NBA Draft Picks 2016: List of Results, Grades and Analysis

The dreams of 60 prospective basketball players became reality on Thursday night in the 2016 NBA draft from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. 

While the top two picks belonging to the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers were not shrouded in mystery, the rest of the draft, including if teams were going to hold on to their picks, were. 

Here is a look at the complete draft board:

Some teams drafted for needs while others chose the best talent available as they tried to find the pieces of a championship puzzle. Let's take a look at how I think each team fared on draft night:

Team	Selections	Grade	Analysis
Atlanta Hawks	Taurean Prince (Acquired from UTAH), DeAndre Bembry, Isaia Cordinier,	B	Prince is a solid three-point shooter and defender while Bembry is an above-average interior scorer for a guard. Cordinier adds depth behind Bembry with uncertain future surrounding Kyle Korver.
Boston Celtics	Jaylen Brown, Guerschon Yabusele, Ante Zizic, Demetrius Jackson, Ben Bentil, Abdel Nader	C	For so much promise coming into the night, the Celtics just didn't come through. Their best pick of the night was Jackson, who could slot in behind Isaiah Thomas while Bentil is a catch-and-shoot style stretch 4. Nader will add some size to a Celtics team that needs help in the frontcourt.
Brooklyn Nets	Caris LeVert (Acquired from IND), Isaiah Whitehead (Acquired from UTAH)	B+	If his foot stays healthy, LeVert could be a dangerous long-distance shooter in Brooklyn. Hometown product Whitehead adds an aggressive scoring mentality to join LeVert at the 2.
Charlotte Hornets	None	B-	Acquired Marco Belinelli from the Sacramento Kings for the No. 22 selection.
Chicago Bulls	Denzel Valentine, Paul Zipser	B+	A solid backcourt prospect in the wake of losing Derrick Rose along with Jimmy Butler trade interest. Zipser will provide another option behind Mike Dunleavy, Doug McDermott and Tony Snell.
Cleveland Cavaliers	Kay Felder (Acquired from ATL)	B	Felder is 5'9" slashing point guard who has great speed to play behind Kyrie Irving.
Dallas Mavericks	A.J. Hammons	B	If his conditioning improves, the Mavericks are looking at their future starting center.
Denver Nuggets	Jamal Murray, Juan Hernangomez, Malik Beasley, Petr Cornelie	A	Murray can develop with Emmanuel Mudiay while Hernangomez adds frontcourt depth. Beasley's shooting can help spread the floor. Cornelie is a stretch 4 who will likely be a draft-and-stash.
Detroit Pistons	Henry Ellenson, Michael Gbinije	A-	One of the top big men of the draft fell into Detroit's laps in Ellenson. Gbinije will stretch the floor with his passing and scoring ability from the 3.
Golden State Warriors	Damian Jones, Patrick McCaw (Acquired from MIL)	B	The Warriors were in need of size after their NBA Finals loss. Jones is a step in the right direction. McCaw is a physical guard to play behind Klay Thompson.
Houston Rockets	Chinanu Onuaku, Zhou Qi	B-	Their roles will be specified depending on where Dwight Howard lands in free agency.
Indiana Pacers	Georges Niang	B	Acquired Thaddeus Young and future second-rounder from Brooklyn. Niang has a chance to come in and produce behind Paul George.
Los Angeles Clippers	Brice Johnson, David Michineau (Acquired from NOP), Diamond Stone (Acquired from NOP)	B+	Johnson and Stone provide much-needed scoring and rebounding depth behind Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Michineau was a questionable pick with Demetrius Jackson still on the board.
Los Angeles Lakers	Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac	A	Second-best player of the draft who will help turn things around in L.A. Zubac adds a big man with skill.
Memphis Grizzlies	Wade Baldwin IV, Deyonta Davis (Acquired from BOS), Rade Zagorac (Acquired from BOS)	B	Baldwin is an agile, capable scorer but must develop leadership qualities as a point guard. Davis is a tenacious forward down low and a huge bargain at No. 31 while Zagorac is a draft-and-stash 2.
Miami Heat	None	N/A
Milwaukee Bucks	Thon Maker, Malcolm Brogdon, Wang Zhelin	B	Maker's ceiling is limitless mostly because it is unknown. It's a risky pick at No. 10. Brogdon is a solid two-way guard to add to Milwaukee's backcourt. Zhelin will take a seat behind Greg Monroe and Miles Plumlee.
Minnesota Timberwolves	Kris Dunn	A-	For a team that might need a point guard in the near future, Minnesota got the best available.
New Orleans Pelicans	Buddy Hield, Cheick Diallo (Acquired from LAC)	A-	Hield was college basketball's most explosive scorer. He will be major scoring threat soon. Diallo is a big man with big potential.
New York Knicks	None	N/A
Oklahoma City Thunder	Domantas Sabonis (Acquired from ORL), Daniel Hamilton (Acquired from DEN)	B	Sabonis is a big man that should do well playing alongside Steven Adams. Hamilton can be thrown into the shooting guard mix with Andre Roberson, Dion Waiters and Anthony Morrow.
Orlando Magic	Stephen Zimmerman	B+	Acquired Serge Ibaka by dealing Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and Sabonis' rights to OKC. Zimmerman will bring size and physicality to the 5 behind Nikola Vucevic.
Philadelphia 76ers	Ben Simmons, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Furkan Korkmaz	A+	Simmons was the best player in the draft and the superstar that Philadelphia needed. Luwawu-Cabarrot will add athleticism to the Sixers' frontcourt and Korkmaz will be solid scorer in a few years.
Phoenix Suns	Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss (Acquired from SAC), Tyler Ulis	A-	Bender could develop into the next Porzingis while Chriss was one of the top athletes available. Ulis adds depth to Suns backcourt.
Portland Trail Blazers	Jake Layman (Acquired from ORL)	B-	Entering the night without a pick, the Blazers acquired Layman to enter the conversation at the 3 with Al-Farouq Aminu, Mo Harkless and Luis Montero.
Sacramento Kings	Georgios Papagiannis (Acquired from PHX), Malachi Richardson (Acquired from CHA), Isaiah Cousins, Skal Labissiere (Acquired from PHX)	C	With other highly rated big men available, the Kings missed on this one. Richardson though brings solid three-point shooting. At No. 28, Labissiere has questions surrounding him, but could be a steal. Cousins, who was teammates with Buddy Hield at Oklahoma, could be a serviceable point guard.
San Antonio Spurs	Dejounte Murray	B+	With Manu Ginobili opting out of his contract, Murray adds depth at the 2.
Toronto Raptors	Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam	B+	The Raptors needed size and help on the boards and their picks will bring just that.
Utah Jazz	Joel Bolomboy, Marcus Paige (Acquired from BRK), Tyrone Wallace	B	Acquired George Hill from Indiana. Paige provides another option in Utah's deep backcourt and Bolomboy is a top rebounder, which can help Utah improve its No. 18 rank from last year. Wallace is a play maker with length who needs to improve on his shooting.
Washington Wizards	None	N/A

Winners 

Philadelphia 76ers

Whenever a team takes the best player in a draft class, there's a good chance they will be one of the winners. Taking Ben Simmons with the No. 1 overall pick did just that for the 76ers. 

The 6'10" Simmons can do it all and can play any position on the floor thanks to his skill set and athleticism. 

In his lone season in college at LSU, Simmons averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and two steals per game. 

He's a great ball-handler, has extremely good court vision and is a dangerous scorer from inside the arc:

On a Philadephia 76ers team that is without a central superstar presence, Simmons can be that player even in a team that is deep with big men like Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. He can play almost like a point forward in that he'll see a lot of the ball and even bring it up the floor, setting up the 76ers offense. 

Any other selection for the 76ers was just a bonus and they got two more decent pieces in small forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz. 

Los Angeles Lakers

Brandon Ingram couldn't have fit much better with any other team across the league. Preparing for their first season without Kobe Bryant in 20 years, the Lakers are a team with young cornerstones in point guard D'Angelo Russell, shooting guard Jordan Clarkson and forward Julius Randle. 

However, they had no three-point shooting as they ranked dead-last in the league with a 31.7 percent success rate. 

Ingram can help turn that number around after a freshman season at Duke in which he drained 41 percent of his threes. That's a very solid number for a 6'9" small forward. 

Thanks to his length and athleticism, Ingram also possesses the promise of becoming a solid defender as his professional game develops too. For a team that allowed 106.9 points per game last year, he could be a big help in the future. 

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets went out and drafted exactly what they needed in the first round. 

At No. 7, they took Kentucky's Jamal Murray, who will be added to Denver's point guard depth that features Emmanuel Mudiay, who is preparing for his second season in the league in 2016-17. 

For a Nuggets team that was 20th in the league in scoring last season, Murray is a natural scorer who averaged 20 points per game with Kentucky and can be a shot to the arm of Denver's offense. 

The Nuggets weren't done providing potential options to stretch its offense out. They took 6'9" Juan Hernangomez at No. 15 as a capable shooter to add to the frontcourt:

At No. 19, they added shooting guard Malik Beasley out of Florida State, who ESPN.com's Chad Ford described as "one of best shooters in draft" despite shooting below 40 percent from three-point range. 

Considering the Nuggets rolled with Gary Harris, Will Barton, Mike Miller and Axel Toupane last season, Murray could be a nice upgrade at the position down the road. 

Losers

Sacramento Kings

The Kings might have been better off keeping their No. 8 pick instead of dealing it to the Phoenix Suns for Nos. 13 and 28, Bogdan Bogdanovic's rights and the Detroit Pistons' 2020 second-round selection. Sacramento took Marquese Chriss for the Suns, as the NBA on ESPN sung his praises:

With their acquired No. 13 pick, the Kings went with Greek big man Georgios Papagiannis, much to the dismay of All-Star DeMarcus Cousins:

The night wasn't a complete loss, though, as a deal that will send Marco Belinelli to the Charlotte Hornets, per The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, yielded the No. 22 pick that the Kings used to take guard Malachi Richardson with. For a player that brings a long-range threat to the lineup, the Kings got some shooting help.

With the penultimate pick in the draft, they took guard Isaiah Cousins out of Oklahoma, also a shooting guard.

Both of those picks address the loss of Belinelli and are insurance in the face of the possible departure of Ben McLemore via trade, per NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper. Multiple teams have been inquiring about McLemore, and, with his loss, the Kings would have been left with just James Anderson to back up Darren Collison.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics had three selections in the first round, including the No. 3 overall pick. But with the team on the outside looking in at Simmons and Ingram, the Celtics attempted to deal the top-three pick for a veteran, per ESPN's Marc Stein. 

One name that surfaced was the Chicago Bulls' Jimmy Butler, per Wojnarowski. However, they were unable to get a deal done and instead picked small forward Jaylen Brown out of California. 

Brown does have plenty of upside, as the NBA on ESPN pointed out:

But for a Celtics organization that was looking to get a veteran to help them make a push at the Eastern Conference title, this selection left something to be desired. 

At No. 16, with players like Henry Ellenson still on the board, they went with French power forward Guerschon Yabusele, who sources told Shams Charania of The Vertical will be a draft-and-stash.

Seven picks later, they went with another international player in center Ante Zizic out of Croatia, much to the dismay of Fox Sports 1's Jason McIntyre:

Zizic is a player that still needs to fully develop his offensive game while getting acclimated to basketball in the United States. 

It didn't get much better in the second round after they sent the No. 31 pick to the Memphis Grizzlies, which turned out to be Michigan State forward Deyonta Davis. 

Davis wasn't expected to go that low, as ESPN Stats & Info showed, which means that he could be a potential big-time steal:

Davis would have been a solid addition to a Celtics team that could help fine-tune the frontcourt. Instead, they'll watch him go to Memphis.

This is an organization that isn't far away from being a serious threat in the Eastern Conference. They won 48 games last season and had they been able to pull off a trade or acquire a prospect that could immediately improve the roster, they could've looked even more threatening after Thursday night. 

College stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com.

NBA stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.