NBA Draft 2015: Selection List, Grades and More for Each Team
Which teams came away with the best hauls following the 2015 NBA draft? Which came away with the worst? Those are the questions being asked by every fan of the Association, and there is no shortage of opinions. Let's go ahead and add some fuel to that fire.
With more than 36 hours elapsed since the draft concluded, we can avoid those rash, hair-pulling, foaming-at-the-mouth reactions, look at every selection with patience and do our best to understand what each team was thinking. From there, every haul can be assessed and given a corresponding grade.
However, there's one thing to keep in mind through this process: These grades are in no way indicative of draftees' career outlooks or if a certain team is bound to tank after a weak haul. We won't know the full impact of the incoming rookies for a few more years.
That said, let's take a look at the draft's complete results, grade every franchise for its acquisitions and overview some of the best and worst hauls.
2015 NBA Draft Results
2015 NBA Draft Grades
| Atlanta Hawks | D |
| Boston Celtics | B- |
| Brooklyn Nets | B+ |
| Charlotte Hornets | C- |
| Chicago Bulls | B |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | C- |
| Dallas Mavericks | B |
| Denver Nuggets | A |
| Detroit Pistons | D+ |
| Golden State Warriors | B+ |
| Houston Rockets | A- |
| Indiana Pacers | B |
| Los Angeles Clippers | N/A |
| Los Angeles Lakers | A |
| Memphis Grizzlies | C- |
| Miami Heat | A |
| Milwaukee Bucks | C |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | A |
| New Orleans Pelicans | B |
| New York Knicks | B+ |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | A |
| Orlando Magic | B- |
| Philadelphia 76ers | B |
| Phoenix Suns | B+ |
| Portland Trail Blazers | B- |
| Sacramento Kings | C+ |
| San Antonio Spurs | B |
| Toronto Raptors | B |
| Utah Jazz | B |
| Washington Wizards | B- |
Best Overall Hauls
Miami Heat
The Heat nailed this draft. Team president Pat Riley was likely doing an Irish jig when he saw Justise Winslow fall to No. 10 overall. The small forward was arguably a top-five pick and could be the steal of the draft. He has a high motor, a big wingspan and flourishes on the defensive end of the court. Expect to see him guarding multiple positions in Miami.
Adding Winslow gives the Heat a little bit of breathing room as the team awaits the decisions of potential free agents Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng. The rookie has similar leadership qualities to Wade and could be considered an upgrade over Deng on the wing.
Meanwhile, Josh Richardson was a wise pick in the second round. He showed plenty of range at Tennessee, shooting 35.9 percent from downtown last season, and is an excellent defender.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves made the right decision to select Karl-Anthony Towns at No. 1 overall. The center is an absolute force on the defensive side of the court, and he'll pair perfectly with the nice young crop of offensive playmakers in Minnesota. This team just became very well-rounded.
Minnesota's brilliance didn't end there, though. After the Cleveland Cavaliers made Tyus Jones the No. 24 pick of the draft, it was announced that the team had struck a deal to send him to the Timberwolves.
"We had to do a lot of stuff to try to get the pick," head coach Flip Saunders said, according to Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com. "What he is, he's a leader. He's a winner. And he fits into what we're trying to do with young players, high-character [players] that are winners. We targeted him the whole time. From 14 up, we were working to try to get him."
The T-Wolves got Jones and capped off one of the best hauls of the 2015 NBA draft.
Worst Overall Hauls
Atlanta Hawks
In one of the most baffling moves of the draft, the Hawks drafted Kelly Oubre at No. 15, then traded his draft rights to Washington for No. 19 pick Jerian Grant and two future second-round picks. Atlanta then promptly flipped Grant's draft rights to New York for shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. That move assured Atlanta of zero first-round picks in this year's draft.
Hardaway is coming off a severely lackluster season with the New York Knicks after shooting just 38.9 percent from the floor and averaging 11.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Generally a solid three-point shooter, Hardaway's numbers from behind the arc declined from 36.3 percent in the 2013-14 season to 34.2 percent last year.
With two second-round picks, the Hawks kept the puzzling moves coming. They opted to take two relatively unknown internationals with those two selections, grabbing Sweden's Marcus Eriksson at No. 50 and Greece's Dimitrios Agravanis at No. 59.
Charlotte Hornets
Michael Jordan apparently really liked Frank Kaminsky. Not only did the Hornets reach for the power forward at No. 9 overall, but the team reportedly turned down six draft picks—including four first-rounders—from the Boston Celtics for the No. 9 spot, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com. And no, the Celtics weren't moving up for Kaminsky—they wanted Winslow.
Sure, Kaminsky could turn out to be a nice pick for Charlotte. He was dominant on the offensive end of the court at Wisconsin. However, he was only a mediocre defender, and if the team loses Bismack Biyombo in free agency, it will be without a legitimate rim protector.
Perhaps the lone upside of the draft for the Hornets was their ability to trade their 39th selection, relatively unknown international Juan Pablo Vaulet, to the Brooklyn Nets for two future second-round picks.
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