2008 NBA Draft Grades

Here's my NBA Draft Grades. Remember, I'm more of a "productive history against good competition" guy, and I don't care much for upside or athleticism except in so far as it adds to or detracts from a player's ability to produce. So some of these opinions might seem a bit skewed to many readers, but that's where I'm coming from.

Chicago Bulls: B

Rose will be a good player, but I really think they passed on a superstar in Beasley. Time will tell.

Miami Heat: A+
I was giving Riley the business the day before. Then he goes out and has a tremendous draft. All signs say Beasley will carry his awesome Win Contribution to the NBA (though he DOES look a little light for a power forward, even though his Orlando weigh-in says he's not). Then they picked up PG Mario Chalmers whom I thought was the second best point guard in the draft -- he brings offense and defense.
Minnesota Timberwolves: A
Did McHale rip Memphis or what? He got Kevin Love AND Mike Miller in exchange for a guy I hold in very light regard, OJ Mayo, and 3 other nonproducers. Outstanding. My only beef with McHale is, why did he trade Chalmers? He would have been a huge upgrade over Sebastian Telfair on both ends of the court.

Memphis Grizzlies: F

So they draft the uberproductive Kevin Love and trade him to Minnesota for the unproductive OJ Mayo and they throw in their best player Mike Miller to boot? Then they pick up the useless undersized Darrel Arthur. What are they doing? First of all, where do you play Mayo? He's too small for the 2, he'll have problems defending bigger players there, and he really won't be able to get his shot inside. But his jumper isn't good enough for him to live outside. So play him at the 1? But you've got Conley at the 1. Besides, Mayo is a turnover waiting to happen... you can't trust him with the point. Basically, if you loved the huge Win Contribution Kevin Durant's wild shooting and volume scoring provided the Sonics (remind me, how many wins did drafting him provide Seattle?), then you should love what Mayo brings to the table. Just a stupid, stupid trade.

Seattle Supersonics: C

They passed on Kevin Love for Russell Westbrook, whom I hate. Westbrook's Win Contribution last year was actually negative, and got worse as the competition got better. So he doesn't look good. Then they picked up Devon Hardin in the second round. He might be alright, though I doubt he makes the team. I think their best move of the night was getting DJ White, a guy with a lot of potential.

New York Knickerbockers: C-

I have my doubts about Gallinari. In my mind, you have to dominate Europe to project well over here. And he really didn't. But he seems like a good shooter, so maybe that will carry him in the NBA.

LA Clippers: D

What do they want with another undersized wingman like Eric Gordon? I doubt Gordon will pan out, in fact all the signs say he will not. His collegiate Win Contribution was a below average -0.029, so how can you expect him to be above average in the NBA? He looks like a wasted pick. Then they got first round hopeful C DeAndre Jordan in the second round, but that's actually where he belonged. He is raw as sushi.

Milwaukee Bucks: C

Maybe Alexander will end up being the next Bobby Jones or Tom Gugliotta. He just hasn't shown any signs of it yet. ESPN claims he's a small forward, but if so who do the Bucks play at the 4? Villanueva isn't the answer. Apparently Moute is a defensive wizard, so maybe he'll be alright, but where's he gonna play too? Just sort of an overall disappointing start for Hammond.

Charlotte Bobcats: C

I don't like DJ Augustin. His assists are too low, his turnovers too high, and he doesn't shoot it well. Kyle Weaver might be alright. He comes out of a defensive minded program at Washington State.

New Jersey Nets: A-

Brooke Lopez has a chance if he commits himself to rebounding and gets a lot stronger. I love Ryan Anderson's productivity. I think he's a steal if they can find a proper position for him. He's much better than Yi. And I also like Chris Douglas-Roberts. I had him ranked near the top of all swingmen in this draft.

Indiana Pacers: B+

I love the trade for Brandon Rush. Apparently I liked him a whole hell of a lot more than anyone else did. But what's not to like? He's a good defender, and though his numbers don't blow anyone away, when you narrow the schedule down to the toughest opponents they look very good. He was very productive in those games. Jarret Jack is a nice pickup too. He's a good defender and a decent Win Contributor. They also picked up Roy Hibbert, who I'm okay with, but Erich Doerr is very high on. I just think he tended to disappear a little, but Erich says the evidence doesn't support my claim. Anyway, good job overall by the Birdman of revamping the Pacers.

Sacramento Kings: B-

Sactown rolls the dice. I actually don't hate Jason Thompson. Great size, tremendous production... but he never played ANYONE. So you don't know how he'll handle the competition. As readers of this blog will know, I like Ewing Jr. But mainly as a free agent pickup. He's a smart player with length and rebounding ability from the 3 position. He kind of discouraged me, though, with his 2 bench reps. What was that all about? Sean Singletary really wasn't that impressive. He doesn't shoot well, and his 0.22 turnovers per possession is just unacceptable for a PG.

Portland Trailblazers: D

At first Portland's draft looked awesome. Then they traded everyone away. Could you imagine a frontline with Oden, Dorsey, and Rush? Would have been highly productive. Instead they trade for the diminutive Bayless who is hot and cold and way too small to play the 2 and inexperienced at the 1. Bayless never gets to the rim, and his stats, as mediocre as they were, were actually artificially bolstered by the college 3.

Golden State Warriors: B+

If anyone can make use of Anthony Randolph its Nellie. Golden State is the one place he might fit in his odd mix of extreme skinniness without a perimeter game just might work out. And I LOVE the pick of Richard Hendrix. Why did so many pass on him? If you consider standing reach, he's actually got excellent size for the 4, and his productivity was off the charts. Great selection by the Warriors.

Phoenix Suns: D-

I do not like this half of the Lopez twins (I'm lukewarm on the other one). He didn't produce at all. His rebound rate of 0.23 is subpar for a big man, and big men rarely improve their rebound rate when they reach the NBA. He also can't shoot and doesn't have a very efficient game... just not a fan of Robin Lopez.

Philadelphia Sixers: A

Awesome pick once again for the Sixers. Why dont teams see the value in guys like Mareese Speights? He's big, he was productive, and strong. I see no downside to him. He crashes the boards like a madman and doesn't take bad shots. He should pair nicely with Dalembert.

Washington Bullets: D

The only thing I like about JaValle McGee is his size. His awesome standing reach 0f 9-6.5" makes him technically as "tall" as Yao Ming. However, he's too light, he can't shoot, and his production was against a weak schedule was only average. I don't foresee good things for him. I did sort of like Bill Walker, although he's awfully skinny, but the Bullets traded him.

Cleveland Cavaliers: B+

I like Hickson. The only thing he lacks is experience. He produced against the good competition, though he faded a little at the end. Great pick, though, especially when the other guy people wanted them to take was the useless Kosta Koufus. They get an extra grade just for avoiding him. I also like the trade for Darnell Jackson. He will fit in well with their tough defense hustle style.

Orlando Magic: C

Courtney Lee looks alright on his face. But if you look at his production at WK's strength of schedule, he should have been much better. That's not a tremendous sign.

Utah Jazz: F

Whoever picked that stiff Kosta Koufus was getting an F from me. If you want to know why I think he is so useless, surf down to my "Overrated Prospects" post and read what I wrote there. I don't feel like wasting thoughts on this guy again.

Houston Rockets: B-

Picking up Joey Dorsey made their entire draft. I love that guy. Great Win Contributor. As for Donte Green, he's basically a tall small forward who sits outside and misses shots. I don't like him. He's 6'10 and he won't go anywhere near the paint. But I didn't like Darrel Arthur either, so the trade was basically garbage for garbage.

San Antonio Spurs: C

George Hill is intriguing. He's really small, but his college production was lights out. Of course, he played against one of the worst schedules in the country, but still he produced no matter who they put in front of him. Intriguing. I don't know how good he'll be, but he's intriguing.

New Orleans Hornets: Inc

Did they even end up with anybody? There were so goddamn many Rube Goldberg trades in this draft, it was impossible to follow.

Los Angeles Lakers: C

I almost did a profile on Crawford, but then I didn't. He was kind of on the edge of my radar, but I never quite got to him, and since I doubt he'll make the Lakers, I'm not going to now either.

Detroit Pistons: D

They had fricking DJ White. Why did they get rid of him? He was exactly the sort of bruiser the veteran Pistons need to spell them. Why?

Boston Celtics: C

I kind of like Bill Walker. But his body is mismatched with his style of play. He wants to work on the interior, but he's rail thin. Maybe a little time in the Dev League will get him where he needs to be. He should have stayed in school.