NBA Draft Grades: 5 Teams That Squandered Their Opportunity to Improve

While NBA teams don't lean on the draft as much as their NFL counterparts, the June selections certainly present an opportunity to grab the next cornerstone of a franchise. Five teams had an opportunity to do just that in 2012 but failed...miserably.

Perhaps the biggest winner this year was the Kentucky Wildcats. They became the first college to have players drafted back-to-back to start the draft. 

Forward Anthony Davis went first as anticipated, but Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was a marginal surprise. 

The real surprises came later in the draft, with the following five teams leading the list.

Miami Heat: C+

It is hard to fault the defending champions on their draft. But I will.

They made a great move in selecting Arnett Moultrie, who was one of the best values in the draft. He also filled one of the few needs for the Miami Heat, giving them some needed size.

Then they traded him.

They added Justin Hamilton with their new pick and will get a future first-round selection from the Philadelphia 76ers. The real value of their draft will be known when the Heat select their other player from this trade.

This could end up being a solid move, but for now they missed an opportunity to improve.

Indiana Pacers: C-

The Indiana Pacers reached the conference semifinals where they lost to the Miami Heat in a very competitive series. They seem to be a player away from becoming a competitor in the Eastern Conference.

They didn't get that person in the 2012 draft.

Needing an offensive scorer, the Pacers selected the center out of Duke, Miles Plumlee, at No. 26.

Indiana certainly needed depth with their big men, but Plumlee's basketball skills don't match up with his solid athleticism. With Arnett Moultrie and Marquis Teague still on the board, this pick was just plain bad.

The Pacers did manage to acquire guard Orlando Johnson out of UC Santa Barbara from the Sacramento Kings. 

Even though he was purchased for cash, the acquisition helps the team and softens what would have been an even worse draft grade.

Brooklyn Nets: D+

The team moving from New Jersey needed a big hit in the draft to prepare their team to hit the Big Apple.

They didn't get it. Far from it, actually.

They started in a poor spot with just the 57th pick. However, they bought picks from Portland (41) and Philadelphia (54).

Selecting foreign forwards Tornike Shengelia and Ilkan Karaman was either extremely optimistic or downright desperate. Neither is expected to debut in the U.S. any time soon.

Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor with pick 41 is a fitting pick for Brooklyn. He shows talent at times, but made a lot of really bad decisions.

They both also came up short.

Charlotte Bobcats: D

The Charlotte Bobcats have a lot of holes to fill and could have made a big trade to improve their team.

They didn't and made a surprising pick of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

The Bobcats may eventually turn the corner with their draft picks, but are clearly taking the slow approach to rebuilding. They are young and inexperienced and could have used a solid veteran in a leadership role.

It will be interesting to see how patient their fanbase is with the approach.

Cleveland Cavaliers: D

Wow...where to start?

Perhaps no team needed a bit of good news more than the Cleveland Cavaliers. Fans are still bitter over LeBron James leaving, and James leading his new team to a championship just rubbed salt into the wounds.

Coming off a 21-45 season, the Cavs have plenty of holes they could have chosen to address. 

Instead, they made the biggest reach in the draft and then bundled the 24th pick in the draft along with picks 33 and 34 to trade for the player taken with pick 17.

Guard Dion Waiters was expected to be selected very late in the first 10 picks. Going fourth was a surprise and should leave fans wondering if general manager Chris Grant made an attempt to move down in Round 1.

“We don’t care where the guys get picked as long as they are the right pick for us,” Grant said via a Yahoo.com article. “If we feel good about him, we’ll take the player.”

North Carolina center Tyler Zeller was certainly a good pickup. If not for the big injury concerns, the talented center would have been a lottery pick.

Zeller at 7' will certainly help Cleveland inside, so long as he can stay on the court. Waiters, who never started a game for the Syracuse Orangemen, will likely be starting for Cleveland. That is reflective of the issues the Cavs are facing.

Cleveland had ample opportunity to improve but failed to seize it.