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NBA Draft 2019: Full Results and Grades for All Prospects Selected
June 21, 2019
Every team comes away from the NBA draft with the belief that it had a great night.
But not every critic is in line with the self-belief of the franchises, as picks can be viewed as excellent steals or confusing reaches.
Atlanta, New Orleans and Memphis were among the teams that walked away from Barclays Center with plenty of praise for the roster upgrades they made.
However, the critiques were not as positive for Orlando, Washington and a few other teams that had some suspect first-round selections.
2019 NBA Draft Results
Grades
Atlanta: A
Boston: A-
Brooklyn: B-
Charlotte: C
Chicago: B-
Cleveland: A
Dallas: C+
Denver: B+
Detroit: B-
Golden State: C
Houston: N/A
Indiana: B
Los Angeles Clippers: B-
Los Angeles Lakers: C
Memphis: A
Miami: B+
Milwaukee: N/A
Minnesota: B-
New Orleans: A
New York: B
Oklahoma City: B-
Orlando: C-
Philadelphia: C
Phoenix: C-
Portland: A-
Sacramento: C
San Antonio: B+
Toronto: C+
Utah: C+
Washington: B-
Analysis
Atlanta: A
The Atlanta Hawks were under the microscope for much of the pre-draft process because of the three first-round picks they held.
By the time the Hawks left Brooklyn, they came away with two solid lottery selections, one of which they moved up from No. 8 to No. 4 to get.
Sure, the price to select De'Andre Hunter was steep, but if he was the guy the Hawks wanted all along, they had to move up because the Virginia standout would not have been available at No. 8.
Hunter's defensive prowess will add another element to the young core headlined by Trae Young, which showed signs of progress last season.
By keeping the No. 10 pick out of the trade with New Orleans, Atlanta was able to steal Cam Reddish at that position.
Reddish triggered plenty of questions during the buildup to the draft, but he was still one of the top talents available.
If Reddish is given more freedom than he was at Duke, when he played alongside Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, he should be able to carve out a spot in the Atlanta rotation from the start.
Atlanta was also able to get a steal at No. 34 in Maryland center Bruno Fernando, who has the potential to be a solid rim protector. He also fills a frontcourt need on a team with a stockpile of young backcourt players.
The Hawks maximized their large amount of draft picks by using them to trade into the spots where they could get the best prospects available.
And by keeping the No. 10 pick away from the Pelicans, the Hawks were able to add a handful of impact players that could push them into the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Orlando: C-
Orlando made a puzzling decision at No. 16 by taking Auburn's Chuma Okeke, who tore his ACL during the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The Magic's low grade has more to do with their questionable call as a playoff team looking to improve its roster than Okeke's individual talent.
Before he tore his ACL, Okeke was one of the best players in the SEC, and he was improving his draft stock with performances throughout March Madness.
While he could come back from the injury and be a star in the NBA, Okeke will not be ready until the second half of the 2019-20 season at the earliest.
For a team like the Magic that barely qualified for the postseason, being patient with Okeke's recovery is a risk, especially with teams that finished beneath them in the standings, like Atlanta, making significant improvements to their squads.
We could be wrong in the long run if Okeke recovers and performs well when he hits the court, but right now, there are plenty of questions to ask about Orlando's decision-making.
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