NBA Draft 2016 Results: Grade for Each Team, Top Prospects and Sleepers

Optimism begins anew in the NBA with the 2016 draft in the books.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ championship is in the past, and the rest of the league has already turned its attention toward integrating the new youngsters (and perhaps bolstering those lineups with timely free-agent signings).

As with any draft, there were winners and losers as well as top prospects and sleeper picks who will outperform their draft slots form Thursday.

With that in mind, here is a look at the full results and a breakdown of the 2016 NBA draft. Players were considered sleepers if they were drafted 30th or lower Thursday.

Results

Grades

Team	Grade	Quick Summary
Philadelphia 76ers	A+	Ben Simmons has franchise-player potential for a team that needs it.
Los Angeles Lakers	A+	Brandon Ingram should slide right into Los Angeles' lineup.
Boston Celtics	B -	The Celtics landed a number of players, but they could have done better than the unproven Jaylen Brown at No. 3.
Phoenix Suns	A	Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss and Tyler Ulis give the Suns impact players at a few different spots on the floor.
Minnesota Timberwolves	A	Kris Dunn will enjoy passing to Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine.
New Orleans Pelicans	B+	Buddy Hield should drain three-pointers if defenders focus too much attention on Anthony Davis.
Denver Nuggets	A	Jamal Murray and Malik Beasley will connect on plenty of outside shots.
Sacramento Kings	C+	Skal Labissiere, Malachi Richardson and Georgios Papagiannis mean plenty of projects for the Kings.
Toronto Raptors	B	Jakob Poeltl gives a strong contender an inside boost.
Milwaukee Bucks	C+	Thon Maker is high-risk, high-reward, while Malcolm Brogdon is a steady playmaker.
Orlando Magic	B -	Serge Ibaka and Stephen Zimmerman give them plenty of size.
Atlanta Hawks	B	Taurean Prince and DeAndre' Bembry added versatility to the Hawks.
Chicago Bulls	B	Denzel Valentine can do a number of things on the floor if he stays healthy.
Memphis Grizzlies	B+	Wade Baldwin IV and Deyonta Davis could form an impressive inside-out combination.
Detroit Pistons	B	Henry Ellenson adds size if Andre Drummond goes elsewhere.
Brooklyn Nets	C+	Caris LeVert and Isaiah Whitehead are capable playmakers on the outside.
Charlotte Hornets	N/A
Los Angeles Clippers	B +	Brice Johnson plays above the rim and will fill in nicely in Lob City.
San Antonio Spurs	B	Dejounte Murray is an underrated selection for the always-solid Spurs.
Golden State Warriors	B +	The Warriors centers were abysmal in Game 7 of the Finals, so Damian Jones at least adds more depth.
Cleveland Cavaliers	B	Kay Felder can stuff the stat sheet after averaging 24.4 points per game at Oakland.
Miami Heat	N/A
Indiana Pacers	B -	Georges Niang is a solid and experienced college playmaker who will tally some double-doubles in the NBA.
Washington Wizards	N/A
New York Knicks	N/A
Oklahoma City Thunder	A -	The Thunder added Victor Oladipo to the backcourt alongside Russell Westbrook, so get ready to watch them run the floor.
Portland Trail Blazers	C +	Jake Layman was a solid contributor at Maryland who could battle for playing time early.
Dallas Mavericks	B -	A.J. Hammons gives the Mavericks double-double potential down low.
Houston Rockets	B -	Dwight Howard may leave, so the Rockets added size with Chinanu Onuaku and Zhou Qi.
Utah Jazz	C	Marcus Paige is accustomed to pressure from North Carolina and brings a solid outside shot to the Jazz.

Top Prospects

Player	Pick	Team
Ben Simmons, LSU	1	Philadelphia 76ers
Brandon Ingram, Duke	2	Los Angeles Lakers
Kris Dunn, Providence	5	Minnesota Timberwolves
Buddy Hield, Oklahoma	6	New Orleans Pelicans
Jamal Murray, Kentucky	7	Denver Nuggets
Denzel Valentine, Michigan State	14	Chicago Bulls
Malik Beasley, Florida State	19	Denver Nuggets
Brice Johnson, North Carolina	25	Los Angeles Clippers

The Philadelphia 76ers needed a franchise-type player, and that is exactly what they got with Ben Simmons if he develops a jump shot to go with his vision, rebounding skills and ability to handle the ball as a 6’10” forward. He has the potential to eventually become a nearly unstoppable playmaker.

As does Brandon Ingram, who joins a Los Angeles Lakers team that has already built a solid young core with D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. Ingram impacts the game a handful of ways (17.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals per game at Duke) and will fit in nicely as a forward alongside Russell and Clarkson in the backcourt and Randle down low.

Ingram isn’t the only one joining a young core already in place, as Kris Dunn will be throwing lobs to Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine in the near future. What’s more, Karl-Anthony Towns adds a budding superstar down low for Dunn to feed on the post.

Elsewhere, 2016 Wooden Award winner Buddy Hield poured in 25 points a night and drilled 45.7 percent of his threes in 2015-16 for Oklahoma. He will have plenty of open looks playing alongside Anthony Davis on the New Orleans Pelicans, especially when opponents double on the blocks.

Jamal Murray and Malik Beasley can also hit from deep for the Denver Nuggets. Beasley brings athleticism to the table as well and should open up more space for Murray on slashes to the basket.

The Chicago Bulls also added one of the top players in the draft with the 6’5” Denzel Valentine. Valentine is a triple-double threat every time he is on the floor and draws natural comparisons to Draymond Green as an undersized playmaker who can handle the ball from Michigan State.

Brice Johnson is another prospect who emerged from a basketball powerhouse school. The former North Carolina Tar Heel is a force above the rim and should catch plenty of lobs from Chris Paul alongside Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. He will also help Jordan on the boards and with his athleticism on defense.

Sleepers

Player	Pick	Team
Damian Jones, Vanderbilt	30	Golden State Warriors
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia	36	Milwaukee Bucks
A.J. Hammons, Purdue	46	Dallas Mavericks
Georges Niang, Iowa State	50	Indiana Pacers
Kay Felder, Oakland	54	Cleveland Cavaliers

The Golden State Warriors were left with Festus Ezeli and Anderson Varejao at center once Andrew Bogut went down with injury in the NBA Finals. It was clear they needed more interior depth, so they added double-double threat Damian Jones, who posted 13.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in his final collegiate season.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers praised his team’s pick, per Diamond Leung of the Mercury News:

"

We like the athleticism. We think he's got good hands. We like his shot-blocking. Rebounds in his area, finishes at the rim. I think that's important, finishes through contact, physical player.

If you look around the league, big guys are always at a premium, especially athletic bigs ... In the current market, it will be difficult to get big guys, and if you can get them in the draft ... it can be very advantageous.

"

The Milwaukee Bucks also added a solid sleeper with Malcolm Brogdon, who was a consensus All-American the last two years for Virginia. He tallied 18.2 points per game in 2015-16 behind 39.1 percent shooting from three and provides depth at point guard for a team that relied on Michael Carter-Williams last season.

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress said: "Brogdon had one of [the] wider ranges in this draft. Teams in [the] late [first] loved his toughness."

A.J. Hammons and Georges Niang will also add some of that toughness for the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers, respectively. Neither has immense potential, but Hammons posted 15 points and 8.2 boards per game in his last season at Purdue as a double-double candidate, and Niang was a consensus All-American after averaging 20.5 points per game.

Even the champions brought in a sleeper with Kay Felder. Felder scored 24.4 points per game for Oakland last season and shot 35.5 percent from three-point range. He will have plenty of open looks with defenses focused on stopping LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in 2016-17.