Six takeaways from draft night: Some teams sticking to the plan
NBA Draft Day 2015 opened to a flurry of wild rumors, major reports and minor moves, but as the names were called in Brooklyn on Thursday night, the action gave way to a fairly boring proceeding.
The first 14 picks coming and going without any deals. DeMarcus Cousins wasn’t traded. There was no huge move up from the Boston Celtics. And in reality, it was kinda a snoozer.
But that is not to say that no team made any interesting -- even bold -- moves. Those with an eye to moves beyond Thursday night were of particular note, and most notably is the team that held the second pick. Here are six quick takeaways from the 2015 NBA Draft. And check out our reactions as the picks happened right here.
1. The Los Angeles Lakers’ plan is clear
By passing up on Duke big man Jahlil Okafor for Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell at No. 2, the Lakers made it clear that they are going after an upper-echelon big man during free agency. In fact, the Lakers might be relying on adding a big man at this point. The idea of giving up an opportunity to select the most-polished scoring big man to enter the NBA in a few years might at first seem insane, but if the Lakers add a big-name, big man in free agency and pull this thing off, they could very easily find themselves in contention in the not-so-distant future.
Russell, who can actually play both the point and off-guard positions, will start out of the gate. It’s now all about the Lakers being able to team him up with a LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love or Cousins. And while most of the focus in recent days has been on Cousins, recent reports suggest that Aldridge is interested in joining the Lakers.
A rotation of Jordan Clarkson, Russell, Julius Randle and one of the big men listed above doesn’t sound too bad moving forward. At the very least, it’s a start.
2. The Minnesota Timberwolves are doing it right
Leading up to the draft, the only pick in the top five that didn’t have drama surrounding it was the first overall selection. Everyone knew Minnesota was going to pick up former Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns -- a move that will give the team a dominating presence inside. If Towns develops an above-average offensive game, he’s going to be a great pick down the road.
However, Minnesota’s best selection came when it picked up former Duke point guard Tyus Jones in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers -- the Eastern Conference champs acquired the Nos. 31 and 36 picks in exchange for the No. 24 pick Minnesota used to get Jones. By virtue of dealing two second-round picks, Flip Saunders and company were able to get a player that provides the team more range from the point guard position than Ricky Rubio.
Minnesota likely won’t be in position to contend for a playoff spot any time soon, but it has a solid young core to build around.
3. Sam Hinkie and Philadelphia 76ers don’t care about needs
After acquiring 6-11 Nerlens Noel in a 2013 draft-night trade and selecting 7-foot Joel Embiid at No. 3 overall in 2014, the Sixers tripled down with big man Okafor with the third pick Thursday night. The Duke product stands at 6-foot-10 and weighs about 280. If Philadelphia was going for a team of giants set to create destruction in the low post, it succeeded big time.
While Philadelphia would have definitely taken Russell if the Lakers had let him slide to three, the question now becomes whether the 76ers will even be able to form a backcourt. It remains to be seen whether Hinkie’s plan of going best player available will pan out, but the team did add a player in Okafor who boasts the best set of offensive skills from the low post in the entire draft.
4. Lottery teams just let Pat Riley and Heat steal Justise Winslow
It should be a crime to do what Riley and the Heat did on Thursday night. They practically stole one of the top all-around players to enter the draft in a couple years with the 10th pick.
Winslow, who will likely need to find a more consistent perimeter shot, excels in every other aspect of the game. At 6-foot-6 and 225, the Duke product can guard four different positions on the court. A stretch-4 if there ever was one, Winslow can also jump out and hit the intermediate shot on a consistent basis. He’s a plus-level ball-handler, has great court vision and will help Miami push the tempo. In addition to this, Winslow should be able to make an immediate impact. It really was the steal of the lottery.
5. Trades will be made
With some of the selections early on Thursday night, we will likely see veterans traded in the coming weeks. The Utah Jazz, who selected Kentucky power forward Trey Lyles at 12th overall, come to mind first. Derrick Favors could very well be on the chopping block here:
Jazz eyeing Paul Millsap, might trade Derrick Favors. http://t.co/ZYWad5rctJ pic.twitter.com/Y1aEAR7ZZR
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) June 25, 2015
6. The Aaron Rodgers of the NBA?
Not too often do you see a player that was in attendance in the green room last until the final pick of the first round. Unfortunately for former UCLA standout Kevon Looney, this is exactly what happened. Like Aaron Rodgers’ infamous plummet in the 2005 NFL Draft, where some believed he would go No. 1 overall but instead he slipped to 24, Looney had a very long and uncomfortable night with a lot of cameras and people around.
Concerns over the possibility of the 6-foot-9 power forward having to undergo hip surgery likely dropped his stock. However, like Rodgers, who has gone on to become perhaps the best quarterback in the NFL today, there is little doubt that Looney possesses the necessary skill and physicality to be a good player in the NBA. And like Rodgers, the fall at least got Looney into a potentially great situation to learn -- he was taken by the champion Golden State Warriors.
Looney, 19, needs to improve from an offensive standpoint, but he can sure play defense at such a young age. He averaged 11.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game as a freshman for the Bruins last season. Put him in there behind Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut and see how his game improves over the next season or two. It was the perfect value pick for a team that didn’t really have any needs.
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