Post by 2 years left on Apr 30, 2020 15:46:00 GMT -8
Is Mutombo good enough to carry the Nets to the top of this division? Probably.
After five rounds every team was able to draft their starting line-up by now. While DEPTH is important, we have enough picks made already to have a good idea of how each team's draft went overall. This will only focus on those first five rounds so sorry if you added a stud at pick #159.
Boston Celtics
Joe Smith PF 25 6'10'' 225 B+ C- C C+ C+ B
Shawn Kemp PF 30 6'10'' 280 B+ C- C- C+ C+ C
Roshown McLeod SF 24 6'8'' 221 C+ C C B- C- B
Allen Iverson SG 25 6'0'' 165 A- B+ B- A- C- B
Mike Bibby PG 22 6'2'' 190 C B B- B D B
I'd be lying if I said I was not a bit confused by the Celtics draft strategy. They went with Iverson with their first pick who lit it up in the test sim with 30 ppg on 50% shooting. A very solid pick. What happened with the rest of the draft? With such a good player in his prime you would think they'd try to surround him with talent that can help him make a run now. Bibby is a decent player but is nothing special as a PG. They drafted two bigs but neither one plays any defense or rebounds. I do not even know what to say about the McLeod pick. They did not trade any future firsts but Iverson is just too good to properly tank. This just looks like a team trapped in the middle to me that needed to pick a direction.
Grade: D
Miami Heat
Maurice Taylor PF 24 6'9'' 260 A- C D+ C C C
Kenny Thomas SF 23 6'8'' 260 B- C+ C- B C+ B
Mike Miller SF 20 6'8'' 218 C+ A- C+ C C B
Ricky Davis SG 21 6'7'' 197 B B C- C C- B
Stephon Marbury PG 23 6'2'' 180 B B A- C C- B
The Heat were one of the few teams to gamble it all before the creation draft order was announced. It did not go too well for them and they traded sixth overall a bit below its true value. They made the decision to go young at that point and I think they did a solid job at it. Marbury is a player that will draw very different opinions depending on who you ask, but he is a B B scoring PG and only 23 years old. Can he be a franchise player? Maybe. If he receives all his camps he will at the very least be a good #2 or #3 on a contending team. I also like the Ricky Davis pick. Some will question going with all poor defenders on the wing but I personally do not care at all if they have C defense. I'm not sure Miller is a starting SF long-term considering the position rules in this league but they already have a solid backup plan if Ricky doesn't pan out at SG. Kenny is whatever. Mo Taylor is interesting but just a backup. Should be easy to tank with no bigs and pretty sure they have a few extra firsts to play with on top of their own. Solid draft after a bad start.
Grade: B
New Jersey Nets
Dikembe Mutombo C 34 7'2'' 261 B- C- D+ A A C
Dale Davis C 31 6'11'' 230 C+ C C- B+ B+ D
Ben Wallace C 26 6'9'' 240 C+ F D- A A- B
Horace Grant PF 35 6'10'' 245 B- C C+ A- B D
Glen Rice SF 33 6'8'' 220 C+ A C C C C
James Posey SF 23 6'8'' 215 C B+ C B C B
Doug Christie SG 30 6'6'' 205 C B+ C A C- D
Charlie Ward PG 30 6'2'' 190 C B+ C+ A- D D
Lindsey Hunter PG 29 6'2'' 195 C B C A- D- D
My early favorite for this division is the Nets. I touched on not loving their options at SG in the roundtable but I understand why they picked them. The defensive minded bigs started to slide in the draft and they pounced on Wallace who is good and also only 26. Not sure how many years they will get out of Mutombo but as my biggest draft regret I clearly love the pick. Glen Rice is a very good scorer for the system they will run and the Charlie Ward pick sent me scrambling to find a new PG to pick. I agree that he fits this team better than a Gary Payton would have. With eight picks already made through five rounds it is clear this will be one of the deeper teams in the league. Not a big fan of Christie but we will see if they can manage not having another scorer at guard. Coming away with a top team on paper after no top 20 picks is a job well done.
Grade: A
New York Knicks
Arvydas Sabonis C 35 7'3'' 292 B- B- B- B B D
Larry Johnson PF 31 6'7'' 235 B+ B- C C B+ C
Charles Oakley PF 36 6'9'' 245 B C- C A- B D
Glenn Robinson SF 27 6'7'' 230 B B C- C+ C C
Michael Jordan SG 37 6'6'' 195 B+ B+ A- A+ C B
Bonzi Wells SG 24 6'5'' 210 B+ C C B+ C+ C
Jason Kidd PG 27 6'4'' 212 B- B- A A C+ B
While the Knicks have gotten a lot of love from around the league, I do question how they handled their frontcourt. Obviously this roster as constructed has a two year window at most. They could very easily lose both Jordan and Sabonis after only one season but I do think at least one will stick around. In a league without many top PGs I really like the Kidd pick. He needs his camps when it comes to scoring to be a complete player and the Knicks seem to already be working on that. Michael Jordan is very good, really going out on a limb there I know. I thought Larry was originally drafted to play SF but it seems the plan is to keep him at PF. Big Dog is a very efficient scorer so it may end up being the right move. The Sabonis pick was okay, just not a big fan of him as the only defensive big. Oakley doesn't block and is an average rebounder so not loving that pick. They may love drafting old guys a little too much! After dealing away Tracy McGrady for peanuts I do give them credit for still trying to win and they did a solid job. Still, would prefer a better frontcourt with a title or bust team.
Grade: B+
Orlando Magic
Antoine Walker PF 24 6'9'' 245 B+ C+ B- C B- B
Well. They drafted Antoine who may actually have a future here as a SF. Not sure he can be molded into a star there but he should be a solid player and is only 24. They traded the rest of their picks for future firsts including three from me! Those picks look a little better now than they did when they traded for them but this team is all-in on the tank for the first few seasons. Having one starter likely locked up is not a terrible start. Just not much to actually grade here.
Grade: B
Philadelphia 76ers
Erick Dampier C 6'11'' 265 26 C+ C- D B B C
Antawn Jamison PF 24 6'9'' 223 A- C+ C- C C+ B
Jamal Mashburn SF 27 6'8'' 241 B B+ C+ C+ C C
Kerry Kittles SG 26 6'5'' 180 C B+ C B C- B
Nick Van Exel PG 28 6'1'' 190 C+ B B C C C
I'm not sure about the 76ers. They drafted to be competitive now while still staying somewhat young. Antawn clearly only has a future at SF so not sure what they are going to do with the rest of their frontcourt. Mashburn is a good player and should play well at SG even if the plan does not look to be that currently. Nick Van Exel is just a dime a dozen PG, Kerry Kittle is just a dime a dozen SG. Solid picks but nothing too exciting. Clearly they will be good enough to be a playoff team but this is another team where I wish they would have fully committed to trying to win earlier on and added more picks in the first few rounds. As it stands now, they look like a low seed playoff team without a clear way out. I am a big fan of their first two picks though so not a bad draft. Just could have been better.
Grade: C+
Washington Wizards
Brad Miller C 24 7'0'' 261 B- C- B- C+ B- B
Stromile Swift PF 20 6'9'' 225 B- D+ C C+ C+ A
Predrag Stojakovic SF 23 6'9'' 229 C+ A- C- C+ C B
Wally Szczerbiak SF 23 6'7'' 243 B- B C C D+ C
Michael Redd SG 21 6'6'' 215 C B+ C C C- A
Jason Terry PG 23 6'2'' 172 C+ B+ C C+ D+ B
Just like Miami the Wizards drafted young all the way but they do not have a possible star on their roster. There is not enough time to camp all of these decent but not great prospects and TC will not treat them all kindly. Would have preferred that they just focused on targeting two or three guys. The argument the other way is one of these guys has to end up a solid starter, right? More shots at one is good! I do not agree with that mindset. At least find one guy you feel confident in then take some shots on flawed players. I do like Peja, but his rebounding makes me question his future as a SF. Redd may just be too raw with the C inside. Terry is okay, but just a PG. I also am worried about his handling. Miller and Stromile need a lot of work to be starters. Wally is just bad. After looking at their trades and seeing they did not add any future firsts I was very surprised after looking at this roster. They are betting on a few years of top five picks. Not great, not terrible.
Grade: C
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65552195/tyler_parker_5_guys_kings.0.jpg)
shit