The NBA Draft has come and gone so I wanted to dive into a few of the surprises that happened and the pair of blockbuster trades that shook up the league
Celtics get Porzingis, Grizzlies get Smart
After the 3-team deal that would have landed Kristaps Porzingis to Boston, Malcolm Brogdon to the Clippers, and Marcus Morris, Danilo Gallinari, Amir Coffey, and the 30th pick to Washington fell apart due to the Clippers medical concerns about Brogdon, Boston and Washington needed to shift gears to get Porzingis to Boston, enter the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis had been long lusting after Celtics guard Marcus Smart and with the impending departure of Dillon Brooks, they snuck right in sending Tyus Jones to Washington and 2 first round picks, including the 25th pick in Thursday’s draft, to Boston for Smart. Boston also sent Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, and the 35th pick to the Wizards to complete the deal. For Memphis the upside is obvious. They needed toughness and leadership and Smart gives them both those things and more, adding more playmaking and a former Defensive Player of the Year as well in the process. They need to replace Ja Morant for the first 25 games of the season as well and while losing Jones hurts that, Smart can fill in that role as he was the starting point guard of a team that went to the NBA Finals a season ago. This trade is a risk for the Celtics, a big risk. Smart was the heartbeat of that team and their best playmaker, this is a massive loss and the Celtics fan in me is devastated and angry about the trade. However, the basketball watcher says this risk is well worth it, even with Porzingis being on an expiring contract and having injury concerns. Porzingis is quietly coming off of his best season in the NBA, averaging a career high 23.2 points along with 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.5 blocks, last season with the Wizards. He is a good 3 point shooter and should get more catch and shoot attempts while playing with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, he is really good at driving off closeouts, and provides elite rim protection. While the deal is a risk for the Celtics, it has a chance to be a massive home run considering what Porzingis can give Boston in their pursuit of banner 18.
Warriors land Chris Paul
This one was a shocker. There had been reports that Golden State was interested in acquiring Paul but the idea seemed far fetched. However, the NBA is crazy and Chris Paul plays for the Golden State Warriors. In return for Paul, and Trayce Jackson-Davis, Golden State sent Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins, a 2030 first round pick (top 20 protected according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe), and a 2027 2nd round pick. It is a massive haul for Paul but this deal was as much of a salary dump as it was anything else for Golden State, with the new ‘second apron’ coming down the road, they felt like they needed to get ahead of that and thus moved off of Poole’s new 4-year contract. Paul is an interesting fit in the Bay Area because while Golden State likes to play in their unique way with all of their movement and passing, Paul is more of a traditional point guard who wants to play pick-and-roll offense so it will be interesting to watch. I am very excited to see how this looks because Chris Paul is a Golden State Warrior and that is something I am struggling to wrap my head around.
New look Wizards
The Wizards needed to hit reset and they have done that in a big way sending Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis out the door. In return, the team received Jordan Poole, Tyus Jones, Landry Shamet, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Mike Muscala, Danilo Gallinari, Ryan Rollins, the 35th pick (they traded this to the Bulls for “a couple of second rounders”), a 2030 first round pick via the Warriors, 4 pick swaps via the Suns, and a whole bunch of 2nd round picks. In the draft they traded up from the 8th pick to 7th to draft Bilal Coulibaly, who played on the same team as Victor Wembanyma last season. The rebuild is on and I am excited to see what Michael Winger does next with a trade of either Monte Morris or Delon Wright likely, because they have an over-balance of guards on the team. I like the backcourt of Tyus Jones and Jordan Poole. They won’t guard a sole but that is okay because winning will not be Washington’s priority next season as much as seeing what they have. Poole may average 30 points a game next season, that is how many shots he is going to take (it won’t be 30 but it will be around 25) and Jones is a steady point guard who can organize the offense and a player I think they’ll look to extend. Daniel Gafford will be the starting center which is something Wizards fans should be comfortable with because he is a good rim runner and solid defensive player. Baldwin is interesting, he was one of the best high school prospects in his class but it didn’t click in college and he was unable to carve out a role with the Warriors so it will be interesting to see if he clicks in Washington, I am not sure it will but it might. They have a pair of knockdown shooters in Shamet and Corey Kispert. Johnny Davis and Deni Advija are there, Advija is interesting, though the lack of shooting is a huge concern, and Davis only played 28 games his rookie year, mostly due to coaching decisions, and wasn’t very good when he was on the court with shooting splits of .39/.24/.51. They need an inflection of youth and that is the process they started.
What do the Blazers do next?
The big winner of the draft had to be the Portland Trail Blazers. For Scoot Henderson to fall into their lap the way he did was perfect and he will be a key player for the team going forward. The big question for them is what comes next with Damian Lillard? There has been so much reporting on what Lillard wants and what is going to happen and I am sick of it. I don’t want to see another Damian Lillard update on my timeline from Chris Haynes. At this point either trade him or don’t but let’s just pick a path. I do think they trade Lillard though, it would not shock me if they didn’t but I think Portland trades Damian Lillard. The 2 teams that make the most sense are the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets. Miami can offer Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, 2023 first round pick Jaime Jaquez Jr., 2022 first round pick Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith and draft compensation. The Nets offer would not match that in terms of players but it would in terms of draft picks since they can offer 3 future Suns picks, a Mavericks pick, and a protected Sixers pick. Both are enticing offers and both I would consider (though I am not sold the Nets go all-in on Lillard). If the Blazers do keep Lillard, I expect them to re-sign Jerami Grant, trade for an upgrade at center, and I would trade Anfernee Simons to better balance the roster but I am not sold they would do that. Trading the 3rd pick would have been an insane thing to do and trading Scoot Henderson would be an insane thing to do. I have no idea what happens to Lillard now but my gut says he is moved before opening night.
Other draft notes
The Hornets thing was odd yesterday, everyone knew they were taking Alabama’s Brandon Miller until Shams got duped by someone and said ‘no they are leaning Henderson.’ They ended up taking Miller, who is really good by the way. The 6’9” forward is an elite shooter and has really good athleticism and length on the defensive end. The murder case was there and is a huge problem even though the charges were dropped but as I said earlier, Portland was the winner of the night with Handerson falling into their lap at 3. The Mavericks made 2 trades, getting off Davis Bertans by swapping the 10th pick for the 12th pick with the Thunder, then they were able to trade for the 24th pick by taking on Richaun Holmes’ contract. They clearly want rim running centers because they also drafted Duke center Derek Lively last night at 12, and then drafted Marquette forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper at pick 24 to help out their perimeter defense. Up next, the free agency of Kyrie Irving. The Sacramento Kings are scheming something big. After the Holmes trade last night, they can get to as high as $32 million in cap space this summer and as John Hollinger of The Athletic mentioned, Draymond Green is a free agent and has ties to the Kings while the Kings need a starting 4 and a defensive anchor. I think Green returns to the Dubs but a higher dollar amount due to a real push from Sacramento is likely.
One sentence takeaways
I thought it was interesting the Hawks drafted a point guard with Dejounte Murray due for free agency next season… that is something to keep an eye on. Brad Stevens just refused to stop trading back and it was very funny. I am very happy for Emoni Bates who has had such a difficult journey with some high highs and some low lows to get here so it was nice to see him get drafted. We are not talking enough about how perfectly the Spurs played this, trading guys like Murray and Derrick White before this season, and how crazy it is that they pulled it off getting the generational big man again. Cam Whitmore’s injury feels very concerning considering how far he fell in the draft. The Nets added 2 really interesting players with high upside, I am a huge fan of what they did. Shooting will always rule the day, see Jett Howard and Jordan Hawkins flying up the draft board. Woj’s report of the Rockets making a really aggressive push to steal away Brook Lopez from the Bucks is something to keep an eye on. Lastly, Gradey Dick’s suit was one of the worst things I have ever laid eyes on but he will be a good fit in Toronto.
The draft has come and gone and free agency is on deck. The big question: does James Harden go back to Houston?
Comments