The Most Unpredictable Night: Post Draft Thoughts

Draft Night Pandemonium

Shocking is just one of the words that can be used to describe this draft in a nutshell. After the obvious pick of Anthony Davis to the New Orleans Hornets to start off draft night, it proceeded to head towards a state of complete pandemonium. I believe there are three teams that made momentous picks that changed the outlook and the structure of the draft. Those teams are the Charlotte Bobcats, Washington Wizards, and Cleveland Cavaliers. If anyone told you they expected the draft to play out that way; you should seriously question that.

All Eyes on Charlotte Again

The Charlotte Bobcats was the biggest swing team in the draft. A plethora of teams picks were decided by the way Charlotte chose to use their No. 2 overall draft pick. I assumed that Charlotte would trade down in the draft after losing out on the Anthony Davis sweepstakes; man was I wrong. The Charlotte Bobcats began with the first slate of surprises by selecting Anthony Davis’s former teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with No. 2 pick. This draft was the first time ever that two college teammates went No. 1 & 2 in the same draft. And with those selections, it essentially made the draft decision clear for the Washington Wizards, who selected Bradley Beal with the No. 3 pick.

Cavaliers Shock the World

However, the choice by the Charlotte Bobcats to stick with their pick and select Michael Kidd-Gilchrist left them as the odd team out when came to making their draft decision at No. 4 spot. Thus, the Cleveland Cavaliers proceeded to shock the world by taking Syracuse swingman Dion Waiters with the No. 4 pick. This pick was considered by quite a few people as a severe reach considering that in his sophomore season for the Orange he never started a game, but personally I think Waiters is going to pan out for the Cavaliers. I think is going give the Cavaliers a different dimension when it comes to offense; of all the guards in this draft I believe Dion Waiters is best when it comes to attacking off the dribble, finishing near the rim, and most importantly being able to create his own shot. However, Dion Waiters needs to improve his jump shot and become more consistent in order to elevate his game.

The Cavaliers also invested into a another big man by trading guard Jared Cunningham, center Bernard James, and forward Jae Crowder to the Dallas Mavericks for North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller. I feel Cavaliers GM Chris Grant kind of reached with both of these picks and has possibly put his job on line when it comes to how these players develop in the NBA; I hope they do pan out for the Cavaliers sake.

Draft Night Winners

Also as a side note, I feel the New Orleans Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder had the best draft as of right now. The New Orleans Hornets went out and selected Doc River’s son Austin Rivers out of Duke with No. 10 pick to pair with their franchise big man Anthony Davis. If Eric Gordon can stay healthy, I feel the Hornets have a strong young nucleus to move forward with. However, the best circumstances that happened was Perry Jones III sliding to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the No. 28 pick. This by far was probably the biggest steal of the night for a team fresh out of the NBA Finals and only possessing one pick in the entire draft. This is probably the best situation for Jones III, he can learn and mature under Scott Brooks system and be able to work with one of the best players in the NBA in Kevin Durant.