NBA Draft 2015: Final Results and Notable Team Grades
The 2015 NBA draft didn't blow away folks with surprises like some thought it might.
In hindsight, perhaps everyone should have known it would be a rather tame affair. After all, in the minds of most, the 2015 class was one of the deepest in recent memory, so major trades and the surrender of assets didn't make a ton of sense.
Hindsight is a funny topic when it comes to the draft. It's time for grades, although in a few years the regrading process might cast things in a different light. Players themselves, minutes, injuries and more will alter the initial gut reaction to the class.
For now, it's time to live in the moment and assign grades for how each team performed in the deep class.
Draft Grades
| Atlanta Hawks | B | Atlanta reinforces the roster with quality depth at decent value in the second round of a quiet draft for the franchise. |
| Boston Celtics | B | Things didn't work out for the Celtics the way they would have liked, to say the least. For now, another point guard creates more confusion than answers. R.J. Hunter later in the round goes down as a steal, though. |
| Brooklyn Nets | B- | Brooklyn entered Thursday one of many teams with potential moving parts, so grabbing a forward in the opening round provides insurance. |
| Charlotte Hornets | B+ | The Hornets wanted a talented big man to start next to Al Jefferson and got it with Frank Kaminsky. No arguments make sense. |
| Chicago Bulls | C | Nobody can say the Bulls don't have great power forwards. It's a bit of a head-scratching move from a need standpoint, although Bobby Portis will shine in time. |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | B | The Cavaliers made the most of their picks, picking up one of the most underrated big men in the class to rebuild the roster's depth. |
| Dallas Mavericks | A | For a team wanting to continue to contend, a pro-ready player on both ends of the court was the smart way to go. |
| Denver Nuggets | A | In the matter of an instant, the Nuggets go from chaos to stability thanks to landing one of the biggest steals of the draft, at perhaps the league's most important position too. |
| Detroit Pistons | B | It seems things didn't work out the way the Pistons would have preferred in the first round, but the value and upside are solid. |
| Golden State Warriors | B | The rich get richer, with the Warriors picking up great value at a poor spot, shoring up the roster for future departures too. |
| Houston Rockets | B- | Houston gets good value with Sam Dekker, who can come in and act as a reliable scorer right out of the gates. |
| Indiana Pacers | B- | The Pacers chose upside with Myles Turner, a talented big man who can help right away, if not morph into one of the best players in the class in a few years. |
| L.A. Clippers | N/A | N/A |
| L.A. Lakers | B | The Lakers threw a curveball at No. 2—one nobody can complain about. With point guard secure for years, the front office can go nuts luring star big men to town. |
| Memphis Grizzlies | B- | Securing the future behind Zach Rudolph with a high-upside prospect makes perfect sense in the first round. |
| Miami Heat | A+ | Pat Riley strikes again, this time landing one of the most talented players in the class well out of his stock range. So long as free agency works out, the Heat are in for a big run. |
| Milwaukee Bucks | C | The Bucks got wild in the first round at a position of need with an unknown name, which sounds about right for one of the league's confusing teams in transition. |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | A | Sometimes doing the obvious thing isn't a bad thing. Minnesota improves with KAT on board. Adding a pro-ready point later? Icing on the cake. |
| New Orleans Pelicans | C | Quiet draft for the Pelicans, who will receive some sort of compensation for making a late pick. |
| New York Knicks | B- | NOW everyone can label the Knicks as losers for landing at No. 4. The board didn't fall the way they would like, and they're forced to play the long-term outlook after taking a bit of a project player. |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | A | Grabbing a backup point guard who scored at will in college and projects well to the pros means the Thunder used the pick in a smart manner. |
| Orlando Magic | B | Orlando hit on areas of need to further complement a budding young roster. Sprinkle in good value too. |
| Philadelphia 76ers | B | What, expect the 76ers to have a normal draft? Best player available continues to be the approach, and it's hard to argue with the commitment. |
| Phoenix Suns | B- | One of the deeper teams lands a key contributor off the bench who can shoot at will. Best of all? Great value. |
| Portland Trail Blazers | B | Given the unknown element at power forward moving forward, Portland did well to knock its first-round pick out of the park. |
| Sacramento Kings | A | It's impossible to know what the future holds for the Kings, but Willie Cauley-Stein provides a nice defensive complement next to DeMarcus Cousins for now. |
| San Antonio Spurs | B | So it goes for the Spurs as the team continues to grab talent its way. The long-term grade figures to stand better than the current. |
| Toronto Raptors | B | Toronto took care of a position of need in the opening round, securing the future behind Kyle Lowry, a smart move given the current roster. |
| Utah Jazz | B- | One of the league's deeper teams gets better with the addition of Trey Lyles, who comes at a position of need too. |
| Washington Wizards | B+ | Washington does a great job securing the future with Paul Pierce a question mark. Depth underneath the rim never hurts, and neither does getting it at decent value. |
Notable Team Grades
Los Angeles Lakers
Give Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak some credit—the draft needed some intrigue at the top, and he provided it in droves.
Kupchak somehow ignored the allure of adding Duke's Jahlil Okafor to put next to Julius Randle in the paint. Instead, he opted for guard D'Angelo Russell out of Ohio State, he of an impressive resume, as ESPN Stats & Info points out:
It's not hard to see the "why" of things, even in short-term hindsight. Russell is a point guard who can create his own shot each time down the court. He can also get others involved on a regular basis, meaning he helps Randle's development and keeps Kobe Bryant and others happy.
Perhaps most of all, it frees the Lakers to pursue major names such as LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Love in free agency. The team added Wyoming forward Larry Nance Jr. late in the draft to be safe, but the strategy now seems to be free agency or bust.
For a team not accustomed to a traditional rebuild but versed in the instant-gratification ways of free agency, the Lakers once again hit it out of the park and showed a semblance of versatility most front offices don't have.
The Lakers get a great grade for taking a great player, with bonus points for it coming at the league's most important position and opening things up elsewhere.
Oklahoma City Thunder
For Oklahoma City, the predraft strategy was simple—find depth at key areas but depth capable of starting in future years, if not sooner than anticipated.
Hammer, meet head of nail.
The Thunder sat at No. 14 and landed point guard Cameron Payne out of Murray State, who at one point was on the receiving end of lottery hype. It's not hard to see why based on the historic standings:
Payne didn't just beat up on smaller schools, he showed an uncanny ability to find open players and was one of the NCAA's most prolific scorers, whether the public realized it or not. As a backup to Russell Westbrook, he's perfect.
As for Dakari Johnson at No. 48, the narrative doesn't change much. At 7'0" and 265 pounds, the Kentucky product is a pro-ready player who can make a difference right away, as ESPN.com's Chad Ford writes: "Dakari has the body to play 10 to 15 minutes a night in the NBA. That's what he does. As long as that's all you expect him to do—rebound and take up space. Then he'll be a good pick."
Many overlooked Johnson as a one-dimensional player, but the Thunder don't need a dynamic scoring threat underneath the basket with so much scoring elsewhere. They need a defensive mauler to control the paint.
Both selections not only help right out of the gates, but seem to secure the future.
Miami Heat
The Eastern Conference might look a whole lot different next year.
Pat Riley and the Miami Heat didn't need to trade up to land one of the draft's most coveted players—Justise Winslow fell right into their laps. The Duke product is a gritty player who fits right in with the Heat as a tenacious defender and legit scoring threat each trip down the court—a necessary two-way threat the Heat lacked a season ago.
"This is an organization that wants to win right now, and that's what I'm accustomed to doing," Winslow said after his selection, per Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick.
Never mind the fact that Josh Richardson out of Tennessee at No. 40 classifies as a steal too (he averaged 16 points per game and shot 36 percent from deep). No, this is about Winslow and what he does for the Heat right now.
If Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade return, Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside will hold down the paint and let Winslow start in one of the best situations a rookie could find himself in this year. It helps for a postseason run this year, but it also figures to boost his development, ensuring in future years he will be able to handle a bigger chunk of the workload.
In a way, it seems odd to dish out such a high grade to a team that didn't do much of anything. The Heat didn't pull off a big trade or anything dramatic, but sometimes just doing the smart thing deserves applause.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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