NBA Draft 2015: List of Round 1 Picks, Grades and Analysis
The 2015 NBA draft is in the books, and what a doozie it was. We didn't see any blockbuster trades after a week full of rumors. However, the draft itself provided all the excitement we needed. The Minnesota Timberwolves surprised nobody by going with Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns at No. 1, followed by Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell and Duke's Jahlil Okafor going to the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers, respectively.
As always, there were picks that drew accepting nods of the head, and others that made fans throw their hands up in disbelief. No moment was more chilling than when the hometown New York Knicks crowd booed violently after commissioner Adam Silver announced the Kristaps Porzingis selection at No. 4.
Of course, we cannot predict the future with these prospects. What we can do is provide live grades and instant analysis for each of the biggest takeaways from draft day.
| Pick | Team | Selection | Grade |
| 1 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Karl-Anthony Towns, C, Kentucky | A+ |
| 2 | Los Angeles Lakers | D'Angelo Russell, PG, Ohio State | A- |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke | B+ |
| 4 | New York Knicks | Kristaps Porzingis, PF, Latvia | A |
| 5 | Orlando Magic | Mario Hezonja, SG, Croatia | B- |
| 6 | Sacramento Kings | Willie Cauley-Stein, C, Kentucky | B+ |
| 7 | Denver Nuggets | Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, China | B |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | Stanley Johnson, SF, Arizona | A- |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | Frank Kaminsky, PF, Wisconsin | C |
| 10 | Miami Heat | Justise Winslow, SF, Duke | A+ |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | Myles Turner, C, Texas | A- |
| 12 | Utah Jazz | Trey Lyles, PF, Kentucky | C- |
| 13 | Phoenix Suns | Devin Booker, SG, Kentucky | A |
| 14 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Cameron Payne, PG, Murray State | A- |
| 15 | Washington Wizards | Kelly Oubre, SG, Kansas | A- |
| 16 | Boston Celtics | Terry Rozier, PG, Louisville | D |
| 17 | Milwaukee Bucks | Rashad Vaughn, SG, UNLV | A- |
| 18 | Houston Rockets | Sam Dekker, SF, Wisconsin | A |
| 19 | New York Knicks | Jerian Grant, PG, Notre Dame | B+ |
| 20 | Toronto Raptors | Delon Wright, PG, Utah | B+ |
| 21 | Dallas Mavericks | Justin Anderson, SF, Virginia | A- |
| 22 | Chicago Bulls | Bobby Portis, PF, Arkansas | B- |
| 23 | Brooklyn Nets | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, SF, Arizona | A- |
| 24 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Tyus Jones, PG, Duke | A |
| 25 | Memphis Grizzlies | Jarell Martin, PF, LSU | B |
| 26 | San Antonio Spurs | Nikola Milutinov, C, Serbia | B- |
| 27 | Los Angeles Lakers | Larry Nance Jr., PF, Wyoming | C+ |
| 28 | Boston Celtics | RJ Hunter, SG, Georgia State | A |
| 29 | Brooklyn Nets | Chris McCullough, PF, Syracuse | B- |
| 30 | Golden State Warriors | Kevon Looney, PF, UCLA | A |
It's a Sunny Day in Minneapolis
Karl-Anthony Towns is a truly transcendental talent due to his unique combination of versatility and paint presence on both ends of the floor. For years, nothing has gone right for this snake-bitten franchise, but one lucky bounce of the pingpong balls turned that all around.
Don't you just love the NBA draft lottery? (Sorry, Knicks fans.)
Fans can rest easy this time around. There were no Jonny Flynns or Ndudi Ebis. Only a guy whom head coach Flip Saunders praised as the second-best pre-draft workout he has seen aside from Towns' new teammate, Kevin Garnett, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
"It's everything," Saunders said. "He plays with a great passion. He plays hard. He's multiskilled. When you see him warming up, you're going to think we drafted a point guard."
Management didn't stop there, either. The Timberwolves traded their Nos. 31 and 36 selections of the second round in exchange for the Cleveland Cavaliers' No. 24 pick to bring local product Tyus Jones back home. The Duke point guard represents the perfect young complement to the oft-injured Ricky Rubio and goes right along with what Saunders is trying to do.
Adding Towns to a roster that already includes the next-level talent of Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins and NBA Dunk Contest champion Zach LaVine, as well as Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng, Adreian Payne and Anthony Bennett, gives Minnesota one of the most extraordinary groups of young talent in the entire NBA.
Things no longer look bleak in the post-Kevin Love era. Towns' and Wiggins' long-term potential makes this a team that will not only threaten to break an 11-year playoff drought, but one that could also vault itself into NBA title contention should it be able to keep this nucleus together.
In Hinkie We Trust?
To call Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie unpredictable would be an understatement.
In 2013, he took 23-year-old All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday and shipped him out on draft night to help land No. 6 pick Nerlens Noel and Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams. It was a bold move, but things went smoothly.
Last year, possible No. 1 overall pick Joel Embiid slid to his Sixers at three due to a broken foot. Philly had to pounce despite taking another injured center in Noel the previous year. Power forward Dario Saric fell to them at No. 12 and is being stashed in Europe for at least another season. It was all a little more advantageous, but it still made sense. This was all part of the plan to keep acquiring top-notch talent and figuring out where it fits later on.
After trading Carter-Williams abruptly, the Sixers landed at pick No. 3 again in 2015, where they went with stud center Jahlil Okafor. Philly was in a precarious position in this draft after the Lakers nabbed Russell, since Okafor and Porzingis were the clear best players left on the board, which wasn't ideal for a squad that had taken roughly 27 big men over the past three drafts.
Rumors swirled from Kurt Helin of NBC Sports that teams were eyeing a trade up, namely the Boston Celtics with a "Godfather" offer prepared, but nothing came to fruition. Okafor now appears to be the Sixers' new franchise center.
Maybe Okafor will be great. Maybe he won't. I, for one, am not sold due to his old-school game being an awkward fit in today's NBA, which continues to veer away from traditional post-up offense. He is also slow-footed defensively. Noel proved to be a dynamo on that end of the floor this past season, which could cover up some of Okafor's mistakes, but neither player can shoot worth a lick. Philly's guards can't light it up either, so where is the floor spacing going to come from?
Most of all, what does this mean for Embiid? What we are all unable to put into words, he did for us.
Despite the injury and possible setback, it is inconceivable that Embiid, Noel and Okafor could all coexist. Noel is the only proven big after a very solid rookie season, and Philly appears adamant about not trading Okafor. That leaves Embiid as possible trade bait.
The huge issue with that is that his value could not be any lower right now. Last year's draft was the Andrew Wiggins-Jabari Parker class that teams had prepped for two years in advance. Embiid turned out to be so jaw-dropping that he crashed that party and was in line to go first overall before the foot injury. That's the kind of talent we are talking about here.
Should Philly hang onto him, how is he going to be able to re-establish his value with Okafor and Noel getting such heavy minutes? Someone is going to be the odd man out.
The bottom line is that this sportswriter is running out of patience and just wants a few answers. That's what I get for trying to comprehend Hinkie's plans.
Knicks Fans Will Be Proven Wrong
Perhaps the most memorable scene on draft night came when the Knicks raised some eyebrows by going with 7'2" Kristaps Porzingis at No. 4. Fans booed incessantly, but it wasn't warranted. This wasn't a good pick, but a great one.
You don't win NBA championships by playing it safe, and if there's one man who knows how to win titles, it's team president Phil Jackson. Carmelo Anthony's style of play has already proven to be difficult to make deep playoff runs with, so kudos to the Knicks for swinging for the fences. Emmanuel Mudiay or Justise Winslow? That would have been playing it safe.
To say that fans and media pundits alike didn't immediately agree with this strategy would be putting it lightly.
Porzingis had been jubilant about the prospects of playing in New York leading up to the draft, and that was clear as day following his selection.
Guys with this type of size and skill are rare. Karl-Anthony Towns is 7'0" and 250 pounds, and Porzingis made him look like a regular-sized human standing next to him. Until Jackson proves he doesn't know what he is doing, Knicks fans have to be a little more patient and understand that the man has 11 rings for a reason.
Mudiay made no sense in the triangle, and Winslow doesn't have Porzingis' upside. The Knicks weren't going to land multiple superstars in free agency this summer anyway, so it won't kill them to wait a year or two for Porzingis to start developing.
Snagging Jerian Grant in the middle of the first round for Tim Hardaway was a sneaky good move, as well. For a team that has produced so many head-scratching decisions on draft day in years past and hasn't drafted its own All-Star in the lottery since Patrick Ewing and the frozen envelope debacle in 1985, this was a breath of fresh air. Porzingis is a sensational talent. Just let him grow on you, Knicks fans.
Justin Hussong is a Breaking News Writer and Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @Hussington to talk basketball and other sports!
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
