2021 NBA Rookies Drafted to the Wrong Team
Just as the right fit on draft night could help jump-start an NBA player's career, the wrong one could delay or derail his development.
Five first-round rookies might soon be wishing they were selected by different teams. Their projected role may not be suited to optimize their strengths, or their most coveted skills won't appear as valuable on a lackluster roster.
The outlooks for these rookies might have looked brighter had they landed elsewhere during the 2021 NBA draft.
Davion Mitchell (Sacramento Kings, PG)
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A backcourt logjam won't keep Davion Mitchell from making an impact for the Sacramento Kings. But unless a major trade goes down, his individual ceiling seems capped on a roster with multiple starting ball-handlers in De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton.
Though it's tough to criticize a team for drafting its best player available, Mitchell may end up wishing the Kings took needs into account.
Is the plan to play Mitchell and Fox with 185-pound Haliburton guarding forwards? If not, Mitchell will work as a change-of-pace spark or sixth man. And he possesses more upside than those roles allow for. He'd be able to unlock it easier on a team that had a clearer path toward the starting point guard job.
Playing with Fox and Haliburton isn't necessarily a bad thing for Mitchell early in his career. The worry focuses on his ability to develop into a full-package lead guard long term, especially playing with Fox, who ranked No. 7 in the NBA in time of possession (minimum 40 games).
Jalen Johnson (Atlanta Hawks, PF)
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Falling to No. 20 affected Jalen Johnson's rookie contract, and landing with the Atlanta Hawks could delay his development.
They just signed John Collins to a $125 million extension. It's going to be tough for Johnson, Bleacher Report's No. 7 overall prospect, to get many reps or ever compete for a starting job in Atlanta. And considering he only played 13 games at Duke (and nine games as a high school senior), plus the fact that he needs to improve as a shooter, he would have benefited from early playing time through mistakes.
He'll likely have to wait for the Hawks to eventually move on from Danilo Gallinari as well.
Some scouts expected the Oklahoma City Thunder to take Johnson at either No. 16 or No. 18. He made sense as an upside pick for a rebuilding franchise that could offer him a full-time role right away.
While joining a playoff-bound team like the Hawks will have its perks, limited available minutes and no path to rise up the depth chart could work against Johnson.
Jalen Suggs (Orlando Magic, PG)
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The lottery results, draft order and Kyle Lowry's free agency had aligned for Jalen Suggs to land with the Toronto Raptors at No. 4 overall. He seemed like an obvious replacement or plug-and-play option at point guard, and Toronto would have been a great landing spot for Suggs, who would join an established roster featuring Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam.
Instead, the Raptors saw more upside in Scottie Barnes, and Suggs fell to a rebuilding Orlando Magic team that ranked No. 27 in three-point shooting and No. 29 in offense, already has multiple ball-handlers and lacks exciting offensive weapons in the frontcourt.
He'll go from playing with arguably the NCAA's most talented lineup at Gonzaga to a young team that has no stars, few veterans and core players (Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac) coming off severe injuries.
Between Fultz, Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton, Suggs figures to spend more time spotting up (29.7 percent catch-and-shoot at Gonzaga, per Synergy Sports) than he'd like.
Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder, PG/SG)
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Josh Giddey may have been better off falling a few spots in the draft than going No. 6 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He can have trouble creating separation for himself, and his best fit always seemed to be with a franchise that could surround him with established talent, scorers and shooters. Ideally, he would have joined a roster that had more offensive threats to take pressure off and give him reliable targets to set up in the half court.
Instead, he'll join the NBA's worst offense and share the ball with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, working as a combo/secondary playmaker for 19-year-old Aleksej Pokusevski, 21-year-old Darius Bazley and 22-year-old Luguentz Dort.
Giddey may also have to hold off Theo Maledon for minutes, given his promising rookie season and start to summer league.
A lot can change fast if the Thunder wind up flipping picks for impact players. But at this stage, Oklahoma City is still at Phase 1 of what could be a lengthy rebuild. And it doesn't appear that Giddey will have many veterans to lean on early in his development.
Josh Primo (San Antonio Spurs, SG)
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Any team considering Josh Primo knew to temper short-term expectations for the draft's youngest prospect. But there still needs to be a plan or path for him to eventually earn minutes and a role.
San Antonio is currently invested in Derrick White and banking on Lonnie Walker IV, shooting guards who were presumed to have long-term futures in San Antonio. Throw in ball-handler Dejounte Murray, rising star Keldon Johnson and the expected emergence of Devin Vassell, and the opening for Primo to break through seems even smaller.
Maybe the Spurs have plans to shop White or they aren't confident in Walker. But what happens if White, who's under contract until 2025, stays healthy, and if 22-year-old Walker breaks out the way San Antonio has been developing him to do?
The Spurs clearly saw Primo as the best prospect available at No. 12, but they should have asked whether he can become that player or maximize his potential with their particular roster.
Primo, who averaged 8.1 points with 25 assists in 30 games at Alabama, needs a lot of time and work on his creation skills and body. And if all goes right with the Spurs' previously drafted prospects, there might not be enough opportunity for him.
