RealGM Analysis
The dust has settled on the 2009 NBA Draft, but it will still take months (if not years) before a true assessment of the class can be discerned.
Most, aside from Mr. Ricky Rubio, have been introduced as members of their new clubs, and fan bases from Oakland to Manhattan are already sick with anticipation for their new favorite player's fall debut on the hardwood.
Prior to both the NFL and NBA drafts, I compiled consensus mock drafts that ended up being pretty good indicators of what went down on in the first round of each league's selection process.
This year's NBA Draft was a unique one with even the most respected mock drafters struggling to nail down exactly what occurred last Thursday night. Because of that, draft grades have been all over the map.
For example, a number of experts gave the Jazz high marks after they selected Eric Maynor late in the first round, but one outlet gave Utah a failing grade.
Because of such variances, I thought compiling a consensus might provide a better barometer of just how each club did on draft night. Certain teams, like the Magic and Wizards, received grades solely based on the trades they made in the days and hours leading up to the actual draft.
Atlanta
Picks: Jeff Teague (19), Sergiy Gladyr (49)
Christopher Reina, RealGM: A, ?Teague is an elite playmaker off the dribble with an excellent perimeter shot to boot and has virtually no bust potential at the point guard position.?
Chad Ford, ESPN: B+, ?The Hawks finally took a Wake Forest point guard -- too bad it was in 2009 instead of 2005.?
Dave Del Grande, CBS Sports: B, ?Adding talented Wake Forest standout and Jamal Crawford allows club to let 3-point-shooting point guard Mike Bibby to walk.?
Kelly Dwyer, Yahoo! Sports: C, ?They love point guards who shoot first, and Jeff Teague fits the profile.?
Consensus Grade: B
Boston
Picks: Lester Hudson (59)
Reina: B, ?I like Lester Hudson and he'll be able to play right away if he makes the team.?
Ford: B+, ?Hudson is a combo guard who can shoot, score, pass and rebound.?
Dwyer: C, ?Taking a big NCAA scorer with one of the last picks in the Draft hasn't worked out ... ever.?
Consensus Grade: B-
Charlotte
Picks: Gerald Henderson (12), Derrick Brown (40)
Reina: B-, ?Charlotte keeps drafting solid role players with no tangible star upside.?
Ford: B+, ?Henderson is a really good fit in Charlotte and eventually should be able to replace Raja Bell.?
Del Grande: D, ?Mediocre player joins mediocre team.?
Dwyer: C, ?Despite all the hype and his Duke pedigree, Henderson still feels like a reach.?
Consensus Grade: C
Chicago
Picks: James Johnson (16), Taj Gibson (26)
Reina: C-, ?The Bulls must think that they will be able to re-sign Ben Gordon or trade Luol Deng/Tyrus Thomas for a wing, because they drafted two low ceiling power forwards.?
Ford: B-, ?I think the Bulls had their hearts set on Tyler Hansbrough and probably were a bit crestfallen when they couldn't move up and get him.?
Del Grande: C, ?If size-challenged club had to go with undersized power forward, why not tough one like DeJuan Blair??
Dwyer: F, ?Are these really two players that you want to hand guaranteed contracts to for the next two or three years??
Consensus Grade: D+
Cleveland
Picks: Christian Eyenga (30), Danny Green (46), Emir Preldzic (57)
Reina: C+, ?Drafting Eyenga in the first round is akin to that Japanese CEO with a 500-year business plan.?
Ford: B-, ?I have to say I'm a little surprised the Cavs didn't go for a player like Sam Young or DeJuan Blair who could have helped them right away.?
Del Grande: F, ?Throw-away selection for team that acquired pretty good big man earlier in day.?
Dwyer: F, ?Green can play, but why send guaranteed money Eyenga's way??
Consensus Grade: C-
Dallas
Picks: Rodrigue Beaubois (25), Nick Calathes (45), Ahmad Nivins (56)
Reina :A, ?In the second round, Dallas took two of my favorite sleepers in Nick Calathes and Ahmad Nivins.?
Ford :B-, ?I like the Mavericks' second-round picks more than their first-rounder.?
Del Grande :F, ?Dealing initial pick B.J. Mullens for Beaubois results in a higher overall grade.?
Dwyer :C-, ?Again, guaranteed money for Beaubois??
Consensus Grade: B-
Denver
Picks: Ty Lawson (18)
Reina :A, ?I don't like Lawson as an eventual starter, but he will thrive in that system and in the altitude.?
Ford :A-, ?Lawson should work out well as a solid point guard coming off the bench.?
Dwyer: A+, ?Lawson will be fantastic with the Nuggets.?
Consensus Grade: A
Detroit
Picks: Austin Daye (16), DaJuan Summers (35), Jonas Jerebko (39)
Reina: A, ?In one fell swoop this offseason, it looks like the Pistons will add three very talented pieces in the draft.?
Ford: B+, ?Interesting draft for the Pistons.?
Del Grande: B, ?Someone once said: I'd take five Tayshaun Princes. Well, Pistons now employ two of them.?
Dwyer: A-, ?Fine moves from Joe Dumars, grabbing a litany of forwards that boast a high ceiling.?
Consensus Grade: A-
Golden State
Picks: Stephen Curry (7)
Reina: B+, ?Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry are the softest defensive backcourt in NBA history. These two are the epitome of flyweights.?
Ford: Inc., ?I love Curry, and if the Warriors keep him, I think he's a great addition to Monta Ellis in the backcourt.?
Del Grande: B, ?Bombs away: Team that loves 3's finally employs pure shooter.?
Dwyer: A-, ?If Monta Ellis has enough sway in your organization to call shots, then your organization is shot. Curry can play. Figure the rest out later.?
Consensus Grade: B+
Houston
Picks: Jermaine Taylor (32), Sergio Llull (34), Chase Budinger (44)
Reina: B-, ?Chase Budinger was thought of by many as a lottery pick as a freshman and now he goes 44th in a supposedly weak draft.?
Ford: A, ?The Rockets spent millions buying up picks, but I like their haul.?
Dwyer: B-, ?Call it a bias, but we're inclined to believe in what Daryl Morey is doing scouting-wise at this point.?
Consensus Grade: B
Indiana
Picks: Tyler Hansbrough (13), A.J. Price (52)
Reina: C, ?The further and further DeJuan Blair slid down the first round and out to 37, the more vindicated Indiana appeared for selecting Tyler Hansbrough in his place.?
Ford: B+, ?Instead of swinging for the fences in the draft, they are trying for singles and doubles, and they're connecting.?
Del Grande: C, ?Bit hard to swallow with Earl Clark and DeJuan Blair still on board.?
Dwyer: C-, ?He can play, ably using up minutes, and he's a solid pickup for a low-lottery selection.?
Consensus Grade: C+
Los Angeles Clippers
Picks: Blake Griffin (1)
Reina: B+, ?Blake Griffin will be a nice NBA player, but I don't see someone who will be on the All-Star team on an annual basis at the power forward position...?
Ford: A, ?...with Griffin, Eric Gordon and Al Thornton, the Clippers are quietly building a young nucleus that could be special someday.?
Del Grande: A, ?Best part about selection: Less reason to keep Zach Randolph around.?
Dwyer: A+, ?Listen, Griffin has some holes?but he?s a stud.?
Consensus Grade: A
Los Angeles Lakers
Picks: Chinemelu Elonu (59)
Reina: C, ?If the money earned from selling Toney Douglas to the Knicks results in re-signing Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown, then there can't be a legitimate complaint about this move.?
Ford: D, ?Good teams have to restock at some point, and I think Douglas in particular could have helped the Lakers.?
Del Grande: C, ?Question is: Would you rather play little for great team or a lot for bad club??
Dwyer: A-, ?The Lakers grabbed $3 million bucks to dive out of the first round, something a series of teams should have tried on Thursday night.?
Consensus Grade: C
Memphis
Picks: Hasheem Thabeet (2), DeMarre Carroll (27), Sam Young (36)
Reina: C+, ?I'm a bigger fan of what Memphis did at 27 and 36 than I could be with the 2nd overall pick.?
Ford: A-, ?I am not a huge fan of Thabeet but understand why the Grizzlies went that way.?
Del Grande: D, ?League's second-worst offensive team adds stiff-like defensive standout.?
Dwyer: A+, ?Young will help right away, and that's about it. Carroll can play, and Thabeet will become a hell of a player.?
Consensus Grade: B
Miami
Picks: Patrick Beverley (42), Robert Dozier (60)
Reina: B, ?They left the draft with Patrick Beverley and Robert Dozier, two second rounders that have a chance of making the NBA and becoming role players, albeit a slim chance.?
Ford: B, ?The Heat did OK for themselves in the second round.?
Dwyer: B-, ?...considering the way Pat Riley has put together teams since coming to Miami in 1995, Beverley might see some minutes.?
Consensus Grade: B-
Milwaukee
Picks: Brandon Jennings (10), Jodie Meeks (41)
Reina: C+, ?Jennings seems like a bad fit for Milwaukee, while at the same time I don't see a better Scott Skiles fit at point guard than Jrue Holiday.?
Ford: B+, ?Why not swing for the fences with a player who could be really special??
Del Grande: D, ?Collegiate objector joins team that's already raised white flag on 2009-10 season.?
Dwyer: A-, ?For the 10th and 41st picks? Huge potential.?
Consensus Grade: B-
Minnesota
Picks: Ricky Rubio (5), Jonny Flynn (6), Wayne Ellington (28), Henk Norel (47)
Reina: C, ?Minnesota pulled off an excellent trade for the fifth pick, lucked into Rubio and then drafted Jonny Flynn, which confuses the situation to no end.?
Ford: C+, ?Rubio and Flynn might have been the two best point guards in the draft. But to fall in love with them both and actually take them both amounts to point guard polygamy.?
Del Grande: A, ?Franchise-energizer should have gone three picks higher.?
Dwyer: B-, ?The Timberwolves, I'm sorry, but I think they picked a move heading into the Draft, and stuck with it even as the defender beat them to the spot.?
Consensus Grade: C+
New Jersey
Picks: Terrence Williams (11)
Reina: B, ?The Nets added Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams to their perimeter on Thursday. I like both players a lot, but those are two role players on the wings and there's no getting around it.?
Ford: B-, ?For the second straight year, they made a major trade to cut payroll.?
Del Grande: B, ?Knicks fans politely applauded choice; is that good thing or bad for cross-river rivals??
Dwyer: C-, ?Williams can play in this league. And for an 11th pick in a crummy Draft, I should accept that a rotation part taken at that spot is worth our time.?
Consensus Grade: B-
New Orleans
Picks: Darren Collison (21), Marcus Thornton (43)
Reina: B, ?The Hornets could have taken on a project in B.J. Mullens or a big wing scorer in Omri Casspi, but instead went with Darren Collison, who will be one of the best backups in the NBA.?
Ford: B-, ?A team with huge holes in the frontcourt addressed, instead, its backcourt.?
Del Grande: A, ?Defensive stalwart ideal tag-team partner for Chris Paul.?
Dwyer: C-, ?As it always is, time will tell if they actually took the best player available.?
Consensus Grade: B
New York
Picks: Jordan Hill (8), Toney Douglas (29)
Reina: A-, ?Jordan Hill is not a sexy pick and won't be an All-Star, but he will be a good utility kind of big that will run the floor, rebound, post-up a little bit and stay out of the way when need be.?
Ford: B+, ?...they did draft the best available player at both points in the first round, and I think they improved.?
Del Grande: A, ?Now becomes Knicks fan, foolishly believing he'll be rebounding for LeBron James someday.?
Dwyer: D-, ?New York went for the best players available. Hill doesn't quite look like a BPA at 8th, but Douglas does.?
Consensus Grade: B
Oklahoma City
Picks: James Harden (3), B.J. Mullens (24), Robert Vaden (54)
Reina: B-, ?James Harden makes excellent sense for Oklahoma City; he is a classic off guard, who can score on the perimeter and off the dribble.?
Ford: A-, ?While I thought the Thunder might be able to use Ricky Rubio as a trade asset, if nothing else, it's hard to fault Sam Presti.?
Del Grande: C, ?One basketball's not sufficient for Harden, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.?
Dwyer: B-, ?Harden can play, Mullens has lottery-level talent, and Vaden can make a team.?
Consensus Grade: B-
Orlando
Picks: None
Reina: C, ?Otis Smith was proactive on Thursday, but I think Hedo Turkoglu and Courtney Lee combined are more valuable than Vince Carter.?
Ford: N/A, ?The [Carter] deal was a home run for the Magic.?
Dwyer: N/A, ?A fine Thursday.?
Consensus Grade: C
Philadelphia
Picks: Jrue Holiday (17)
Reina: A, ?Jrue Holiday's drop shocked me and Ed Stefanski capitalized on it in spades.?
Ford: A, ?I really like what the 76ers did, taking an opportunity to nab a lottery talent who was falling because of injury concerns.?
Del Grande: A, ?Perfect choice for team that might lose Andre Miller or could swing Andre Iguodala to forward if star point guard stays.?
Dwyer: A-, ?I mocked the pick initially, but Holiday is a lottery talent that the 76ers selected at 17.?
Consensus Grade: A
Phoenix
Picks: Earl Clark (14), Taylor Griffin (48)
Reina: A, ?Earl Clark has great skill at 6'10" and Phoenix is a place where he will succeed.?
Ford: A-, ?Judge the Suns on whom they grabbed at No. 14, and you have to be impressed.?
Del Grande: B, ?Will have trouble co-existing with Amare Stoudemire, but might not have to..."
Dwyer: A-, ?Griffin's probably not going to make the team, so let's just dump that idea.?
Consensus Grade: A
Trail Blazers
Picks: Victor Claver (22), Jeff Pendergraph (31), Dante Cunningham (33), Patrick Mills (55)
Reina: A-, ?The Blazers drafted the kind of player they were long expected to take, big athletic, European wing, but it was Victor Claver instead of Omri Casspi.?
Ford: B-, ?The Blazers had a solid draft, but Pritchard's rep has made "solid" seem disappointing.?
Del Grande: F, ?In year of point guard, hard to believe team that needs one wouldn't go that direction.?
Dwyer: B-, ?I don't like dumping Sergio Rodriguez, not at his age, and am not sold on any of the players Pritchard picked up.?
Consensus Grade: C+
Sacramento
Picks: Tyreke Evans (4), Omir Casspi (23), Jon Brockman (38)
Reina: D+, ?I was one of Tyreke Evans' biggest fans throughout this process, but saw him as the kind of player with a limited set of teams where he would excel.?
Ford: B+, ?The Kings felt Rubio was too far away, too much of a risk. Compared to Evans, he might be. But in the coming years, Rubio might make them wish they had grabbed him while they could.?
Del Grande: D, ?Addition of Memphis tweener one for the thumb -- a thumb's down.?
Dwyer: C-, ?Evans has huge upside, Casspi can play and was much-bandied about heading into the Draft, and even Brockman might contribute given a good summer, but you're still left wanting with this team.?
Consensus Grade: C
San Antonio
Picks: DeJuan Blair (37), Jack McClinton (51), Nando De Colo (53)
Reina: A, ?With no first round picks, the Spurs landed a guy projected to go as high as 11 in DeJuan Blair and two guards with legitimate NBA potential.?
Ford: A+, ?With no first-round picks, they still were able to come away with some terrific players.?
Dwyer: A+, ?Two guys (one a lottery-level talent) that can help right away??
Consensus Grade: A
Toronto
Picks: DeMar DeRozan (9)
Reina: B, ?The Raptors are playing the long con by acquiring Demar DeRozan.?
Ford: B+, ?The Raptors swung for the fences with this pick, getting a player with as much upside as anyone else in the draft.?
Del Grande: A, ?High-potential guard gives Shawn Marion reason to re-sign, Chris Bosh reason to stick around.?
Dwyer: A-, ?There's a good chance DeRozan could fall on his face, or never develop.?
Consensus Grade: A-
Utah
Picks: Eric Maynor (20), Goran Suton (50)
Reina: A-, ?Utah had been linked to Hansbrough, but with him off the board and no interest in taking on Blair, they selected Eric Maynor at 20.?
Ford: A, ?Fans never like their teams drafting bench players, but Utah GM Kevin O'Connor didn't try to make a crowd-pleasing choice.?
Del Grande: D, ?Team with question marks upfront didn't need limited-minutes backup for Deron Williams.?
Dwyer: A-, ?In a Draft low on talent, this is a fine night considering Utah entered the evening with the 20th and 50th picks.?
Consensus Grade: B
Washington
Picks: None
Reina: D+, ?The Wizards want to win immediately, but trading Rubio for Randy Foye and Mike Miller is a heavy price to pay.?
Ford: A, ?The Wizards understood they were unlikely to get a player at No. 5 who could crack their rotation, and they wanted to be serious contenders right away in the East.?
Dwyer: C-, ?Picked up Mike Miller and Randy Foye for a load of bad contracts and the selection that turned out to be Ricky Rubio. Time will tell.?
Consensus Grade: B-
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM's Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com
