NBA Draft Grades 2014: Team-by-Team List of Scores and Overall Analysis

The 2014 NBA draft was headlined by Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid. They were the three premium prospects in a loaded class, and went at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, respectively.

However, there were plenty of other teams that made out well on Thursday. Due to the slew of promising players available, many first-round talents fell past the first 30 picks. Even teams who weren't fortunate enough to have any picks in Round 1 managed to land great value in the draft's latter stages.

Here is a look at grades for every team as well as further analysis regarding some of the draft's most interesting selections.

Team	Pick	Player	Position	School	Overall Grade
Cavaliers	1	Andrew Wiggins	SF	Kansas	A-
	33	Joe Harris	SG	Virginia
	45*	Dwight Powell	PF	Stanford
Bucks	2	Jabari Parker	SF	Duke	A
	31	Damien Inglis	SF	France
	36	Johnny O'Bryant III	PF	LSU
76ers	3	Joel Embiid	C	Kansas	C
	12*	Dario Saric	SF	Croatia
	32	K.J. McDaniels	SF	Clemson
	39	Jerami Grant	SF	Syracuse
	52	Vasilije Micic	PG	Serbia
	54	Nemanja Dangubic	SF	Serbia
	58*	Jordan McRae	SG	Tennessee
Magic	4	Aaron Gordon	PF	Arizona	B+
	10*	Elfrid Payton	PG	UL Lafayette
Jazz	5	Dante Exum	PG	Australia	A
	23	Rodney Hood	SF	Duke
Celtics	6	Marcus Smart	PG	Oklahoma State	A-
	17	James Young	SG	Kentucky
Lakers	7	Julius Randle	PF	Kentucky	B
	46*	Jordan Clarkson	PG	Missouri
Kings	8	Nik Stauskas	SG	Michigan	C-
Hornets	9	Noah Vonleh	PF	Indiana	A+
	26*	P.J. Hairston	SG	NBA D-League
	55	Semaj Christon	PG	Xaiver
Bulls	11*	Doug McDermott	SF	Creighton	C+
	49	Cameron Bairstow	PF	New Mexico
Timberwolves	13	Zach LaVine	PG	UCLA	D
	40	Glenn Robinson III	SF	Michigan
	53	Alessandro Gentile	G	Italy
Suns	14	T.J. Warren	SF	N.C. State	C-
	18	Tyler Ennis	PG	Syracuse
	27	Bogdan Bogdanovc	SG	Serbia
	50	Alec Brown	C	Green Bay
Hawks	15	Adreian Payne	PF	Michigan State	B
	43	Walter Taveras	C	Cape Verde
	48*	Lamar Patterson	SG	Pittsburgh
Nuggets	16*	Jusuf Nurkic	C	Bosnia-Herzegovina	A-
	19*	Gary Harris	SG	Michigan State
	41	Nikola Jokic	PF	Serbia
	56	Roy Devyn Marble	SG	Iowa
Raptors	20	Bruno Caboclo	SF	Brazil	C-
	37	DeAndre Daniels	SF	Connecticut
	59	Xavier Thames	PG	San Diego State
Thunder	21	Mitch McGary	PF	Michigan	A
	29	Josh Huestis	SF	Stanford
Grizzlies	22	Jordan Adams	SG	UCLA	B-
	35*	Jarnell Stokes	PF	Tennessee
Heat	24*	Shabazz Napier	PG	Connecticut	B
Rockets	25	Clint Capela	PF	Switzerland	A-
	42	Nick Johnson	SG	Arizona
Clippers	28	C.J. Wilcox	SG	Washington	B-
Spurs	30	Kyle Anderson	SF	UCLA	A-
Knicks	34	Cleanthony Early	PF	Wichita State	A
	51	Thanasis Antetokounmpo	SF	Greece
	57*	Louis Labeyrie	C	France
Pistons	38	Spencer Dinwiddie	PG	Colorado	B+
Nets	44*	Markel Brown	SG	Oklahoma State	B
	50*	Corey Jefferson	PF	Baylor
Pelicans	47*	Russ Smith	PG	Louisville	A-

Best Lottery Value: Noah Vonleh, PF, Charlotte Hornets (No. 9)

Not only did Charlotte swing a trade late in the first round to land P.J. Hairston, but they also nabbed Vonleh with the ninth pick. Former Creighton star Doug McDermott was reportedly a strong consideration here, per Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, but the Hornets were wise in selecting Vonleh instead.

Just one year at Indiana was all Vonleh needed to prove he was ready for the NBA. An extraordinary offensive skill set combined with a 7'4" wingspan makes Vonleh a nightmare matchup on both ends as a power forward. That's a dimension Charlotte could certainly use.

ESPN's Skip Bayless praised the pick, while Andy Katz pointed out that the Hornets didn't even bring in Vonleh before the draft to run through drills:

Although Charlotte invested last year's top pick in another Hoosier in Cody Zeller, there's no question which player offers more upside and has a higher ceiling. It's Vonleh—and it's not even close. 

The Hornets are coming off a playoff appearance and are at the dawn of a new era. Vonleh figures to be a prominent part of that. With Al Jefferson serving as the bruiser down low, Vonleh can help with spacing and use his unique physical tools to contribute right away. He could eventually develop into an All-Star.

Teams that were concerned about how raw Vonleh was will be frustrated to see him shining in Charlotte for years to come.

Most Befuddling Pick: Bruno Caboclo, SF, Toronto Raptors (No. 20)

When NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced this pick, it was met with unanimous skepticism. With such great value to be had at No. 20, the Raptors opted to go a quite unusual route.

ESPN's Jeff Goodman noted what Fran Fraschilla had to say regarding Caboclo:

If it does indeed take the relative unknown swingman from Brazil time to develop, Toronto will feel it missed out on a big opportunity to grab a more immediate contributor. Perhaps the Raptors want to clear out cap space, but landing a marquee free agent—much less re-signing point guard Kyle Lowry—is going to be difficult.

That's especially so in light of this pick. Although Toronto finished third in the East in 2013-14, its core of players is still a piece or two away from really threatening to go on a deep playoff run. From the sounds of it, Caboclo won't be a part of any such effort for a number of years.

Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders added this, suggesting Caboclo was discussed as a potential draft pick—just not so high:

This is what qualifies as a reach pick. Based on what happened last season, the team should have taken an NBA-ready role player to give them an extra spark. Instead, they await a project in Caboclo, though it is worth noting the Raptors emerged with two great prospects form the second round in point guard Xavier Thames and DeAndre Daniels.

Biggest Haul: Philadelphia 76ers

In addition to adding some solid second-rounders in K.J. McDaniels and Jerami Grant, general manager Sam Hinkie continued a fascinating rebuilding effort by landing Embiid and Dario Saric within the top 12. The draft grade they receive is only a "C" because of the uncertainty ahead for what happened at the top.

Embiid is a big question mark due to his recent foot injury, but former Kentucky star Nerlens Noel was a Sixers first-round pick last year coming off a torn ACL. Noel had a redshirt season and will now hit the hardwood as a potential elite defender. That is something Embiid can morph into, but he also has the offensive game to match.

Villanova head coach Jay Wright praised the Sixers for taking a flier on Embiid:

Philadelphia gutted last year's roster in the hopes of landing in the lottery for this draft. Then Hinkie turned around and essentially hinted that next season should offer more of the same. Another losing campaign may be too much for fans to take.

ESPN's Chad Ford criticized the Sixers' strategy, while Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated observed how long it could be before Philly gets any return on Embiid or Saric:

When thinking about what this team could be down the road, though, it's undeniably fascinating. Presuming Noel and Embiid stay healthy—why would Hinkie risk it if he thought they wouldn't be?—they would form one of the most athletic, agile and best defensive frontcourts in the game.

Pair those two with Michael Carter-Williams, along with a unique talent like Saric who can play point forward, and Philadelphia would suddenly be explosive. Then again, all of these moves could blow up in Hinkie's face. That's a real possibility, and this rebuilding effort will look comical in retrospect because of the seemingly incredulous risks the front office has taken and how the Sixers have often deferred for future assets.

The future will eventually come, so the sooner Embiid can return to the court, the quicker Philadelphia can begin its turnaround.