As is the case with any draft, the 2009 edition saw several teams improve, a few stay the course and a few that did not help themselves at all.

Great Drafts

San Antonio Spurs: It is just not fair, man. My first take was that it really depends on how you see the Richard Jefferson trade, and I'm a big fan. It is true that they would have had an outside shot of making something work for 2010, but I saw that as a long shot considering the contracts for the Big Three. Jefferson should be a fantastic fit who benefits from three players that create excellent opportunities for others, and the fact that they got him without giving up any other major pieces is just huge? Then they got one of the best players in the draft in the 2nd round. DeJuan Blair is literally perfect for what the Spurs are looking for. Oh, and then they get Jack McClinton, who should make them very happy in the near future, and Nando de Colo, who should make them very happy in the more distant future.

Minnesota Timberwolves: It all depends on who they keep. Ricky Rubio was my favorite player in the entire draft and Nick Calathes is my favorite 2nd round perimeter player. The big question is if they will keep Rubio and/or Flynn. We will have to see if the Charlotte pick they got from Denver for Ty Lawson eventually works out, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt since they have so many young guys in the first place. Plus, they drafted a Rubio teammate with another pick in the 2nd, and that's hard not to like.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Let's start here: I absolutely love James Harden as a fit next to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. He is a great kid who provides a lot of the tools they want. That said, it gets scary to imagine how vicious they would have been with Ricky Rubio. Harden meshes better, but Rubio creates a unique team. B.J. Mullens was a great value pick for where they got him, and it's not like losing a 2nd round pick really makes a difference for them. Vaden could be a sneaky-good addition as well.

New Jersey Nets: Mark me down as one of the biggest fans of what the Nets did around draft time for the second consecutive season. New Jersey has less than $25 million committed to the 2010 cap with a core of Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Courtney Lee, Terrance Williams, and CDR (among others) already in place.

Philadelphia 76ers: They got the biggest steal of the first round in Jrue Holliday. He may not be a perfect PG for what they want to run, but he will be a long-term starter who makes a compelling fit with Iggy, Thad, Brand, and Speights for the long haul.

Utah Jazz: In a draft full of backup PGs, they may have gotten the very best one. I LOVE Eric Maynor and he is a prototypical guy to back up Deron and take over in case of injury.

Denver Nuggets: It is amazing to think about how much the Nuggets have improved over the past year. To me, there is a strange irony in the team that dumped Jameer Nelson to Orlando for scraps years ago getting Ty Lawson in nearly identical fashion. They did give up a pick that could yield some value, but Lawson is a great backup and heir to the throne that can make a difference out of the chute.

Good Drafts

Portland Trail Blazers: Are they getting Kirk Hinrich? The Blazers have a clear need to combine their assets into a few players, and as of this writing they have not done so. What's more, DeJuan Blair is exactly what they needed from a backup PF even if his ACLs are gone. As one of the biggest fans of Victor Claver, he is a value if he decides to come over despite being locked in to 1st round money. Jeff Pendergraph should be fine, and it's appropriate to pick a Pac-10 guy to replace Channing Frye?s role. Love, love, love getting Patty Mills so late.

Houston Rockets: Did a great job getting Kyle Lowry for their first round pick, which became Omri Casspi and it's hard not to love getting guys like Sergio Llull (palindromes!) and Jermaine Taylor for absolutely nothing but cash, along with Chase Budinger for almost nothing. The sheer number of guards that they have on roster now is very compelling- wonder if there is a trade coming down the pike.

Golden State Warriors: Since so much is uncertain at this time about a potential Amare Stoudemire deal, their selection will be evaluated on its face (Stephen Curry). Curry should be a very good NBA player who has an NBA skill right now in terms of his shooting stroke. A solid value for where he was taken. Now we have to see what colors he is wearing July 10th?

Ehn Drafts

Detroit Pistons: Either they are going to do a swingman purge or they felt like using a ton of draft picks on guys who they plan on cutting loose. Each of their picks (Daye, Summers, and Jerebko) should be NBA players, but the Pistons already have Prince, Rip, and a chorus of others at the swingman slots. They still need size and PG depth like nobody's business.

Atlanta Hawks: Jamal Crawford. Jeff Teague. Am I seeing double? I guess Joe Johnson is down with being the primary ballhandler, because it is hard to see Bibby returning. It is utterly baffling that the Hawks have a Hornets-esque obsession with leaving Al Horford all alone on the interior.

Chicago Bulls: Like with Portland and Minnesota, much of this depends on who they keep. James Johnson and Taj Gibson are both fine players, but the Bulls getting an additional two forwards in the first round does not bode well for the long-term futures of Tyrus Thomas and Luol Deng.

Orlando Magic: Their owner must be willing to suck it up and pay the tax for a loooong time, considering the major contracts for Dwight, Shard, and Half-Man, Half-Season. The other major thing for them is that Ryan Anderson could go from being a footnote in the trade to a significant contributor since he can stroke it from outside and rebound well on defense. If they keep HEDO, they are a matchup nightmare. If they lose him, they are worse than this year.

Boston Celtics: Hard to knock Boston for what they have done so far- their real challenge is holding on to both Powe and Big Baby, though they got really lucky that the Spurs are probably less on the trail of Glen than they were rumored to be pre-draft. It would be shocking if they moved Rondo, and him staying put as of now is a good sign for the Celtics' chances in 2009-2010.

Cleveland Cavaliers: The Shaq trade appears incredibly short-sighted if they do not have a destination for Z; they cannot play together. We'll see if the swagger Shaq adds coupled with some new motivation is enough to make him worth passing on guys like Tyson Chandler and Richard Jefferson. It is very interesting that they did not go after a player who can contribute right away with the 30th pick, considering their SF/PF depth not named Lebron James is nil. Still, Danny Green is a very good value in the 2nd round and should make the team and get some minutes.

New Orleans Hornets: Collison should be a reliable backup for CP3 for years to come. He's a great kid who tries hard and has talent, but the Hornets really need some depth up front, especially since they are semi-obsessed with trading Tyson Chandler. DC makes them better, yet not as much better as a guy like BJ Mullens or Blair. Like Collison, Marcus Thornton should be a contributor, but I have no idea why they hate having size on roster.

Charlotte Bobcats: Gerald Henderson is a fine player. He does seem like a poor complement to Augustin and Gerald Wallace since his shooting is not at the caliber needed to play next to those two, but Henderson is a guy who will have a spot in the NBA for years to come. Beyond Henderson, Derrick Brown was a very good pick at 40 and can ideally upgrade on their SF/PF group in a meaningful way.

Phoenix Suns: Well, at least they're collecting less talented brothers of NBA players? Like with the Warriors, so much of this depends on what happens with Amare. The Shaq trade was semi-defensible since the team was not going that far with the gutting that had already happened, but it is more than a little disturbing that they got absolutely no talent for him that will be on the team in the long term. I absolutely love Earl Clark in their system, and here's hoping they can have other players that will be on the team for more than a season.

Los Angeles Clippers: I'm not nearly as sold on Griffin as most people. That said, much of this depends on what they were offered for the pick. If the rumors of Rudy Gay and #2 for #1 was offered, the Clippers were fools to turn it down. The fact that they walk out of the draft without any more swingman depth is jarring, to say the least.

Milwaukee Bucks: What is their plan? It seems like the Jefferson trade was done to clear room to sign Ramon Sessions, then management uses a lottery pick to draft another PG. Jennings is a fine player for where they got him, but it just does not make sense on a team that has as many holes as Milwaukee to sell out that hard right before making a commitment to Sessions.

Toronto Raptors: Not a big fan of DeMar DeRozan, especially for a team that needs a lead scorer when Chris Bosh makes his Predator way out of Toronto. I sincerely wish DeMar the best of luck and he will definitely have the playing time to make a difference on a team that needs swingman depth in the worst way.

Miami Heat: Considering their first was long gone by draft day, it is nearly impossible to grade Miami out. As such, they get an Incomplete, which is better than some teams?

Bad Drafts

Sacramento Kings: Tyreke Evans is far more of an off-guard SG than a PG who can (or should) run a team?s offense. So why take him over Ricky Rubio and the other PG?s in this draft with Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia on roster? No earthly idea. Beyond #4, the Kings got some good values in Omri Casspi and Spencer Hawes? old teammate Jon Brockman.

New York Knicks: If the Rubio rumors come to fruition, they move to #1 on these rankings. Since that is not a reality yet, they sit down here because Jordan Hill just is not that good and this team still needs a great deal of talent to be relevant in 2010 and beyond. Toney Douglas absolutely should have a role in the long term (and makes it easier to wave goodbye to Nate), and I love the Darko for Q-Rich trade for them.

Los Angeles Lakers: Not a huge fan of selling late picks, since the guy wasn?t going to make much money, the Lakers need a little depth, and the money they get from the Knicks lines Buss? pockets instead of helping their cap situation (though of course it can make him more amenable to signing Trevor and Lamar).

Dallas Mavericks: It seems genuinely bizarre to take a guy who will take a little while to be NBA-ready when guys like Dirk and Kidd need to win and win now and the Mavs need to improve to match up with teams like San Antonio, LA, and Houston.

Memphis Grizzlies: An absolute disaster for a team that needs some good things. I cannot see how Marc Gasol can play PF (obviously Thabeet can?t), and getting an asset like Rubio would have been gigantic for a team that needs a playmaker who can also play D, who fits next to OJ Mayo.  I like Carroll and Sam Young quite a bit, but we will have to see if management and the coaching staff give them the minutes they deserve.

Indiana Pacers: Wow. There really are not any words for the team with Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy taking Tyler Hansbrough in the lottery. There are rumors that they are looking to move TJ Ford, and they certainly picked the wrong draft to want a PF in the lottery, well, unless they wanted Jon Brockman Version 0.7. Poor, poor Danny Granger.

Washington Wizards: There is absolutely no reason for Washington to have pulled the deal they did with a few days before the draft. The possibility (that became a reality) that either Rubio or Harden would be there was worth waiting, and they just didn?t do it. Also, they have a roster that does not have enough defense to be relevant in the current Eastern Conference. Is there any sane person that would rather have Randy Foye next to Gilbert than Ricky Rubio.