We are a tad bit late to the party because Sean and I had
our own partying to do in Miami, celebrating a friend’s wedding (and embarrassing his South Florida friends on the court). That being said, we have a lot to share about
the NBA Draft. Be aware that Sean is extremely upset about Russell being
swooped by the Lakers, also I am not too pleased with the Celtics' decisions. Our
biggest takeaway from the draft, however, was a joint bandwagon enrollment for
Renegade sports. We have fallen in love with the Minnesota Timberwolves. We
will explain that and many more topics this week in a few pieces we have
planned along with our very first podcast that we expect to have up by the end
of the week. Until then, here are our draft grades.
Atlanta Hawks
Picks: Marcus Eriksson (50th), Dimitrios
Agravanis (59th)
Grade: D. Traded away the 15th pick Kelly Oubre
who has as much potential as any wing player in this draft and would’ve been a
great fit. Plus, "Oubre" is fun to say so that only hurts them in the long run.
Boston Celtics (JK’s Team)
Picks: Terry Rozier (16th), RJ Hunter (28th),
Jordan Mickey (33rd), Marcus Thornton (45th)
Grade: C. More guards to a team full of guards. Hunter could
end up being a steal in the long run and the Mickey pick addresses need down low but we whiffed on getting Jahlil Okafor.
Brooklyn Nets
Picks: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (23rd), Chris
McCullough (29th)
Grade: B+. They needed everything. Hollis-Jefferson is a
good defender and adds energy, McCullough has a great deal of potential in this
league as a stretch 4.
Charlotte Hornets
Picks: Frank the Tank (9th), Juan Vaulet (39th)
Grade: B+. Kaminsky can be a great addition to Jefferson in the
post. We added a plus to their grade because JK bought a Hornets shirt this weekend for the low.
Chicago Bulls
Picks: Bobby Portis (22nd)
Grade: B+. He can contribute right away for a team and plays the Thibodeau, uh, Bulls way.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Picks: Cedi Osman (31st), Hakeem Christmans (36th),
Sir’Dominic Pointer (53rd)
Grade: C. Couldn’t add any real scoring which is what they needed most, should be making moves in free agency to make up for it.
Dallas Mavericks
Picks: Justin Anderson (21st), Satnam Singh
Bhamara (52nd)
Grade: B. We really like Anderson and he should have a great
career in the league, they will be another major player in free agency. Who will play
point guard though?
Denver Nuggets
Picks: Emmanuel Mudiay (7th), Nikola Radicevic
(57th)
Grade: A-. Mudiay could be a superstar and was a steal at 7.
Bye bye Ty Lawson?
Detroit Pistons
Picks: Stanley Johnson (8th), Darrun Hilliard,
(38th)
Grade: D. Passed on Winslow and a huge reach on Hilliard, for
a team that seems to pick in the middle of the lottery every year.
Golden State Warriors
Picks: Kevon Looney (30th)
Grade: A+. Another guy with a lot of potential that will
have time to develop in one of the best cultures the league has to offer. Warriors can do no wrong.
Houston Rockets
Picks: Sam Dekker (18th), Montrezl Harrell (32nd)
Grade: B+. Already had a lot of wing players and big-men, but did
get quality players. Beverly will likely be gone.
 |
| The day after the draft, Dekker was spotted (by his mom) mowing his parents lawn. |
Indiana Pacers
Picks: Myles Turner (11th), Joseph Young (33rd)
Grade: B-. Turner has a great deal of potential. We love the Young pick because he will add scoring to a boring Pacers team.
Los Angeles Clippers
Picks: Branden Dawson (56th)
Grade: K. Whatever.
Los Angeles Lakers
Picks: D’Angelo Russell :( (2nd), Larry Nance, Jr. (26th), Anthony Brown (34th)
Grade: A. Listening to Drake thinking of what could have
been.
Memphis Grizzlies
Picks: Jarrell Martin (25th)
Grade: B-. Cool.
Miami Heat
Picks: Justise Winslow (10th), Josh Richardson
(40th)
Grade: A+. Steal of the draft, we actually kind of like the
Heat now. I see ya Pat Riley.
Milwaukee Bucks
Picks: Rashad Vaughn (17th)
Grade: B+. Adds shooting to a team that desperately needs
it, nice complement to Sean’s “boi” the Greak Freak (which might be offensive).
Minnesota Timberwolves (Renegade Sports affiliated)
Picks: Karl-Anthony Towns (1st), Tyus Jones (24th)
Grade: A+. A monumental move by the fighting "Garnetts" who
have now stolen our hearts and become the Renegade Sports’ team of the NBA. We
love Jones and think he is heavily underrated and the lineup of Jones, Lavine,
Wiggins, Towns AND Dieng leaves us anxious for the Summer League. Clear eyes, full
hearts, can’t lose.
New Orleans Pelicans
Picks: None whatsoever.
Grade: l:). Anthony Davis has one eyebrow.
Grade: l:). Anthony Davis has one eyebrow.
New York Knicks
Picks: Kristaps Porzingis (4th), Jerian Grant (19th),
Guillermo Hernan-Gomez (35th)
Grade:B+/D. Only time will tell but this could work out for
Phylis Jackson and the crying Knicks fans. A moment of silence for the
snapchatting kid that was crying on national television. Everything blew up in
this kids face. Not only did his 7 snapchat friends find out he’s emotionally
unstable, but ESPN was relentless in showing the poor kid all day, Friday.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Picks: Cameron Payne (14th), Dakari Johnson
(48th)
Grade: A. The duo will be a great addition to the Russell
Westbrook watch party. It will also be interesting to see how their “fashion”
careers take off in OKC under Westbrook’s wing.
Orlando Magic
Picks: Mario Hezonja (5th), Tyler Harvey (51st)
Grade: A. Added shooting and effort in Hezonja, Harvey
should give them a spark off the bench.
Philadelphia 76ers (Sean’s Team)
Picks: Jahlil Okafor (3rd), Richaun Holmes (37th),
Arturas Gudaitis (47th), JP Tokoto (58th), Luka Mitrovic
(60th)
Grade: D+. They drafted well but not at all for their needs.
They are destined to have the worst three-point shooting team in league history
next year but Sean is staying true to his declaration of fandom.
Phoenix Suns
Picks: Devin Booker (13th), Andrew Harrison (44th)
Grade: B+. Bledsoe and/or Knight are likely departing soon
and Booker should excel in an offensive-driven system. Harrison will likely be
a better NBA player than his underachieving-self in college.
Portland Trailblazers
Picks: Pat Connaughton (41st)
Grade: B. They acquired Mason Plumlee by trading their first
pick away which helps their grade, we are slightly upset that Mr. Connaughton did not somehow end up on
the Celtics to become the next generation’s Scalabrine.
Sacramento Kings
Picks: Willie Cauley-Stein (6th)
Grade: C+. Could compliment Cousins if he stays but they
probably should have helped him out more by adding another scorer.
San Antonio Spurs
Picks: Nikola Miltinov (26th), Cady Lalanne (55)
Grade: A. We don’t really know anything about these players
and we don’t really need to because in Pop we trust.
Toronto Raptors
Picks: Delon Wright (20), Norman Powell (46)
Grade: B+. Wright will contribute on day one, Powell could
be a sleeper.
Utah Jazz
Picks: Trey Lyles (12), Olivier Hanlan (42), Daniel Diez
(54)
Grade: A-. Lyles is a different player than Favors and gives
them a great stretch four option, Hanlan can stroke it. Other dude’s
European so we’ll see. Jazz should be a sleeper in the West this year.
Washington Wizards
Picks: Kelly Oubre (15), Aaron White (49)
Grade: B+. Oubre will have time to develop and if Pierce
comes back it could be a huge help to Oubre. White is a four year college
player, we’ll be looking to see if he and Gortat can strike up a friendship.
Sean’s 76ers fandom update is coming soon along with my piece on the Celtics and our joint endorsement/closer look into the young Timberwolves. Feel free to comment and tell us
how smart and awesome we are. If you don’t have anything nice to say you can
comment here, here, or here.
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