2013 NBA Draft Results: Players Who Landed in Perfect Situations

The goal for many teams in the 2013 NBA draft was to select prospects with potential who fit what the franchise needed.

The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t accomplish that goal. Cleveland took Anthony Bennett with the No. 1 overall pick—surprising many—but already has a good power forward in Tristan Thompson. While Bennett could be a star someday, the Cavs didn’t draft based on need and now have a logjam.

Drafting players who fit well within the organization is essential. Failing to do so only creates more problems. Making the wrong decision at the draft can cause a team to miss the postseason for a few years.

So, which teams made the correct decisions throughout the draft and selected players who are ideal for their needs?

While there are several good candidates, these three players stand out as rookies landing in perfect situations. Whether it's because they will become team leaders right away or went to a strong contender, these players are in good shape going forward.

Complete 2013 NBA Draft Results (via Draft Express)

Pick	Team	Player	Pos.	School
1	CLE	Anthony Bennett	PF	UNLV
2	ORL	Victor Oladipo	SG	Indiana
3	WAS	Otto Porter Jr.	SF	Georgetown
4	CHA	Cody Zeller	C	Indiana
5	PHO	Alex Len	C	Maryland
6	PHI	Nerlens Noel	C	Kentucky
7	SAC	Ben McLemore	SG	Kansas
8	DET	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	SG	Georgia
9	UTA	Trey Burke	PG	Michigan
10	POR	C.J. McCollum	SG	Lehigh
11	PHI	Michael Carter-Williams	PG	Syracuse
12	OKC	Steven Adams	C	Pittsburgh
13	BOS	Kelly Olynyk	C	Gonzaga
14	MIN	Shabazz Muhammad	SF	UCLA
15	MIL	Giannis Antetokounmpo	SF	Greece
16	ATL	Lucas Nogueira	C	Brazil
17	ATL	Dennis Schroeder	PG	Germany
18	DAL	Shane Larkin	PG	Miami (FL)
19	CLE	Sergey Karasev	SF	Russia
20	CHI	Tony Snell	SG	New Mexico
21	MIN	Gorgui Dieng	C	Louisville
22	BRK	Mason Plumlee	C	Duke
23	IND	Solomon Hill	SF	Arizona
24	NYK	Tim Hardaway Jr.	SG	Michigan
25	LAC	Reggie Bullock	SF	North Carolina
26	OKC	Andre Roberson	SF	Colorado
27	SAC	Rudy Gobert	C	France
28	SAS	Livio Jean-Charles	SF	French Guiana
29	PHO	Archie Goodwin	SG	Kentucky
30	GS	Nemanja Nedovic	PG	Serbia
31	POR	Allen Crabbe	SG	California
32	OKC	Alex Abrines	SG	Spain
33	CLE	Carrick Felix	SG	Arizona State
34	HOU	Isaiah Canaan	PG	Murray State
35	WAS	Glen Rice Jr.	SF	NBA D-League
36	SAC	Ray McCallum	PG	Detroit Mercy
37	DET	Tony Mitchell	PF	North Texas
38	MIL	Nate Wolters	PG	South Dakota State
39	POR	Jeff Withey	C	Kansas
40	POR	Grant Jerrett	PF	Arizona
41	MEM	Jamaal Franklin	SG	San Diego State
42	NO	Pierre Jackson	PG	Baylor
43	MIL	Ricky Ledo	SG	Providence
44	ATL	Mike Muscala	C	Bucknell
45	POR	Marko Todorovic	PF	Montenegro
46	DEN	Erick Green	PG	Virginia Tech
47	ATL	Paul Neto	PG	Brazil
48	LAL	Ryan Kelly	PF	Duke
49	CHI	Erik Murphy	PF	Florida
50	MIA	James Ennis	SF	Long Beach State
51	ORL	Romero Osby	PF	Oklahoma
52	MIN	Lorenzo Brown	PG	NC State
53	BOS	Colton Iverson	C	Colorado State
54	PHI	Arsalan Kazemi	PF	Oregon
55	DEN	Joffrey Lauvergne	PF	France
56	DET	Peyton Siva	PG	Louisville
57	PHO	Alex Oriakhi	C	Missouri
58	SAS	Deshaun Thomas	SF	Ohio State
59	MIN	Bojan Dubljevic	PF	Montenegro
60	MEM	Janis Timma	SF	Latvia

 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Detroit Pistons

The Pistons were desperate for someone to aid their backcourt, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is going to be that guy. With Jose Calderon and Will Bynum both hitting the market as unrestricted free agents, the Pistons don’t have to worry now about re-signing either of the them.

Brandon Knight will likely start the season as the point guard, which is fine but not great. Knight averaged 13.3 points and four assists in 31.5 minutes per game this past season and hasn’t done enough to earn that role. Peyton Siva could give him a run for his money for the starting job.

Caldwell-Pope has a good chance of becoming the offensive leader as well. Detroit doesn’t have a go-to guy who can make a late shot, and he fits the bill. Caldwell-Pope is a great shooter who averaged 18.5 points this past season at Georgia. In 2012-13, he shot 43.4 percent from the floor and 37.3 percent from downtown.

While Caldwell-Pope might not be playing in many playoff games for the first few years of his career, going to Detroit is ideal for his future. He's going to be a star with Detroit without a doubt. Once the Pistons add more talent and continue to develop, they're going to be a dangerous team.

Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic

Orlando made the right decision to pass on Nerlens Noel and Alex Len at No. 2 by selecting Victor Oladipo instead. Taking an impact shooting guard was much more important than padding the frontcourt. While it isn’t ideal, Nikola Vucevic and Andrew Nicholson will be starting on the low block next season.

The team’s leading scorer from last season, Aaron Afflalo, might be out of a job. While the shooting guard started 64 games for the Magic last season, Oladipo is sure to make more of an impact. Afflalo will likely come off the bench if he isn’t dealt before the season begins.

Oladipo was a prolific player for the Indiana last season and was more than deserving of the second overall pick in the draft. While he only scored 13.6 points per night in 2012-13, he was a part of a team effort for the Hoosiers.

He didn’t need to score 20 points for Indiana to be successful. In Orlando, he probably will have to drop 20, but that shouldn't be much of an issue.

Orlando is an ideal landing spot for the former Hoosier. He needed to go to a team where he could do his own thing on offense because his squad has the best chance at winning when the ball is in his hands. He'll have a lot of work to do in the early years of his career, but he has the potential to put Orlando back on the map.

Steven Adams, Oklahoma City Thunder

While Steven Adams wasn’t one of the flashiest prospects in this year’s draft, he was one of the best centers.

There isn’t a better landing spot for Adams than in Oklahoma City. With the Thunder, he’s sure to gain the experience he needs to be a starter and is bound to see many playoff games throughout his career.

Kendrick Perkins is the current center for the Thunder, but now that they have Adams, OKC can start phasing out the veteran. He started all but four games throughout the season but only contributed 4.2 points per night.

While Adams isn’t an offensive powerhouse, he’s sure to top five points per game. You can bet on that.

OKC should start Perkins for the first month or so and have Adams come off the bench, just to give the rookie some time. By the time All-Star game rolls around, don’t be surprised if Adams is in the starting lineup.

Adams is going to be a star on the low block alongside Serge Ibaka for many seasons to come. He's going to a team with a trio of superstars who are bound to stick around for the future. There will be little to no pressure on the big man to start, and he is only going to improve with seasoning.