Post by Meathead on Dec 6, 2023 7:02:17 GMT -8
The draft still has a couple of rounds left but the pickings are slim so let's go ahead and bust out some thoughts on each team's draft!
Boston Celtics: The team looks hot! Olajuwon will be a dominant force for the first few seasons of the league and Pippen is an elite wing. I have questions about their interior outside of Hakeem, but I love Schrempf as a spark off the bench. Deebs also made sure he secured one of the few good PGs.
Grade: B+
Miami Heat: The headline will be Zo+Ewing but what eddy was able to acquire in the mid rounds should not be forgotten. Dumars will probably score 20+ PPG and all Terrell Brandon really needs is some camp love to his handles to be a dandy PG. This is a well-rounded roster that has a mix of old-heads and mid 20s players that will give eddy some flexibility past the first couple of seasons. I love this draft.
Grade: A
Brooklyn Nets: Greeme was playing chess by drafting two starting PGs early. I think he may try to trade one to balance out his roster but if not they can easily play together in the backcourt. Wallace will be an elite defending big soon enough and Pervis was a great value selection in the mid-rounds.
Grade: B
New York Knicks: I absolutely adore the Wesley pick. All he needs is +8 inside scoring IMO. I think getting those Utah picks will pay dividends as well. Gary Trent is a fun player who if he can develop some rebounding will be a solid starting option, maybe a poor man's ZBO. Pretty solid draft that was bolstered a lot by their mid-draft picks.
Grade: B
Orlando Magic: The Magic had the top pick in the draft which is hard to mess up. They went one step further and essentially traded down a few spots and picked up quite a few assets. I love Glen Rice, I wish he could play SG but even with the subpar rebounding it shouldn't be a detriment early in the league and him and AI is an insane scoring duo. Laettner and Seikaly are good offensive bigs and this team will be fun to see sim as they will light up the scoreboard. They can also easily make more moves with the picks they secured.
Grade: A-
Philadelphia 76ers: There's not much to say about their actual draft, they traded away most of their selections. They have a war chest of picks now and should easily be a bottom team. Maybe it will pay off with a generational player in the next couple of drafts. Rob gets a decent grade as he accomplished his goal.
Grade: B
Washington Wizards: This looks like the prototypical jah team. Some good players but probably not enough overall there to make a splash. I don't know of a better way to articulate it but yall can see what I'm talmbout. Penny is a very good player, Ellis will be a bucket in the paint and Robinson will be an asset on the wing with his rebounding ability. I don't have complaints about any of their picks but I'm wondering how/will he be able to add talent as they're too talented to tank but not talented enough to be a contender right now.
Grade: B-
Atlanta Hawks: What an oddly constructed team. I don't HATE any of their picks but when you add them together you have a team that I believe will really struggle with turnovers. Kemp and Vlade is fun and Walt Williams was a great find in the middle of the draft. Muggsy only gets a pass as a starting PG because the league has a dearth of solid options. Another team that's too good to tank but not good enough to be a threat, except in this case I like their players less than Washington
Grade: C
Charlotte Hornets: JO could/should be a foundational big. If Dyess has good potential he should be a great PF. This team has enough holes to be able to tank while having a great prospect to build around. Sargo just has to hope to settle in the mid lotto and maybe he jumps this first season. He traded his 98/99 1sts so it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Grade: B-
Chicago Bulls: I had to look back at the draft thread to even remember who play drafted in the first round. Kittles had a very good test and has amazing ratings as a rookie. On name value it doesn't look like much but I love the pick, if he has good potential look out. I'm not sure Shawn Bradley fits in with the rest of his draft strategy but him and Muresan in the paint is fun.
Grade: B
Cleveland Cavaliers: Antoine Walker going so early was a surprise, but maybe it shouldn't have been. The man who put the last league in a frenzy playing KVH at SG may just have this leagues SF version in Antoine Walker. It will depend on how he develops of course but he could be a very fun player! Elden Campbell was a steal in my opinion, he is a very good defensive big. Dino Radja was also another fine pick. Cassell and Christie were also solid selections. I don't really have a lot of bad things to say about what Steve did so he gets a good grade.
Grade: B+
Detroit Pistons: Juwan Howard in the first round? Ehhh..I could easily be wrong but I'm not a huge fan. I like Ratliff's upside on the defensive end but I'm not too excited about what this roster looks like, maybe they'll be bad enough to land a top 5 pick.
Grade: C+
Indiana Pacers: Ray Allen is a nice looking player! I can't say much else positive about their draft. I'm not a huge fan of the Dampier pick that early. This team should be bad but would have liked to see royal move some mid round picks for draft assets instead of drafting guys like Bryant Reeves and Bob Sura.
Grade: C
Milwaukee Bucks: Kidd will be fun to be around. Allan Houston helped lead JR to an early title in BBS2020 and looks like a bucket. Their frontcourt looks mid but Kidd isn't ready anyway. If JR can add some bigs through the draft in the next couple of seasons this will be a fun team
Grade: B-
Toronto Raptors: I can't even squeeze out a sentence about the players that are actually on their team. This team may win 5 or less games. They traded most (all?) of their early and mid selections for draft picks. If they can land the top pick and one of the teams they traded with struggles (most likely option being my team, at least in the first season) then it may all work out but that's a lot of speculation all the way around.
Grade: C-
Boston Celtics: The team looks hot! Olajuwon will be a dominant force for the first few seasons of the league and Pippen is an elite wing. I have questions about their interior outside of Hakeem, but I love Schrempf as a spark off the bench. Deebs also made sure he secured one of the few good PGs.
Grade: B+
Miami Heat: The headline will be Zo+Ewing but what eddy was able to acquire in the mid rounds should not be forgotten. Dumars will probably score 20+ PPG and all Terrell Brandon really needs is some camp love to his handles to be a dandy PG. This is a well-rounded roster that has a mix of old-heads and mid 20s players that will give eddy some flexibility past the first couple of seasons. I love this draft.
Grade: A
Brooklyn Nets: Greeme was playing chess by drafting two starting PGs early. I think he may try to trade one to balance out his roster but if not they can easily play together in the backcourt. Wallace will be an elite defending big soon enough and Pervis was a great value selection in the mid-rounds.
Grade: B
New York Knicks: I absolutely adore the Wesley pick. All he needs is +8 inside scoring IMO. I think getting those Utah picks will pay dividends as well. Gary Trent is a fun player who if he can develop some rebounding will be a solid starting option, maybe a poor man's ZBO. Pretty solid draft that was bolstered a lot by their mid-draft picks.
Grade: B
Orlando Magic: The Magic had the top pick in the draft which is hard to mess up. They went one step further and essentially traded down a few spots and picked up quite a few assets. I love Glen Rice, I wish he could play SG but even with the subpar rebounding it shouldn't be a detriment early in the league and him and AI is an insane scoring duo. Laettner and Seikaly are good offensive bigs and this team will be fun to see sim as they will light up the scoreboard. They can also easily make more moves with the picks they secured.
Grade: A-
Philadelphia 76ers: There's not much to say about their actual draft, they traded away most of their selections. They have a war chest of picks now and should easily be a bottom team. Maybe it will pay off with a generational player in the next couple of drafts. Rob gets a decent grade as he accomplished his goal.
Grade: B
Washington Wizards: This looks like the prototypical jah team. Some good players but probably not enough overall there to make a splash. I don't know of a better way to articulate it but yall can see what I'm talmbout. Penny is a very good player, Ellis will be a bucket in the paint and Robinson will be an asset on the wing with his rebounding ability. I don't have complaints about any of their picks but I'm wondering how/will he be able to add talent as they're too talented to tank but not talented enough to be a contender right now.
Grade: B-
Atlanta Hawks: What an oddly constructed team. I don't HATE any of their picks but when you add them together you have a team that I believe will really struggle with turnovers. Kemp and Vlade is fun and Walt Williams was a great find in the middle of the draft. Muggsy only gets a pass as a starting PG because the league has a dearth of solid options. Another team that's too good to tank but not good enough to be a threat, except in this case I like their players less than Washington
Grade: C
Charlotte Hornets: JO could/should be a foundational big. If Dyess has good potential he should be a great PF. This team has enough holes to be able to tank while having a great prospect to build around. Sargo just has to hope to settle in the mid lotto and maybe he jumps this first season. He traded his 98/99 1sts so it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Grade: B-
Chicago Bulls: I had to look back at the draft thread to even remember who play drafted in the first round. Kittles had a very good test and has amazing ratings as a rookie. On name value it doesn't look like much but I love the pick, if he has good potential look out. I'm not sure Shawn Bradley fits in with the rest of his draft strategy but him and Muresan in the paint is fun.
Grade: B
Cleveland Cavaliers: Antoine Walker going so early was a surprise, but maybe it shouldn't have been. The man who put the last league in a frenzy playing KVH at SG may just have this leagues SF version in Antoine Walker. It will depend on how he develops of course but he could be a very fun player! Elden Campbell was a steal in my opinion, he is a very good defensive big. Dino Radja was also another fine pick. Cassell and Christie were also solid selections. I don't really have a lot of bad things to say about what Steve did so he gets a good grade.
Grade: B+
Detroit Pistons: Juwan Howard in the first round? Ehhh..I could easily be wrong but I'm not a huge fan. I like Ratliff's upside on the defensive end but I'm not too excited about what this roster looks like, maybe they'll be bad enough to land a top 5 pick.
Grade: C+
Indiana Pacers: Ray Allen is a nice looking player! I can't say much else positive about their draft. I'm not a huge fan of the Dampier pick that early. This team should be bad but would have liked to see royal move some mid round picks for draft assets instead of drafting guys like Bryant Reeves and Bob Sura.
Grade: C
Milwaukee Bucks: Kidd will be fun to be around. Allan Houston helped lead JR to an early title in BBS2020 and looks like a bucket. Their frontcourt looks mid but Kidd isn't ready anyway. If JR can add some bigs through the draft in the next couple of seasons this will be a fun team
Grade: B-
Toronto Raptors: I can't even squeeze out a sentence about the players that are actually on their team. This team may win 5 or less games. They traded most (all?) of their early and mid selections for draft picks. If they can land the top pick and one of the teams they traded with struggles (most likely option being my team, at least in the first season) then it may all work out but that's a lot of speculation all the way around.
Grade: C-
