NBA Draft Results 2015: List of Picks, Trades and Letter Grades
The 2015 NBA draft is officially in the books, which means it's time for the league's 30 organizations to finally move ahead—but not before we take a look back at how all 60 selections went.
With every team formulating a game plan prior to the draft that's obviously dependent on the picks of other teams, things rarely go according to plan for clubs not picking within the first few selections. Things can work into place when that happens, or they can fall apart and leave teams forcing the issue with less-than-ideal selections.
There were a handful of those mixed in among the 60 picks from Thursday night and early Friday morning, although there were more than enough favorable picks to cancel that out. Take a look below at where all the players landed and how each selection was graded.
2015 NBA Draft Picks, Trades and Grades
| 1 | Minnesota Timberwolves | C Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky) | A |
| 2 | Los Angeles Lakers | PG D'Angelo Russell (Ohio State) | A |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | C Jahlil Okafor (Duke) | A- |
| 4 | New York Knicks | PF Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia) | A- |
| 5 | Orlando Magic | SG Mario Hezonja (Croatia) | B+ |
| 6 | Sacramento Kings | C Willie Cauley-Stein (Kentucky) | B |
| 7 | Denver Nuggets | PG Emmanuel Mudiay (Congo) | A- |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | SF Stanley Johnson (Arizona) | A- |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | C Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin) | B- |
| 10 | Miami Heat | SF Justise Winslow (Duke) | A+ |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | PF Myles Turner (Texas) | B+ |
| 12 | Utah Jazz | PF Trey Lyles (Kentucky) | C+ |
| 13 | Phoenix Suns | SF Devin Booker (Kentucky) | A- |
| 14 | Oklahoma City Thunder | PG Cameron Payne (Murray State) | B+ |
| 15 | Atlanta Hawks (traded to WSH) | SG Kelly Oubre (Kansas) | B- |
| 16 | Boston Celtics | PG Terry Rozier (Louisville) | A- |
| 17 | Milwaukee Bucks | SG Rashad Vaughn (UNLV) | B+ |
| 18 | Houston Rockets | SF Sam Dekker (Wisconsin) | A- |
| 19 | Washington Wizards (traded to NYK) | PG Jerian Grant (Notre Dame) | B+ |
| 20 | Toronto Raptors | PG Delon Wright (Utah) | B |
| 21 | Dallas Mavericks | SG Justin Anderson (Virginia) | A- |
| 22 | Chicago Bulls | PF Bobby Portis (Arkansas) | B |
| 23 | Portland Trail Blazers (traded to BKN) | SF Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Arizona) | A- |
| 24 | Cleveland Cavaliers (traded to MIN) | PG Tyus Jones (Duke) | B+ |
| 25 | Memphis Grizzlies | PF Jarell Martin (LSU) | C+ |
| 26 | San Antonio Spurs | C Nikola Milutinov (Serbia) | B |
| 27 | Los Angeles Lakers | PF Larry Nance Jr. (Wyoming) | B+ |
| 28 | Boston Celtics | SG R.J. Hunter (Georgia State) | A- |
| 29 | Brooklyn Nets | PF Chris McCullough (Syracuse) | B |
| 30 | Golden State Warriors | SF Kevon Looney (UCLA) | B- |
| 31 | Minnesota Timberwolves (traded to CLE) | SF Cedi Osman (Turkey) | B+ |
| 32 | Houston Rockets | PF Montrezl Harrell (Louisville) | B+ |
| 33 | Boston Celtics | PF Jordan Mickey (LSU) | A- |
| 34 | Los Angeles Lakers | SF Anthony Brown (Stanford) | B+ |
| 35 | Philadelphia 76ers | PF Willy Hernangomez (Spain) | B |
| 36 | Minnesota Timberwolves (traded to CLE) | PF Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse) | B- |
| 37 | Philadelphia 76ers | PF Richaun Holmes (Bowling Green) | B- |
| 38 | Detroit Pistons | SG Darrun Hilliard (Villanova) | B |
| 39 | Charlotte Hornets (traded to BKN) | SG Juan Vaulet (Argentina) | C |
| 40 | MIami Heat | SG Josh Richardson (Tennessee) | A- |
| 41 | Brooklyn Nets (traded to POR) | SG Pat Connaughton (Notre Dame) | B+ |
| 42 | Utah Jazz | SG Olivier Hanlan (Boston College) | A |
| 43 | Indiana Pacers | SG Joseph Young (Oregon) | B+ |
| 44 | Phoenix Suns (traded to MEM) | PG Andrew Harrison (Kentucky) | A- |
| 45 | Boston Celtics | SG Marcus Thornton (William and Mary) | D |
| 46 | Milwaukee Bucks (traded to TOR) | SG Norman Powell (UCLA) | B |
| 47 | Philadelphia 76ers | C Arturas Gudaitis (Lithuania) | D |
| 48 | Oklahoma City Thunder | C Dakari Johnson (Kentucky) | B- |
| 49 | Washington Wizards | PF Aaron White (Iowa) | C+ |
| 50 | Atlanta Hawks | SG Marcus Eriksson (Sweden) | B- |
| 51 | Orlando Magic | SG Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington) | C+ |
| 52 | Dallas Mavericks | C Satnam Singh (India) | B- |
| 53 | Cleveland Cavaliers | SF Sir'Dominic Pointer (St. John's) | B |
| 54 | Utah Jazz (traded to POR) | SF Daniel Diez (Spain) | B |
| 55 | San Antonio Spurs | C Cady Lalanne (Massachusetts) | B+ |
| 56 | New Orleans Pelicans (traded to LAC) | SF Branden Dawson (Michigan State) | B+ |
| 57 | Denver Nuggets | PG Nikola Radicevic (Serbia) | B |
| 58 | Philadelphia 76ers | SF J.P. Tokoto (North Carolina) | B+ |
| 59 | Atlanta Hawks | PG Dimitrios Agravanis (Greece) | C+ |
| 60 | Philadelphia 76ers | PF Luka Mitrovic (Serbia) | B- |
9. Charlotte Hornets: Frank Kaminsky, C (Wisconsin)
In the last two drafts, the Charlotte Hornets (or the Bobcats, as they used to be known) have taken their top-10 picks and selected slender big-man prospects in Cody Zeller and Noah Vonleh. That didn't stop them from going in an almost identical route at No. 9 overall Thursday night, taking Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky.
The 7-footer trumps both Zeller and Vonleh in terms of age, and perhaps utility as well. Kaminsky has shown the ability to be a deadly knockdown shooter, while also developing his post moves to a near elite level and becoming college basketball's best player in 2014-15.
It's not surprising that owner Michael Jordan had his fingerprints all over the selection, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer noted:
Once expected to be a mid-round pick before climbing up boards in the predraft season, Kaminsky has plenty of believers that think his versatility will work wonders. His stretch 4 position is increasingly valuable in the NBA, but there are still folks who believe Sam Dekker—picked 18th overall by the Houston Rockets—will have a more productive pro career, as ESPN.com's Chad Ford noted:
Just as well, the Hornets could have nabbed a player who fit the system better while also getting a player with a higher ceiling. Charlotte passed up on Justise Winslow, who went off the board one pick later to the Miami Heat at No. 10.
The Hornets have replaced Lance Stephenson with Nicolas Batum, so perhaps that wouldn't have been ideal. But there were plenty of sharpshooters—a Charlotte need—available that they passed up on. Kaminsky has real talent, but he has to have a big-time career to justify this pick considering the other options.
Grade: B-
21. Dallas Mavericks: Justin Anderson, SG (Virginia)
By the time pick No. 21 in the draft comes, star players are long gone and teams do well to find a role player who fits their needs. But the Dallas Mavericks did more than just that in selecting Justin Anderson 21st overall.
They get a player who knows all about winning after playing an integral role in the Cavaliers' place as one of college basketball's biggest forces over the last two seasons. Along with that has come considerable improvement, as he's continued to fine-tune his game from high school forward, as Paul Biancardi of ESPNU noted:
Anderson brings all of the intangibles head coach Rick Carlisle could want, coming from a Virginia team in tune defensively and playing a team-ball system. One of the best perimeter defenders in the draft class can also stroke it from three-point range, as Jeff Borzello of CBS Sports noticed:
For all of Anderson's stellar play in 2014-15, he was a shell of himself for the last half of the season. The small forward missed a large chunk of the season, playing in just 26 games due to injury and seeing his impact diminish.
But his three-point shooting is the real deal, and Anderson's defensive abilities are such that you can't easily teach at the NBA level. If he pans out as expected, the Mavs just got a steal.
Grade: A-
28. Boston Celtics: R.J. Hunter, SG (Georgia State)
For all of the strong guard play uniting together in Boston on the Celtics roster, there's a noticeable lack of perimeter shooting that could continue to bring down Brad Stevens' club. That all changed in a manner not typically seen from a team with the 28th overall pick.
With sharpshooter R.J. Hunter—perhaps the best pure shooter in the class with endless range—slipping down the board, the Celtics were quick to pounce on the former Georgia State guard and take him at No. 28. In the process, they addressed a serious need, per ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman:
Questions of Hunter's ability as an all-around prospect caused the shooter to slip somewhat down the draft board. That must have been it, because his ability to put the ball in the basket from 30 feet and in is unrivaled in the draft class.
Now that the Celtics have loaded up their backcourt with the addition of Terry Rozier as well, The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre thinks Boston has to be setting itself up for a free-agency run at a big man:
It remains to be seen if that will come to fruition or not, but there's no doubting that the Celtics are considerably closer to finding an identity post-rebuild. They have the dynamic guard play that has already proved capable of getting them into the playoffs, and now have a deadly shooter to space the floor.
One max-contract big man in free agency could truly push the C's back into the discussion out East.
Grade: A-
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