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So, I’m looking at the NBA Draft’s Winners and Losers. The Thunder, once again, won, and teams like the Hawks and Pacers lost again, as usual.
Winners
Oklahoma City Thunder – Chet Holmgren at No. 2. Enough said. They also got Ousmane Dieng at No. 11 and Jalen Williams at No. 12. And then they also got another Jaylin Williams at 34. The Thunder got the safest pick in this draft (Holmgren) and I can’t wait to see him play alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Aleksej Pokusevski and others. Add in Williams and Williams, who are sure to cause a ton of confusion in fantasy drafts, especially of the dynasty variety, and the OKC tank train will continue to roll forward. They’ll be shooting for Victor Wembanyama a year from now and then the tank will be complete. And with all the aforementioned studs, along with Darius Bazley, Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Roby and Tre Mann, the Thunder are going to be a monster for years to come. They made no mistakes tonight. Just look for guys to be shut down midway of the season in fantasy again this year, which is a buzzkill.
Houston Rockets – Jabari Smith falls to Houston at No. 3, which is a nice win for the Rockets. They’ve got a center in Alperen Sengun, they’ve got a borderline point guard at Kevin Porter Jr., they’ve got a stellar SG with Jalen Green and Jae’Sean Tate takes a big hit with the addition of Smith. I like it. The Rockets have one of the most exciting young lineups in the league and they’re also still a mess. Perfect. They also added Tari Eason and TyTy Washington, who won’t make an immediate impact, but could be studs down the road. Eric Gordon seems as good as gone.
Detroit Pistons – The Pistons added Jaden Ivey to their guard stable but I think he and Cade Cunningham can play together. Ivey looks like a steal at No. 5 to me. The Pistons also landed Jalen Duren, who they really wanted, and he’s going to be a great big man to pair with all those guards running around in Detroit. Kemba Walker will never play a game in Detroit and if they can land Deandre Ayton or Miles Bridges, the rebuild is over.
Philadelphia 76ers – They got rid of Danny Green and picked up De’Anthony Melton. I love this move, although, I’m not sure how they’re going to work…