NBA Draft Results 2020: Easy-to-Read Grades, Picks for All 30 NBA Teams
Everyone looks good on draft night. Analysts on ESPN's NBA draft show touted the athleticism, potential or "cultural fit" that made a pick make sense for a certain team.
The teams announce that the player they selected was exactly who they had been targeting the whole time and that the cards worked out just right for them to land at the pick they did.
And in some cases, they're absolutely right. Draft-night steals have been a tradition as long as the event has been happening—but so has reaching for a player who could have been gotten later in the round or in the next one entirely.
And then there are the "busts," which are picks that everyone agreed with at the time but now look foolish (see: Greg Oden over Kevin Durant). But hindsight is always 20/20, isn't it? In the moment, nearly every other team in the NBA would have made the same decision Portland did. The Trail Blazers just happened to be the ones who made the pick.
Wednesday night's NBA draft will end up like every one before it, with obvious winners and losers, as well as a bunch of teams in between.
2020 NBA Draft Results: (Picks 1-60)
1 of 32020 NBA draft results (picks 1-60).
2020 NBA Draft Winners and Losers
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2020 NBA Draft Winners
Dallas Mavericks: A
Detroit Pistons: A
Minnesota Timberwolves: A
Sacramento Kings: A
Charlotte Hornets: A-
Memphis Grizzlies: A-
Miami Heat: A-
San Antonio Spurs: A-
Boston Celtics: B+
Brooklyn Nets: B+
Denver Nuggets: B+
Golden State Warriors: B+
Orlando Magic: B+
Toronto Raptors: B+
Washington Wizards: B+
Middle of the Pack
Atlanta Hawks: B
Milwaukee Bucks: B
New Orleans Pelicans: B
Philadelphia 76ers: B
Cleveland Cavaliers: B-
New York Knicks: B-
Oklahoma City Thunder: B-
2020 NBA Draft Losers
Chicago Bulls: C-
Utah Jazz: C-
Phoenix Suns: D+
Incomplete Grades
Houston Rockets: No picks
Indiana Pacers: N/A
Los Angeles Clippers: N/A
Portland Trail Blazers: N/A
Los Angeles Lakers: No picks
Analysis
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As we mentioned before, everyone feels good after draft night.
Prospects made it to the peak of the sport by getting drafted into the best basketball league on the planet. Coaches and front offices think they made the best possible selection in a given spot, and even most fans are generally excited about who their team selected. Even the New York Knicks did a (mostly) good job.
But here are a couple of outstanding picks that we'll look back on in five years and nod in agreement were excellent, and three more we'll be lamenting as boneheaded and outright silly. Because, of course, hindsight is 20/20.
Brilliant: Minnesota taking Anthony Edwards at No. 1 overall was the best move possible for a franchise that desperately needs a third star to pair with D'Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns.
The latter has made his unhappiness with the team's past roster moves pretty clear, but of the players Minnesota could have taken on Wednesday, Edwards was the best fit and likely has the most All-Star potential.
Terrific: It wasn't so much one singular pick for Dallas that stood out but really the night as a whole. The Mavericks had one of the best offenses in NBA history last season, but their defense was downright atrocious at times.
By adding Jalen Green, Tyrell Terry and Tyler Bey, as well as Sixers guard Josh Richardson in a trade, Dallas massively upgraded its perimeter defense and added a starting guard to play alongside Luka Doncic.
Unnecessary: Chicago was unlucky enough to miss out on all three of LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman by drawing the No. 4 pick. But there were plenty of better options—including trading down—than taking Florida State's Patrick Williams at that spot.
Don't get me wrong; he could well be a solid NBA player when all is said and done. But spending a pick that high on a player who didn't start a single game in college is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Puzzling: Luckily for Chicago, Phoenix was there six spots later to take over the mantle as the team with the most questionable draft-night decision.
Maryland forward/center Jalen Smith was projected by nearly everyone to be taken late in the lottery or into the 20s. But the Suns were so enamored that they grabbed him at No. 10, a good 7-10 places ahead of where nearly everyone else would have.
The question here isn't his talent—he's one of the most versatile big men in this year's class—but rather how will he fit next to DeAndre Ayton? Smith is more of a stretch five than anything, and Ayton already fills that role to some degree.
It's possible Suns coach Monty Williams can get them to coexist in the offense, though, which means anyone who doubted it can and will eat their own words.
Follow Keegan on Twitter @ByKeeganPope.
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