2010 NBA Draft Results: Who Were the Big Winners and Losers?

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It was not the frenetic "deal-apalooza" that many folks expected it to be.

The deals were much more low-key than we might have hoped.

The top five picks were almost exactly as most expected them to be.

For all the expectations and hype ahead of the 2010 NBA Draft, Thursday night was boring in comparison to the scenarios that could have played out.

All that said, there were definitive winners and losers when everyone left Radio City Music Hall after midnight.

Time for a little postmortem.

Winner: Kevin Seraphin

The Frenchman was making a late run at the first round by most expectations, but was most likely to land in the mid to late 20s.

Then the Bulls and Wizards made a deal that put the Wizards at No. 17. Simultaneously, the buzz in the room for Seraphin was high.

Now, Seraphin gets mid-first round money and a chance to start alongside John Wall and Gilbert Arenas.

Pretty good night.

Loser: Gilbert Arenas

John Wall had been a lock for the No. 1 pick for three months, but it's almost as if it never occurred to anyone before Thursday night that Wall and Arenas might not be a good fit together.

Then, the Wizards made a deal for Kirk Hinrich.

Why would they take $9 million on with Kirk Hinrich—a guy accustomed to 30 minutes a night in Chicago—if you're going to keep Arenas?

Maybe a deal to Orlando wouldn't be the worst thing, but there's a little stink of we've-hit-the-ceiling in Magic Land.

Winner: Greivis Vasquez

He kept his head down, went to every workout, stayed away from crazy statements in the media and just let the draft come to him.

It took a while, but by the beginning of this week, most draft experts realized that after John Wall, Vasquez was the next best true point guard in the draft.

Memphis could be an intriguing place to be. The Grizzlies aren't in love with Mike Conley, so he'll get a chance to earn minutes from his first day in camp.

Loser: Kirk Hinrich

Maybe you needed a fresh start. But do you really want it in Washington?

Hinrich just went from a team that is likely to land LeBron James and go to the NBA Finals next year to a franchise in a constant state of mediocrity.

Here's your seat on the bench, Mr. Hinrich. Even if Arenas is sent packing, Jameer Nelson is the guy rumored to be coming back.

Winner: Sacramento Kings

You can't call them the Queens anymore.

They stuck with their pick and grabbed DeMarcus Cousins, a guy with off-the-charts upside that could have been the No. 1 pick if there weren't so many concerns about his maturity.

He came a long way in his one year at Kentucky. It's a great chance to take. Then SacTown landed Hassan Whiteside at No. 33, a center who was getting lottery buzz as late as Tuesday.

The result is Tyreke Evans and a physical imposing team heading into 2010.

Loser: Minnesota Timberwolves

We all love Wesley Johnson. I think he has the potential to be the biggest star of this draft in five years.

But seriously, what were the Wolves doing?

After Johnson, they made a deal to get another small forward (Martell Webster) and two more small forwards (Lazar Hayward at No. 30 and Nemanja Bjelica at No. 35).

It's like a fantasy draft where you just take all the closers hoping someone will need saves and give you Albert Pujols.

Did not get it.

Winner: Los Angeles Clippers

We're still waiting for them to make a breakthrough, but the groundwork has been laid.

This is the second year in a row that the Clips had a great draft.

First they took a shot on a guy with sleeper big upside in Al-Farouq Aminu. Then they traded for another upside guard in Eric Bledsoe (pictured).

Finally, they fell into Willie Warren, a guy that ESPN's Chad Ford said had the single biggest draft stock free-fall since he's been evaluating talent.

Warren is familiar with Blake Griffin and looked his best playing alongside Griffin. It's a risky pick, but at No. 54, you got a guy that was a Top 10 guy last November.

Even if the Clippers don't sneak in and land LeBron, they are set up very nicely for a five-year run at a title.

Loser: Golden State Warriors

This is a franchise that usually has no clue what they're doing, but you drafted a dude who sounds like Pig Latin with a lottery pick?

Ekpe Udoh from Baylor is a question mark in a basketball jersey. He's 23 and should be looking as good as he did against 19-year-olds. How will he look against men?

The Warriors are now officially loaded with skinny athletic forwards with Brandan Wright and Anthony Randolph.

Good luck with that.

Winner: Al-Farouq Aminu's glasses

It was like a pimped out Urkel look.

At first glance, I did a double take. The more I looked, the more I said, "Yeah, that's funky fresh."

No, I actually used those words. I grew up in Maine, the home of street cred.

Loser: Wesley Johnson's slacks

Dude, come on.

Maybe it was the yellow shirt and the sailor suit blazer with all the gold buttons.

Man, I felt dizzy after seeing those pants. They look left over from an MC Hammer video.

Winner: Gordon Hayward

Folks have said you look like you're 14, so what do you do?

You go out and get the Justin Bieber hairdo. Way to embrace the hype.

Dude landed in the top 10. And he has a ridiculously hot girlfriend, who was the talk of the draft.

Gordon Hayward

You fell into the trap.

The Jazz just took the latest white kid that can shoot...with a lottery pick.

Wow, that will keep Carlos Boozer in town.

Winner: Kevin Pritchard

How is it possible for a guy that got fired an hour before the draft to be a winner?

The outgoing Portland GM not only stayed on the job through the draft, but put together a great night for his douche bag ex-boss.

Loser: Paul Allen

Kevin Pritchard set you up with a good night that you didn't deserve.

It's hard enough to attract talent to Portland. But throwing Pritchard under the bus for the Greg Oden ordeal and letting him go in the classless way that Allen did, that resonated around the league last night.

Nobody wants to work for a dude that treats his employees that way.

Winner: Paul George

The Fresno State forward catapulted to the No. 10 pick Thursday, a feat that few saw as possible.

George is an athletic Two guard that at his best draws comparisons to Joe Johnson. But seriously, he had two years to shine at Fresno State and never really did.

Larry Bird has hinted that this might be his swan song in Indiana.

Well, he went out fearless. George was not the safe pick here, but he could be the sleeper of the draft.

Loser: Scottie Reynolds

Very strange why the buzz was never that high on the Villanova guard.

No one expected Reynolds to be a first-round pick. But in being left off the board, he became the first AP All-American since 1976 not to be drafted.

Whoa, dude. Rough night.

Winner: The New Orleans Hornets

They went from a pre-draft mess that was supposedly mandated to clear out Chris Paul to a draft-night winner.

The Hornets landed two high-upside forwards in Craig Brackins (pictured) and Quincy Pondexter.

Plus, they dumped Morris Peterson and his $6.6 million salary—a guy that was an overpaid accessory.

And oh yeah, they held on to Paul.

Loser: Darren Collison

The Hornets backup guard was one of the most talked-about, pre-draft commodities in the league.

Collison was either going to get sprung from New Orleans where he'll be a backup to Paul forever or become the man at point with Paul shipped out.

Neither happened.

Winner: Ryan Reid and Landry Fields

Reid, (pictured) a Florida State guy, wasn't even on the radar for the draft. But he got drafted at No. 57 and is being lauded as an All-NBA Defensive Team nominee before he ever plays a game in the league.

Stanford product Fields wasn't even on the Top 100 prospects list of guys like Ford. He wasn't invited to any of the draft showcases and yet ends up being taken by the Knicks at No. 39.

Wow. Bank that money, guy. That's an early retirement fund after they realize you suck.