The world has had just enough time to decompress from the NBA Finals and get ready for the NBA Draft. Granted that's because the Warriors swept the Cavs. Nonetheless, it should be a fun night! It'll be a different crew covering the draft than in years past, but it was kind of like that for the NFL Draft as well. The 2017 draft was deeper than this years crop of talent. Yes, Donovan Mitchell slipped to the thirteenth pick. Markelle Fultz went first and we didn't get to see much out of him. Jayson Tatum looks like a future all-star. Lonzo Ball had moments. Josh Jackson was in Phoenix. Yeah I forgot about him to be honest. He averaged 13 points per game and shot 26% from three. I wouldn't call that awe-inspiring. Enough about last year; let's get into this draft!
7:00 - Welcome into the 2018 NBA Draft, Draft Diary: Volume Two!
7:15 - Lots of Luka Doncic. I mean that felt like a bit much when we know he isn't going first.
7:19 - I do believe Doncic will be at the very least an above average player. If I had to bet on who would be the best player in the class I would bet on him. He dominated the Euro League at 19. The Euro League is the second best league in the world. As great as the coverage of him has been it's fair to say another member of the family made a great first impression to the world:
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| C/o - Sportsdaily.com |
7:23 - I like the crew of Rece Davis, Chauncey Billups, Jay Bilas, with Woj and Bobby Marks standing by with all the trades and moves that will go down. Maria Taylor was great with college football. It's nice to her get a role with the NBA Draft.
7:25 - I think I will go out on a limb and say most fans watching know who's there for the draft. The big introduction charade isn't necessary.
7:27 - BETTER BE THE NEXT MAGIC POINT GUARD, TRAE YOUNG
7:32 - Adam Silver finally out to kick things off. Took long enough.
7:34 - Suns are on the clock. Let's get rolling!
7:39 - DeAndre Ayton goes first to the Suns. Everybody in the arena is shocked. Actually it was the exact opposite of this:
From a pure looks standpoint there's little doubt why Ayton is the top pick. You look at him for a couple seconds and you know he's a future top NBA pick. His one season at Arizona had just a tad bit of controversy. His defense just wasn't there and that was one of the things that held back Arizona. They let Buffalo put 80 something on them and knock them out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament. And Buffalo was sure to not let him forget.
7:43 - Marvin Bagley III goes second to the Kings. Marvin, I want to apologize. The only player that made it out of there alive was Boogie. Okay, Isaiah Thomas as done alright too aside from ruining the Cavs locker room. They ruined Ben McLemore. They ruined Jimmer (maybe not their fault but still). I mean just stop it. Bagley will average around 20 and 10 by year three and be just fine. I go in on Sacramento every year, but as a non partisan fan thank you for not taking Doncic. He deserves better. Sorry, Marvin, once again:
7:46 - Trade rumors are floating around 👀
7:49 - Luka Doncic goes third to the Hawks but is really going to the Mavericks. Love, love, love this spot for him. Basketball wise it's great. Once upon a time they developed another foreign player who turned out pretty well. I don't really know how him and Dennis Smith Jr. will fit together but when you can get a player like Doncic you roll with the talent and figure the rest out later:
7:55 - Jaren Jackson Jr. goes fourth to the Grizzles. Fine pick for the Grizzles. I'm glad they stayed put and didn't ruin this pick to try and get out of the Chandler Parsons contract. Don't get me wrong. It's an awful contract. You can ruin a top five pick to get out of a bad deal. What's Parsons' best moment with the team? Probably something he said on Instagram.
Jackson is a fine player, but I don't know how Izzo couldn't get more out of that team. They had two lottery picks and were projected to be more than they ever showed. He didn't give Jackson that many minutes either. Maybe it was to make sure he was always fresh or maybe there was something else there. Either way I think he'll be a solid player. No more, no less.
7:59 - Trae Young goes fifth to the Mavericks but really to the Hawks. The Hawks will get the Mavs first rounder next season:
8:00 - Expletive, expletive, expletive.
8:01 - Young is one of, if not, the riskiest picks near the top of the draft. He could be a Steph Curry kind of player when he's on. When he's off he looks closer to a Curry with a different first name and I'm not talking about Dell. There's a reason he was able to light up college basketball especially in the first part of the season. He shot the ball from territory known as 'Curry range'. He showed more as a passer than I remember Steph doing in college. The knock on Steph was that he was between a point guard and a shooting guard who'd have trouble on defense. Well we know Young will struggle on defense and he's a little smaller than Curry is. Young is 6'1. You need him to be a dynamic offensive player, and a threat to shoot whenever he crosses half court because on defense there's few positives to look at.
8:02 - More expletives. I wanted him. The Magic haven't had a point guard that was halfway decent since Jameer Nelson.
8:03 - *Realizes how long ago that was gets irrationally upset.*
8:04 - Mohamed Bamba goes sixth to the Magic aka Jay Bilas' wet dream. 7 foot 9 wingspan. Okay now I'm okay, I think. I really, really wanted Young, but I said before that he was my second choice as a Magic fan. It's an interesting fit because now the front court should be Jonathan Isaacs, Aaron Gordon (resign him no matter what. He's a restricted free agent) and now Bamba. They still have too many centers with Nik Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo. Who cares? With Young off the board it's absolutely the right pick. And if he can do this in games with any kind of regularity sky is the limit:
8:08 - I love how happy he is. I mean everyone who gets drafted is gonna be happy but it's still nice to see.
8:09 - Foot Locker commercial with Trae Young, LiAngelo Ball, and LaVar Ball. I love it. It's not the first Foot Locker commercial featuring a member of the ball family:
8:10 - You guys miss LaVar Ball yet? Say what you will about him but the guy is the walking embodiment of entertainment:
8:11 - Is Gelo gonna get picked? Did you get your pair of Gucci glasses? He did.
8:12 - Wendell Carter Jr goes seventh to the Bulls. I was a bit surprised they didn't go for Michael Porter Jr. there were plenty of rumors connecting them. It should be interesting to put him next to Lauri Markkanen since he's not so great on the defensive side but spaces the floor on offense.
8:16 - I am very intrigued to see what the Cavs do to see if they pick a compliment for LeBron if he comes back, or if they just get the best guy they can. It could be both but interesting either way.
8:18 - Collin Sexton goes eighth to the Cavs. Either way they needed a point guard. He had one of the most memorable moments in college basketball this past season:
Let's see how he adapts to the league.
8:24 - Kevin Knox goes ninth to the Knicks. He isn't great yet, but he will at the least be a solid player. He's still 18 and has a lot of room to improve.
8:25 - Wingspan, people, wingspan. Bilas has no regard for human life.
8:26 - Did I make that joke last year. Ah, who cares? It has to be done.
Knicks fans are chanting, "We want Porter." Shut up, Knicks fans. You don't know what you want. The best picks you've ever had besides Patrick Ewing you've booed. And how about that jacket?!?!
8:30 - Mikal Bridges goes tenth to the 76ers. Doesn't get much better than that. Local guy who won a couple titles at Villanova. He will eventually be a much better version of Robert Covington. Oh and his mom works for the 76ers already. That's pretty cool.
8:37 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander goes eleventh to the Hornets. Interesting move that could signal the Hornets moving Kemba Walker. Heck he could be moved before the night is over.
8:39 - Back-to-back Clipper picks coming up. I would make a joke that they'll screw this up but having the logo in your front office was proven to make a difference at his previous spots
8:40 - Looks like a trade in the works that will negate what I just said. SGA will be going to the Clippers and the Hornets are going to get the twelfth pick and future picks for SGA.
8:43 - Bilas makes a Von Trapp family joke that like 12 percent of the audience will get:
Miles Bridges goes twelve to the Clippers but will be heading to the Hornets. I watched him play against the Buckeyes a couple times and I was always scared of what he could do. He was a tough cover. He probably would've still been a lottery pick last year too.
8:47 - Kid Ink music playing them into commercials. I liked him before it was cool to like him.
8:50 - Jerome Robinson from Boston College is pick thirteen to the Clippers. He kind of made Boston College relevant this season, which isn't easy to do. Should be at least a decent scorer.
8:53 - Michael Porter Jr. still out there and ESPN is making sure you know that.
8:56 - The hell is going on with their audio?
8:58 - Aaron Holiday looks just like Jrue Holiday. Yeah they're brothers but damn:
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| C/o New York Post |
Michael Porter Jr. off the board as the final lottery pick at fourteen to the Nuggets. He is a risk because of the injury issues he had at Missouri. He was one of the top players coming out of high school, and if he can get and stay healthy we will look back and ask, "How the hell was he available at fourteen?!" The Nuggets have been on the outside looking in the last couple seasons. Might as well go for a player that could be a huge difference maker.
9:06 - Troy Brown Jr from Oregon goes fifteen to the Wizards. How about Oregon starting to consistently get guys in the league? I mean this guy won a title:
I think they're getting Bol Bol (Manute Bol's son) next year too. That should be fun to see.
9:12 - Ayton is on the ESPN set talking with the guys, and he really wants to play with Aaron Holiday. Will he get his wish? Oh, and Joel Embiid is lighting him up on Twitter. I didn't expect anything less. #TrustTheProcess
9:14 - Zhaire Smith from Texas Tech is the sixteenth pick to the Suns, but there's a trade and now Mikal Bridges is going to be heading to the Suns. That story was cool for about 44 minutes.
9:18 - I can't get over that Mikal Bridges won't get to play in Philly. They made a perfect pick. Both on and off the court and then they decided, nah, let's get a worse version and hope we can make him better. I personally blame Jerry Colangelo.
9:21 - Donte DiVincenzo goes seventeenth to the Bucks, or white Donte as Bomani Jones likes to call him. He introduced himself to the country by going off in the National Championship game. to the tune of 31 against Michigan. He has the shooting. He has the athletic ability. Good pick for the Bucks. That's the kind of talent they needed to add to give them more space on offense.
9:26 - Kawhi Leonard drama breakdown!!!
9:27 - Let's go live to Kawhi Leonard talking about his situation:
"......"
What? He isn't saying anything?
Oh, he's never said anything? Huh. Interesting...
9:28 - Lonnie Walker IV goes to the Spurs at the eighteenth pick. Since he's going to the Spurs we all just assume he will be good now. Oh and he already failed a drug test. At least according to Jalen and Jacoby:
And this has to be one of the best pictures from last night:
9:35 - Kevin Huerter from Maryland goes to the Hawks at nineteen. He was alright from what I saw of him. Nothing all that great.
9:42 - Josh Okogie goes twenty to the Timberwolves from Georgia Tech. Shocker that the T-Wolves wanted a defensive guy. Never change, Tibbs.
9:45- Woj is a savage by the way:
The NBA and the networks agreed to not tweet out picks before Adam Silver gets to the podium to announce the picks. As you can see from the screen grabs of the tweets, Woj had to get creative with how he worded his tweets.
9:47 - Grayson Allen goes the Jazz at pick twenty-one. Everybody loves Grayson Allen. Don't trip:
9:51 - Chandler Hutchison from Boise State will be heading to the Bulls as the twenty-second pick. Can't say I watched too much Boise State basketball this year. Chauncey compared him to Kyle Kuzma. If the Bulls are getting that they would be more than thrilled.
9:58 - Aaron Holiday goes to the Pacers at pick number twenty-three. Third Holiday brother in the NBA. LaVar can't be more envious right now, right?
Yeah we'll see about that, LaVar.
10:05 - Anfernee Simons goes to the Trail Blazers at pick twenty-four. He didn't play in college once the vampire stuff. I mean once the Rick Pitino stuff happened at Louisville. Did you guys know that Pitino thought Donovan Mitchell needed another year at school? Hahahaha.
10:12 - Mo Wagner goes to the Lakers at pick number twenty-five. He went to Michigan and was the biggest reason they made it to the National Title game. The game he played against Sister Jean, Loyola-Chicago, really stood out to me. He got it done on both ends of the floor. He's a really good shooter. A really underrated defender. He's a great stretch five for the way basketball is played today:
10:16 - I, again, don't understand what Philly was thinking with that trade. Oh you saved a little money to get LeBron. They really getting LeBron? At some point why don't you try and actually get better? Sam Hinkie isn't running the show anymore. Don't try and mimic that strategy, Brett Brown.
10:19 - Landry Shamet from Wichita State goes at pick twenty-six. Did I miss something? He's a point guard. You have Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz and T.J. McConnell. I guess if he can be a good shooter it kind of makes sense. Philly is coming away one of the biggest losers of this draft in my eyes.
10:27 - Robert Williams goes to the Celtics at pick twenty-seven. Here we go again with the Celtics drafting well. Surprised he slipped this far. I think that has more to do with the way the league is moving than with Williams himself. Defensive guy. Big shot blocker. Fits a need for the Celtics. They'll get him to improve on offense over time. He won't be asked to do much on that end of the floor because his defense will get him minutes.
10:29 - Rece that rendition of, "Warriors, come out and play." was super cringy:
10:33 - Jacob Evans from Cincy goes to the Warriors at pick twenty-eight. They might've swept the Cavs in the finals but their bench still wasn't all that great. Nice addition. The rich get richer.
10:36 - The guys roast Bobby Marks for the Brooklyn and Boston trade. He was apart of the Nets front office when they made that deal.
10:42 - Dzanan Musa goes twenty-ninth from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Can't say I know much about this guy either. Looks comfortable finishing around the rim with both hands:
10:45- Omari Spellman from Villanova goes to the Hawks to close out the first round. Third Nova player selected. Lots of Duke and Nova talent in this draft.
Hopefully Keita Bates-Diop gets picked soon. He dealt with multiple issues in college and helped lead the Buckeyes to a top ten ranking at one point. (He went to the Timberwolves)
The draft has come to a close! Man the second round goes so damn quick. I can't say I'm a fan of immediate draft grades and all that even though they happen every year, but let's just say who I think had the best and worst nights perception wise:
Best - Atlanta Hawks
Came away Young along with Huerter from Maryland and got some more future second round picks for their high second round pick.
Worst - Philadelphia 76ers
Example on why it's good to have a GM heading into the draft that has done it before.
Best - Phoenix Suns
Getting Ayton at one was great, but getting Mikal Bridges from Philly and they just swapped picks this year. They gave away a 2021 first round pick that I don't think will end up being a great pick (it is an unprotected first rounder though, which doesn't really happen often now). They also picked up a point guard from France and a guard from Colorado in the second round.
Worst - Knicks fans
I get life is hard with kazoo boy as your owner:
Get over yourselves.
Best - Dallas Mavericks
Drafted the player I think will be the best player in this draft when it's all said and done. And stole Jalen Brunson in the second round.
Worst - Orlando Magic
I liked the Bamba pick. I really did but...
THEY DIDN'T TAKE A POINT GUARD. THEIR POINT GUARDS ARE CURRENTLY TRASH BAG (DJ AUGUSTIN) AND SHELVIN MACK. GEE, THOSE ARE SOME REALLY GOOD POINT GUARDS.
IT'S A POINT GUARD LEAGUE AND WE'RE BRINGING AUGUSTIN AND MACK TO THE TABLE. THAT'S ABSOLUTELY ABYSMAL.
I'm done before I just rip the team to shreds. Let's see if they answer this:
As of now I have not.
Thanks for reading!
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