The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: 2018 NBA Draft Observations
The Good
The Nets are free.
Five years after the infamous 2013 trade with the Celtics, Brooklyn will finally have its own first-round picks, beginning in the 2019 Draft. This year, however, the team was lucky enough to have acquired the Toronto Raptors’ first-round pick, via a trade in 2017, using it to land Džanan Musa, the 6’9” Bosnian wing from Cedevita Zagreb of the Croatian League, 29th overall.
There is a long list of foreign failures/under-performers in NBA history (Darko Milicic, Sasha Vujacic, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, etc.), so why would Musa be any different?
The 19-year-old is a sharpshooter with an ability to create his own shot from beyond arc, as well as enough height to take the ball to the rim and finish inside, which could drive opposing teams crazy at the next level. His Curry-like limitless range has the potential to spread defenses extremely thin, allotting him opportunities to find open teammates for easy buckets.
Brooklyn is preparing to lose Joe Harris, its current three-point specialist, this off-season, which will give Musa a big opportunity to contribute early, and expedite his development on a team that needs reliable scorers on the wing.
The Bad
Mohamed Bamba is an excellent basketball player. An athletically and academically-gifted center, and an elite defender to boot, Bamba does not answer any of Orlando’s questions.
The Magic went into the Draft desperate for a young point guard, and a viable perimeter threat. The struggling franchise left the Draft without meeting either need.
Orlando has just over $30 million wrapped up in centers Bismack Biyombo, Nikola Vucevic and Khem Birch for the 2018-2019 season, while D.J. Augustin remains the team’s top option at PG, heading into free agency. Vucevic is in the final year of his contract, so the Magic likely view Bamba as his long-term replacement; however, the team ignored top-tier talent at bigger positions of need to add surplus depth to a position currently undervalued in the league.
Unless the Magic meet their needs in free agency, this pick could very well end up coming back to haunt them — while damaging the development of the 20-year-old out of Texas.
The Ugly
Despite a successful 2017-2018 campaign, the 76ers needed a strong Draft to distract fans from recent events involving now-resigned president of basketball operations Bryan Colangleo, and five burner twitter accounts.
Mikal Bridges had dreamed of being drafted by the Sixers his entire life, and with the tenth pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, that dream came true.
Bridges was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He chose to stay close to home for college, attending Villanova and helping it win National Titles in 2016 and 2018. His mother, Tyneesha Rivers, even works for the 76ers organization, and was thrilled that her son had been taken by her employer.
The 76ers needed wing depth, and Bridges was the perfect fit for their scheme.
It was the perfect moment. The perfect pick. And, just six Draft spots later, the perfect disaster.
Bridges was shipped off to the Phoenix Suns for the 16th overall pick (Zhaire Smith) and the Miami’s 2021 first-round pick.
The 21-year-old was one of the top talents heading into the Draft, and will be appreciated by the Suns organization, but the whole situation was untenable.
Other Observations
The ‘Fits
Wendell Carter Jr. (7th-Bulls) was undeniably the best dressed player at the Draft.
Trae Young’s outfit, however, suggested that he may have had different expectations for his future home in the NBA.
The remarkably talented point guard wore a “Cavaliers red” suit with suit shorts, a callback to LeBron wearing suit shorts during the 2018 NBA Finals. The Cavs’ selection of Alabama point guard Collin Sexton suggests that the team may have had interest in selecting Young, had he fallen to them, but the 19-year-old was taken with the fifth overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks (and later traded to the Hawks in exchange for third overall pick Luka Doncic).
Biggest Risers
Jerome Robinson (13th-Clippers) | Troy Brown Jr. (15th-Wizards)
Both players were projected to be late-first to early-second round picks, but managed to creep up to the middle of the first.
Robinson is a strong offensive talent, who should find himself playing off the ball in the NBA as a shooting guard. Brown is a defensive-minded wing, who still needs time to develop as a scorer.
Biggest Falls
Michael Porter Jr. (14th-Nuggets) | Robert Williams III (27th-Celtics)
Coming out of high school, it was presumed that Porter would be the No. 1 overall pick after one season at Missouri, but a back injury in the season-opener of his freshman year put that speculation to rest. Despite returning late in the season for the Tigers, questions about Porter’s long-term health kept him out of the top ten, and nearly saw him fall out of the lottery altogether. The 19-year-old has great size and talent, but could miss a full year of action for the Nuggets, as he continues to recover from his back surgery.
Williams dropped due to a combination of questions about his offensive skill-set and effort, along with undisclosed off-court issues at Texas A&M. While he clearly needs to hone his offensive prowess, Williams is undoubtedly an NBA-ready defender, and should be an early contributor off the bench for the championship-contending Celtics.
Brotherly Love (Making LaVar Ball Jealous)
Aaron Holiday (23rd-Pacers) will join his brothers Jrue Holiday (Pelicans) and Justin Holiday (Bulls) in the NBA.
Aaron should have a good chance to contribute on a young-and-hungry Pacers team that pushed the championship-bound Cleveland Cavaliers to the brink of elimination, before losing in Game 7 of the first round of the Playoffs.
Kostas Antetokounmpo (60th-Mavericks via the 76ers) joins his All-Star older brother Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) in the league.
If Kostas is anything like Giannis, the Mavericks may have landed a critical piece to the future of their franchise.
The Antetokounmpos are becoming a worldwide brand. Francis played professional basketball in Greece, Thanasis, formerly a Knick, now plays for Panathinaikos in the EuroLeague, and youngest brother Alexis currently plays high school basketball in the States.
Speaking of worldwide brands, LiAngelo Ball was not selected by any team in the 2018 NBA Draft. It didn’t come as a complete surprise, as Ball’s short tenure at UCLA ended when he was briefly detained in China after a shoplifting incident involving he and two teammates. After the Draft, however, a video of Ball’s pre-Draft workout leaked, which may explain why the Lakers weren’t interested in adding Ball to their Summer League roster this off-season. Ball, who averaged 12.64 PPG and 2.86 RPG with Vytautas Prienu last season, will likely need to head back overseas to hone his skills if he ever wants a realistic shot at the NBA.
The Robinson Conundrum
Mitchell Robinson is a 6’11” center that originally committed to playing for Western Kentucky University, before leaving the team. Twice.
Robinson initially intended to transfer, but eventually chose to forgo college altogether and declare for the 2018 NBA Draft. Despite not attending college, playing in the G-League, or joining a team overseas, Robinson was one of 69 players invited to the 2018 NBA Draft Combine. He accepted the offer, but, on the first day of the showcase, decided to withdraw.
Robinson later revealed that he withdrew after receiving a first-round guarantee from the Los Angeles Lakers. According to Robinson, Los Angeles had promised to take him with its first pick in the draft, 25th overall.
When the Lakers pick came around, however, the team spurned Robinson in favor of former Michigan star center Moritz Wagner. Robinson plummeted to the second round, where he was finally selected by the New York Knicks with the 36th overall pick.
While the Knicks seem thrilled to have landed the immensely-talented Robinson at 36, it’s worth wondering how Robinson feels about being slighted by the Lakers. Did Los Angeles see him as a first-round talent? Did the 20-year-old misinterpret the Lakers’ interest? Or was the team just blowing smoke?
The Best?
Former Villanova PG Jalen Brunson is the reigning Naismith College Player of the Year, Big East Player of the Year, Bob Cousy Award winner, and Robert V. Geasey Trophy winner, as well as a consensus first-team All-American, and a two-time NCAA Champion.
The best player in college basketball last season did not go first overall. He didn’t go in the lottery. He didn’t even go in the first round.
Brunson “slid” to the 33rd overall pick, where the Dallas Mavericks finally took the 21-year-old star.
