The 2016 draft class may have been relatively thin on players with superstar-potential, but that didn’t mean draft night didn’t deliver. Here’s a recap of some of biggest winners and losers from Thursday night:
Winner:Jamal Murray
The Pan-Am hero and Kitchener, ON native fell further than many would’ve thought, selected seventh overall by the Denver Nuggets, but we’re likely going to look back on this and be reminded that everything happens for a reason.
Murray made sense at No. 6 to New Orleans, but the Pelicans opted for another shooting guard, Buddy Hield, instead. I believe that’ll prove to be a big mistake on the part of the Pels. Murray should be able to be an effective scorer right away in the NBA and his excellent make-up suggests he’s a high-character guy who can make an impact on and off the court.
Questions about his footwork and a slower first-step than many two-guards in the NBA caused his stock to drop slightly in the days leading up to the draft, but Murray is a great outside shooter who, unlike Hield, is particularly adept at creating shots off the dribble, something he’ll have to do at the next level.
In Denver, he lands on a team that desperately needs perimeter scoring. He’s an exciting fit on a young team suddenly rich with intriguing prospects, and should find an opportunity to carve a meaningful role right away.
I liked this whole draft for Denver, and thought they won the night. Aside from Murray, their two other first-rounders— Juan Hernangomez and Malik Beasley— are two of the better shooters in the class and, like Murray, are NBA-ready prospects with bright futures.
Winner: The Toronto Raptors.
First, some perspective: The Raptors won their division for the third straight year—the only NBA team who can make that claim—won a record-56 games last season, and made a deep playoff run, finishing two wins shy of reaching the NBA Finals. And they were picking in the top ten of the draft. Almost regardless of who the team selected with their ninth pick, they’d have been in a favourable position all things considered.
But they enter the winner’s circle because the front office and Masai Ujiri happened to have made a very sound selection in Austrian-born Utah sophomore Jakob Poeltl.
Yes, Ujiri could have rolled the dice on a riskier prospect who may have more long-term upside, but with a need for a big body and a less-than-stellar power forward crop available once Marquese Chriss went off the board at No.8 (there’s a reason guys like Ellenson, Labissiere and Davis fell way below where most mocks had them going), he’d have been taking a long-term flier on a player who might never play in the NBA—something he’d have been able to do with the Raps’ No. 27 pick.
Instead, the Raps went with Poeltl, a legit 7-footer with a strong arsenal of post-moves on offense and should be able to help protect the rim at the next level. He should vault Lucas Nogeuira in the Raptors’ depth chart and backup up Jonas Valanciunas next season (and beyond). It may not have been the flashiest pick available, and certainly didn’t create a buzz (good or bad) in the way that the next player off the board, Thon Maker, did. But the priority is the present, and that’s where Poeltl stands to make a difference in a way those others can’t. Also worth noting, he’s just 20 years old, hardly a finished product.
To find out more about the Raptors’ top selection click here.
The Raptors’ second pick, Pascal Siakam is another sound selection at 27. Again, there were guys like Labissiere and Davis remaining on the board, but Ujiri has had Siakam, a Cameroon-native who participated in Basketball Without Borders before enrolling at New Mexico State, on his radar for years. Click here to find out more about Siakam, a tough, physical, athletic prospect who’ll almost certainly start the year with the Raptors905 next season, and projects to be a disruptor on both ends of the floor.
Loser: The Sacramento Kings, of course.
The NBA’s preeminent laughing stock had to work extra hard to mess this one up. Frankly, it’s really hard to establish just what GM Vlade Divac was thinking here. Marquese Chriss, arguably the highest-upside prospect save for Ben Simmons, inexplicably fell into their laps at No.8. So what does Vlade do? Trades down five spots for the rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic (no, not the Nets’ shooter) and selects a Greek centre whom everyone had pegged as a second rounder with the 13th overall pick. Hey, what say you, DeMarcus Cousins?
Winner: Kevin Durant/Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder somehow plucked Victor Oladipo (and No. 11 pick Domantas Sabonis) from the Orlando Magic in exchange for Serge Ibaka last night. The move, you’d think, should almost certainly signal a return to OKC for free agent superstar Kevin Durant; If winning is his priority (and presuming he’d rather beat the Warriors than join them), no team in the West now gives him a better shot at hoisting the trophy than the one that drafted him).
Ibaka is decidedly on or very near the declining phase of his career (drops in scoring, rebounding, blocks in each of the past three seasons), while the opposite could be said of Oladipo, who always seemed like the only real winner on a dysfunctional Magic team.
The Thunder now boast the NBA’s fastest and most exciting backcourt (Westbrook and Oladipo), an all-time great small forward (Durant, presumably), a solid role player at the four (Sabonis) and a pair of young, complimentary centres (Steven Adams/Enes Kanter). That’s a bona fide championship contender, maybe even a favourite to emerge out of the West.
Loser:The Orlando Magic
The loss of Oladipo leaves a major gap in an already deficient backcourt and it’s unclear exactly what role Ibaka stands to play on a rebuilding team that already has solid talent at both frontcourt positions (Aaron Gordon and borderline all-star Nik Vucevic). Frank Vogel is obviously a defensive-minded coach, and that’s clearly how Ibaka earns his keep, but this team certaintly didn’t get better after draft night.
Couple this trade with the Tobias Harris giveaway at the trade deadline, and it must be a frustrating time to be a Magic fan these days.
Winner: Phoenix Suns
A team devoid of talent at power forward managed to snag the two best players at the position in the draft. Chriss and Dragan Bender may have different NBA timelines (Chriss is much more of a long-term play), but both are terrific assets for Phoenix. Great draft night haul.
Loser:Boston Celtics
Save for Jaylen Brown (who I think will be solid) the Celtics opted for mostly high-risk/high-reward talent with their bounty of picks (originally with eight in this draft). It may prove worthwhile in the long-run, but on a team with a real shot of contending in the East, their priority was to get better now. While they reportedly tried their best, engaged in trade talks all night with the Chicago Bulls to land all-star Jimmy Butler, the Celts came up short (though in fairness, the Bulls’ reported asking price was: all of Boston’s first rounders this year, the Nets first-rounder next year, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, and Jae Crowder. In other words: steep).
Winner: Kris Dunn & the Timberwolves
His new coach, Tom Thibodeau would’ve preferred Jimmy Butler, who he coached in Chicago and tried to acquire on draft night. But Dunn, a fierce defender and terrific passer, is a mighty fine consolation prize for the Minnesota Timberwolves and should be a major part of their roster core for the foreseeable future. Adding Dunn to a group that already includes superstar-in-waiting Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Zach LaVine not only makes the ‘Wolves a must-watch team on LeaguePass, but also lays the foundation for a team that promises to be a real contender down the line.