Winners and Losers from the 2021 NBA Draft
There were a ton of surprise selections and steals in the draft
The 2021 NBA Draft concluded on Thursday night and it was truly a whole day to remember, not just a night. At around 2 or 3 PM Pacific time, both Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania had conflicting reports about the Lakers trading Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harell for another piece to compete for a title. Wojnarowski had originally reported that a deal was nearing for Buddy Hield to be sent to the Lakers for Kuzma and Harell, while Charania had reported that the Lakers were close to acquiring Russell Westbrook and were going to add Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to the deal along with Kuzma and Harell.
It turns out that Charania was right and by midway through the draft, the deal to send Westbrook to the Lakers was finalized and there was another superteam assembled in the NBA. At this point in the night, many media members and executives believed that the Warriors would package their two lottery pick selections and James Wiseman for a Ben Simmons, or a Bradley Beal, but the asking price for Simmons was even higher than what the Warriors were willing to give up for him, and Bradley Beal had informed the Wizards that even with Westbrook gone he wanted to stay in Washington and build a winner. A lot of crazy deals and draft selections were made last night, and now let’s acknowledge the winners and losers from the night.
Winner: Los Angeles Clippers
What may seem like a surprise to some is very obvious to people who followed the Clippers on draft night and the 3 selections that they ended up acquiring. First off, they traded for the 21st overall pick Keon Johnson out of Tennesee, and did not give up much for him, which was an obvious steal. Johnson set the vertical jump record at the NBA Draft Combine and has loads of upside. I had Johnson as high as 6th overall in one of my mock drafts and never falling out of the lottery in any of my mocks.
I believe that teams made a huge mistake passing on Johnson and the Clippers capitalized on their failure to recognize his talent. Secondly, the Clippers traded for the 33rd overall pick Jason Preston, who I believe has the highest basketball IQ in the draft and can become a Triple-Double machine in the NBA. He is a late bloomer obviously as he did not have any offers out of high school and attended prep school after a college scout saw his potential at one AAU tournament. He brings backcourt toughness, playmaking, and ability that the Clippers were lacking last season.
Lastly, the Clippers also traded for the 51st overall pick in the draft, Brandon Boston Jr., who I think is a top 10-15 prospect in this draft. I had Boston Jr. going 23rd in my latest mock draft and I do not know how he fell to 51st overall. Boston is a premier scorer and has a great jump shot with a 6-7 frame with extreme length. He had one bad year at Kentucky and teams fell victim to judging a very talented prospect for that. Boston has all of the tools to become a star in the NBA and he does not need to play big minutes right away for the Clippers, who will be able to get a lot out of him. In conclusion, the Clippers got 3 first-round talents, two of which are lottery talents, in one draft, which shows the brilliance of Jerry West, the best executive in the history of basketball in my opinion. West is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers.
Loser: Toronto Raptors
In Masai Ujiri we trust? That is what Raptors fans tell themselves after Ujiri has made plenty of great decisions leading the front office for the Raptors. However, this was one of the very few bad decisions Ujiri has ever made and it could cost the Raptors big time. With Kyle Lowry expected to leave in free agency and a backcourt spot needing to be filled, there was generational talent Jalen Suggs on the board, the prospect who fits the most immediate hole on the Raptors, and the prospect with the most upside and Superstar potential still on the board. But it was too good to be true as the Raptors selected Scottie Barnes with the 4th overall selection, a lengthy Point Forward who has been compared to a taller Draymond Green.
Sure, Barnes will be a great NBA player for years to come, but he won’t be Jalen Suggs and never will be. He may have a better career than Suggs just because he was drafted by a much better organization, but Suggs was heading for perennial All-Star level seasons for the Raptors and they botched the pick. The Raptors also selected Dalano Banton, the 6-9 Point Guard from Nebraska, which was a decent selection, but Brandon Boston Jr. was still on the board and they passed on him. This draft will haunt the Raptors organization for years to come as it was supposed to be so promising and ended up being a complete and utter disappointment.
Winner: Houston Rockets
The Rockets had a big night selecting Jalen Green 2nd overall, trading for Oklahoma City’s 16th overall pick to take Turkish big man Alperen Sengun, and selecting Arizona State’s Josh Christopher with the 24th overall pick. All three of these prospects have loads of potential. Since high school, Jalen Green has shown everyone his elite ability to score at all three levels while also showing elite athleticism. He will enter the NBA averaging close to 20 PPG and will be Houston’s new franchise player.
Sengun had arguably the most efficient and impressive season for an 18-year-old big man in European basketball history averaging 19.2 PPG and 9.4 RPG with a 65 percent shooting percentage from the floor. Josh Christopher was a 5-star recruit coming out of Mayfair High School but struggled to shoot the ball in his one season at ASU. Christopher still can score at three levels and has elite athleticism. If his jumper gets back to what it looked like in high school, then this will be a big-time steal of a selection.
Loser: New York Knicks
The Knicks could have left winners if they had kept their selections at #19 and #21, which were used to select Kai Jones and Keon Johnson. However, they traded both picks, Jones to the Hornets, and Johnson to the Clippers for really not much value in return.
They selected Quentin Grimes at #25 overall who I like as an NBA-ready guard but has nowhere near the potential of Kai Jones and Keon Johnson. I do not know what New York was thinking on draft night and a once-promising night turned into a very bad one really quickly for the Knicks organization who panicked and made trades that will bite them in the back.
Winner: Los Angeles Lakers
Many people have judged the Lakers getting Westbrook to compete for another title next year and set up a finally even matchup with the Brooklyn Nets (assuming the Lakers get some shooters on veteran minimums). However, I think that this is a big win. Westbrook is still the most athletic Point Guard in the league, and even though his 3PT percentage is dismal, he is still one of the best playmakers in the league and can run the pick and roll with Davis, while getting other shooters open as well on the outside.
Do I think Buddy Hield would have been a better fit? Absolutely, but he is surely not a better player and cannot do as much as Westbrook. Laker fans and NBA fans, in general, have been overcritical but we have to trust LeBron James here, who believes in Westbrook’s ability to help the Lakers win another championship and none of us know more basketball than LeBron James! James wants the playmaking pressure off of him and given to Westbrook. Now the Lakers will look to add players such as Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Rudy Gay, Wayne Ellington, and others to round out an already promising championship-contending roster.
Loser: Washington Wizards
They did not get much value for Russell Westbrook from the Lakers (Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harell, Kentavious Caldwell Pope and the 22nd overall selection in the 2021 draft). I don’t know how Harell and Kuzma are going to help this team get in the playoffs next season or even help them in the long term either. The Wizards are in NBA purgatory as they aren’t good enough to do anything even if they do make the playoffs and aren’t bad enough to get highly touted prospects in the draft. They really should have traded Bradley Beal on draft night for the Warriors’ 7th pick (Jonathan Kuminga), 14th pick (Moses Moody), and James Wiseman if the Warriors would have agreed to it.
I would have even done the trade for just the two picks and maybe a future first-rounder. Either way, the Wizards are now in a weird situation as no big-time free agents are supposed to come to D.C. and Bradley Beal by himself cannot lead a team past the first round of the NBA playoffs. They also mysteriously traded Isaiah Jackson (who the Lakers selected for Washington with the 22nd overall pick) for Aaron Holiday. I like Aaron Holiday, but why would you trade an 18-year old that was just drafted for a 24-year-old Point Guard who the Wizards do not really need? You might be thinking, well Westbrook left so they needed another Point Guard, but they could have picked up someone very cheap in free agency and kept Isaiah Jackson on the Wizards. A really odd and disappointing night for the Wizards organization.
Winner: Orlando Magic
Having Jalen Suggs fall to you at #5 is a win in of itself, but also picking up versatile Forward Franz Wagner at #8 overall makes it even better. The Magic entered the night expecting to select Scottie Barnes but ended up with arguably a top 3 talent in this draft class at #5. Now the Magic have a ton of depth in the backcourt with Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, R.J. Hampton, and Markelle Fultz.
Wagner also brings depth and versatility to the Forward position something they don’t have much of besides Jonathan Issac who is coming off of a torn ACL. Although I am not as high on Franz Wagner as most people, this was almost a perfect fit for him to grow with other young stars in Orlando.
Loser: San Antonio Spurs
I know it is usually off-limits to judge the Spurs since they are such a brilliant organization, but reaching for Joshua Primo at #12 is simply just a bad decision for one reason. They could have easily gotten a future first or second-rounder and traded back to the ’20s to get Primo, where most GMs and scouts expected Primo to be taken. Instead, they reached for Primo, who has loads of upside and is not a bad selection in the long term whatsoever.
This decision though makes the Spurs a loser of the night since they are obviously in a rebuild and another first or second-rounder could have helped tremendously. I was also stunned to see the Spurs select Joe Wieskamp who does not have much upside whatsoever. He is a fantastic shooter and has a high basketball IQ, but if you select long-term in the first round by obtaining Joshua Primo, why not go for Brandon Boston Jr. in the second round, who could not only end up being one of the best players in this draft but also fits the rebuilding process the Spurs seem to be going into.
Winner: Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks got two steals in one draft as for whatever reason Jalen Johnson fell to them with the #20 overall pick and Sharife Cooper fell to them with the #48 overall pick. The Hawks are contending for a deep playoff run again next year and they just got two prospects who could end up being stars in the long run.
Sharife Cooper has also been compared to Trae Young by many scouts and now Young can take Cooper under his wing and help with his development. This draft could not have gone better for the Atlanta Hawks.
Winner: Detroit Pistons
There is one reason why the Pistons were winners in this draft and I bet everyone can guess why. Yes, it is because they won the lottery and got Cade Cunningham who has the ability to turn this organization around and become one of the league’s best players.
The biggest prize in this draft was Cunningham and the Pistons won him and the trajectory of the organization has changed for the better. Isaiah Livers and Luka Garza were also respectable selections and both of them could become very good NBA players as well. Either way, Cunningham, Livers, and Garza join Jerami Grant, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, and Killian Hayes in the young core of the Pistons. Good job by Troy Weaver putting this young core altogether.