NBA Draft 2015 Results: Letter Grades for Rounds 1-2 for Each Franchise
A team can never have too much shooting. It's clear the Orlando Magic understand this concept. On Thursday night, Orlando tabbed Croatian sensation Mario Hezonja with the fifth selection in the draft. Behind new Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell, Hezonja was the best pure scorer available.
He made 38 percent of his threes in the Euroleague this past season and has the athleticism to finish above the rim. Synergy Sports Tech tweeted these advanced stats that help to put Hezonja's scoring prowess in perspective:
Hezonja wasn't the only bomber Orlando picked. With the 51st selection, Orlando selected the Eastern Washington Eagles' Tyler Harvey. During the 2014-15 season, Harvey made 41 percent of his threes and averaged 22.9 points per game. He figures to be a source for instant offense off the bench.
On the strength of these two selections, the Magic had one of the best draft-day hauls on Thursday.
Here's a look at all of the selections from the 2015 NBA draft. Just below the graphic is a table with grades for each team.
| Minnesota Timberwolves | A- | Karl-Anthony Towns at No. 1 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | A+ | D'Angelo Russell at No. 2 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | D- | Jahlil Okafor at No. 3 |
| New York Knicks | D | Trading for No. 19 Pick, Jerian Grant |
| Orlando Magic | A+ | Mario Hezonja at No. 5 |
| Sacramento Kings | C- | Willie Cauley-Stein at No. 6 |
| Denver Nuggets | A- | Emmanuel Mudiay at No. 7 |
| Detroit Pistons | B- | Darrun Hilliard at No. 38 |
| Charlotte Hornets | B- | Frank Kaminsky at No. 9 |
| Miami Heat | A+ | Justise Winslow at No. 10 |
| Indiana Pacers | C- | Myles Turner at No. 11 |
| Utah Jazz | C+ | Trey Lyles at No. 12 |
| Phoenix Suns | B+ | Devin Booker at No. 13 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | A- | Cameron Payne at No. 14 |
| Atlanta Hawks | D- | Markus Eriksson at No. 50 |
| Boston Celtics | B | Jordan Mickey at No. 33 |
| Houston Rockets | B+ | Sam Dekker at No. 18 |
| Washington Wizards | B- | Trading for No. 15 Kelly Oubre |
| Toronto Raptors | B | Delon Wright at No. 20 |
| Dallas Mavericks | C+ | Justin Anderson at No. 21 |
| Chicago Bulls | A+ | Bobby Portis at No. 22 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | B+ | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at No. 23 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | C- | Trading for Rakeem Christmas at No. 36 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | C+ | Jarell Martin at No. 25 |
| San Antonio Spurs | B- | Nikola Milutinov at No. 26 |
| Brooklyn Nets | B+ | Pat Connaughton at No. 41 |
| Golden State Warriors | B+ | Kevon Looney at No. 30 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | B- | Branden Dawson at No. 56 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | N/A | No Picks or Trades |
New York Knicks
Were it not for a draft-day trade that landed point guard Jerian Grant in New York, Phil Jackson's team would have received an F. Kristaps Porzingis may become a solid player in time, but it might take a while.
Do the Knicks—more specifically Carmelo Anthony—have the time to wait for Porzingis to develop? Anthony is coming off an injury-riddled season, and he's already 31 years old. Anthony's game figures to stand the test of time to a degree because it's not predicated on athleticism.
Still, there will be some falloff. By the time Porzingis figures to be ready to contribute, Anthony could be 33. That's not ideal. Trading back would have made much more sense.
Apparently Anthony feels the same way. Per Ian Begley of ESPN.com, Stephen A. Smith said this on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio about Anthony's feelings about drafting Porzingis:
"I [was] talking to my sources last night. All they said was, he's furious, he's livid. He feels completely hoodwinked and betrayed by Phil Jackson. He feels like he was lied to, like he was sold a bill of goods. And he's willing to concede that he wanted his money. But he didn't know it was going to be like this. He didn't know it was going to be this bad. And he can't believe that his second season under the Phil Jackson regime, he has to look forward to it being worse than even last year was.
"
It sounds like there's a situation brewing in New York. Winning cures everything, but it doesn't sound like New York will be doing much of that early on.
Miami Heat
If the Miami Heat maintain the services of Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade, they will have one of the strongest six-man rotations in the Eastern Conference. A healthy Chris Bosh is expected to rejoin Dragic, Wade, Luol Deng and Hassan Whiteside.
Coming off the bench for the Heat should be No. 10 overall selection Justise Winslow. He could have been selected as high as No. 5 and no one would have batted an eye. The fact that Miami got him at No. 10 qualifies as a steal. He can defend, finish in transition and made 40 percent of his threes for the national champion Duke Blue Devils.
His selection gives the Heat great depth behind Wade and Deng. Miami looks like one of the best teams in the East again.
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