This is the second and final part of this two-piece series that first looked at the draft performance of the teams in the Eastern Conference, and now concludes with a report card for those enjoying the early starting game times out West.  Once again, the criterion that will compose the overall grade will be based on three subjects ? overall quality and talent of player(s) selected, team needs addressed, and an added plus for teams who landed a steal versus a minus for those who jumped on a guy who could be a potential first round bust.

This column will consist of a division-by-division analysis of the players selected or obtained on Draft Night by each team in the Western Conference.  The ?Talent Selected?? category will rank from a low score of 1 to a high score of 5.

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets

Round 1: None
Round 2: None

With no picks in the draft, it is difficult to justify giving them a grade.

Talent Selected? N/A
Addressed Team Needs? NA
Steal or Bust?  N/A

Grade: N/A

Minnesota Timberwolves

Round 1: Corey Brewer (7th)
Round 2: Chris Richard (41st)

The Timberwolves added one of the best players of the first round.  Corey Brewer will come in and compete for the starting small forward position.  He has the potential to become a defensive stopper who will mesh well with the defensive abilities of Kevin Garnett, while providing a dangerous outside shot when left open.  With slashers like Randy Foye and Ricky Davis, Brewer could become a deadly weapon for the Wolves on the wing.  Richard will have difficulty cracking the rotation as another body playing behind Craig Smith and Juwan Howard.

Talent Selected? 4
Addressed Team Needs? Mostly
Steal or Bust?  Unlikely.

Grade: B

Portland Trailblazers

Round 1: Greg Oden (1st), Rudy Fernandez (24th), Petteri Koponen (30th)
Round 2: Josh McRoberts (37th), Taurean Green (52nd)

The Blazers have done it once again.  They had the best draft by far.  They added a potential franchise center in number one overall selection Greg Oden, they added perhaps the backcourt of the future with Fernandez and Koponen, and grabbed two ridiculous steals in the second round.  They were also able to bring in Channing Frye from the Knicks in exchange primarily for the troubled Zach Randolph, which should clear the paint area for Mr. Oden quite nicely.

Talent Selected? 5
Addressed Team Needs? Yes
Steal or Bust?  Both Josh McRoberts and Taurean Green were winners in college and could have easily been gone in the first round.

Grade: A+

Seattle Supersonics

Round 1: Kevin Durant (2nd), Jeff Green (5th)
Round 2: None

With the easiest job in the draft, the Sonics sat back and waited to see which potential superstar fell into their laps.  Kevin Durant won every single college basketball award last year and could develop into the league?s leading scorer within his first couple of seasons.  The trade that sent Ray Allen to Boston in exchange for Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and Jeff Green will change the face of the franchise and offer the city of Seattle (or Oklahoma City or Vegas or?) a fresh start with two budding stars with which to build around.

Talent Selected? 5
Addressed Team Needs? Yes
Steal or Bust?  Neither.

Grade: A

Utah Jazz

Round 1: Morris Almond (25th)
Round 2: Kyrylo Fesenko (38th)

Needing only a shooting guard to fill out their already potent starting lineup, the Jazz were fortunate when the purest shooting guard fell to them at the 25th pick.  With comparisons to Allan Houston, Morris Almond will benefit greatly from the incredible passing ability of Deron Williams and Andrei Kirilenko.  He should fit in with Jerry Sloan?s system very well and could be the starter at the two by midseason.

Talent Selected? 3
Addressed Team Needs? Yes
Steal or Bust?  Neither.

Grade: B

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors

Round 1: Brandan Wright (8th), Marco Belinelli (18th)
Round 2: Stephane Lasme (46th)

The Warriors had an incredible draft night.  While many will contend that trading Jason Richardson was a mistake, they were able to shed the remaining 4 yrs/$51M off the books, while adding the prospect many classified as the third best talent available.  Belinelli looks like the best shooting guard in the draft as he has been dominant thus far in the summer leagues, and Stephane Lasme broke Marcus Camby?s UMASS record for blocked shots last season, and will fit into the up tempo Warrior pace very well.

Talent Selected? 5
Addressed Team Needs? Yes
Steal or Bust?  Unlikely

Grade: A

Los Angeles Clippers

Round 1: Al Thornton (14th)
Round 2: Jared Jordan (45th)

With a glaring need at point guard, the Clippers passed on highly touted Javaris Crittenton in the first round and instead went with one of the best talents in the lottery.  Thornton could have cracked the top ten had it not been for his age (24).  They were able to grab two players who could come in and contribute immediately and should not have been available at their drafting positions.

Talent Selected? 4
Addressed Team Needs? Not entirely.
Steal or Bust?  Jared Jordan has the potential to be a very good point guard in the league.  

Grade: B+

Los Angeles Lakers

Round 1: Javaris Crittenton (19th)
Round 2: Sun Yue (40th), Marc Gasol (48th)

The Lakers find themselves in turmoil with the Kobe Bryant saga, and taking another young inexperienced point guard in the first round is probably not going to relax the tension between Kobe and the Boss.  After drafting point guards in the past two drafts (Jordan Farmar last year), and then signing free agent Derek Fisher, the Lakers seem to be piling the assets in order to make a big splash in the trade market.  Both Yue and Gasol were great talents that the Lakers pounced on late in the draft and could turn out to be great pros if and when they come to America.

Talent Selected? 4
Addressed Team Needs? No
Steal or Bust?  It is believed both Yue and Gasol will remain overseas.

Grade: B

Phoenix Suns

Round 1: Alando Tucker (29th)
Round 2: D.J. Strawberry (59th)

The Suns finally used one of their picks to bring in a player to help out their depth issues.  However, they added two more tweeners in Alando Tucker and D.J. Strawberry, neither of which can shoot very well.  They failed to address their backup point guard vacancy and their lack of big men.  It seems as if Steve Kerr just wants a team full of tweeners?at least Strawberry can be a versatile defender.  

Talent Selected? 3
Addressed Team Needs? Not at all.
Steal or Bust? If Strawberry learns to shoot (not in the same way his father did), then he can turn out to be a steal at the 59th pick.

Grade: D+

Sacramento Kings

Round 1: Spencer Hawes (10th)
Round 2: None

The problem with taking Spencer Hawes for the Kings is that they already have Brad Miller.  Spencer Hawes is merely a younger version of Brad Miller.  They really needed to upgrade their power forward position and a pick of Thaddeus Young or Al Thornton would have given them a versatile three/four man who would not only assume the power forward slot with small lineups, but also provide insurance at the three position for the next time Ron Artest completely eliminates his trade value and goes berserk again.

Talent Selected? 4
Addressed Team Needs? Not really.
Steal or Bust? Unlikely.

Grade: C

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks

Round 1: None
Round 2: Nick Fazekas (34th), Reyshawn Terry (44th), Renaldas Seibutis (50th)

Equipped only with second round selections, the Mavericks made the most out of their draft night by snatching two proven college players in Fazekas and Terry.  Both Fazekas and Terry, along with last year?s pick Maurice Ager, will provide depth and youth to an already strong roster.  

Talent Selected? 4
Addressed Team Needs? Somewhat
Steal or Bust?  Reyshawn Terry can step in behind Josh Howard and be an effective steal for the Mavs this season.

Grade: B+

Houston Rockets

Round 1: Aaron Brooks (26th)
Round 2: Carl Landry (31st), Brad Newley (54th)

The Rockets had perhaps the worst draft in the league.  After obtaining and aging shoot-first point guard Mike James, they selected an undersized shoot-first point guard in Aaron Brooks.  With plenty of players that could help fortify the thin Houston power forward position, they decided to squander their pick on Brooks.  Landry and Newley are good pick-ups, but are unlikely to have much of an impact.

Talent Selected? 3
Addressed Team Needs? No
Steal or Bust?  While the Brooks selection makes no sense, the Landry and Newley additions could cancel out the bizarre selection of the tiny point guard.

Grade: D

Memphis Grizzlies

Round 1: Mike Conley Jr. (4th)
Round 2: None

Faced with the same situation as the Seattle Supersonics, the Grizzlies just had to sit back and wait and see who Atlanta selected.  As clear as Oden and Durant were the number one and two picks, Al Horford and Mike Conley were the third and fourth.  In this case, Memphis was seeking both: a big man who can play next to Pau Gasol immediately or a young stud point guard who can take over for the aging Damon Stoudamire.  Conley has the tools to be a big step up from Stoudamire and Kyle Lowry, and together they should mesh well with Tarence Kinsey to be one of the most youthful dynamic backcourts in the league.

Talent Selected? 5
Addressed Team Needs? Yes
Steal or Bust?  Neither.

Grade: A

New Orleans Hornets

Round 1: Julian Wright (13th)
Round 2: Adam Haluska (43rd)

Needing an upgrade at either the shooting guard or small forward position, the Hornets snatched the very versatile and multi-talented Julian Wright.  He will be able to play the three while Peja Stojakovic is capable of shooting lights out from the two position.  A player we expected the Hornets to pounce on was Nick Young, which would have kept the aging and slowing Stojakovic at the small forward position.  Either way, they were able to nab a great talent who had top ten talent.

Talent Selected? 3
Addressed Team Needs? Mostly
Steal or Bust?  Unlikely.

Grade: B

San Antonio Spurs

Round 1: Tiago Splitter (28th)
Round 2: Marcus Williams (33rd)

The Spurs seem to be the only team who knows what they are doing every single year.  Already stacked with the world title and an incredibly stacked roster, they knew they could take a flyer on one of the best Brazilian players in the world, Tiago Splitter.  Since the Spurs are already set for the next year, Splitter can remain overseas and become even more experienced for his eventual trip up to San Antonio.  With the wing position rapidly aging for this Spurs roster, it was vital to snatch another wing man, and they were able to grab a first round talent from a well-coached winning basketball program in Marcus Williams (Arizona).  These Spurs know what they are doing.

Talent Selected? 5
Addressed Team Needs? Yes
Steal or Bust?  Both should be solid when they hit the courts for the Spurs.

Grade: A

Agree? Disagree?  Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts.  He can be reached at [email protected] for comments or questions.