big who can share the rock, and the Trae/DeSean/Josh/Boban/??? starting 5 will be one of the hardest offenses in the league to defend one day.
#4 Blazers select RJ Barrett
I think this is a steal. In terms of raw current talent and potential, I considered Maravich and Barrett to be the clear #1 & #2 picks. Even with the Magic pretty much being forced to take Boban at #3, I did not think the Blazers would get this lucky. Barrett projects to be the ultimate SF, a true swiss army knife. He does have one major weakness when it comes to handling the ball, but as far as shooting, rebounding, and defending goes? Solid all around. I do wonder if he'll be a "Batman" star or a "Nightwing" star, but I love the gritty, defensive group of youngsters kucoach is gathering.
#5 Heat select Clifford Paugh
I honestly don't know how to feel about Paugh, as he's a bit of a halfway point between Kuzma and another guy we'll get to later. He has incredible size (6'8") and speed (99 QKN), and a small but fair amount of defensive potential…but he can't do anything else at all besides score (very well, mind you) and maybe learn to defend. Granted, with Free around he might not have to, but still. If we do know one thing, it's that it is highly likely that we won't see him on the court anytime soon, as logP strongly believes in keeping potential franchise players off the court until they're fully ready to begin contributing.
#6 Clippers select Phil Brooks
The Clippers' situation isn't quite as dire as the Thunder's, but it's close. And like OKC, I think this is a pretty ideal pick for them. LA Punk's basically a slightly lesser version of Maravich, trading QKN and defensive ability for an edge in STR and passing potential. He's listed as an SF, but there's no way he stays there, as Emmitt McNiel's far better suited for either there or the 2. Brooks will likely end up as a very solid PG, and honestly, I probably would've taken him over Paugh, even with Free already there. In that sense, I suppose the Clips got a bit of a steal.
#7 Cavs select Roland Pettit
Pettit is to Barrett what Brooks is to Maravich. Pettit shares pretty much all of the strengths and weaknesses of Barrett, but trades in athleticism for slightly more "yo, train THIS stat" A potential areas. Since the Cavs already have a dedicated scorer in Dirk Hardpeck, picking up a potential star-level player who can do almost everything else makes perfect sense, though Pettit had better grow up quickly if the Cavs are going to make the most out of the pairing.
#8 Spurs select Simon Pheonix
I quite like this pick, as any potential concern I have about the player is mitigated by the team who picked him. I think Pheonix is a great talent who could struggle a bit to find his place in the league, all because of bad timing. Right as the league appears to be moving towards size again, here comes a slow, bruising, 6'8" center. You'd think that his C potentials in PRD and STL would signal hope as a tweener, but when I said slow, I meant 26 QKN. All this doesn't matter though, because the Spurs need all the post help they can get. Thus, all Eazy has to do is plop Pheonix down low, preferably at PF, and focus on developing his strengths, like gobbling up rebounds. Great pickup here.
#9 Wizards select Josh Hart
….
Wizards trade Josh Hart to the Bobcats for Vaughn Vaccaro, Robert Oxford, and Ivica Zubac
3 for 1 sounds exactly like an Xist move, so no one should be surprised on that front. Adding 3 more bigs to a roster that already features Jerrod Stepp, Bonifaz Wenninger, Billy Kingston, and Harold Fairley is a bit sketch, but back to the actual draft pick.
#9 W̶i̶z̶a̶r̶d̶s̶ Bobcats get Josh Hart
Oh. OH. Now I get it. Alone, Kuzma's a solid, but somewhat underwhelming No.1 overall pick. But paired with Hart, a speedster in his own right (and almost a Paugh clone), and suddenly you have a devastatingly fast and potent swingman combo who cover each other's weaknesses shockingly well (except for rebounding, but that's what bigs are for, right?). Heaven forbid if Kuzma actually develops enough passing ability to run the point at a decent level. The only other 1-2 punches I see with this level of synergy are Maravich/Brooks (tall, speedy combo guards), Dinh/Pheonix (a finesse 5 and brusing 4), and Kuzma/Paugh (Kuzma/Hart on roids). But given that none of those were going to happen, gambling on a deal to pick up Hart is a solid move for Darth.
Raptors trade #10 and Chad Marsh to the Wizards for D'Angelo Russell and cash money
So Soundwave, disgusted with the unfortunate position of having #10 in a draft with 9 top talents, turns that pick into a talent who, at least on paper, is every bit as good as those 9. Ironside will probably now move to SF and terrorize opposing 3s, and Bolton will do everything in his power to prove his worth now that Sound has an excuse to let him walk in RFA next season. No matter how you slice it, the Raptors could very well have one of the top guard rotations in the league now.
#10 Wizards select Marshall "Brave" Starr
A big man with a puzzling skillset sounds exactly like the kind of guy Xist likes to draft, so no one should be surprised on that front. Thing is, the Wizards now have 3 of them. Vaccaro's basically an older Pheonix with even more tweener potential, Marsh is a bigger Vaccaro, and Starr's an even bigger (but rawer) Marsh, sans the ball handling ability. It's obvious what the Wizards are going to try to do: At least one of these guys will be groomed to be the starting SF for DC at some point. Less obvious is what's actually going to happen. If Starr actually develops into the 7'3" force he could conceivably be...holy hell. But the potential for a bust is quite strong with this one, and you'd think Xist would be tired of risky draft picks, fixer-uppers, and rosters filled with okay bigs. Still, coming in with one pick and leaving with cap space and 5 players sounds exactly like…ehh, you get the picture.
#11 Pacers select Antonio Copeland
Despite firmly being in win-now mode, the addition of Copeland gives the Pacers another low-key addition to the future. Though Copeland will likely never be a capable point guard, his ability to score and defend makes him a nice addition who might be able to contribute just before the Pacers' current window passes.
#12 Mavs select Steven Nix
In a sea of could-be players, Nix is a very refreshing "is." He is an NBA-ready post defender, and he is very likely at the moment to be the starting C come opening day. The Mavs are a bit rudderless at the moment, but they do still have a select amount of decent talent on their roster. Nix won't heavily impact their fortunes right away, but he is a very nice addition.
#13 Knicks select Stephen Wright
Probably the best-case scenario for Wright. Unlike many other rookies, he'll have ample time to hone his skills and smooth out his wrinkles while still getting a bit of playing time. That's the benefit of landing on a roster with Nikola Jokic and Gary Harris. Another benefit is the fact that those guys generate quite a few points annually, so expect whatever's left over from tax to be poured into Wright.
#14 Nets select Josh Okogie
I don't quite understand this pick. Not because of Okogie - he looks like he'll develop into quite the capable backup combo guard, with the added bonus of being able to contribute offensively now. But you know who else projects to develop into a capable backup combo guard? Glenn Irvine, who most certainly isn't ready to contribute in any form, but appears to have a slightly higher ceiling than Okogie. I guess the Nets could be hedging their bets in case Irvine doesn't pan out, but with Warren now in Vancouver, there's a more pressing need at SF that Rocco Farmer, Nathan Thompson, or Terry Perez could've filled, and that none of Whittaker, Irvine, and Okogie can fill. A bit of a head-scratcher here.
Winners:
Thunder: Maravich is pretty much the ideal guy you'd want to start a rebuild with.
Bobcats: A late trade makes Darth the only team to gain two lotto players in a highly lauded draft class, and the synergy between Kuzma and Hart makes up for the slightly questionable decision to draft Kuzma at #1.
Blazers: This is purely because of the fact that I thought Maravich and Barrett were going to be the first two off the board, so Portland got a steal by default. The fact that he fits in very well with the rest of their young talent is a bonus.
No-Brainers:
Raptors: Getting a still-young G/B at #10 when there were no blue potential players left on the board and none in the draft at all is a clear win.
Magic: Boban was the obvious pick at #3 for a reason. He's a perfect fit for the Magic's roster.
Spurs: The way San Antonio's roster is constructed means that they'll be grateful for whatever Pheonix will be able to give, and not grumble over what he can't.
WTFers:
Heat: It's not that Paugh's a bad player, it's just that drafting another holdout after just activating one last season's a bit sketch. Plus I think there were slightly better options left on the board.
Wizards: The haul itself is rather impressive, but the risk factor associated with the players gained is rather high. No draft pick's a 100% surefire thing, but ideally you want decrease the level of uncertainty surrounding your future come draft day, not increase it.
Nets: Drafting Okogie isn't a bad thing in a vacuum, as it very well could've been a BPA choice. But it's not a position of need at all, creating the potential for an unnecessary logjam.
