Similar to years past, I grade drafts based on the opportunities available to that front office on draft night and a short time before it. A franchise hampered by a years-old trade or previous mistake do not get further penalized for it while teams that squander resources now absolutely do. Nailing the No. 1 pick is good but accomplishing more with less will be more heavily praised.

Great Drafts

Philadelphia 76ers: They drafted the right guy at No. 1 overall, which is certainly good but not as big a plus as getting a steal late. Ben Simmons could be a game changer for the 76ers and his ability to grab and go should supercharge their transition offense. Philly followed that up with two potent Europeans: French swingman Timothe Luwawu and Turkish swingman Furkan Korkmaz. It sounds like Korkmaz will stay abroad but Luwawu has serious potential as a 3-and-D guy who can contribute more offensively.

Denver Nuggets: Jamal Murray is a beautiful fit with Emmanuel Mudiay because he can play on and off the ball while hitting shots. Malik Beasley and Juan Hernangomez are both fascinating players who were worth taking as potential offensive forces for a team that suddenly has a lot of it. Adding some defense would have been great but you cannot knock the talent Denver added at low prices. 

Good Drafts

Memphis Grizzlies: A strong performance from the Grizzlies. They took Wade Baldwin in the first and he could fit in with or without free agent point guard Mike Conley. From there, Memphis converted the pick they received from the Clippers in the Jeff Green / Lance Stephenson trade into Deyonta Davis, who could step into a role quickly, as well as Serbian SF Rade Zagorac, who has some worthwhile potential as an offensive player.

Cleveland Cavaliers: No first round pick since it was owed to Phoenix (via Boston) from when they cleared space for some guy named LeBron James. Trading into the second round to draft diminutive PG Kay Felder was inspired- hopefully he makes their team.

Phoenix Suns: With so many guards on the board, the Suns lucked out a little with Dragan Bender falling to them. He should be a versatile power forward who can grow into a large role as the youngest player in this draft. Giving up a late first and Bogdan Bogdanovic to move up from No. 13 to No. 8 is quite the commitment, but Marquese Chriss has the potential to become a difference-maker for a team that does not exactly need a ton more young talent. Chriss and Bender are a strange fit together but they will have time to evaluate them before either warrants enough minutes to cause a problem.

Los Angeles Lakers: With Simmons off the board, the Lakers did well to draft Brandon Ingram. He should be able to man both forward positions for now even though power forward in a switch-heavy system may be his eventual spot. Ingram’s ability to hit open shots will mesh well with D’Angelo Russell. Ivica Zubac is not a major rim protector but he could be a dangerous second unit scorer in time.

Los Angeles Clippers: The Clippers ended up with a surprising collection of big men: North Carolina power forward Brice Johnson at #25 and Maryland center Diamond Stone at #40. If either can step into a rotation role in the next season or two, it would be a huge boon for a team that has struggled to add cheap, young talent in recent years. They also selected French guard David Michineau who has good size for a PG at 6’4” and has defensive potential.

Utah Jazz: Trading a late lottery pick for George Hill is a justifiable risk for a team that already has so many young pieces but it would have been another way to stay cost-controlled as players like Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors get raises. Keep an eye on whether they can come to an agreement on a renegotiation and extension with him. The Jazz also took hyperathletic forward Joel Bolomboy late and he could make a fun lottery ticket for them.

Houston Rockets: Houston traded their first round pick last summer for Ty Lawson. Welp. They did select Chinese big man Zhou Qi in the second round, whose statistical translations are excellent if he is his claimed age and physically gifted big man Chinanu Onuaku as well. Signing Gary Payton II immediately following the draft is another nice move.

San Antonio Spurs: Dejounte Murray is a distinctly un-Spursy pick but that might be a good thing. At this point, Murray is a better athlete than basketball player and needs to work on both his shooting and playmaking. Giving him to their coaching staff for two years but keeping him on the super cheap rookie scale for four could produce some real dividends. 

Enh Drafts

Minnesota Timberwolves: So much of this depends on the reporting surrounding trade rumors. While Kris Dunn could be a defensive force at point guard and eventually run an offense, if they turned down No. 5 and LaVine for Jimmy Butler…

Milwaukee Bucks: Thon Maker will inevitably be one of the most divisive picks but he could really put it together. While he does not have Giannis’ upside, there is some merit to taking someone on ceiling in the middle of a shallow draft. Malcom Brodgon should make their team and possibly add to their bench depth in the near future.

Golden State Warriors: A shockingly deep collection of big men fell to No. 30 and Damian Jones may have the most physical potential of any of them with Skal Labissiere off the board. Like Kevon Looney, the Warriors can let him develop slowly and try to get value out of the later years of his rookie scale contract. They also gave up some serious cash for Patrick McCaw, who could be a nice upside play coming off the bench.

Brooklyn Nets: Caris LeVert is a fascinating choice for them because he has a ton of potential but serious injury risk. If he can make his way back, the Nets add a fun perimeter piece, which they also did by drafting Seton Hall guard Isaiah Whitehead at #42 overall. Considering he only has two more seasons on his reasonable contract, No. 20 was a reasonable but possibly slightly low return for Thaddeus Young.

Boston Celtics: After all the talk, Boston again followed their course by ended up keeping their pick and taking someone interesting that may not be a perfect fit with their roster. Jaylen Brown is talented but his inability to shoot will cause problems if they intend to play him with Marcus Smart and a true center. That said, his ability in transition could work out well for them in the near-term and eventually as a starter. Guerschon Yabusele was a major reach at No. 16 but Ante Zizic could be a nice choice at No. 23. Trading two quality second round picks for a lottery and year protected future Clippers first from the Grizzlies is a strange gamble considering how many good players were available.

Sacramento Kings: Possibly the most fascinating draft in the entire league. Despite having DeMarcus Cousins on the roster and acquiring both Willie Cauley-Stein and Kosta Koufos last offseason, they traded down from No. 8 to add centers Georgios Papagiannis and Skal Labissiere. Both could end up being meaningful contributors but the team has absolutely no space for them. That said, somehow securing a first for Marco Belinelli may be the best late first trade the last few seasons (beating the Knicks somehow getting one for Tim Hardaway Jr last year) and Malachi Richardson adds some perimeter athleticism, though Timothe Luwawu would have been a more inspired choice.

Detroit Pistons: Henry Ellenson is a fascinating fit. As Jonathan Tjarks noted, he could step into the role Donatas Motiejunas was originally going to fill as a floor spacing center off the bench and he was taken with the pick Detroit was originally going to send in that trade. Adding another shot creator would have been significant since the Pistons have limited resources to make a dent there.

Chicago Bulls: After a ton of sound and fury, it looks like the Bulls will end up keeping their assets and taking Denzel Valentine. The Michigan State product is a fascinating fit offensively for a team that just lost their starting point guard but his defensive weaknesses compound their recent personnel decisions.

Indiana Pacers: They traded the 20th overall selection for Thaddeus Young, who has two years remaining on his reasonable contract. While Young does not shoot many threes, he provides athleticism at power forward and could be a fascinating fit with newly-added Jeff Teague and the Pacers’ existing core. Teague for Hill is a strange choice since like the Young move, it makes Indiana a less dangerous jump shooting team but better off the bounce.

Toronto Raptors: With a rare chance to add a lottery pick to a Conference Finals team, Toronto ended up with Jakob Poeltl who seems to overlap with Jonas Valanciunas. He does provide a low-cost replacement for Bismack Biyombo and could eventually become starter quality. At No. 27, they chose Pascal Siakam over surprising fallers Labissiere, Jones and Davis.

Portland Trail Blazers: After trading their first round pick for Arron Afflalo at the 2015 deadline, Portland traded into the second round (using cash plus a 2019 second) and took Jake Layman from Maryland. His ability to stretch the floor could make him useful but he likely shifts from college PF to pro SF, which can be a brutal transition.

New Orleans Pelicans: Buddy Hield over Jamal Murray could end up being a dubious decision but his ability to nail shots should mesh well with Anthony Davis and whoever else they add. New Orleans then moved up for gifted, raw big man Cheick Diallo who could not get off the bench at Kansas but impressed in the runup to the draft.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Trading Serge Ibaka is genuinely shocking. They got some serious talent back but the combination of Victor Oladipo and Russell Westbrook will need some serious floor spacing around it since neither is a reliable shooter. Domantas Sabonis is a surprising but somewhat logical play at power forward and they have a decision to make on Ersan Ilyasova, who can either fill a role as an expiring contract at a fair salary or they can waive him to create more cap space. Moving Ibaka now is not nearly the same as trading James Harden before his extension since Ibaka will be unrestricted a year from now but it does make them less competitive in the short-term.

Miami Heat: Amazingly, their first round pick this year completed the trade for LeBron James and then went to Philadelphia for Thaddeus Young from Cleveland as part of the Kevin Love trade.

Washington Wizards: Traded their first round pick for Markieff Morris which still seems like a high price to pay for someone who has not solidified themselves as a clear-cut starter. That said, he is paid like a backup and has lots of team control.

Dallas Mavericks: No first round pick since it was in the Rajon Rondo deal last deadline.

New York Knicks: Their first rounder was owed to the Raptors to complete the Andrea Bargnani trade, meaning a team actually got less value for their first rounder than the Rockets. 

Bad Drafts

Atlanta Hawks: Moving Jeff Teague for the No. 12 pick could be considered fair value but using that pick on Taurean Prince was not maximizing it. They followed him up with new Hawks University forward DeAndre Bembry, who brings unusual playmaking from that spot but shot just 28.6% from three for St. Joseph’s this season. They also took athletic French guard Isia Cordinier 44th overall and he could end up being a contributor at shooting guard.

Orlando Magic: They gave up serious assets to add Ibaka, who only has one year under contract. Playing him at center next to Aaron Gordon would be fun but imperfect and there should be some minutes at PF next to Vucevic as well. Oladipo was probably the second-best piece of their young players and they now have a major talent deficit at the guard spots. Look for a possible renegotiation and extension with Ibaka to make it more of a long-term investment.

Charlotte Hornets: Trading the No. 22 pick for Marco Belinelli is more than confounding, especially considering who ended up being on the board. Belinelli is not an asset on his contract and his lack of defensive ability seems shaky on a Charlotte team that often plays weak rim protectors at center.