As the NBA season has come to an end, a new season will presumably begin tonight.
The NBA draft has become one of the more coveted aspects of every season, only behind the NBA finals, as teams look to correct last years flaws. (And for some, a decade of flaws). Last years draft was filled with talent such as Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum and (the sleeper of the draft) Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell was the 13th pick in the 2017 draft and was soon traded by Denver to Utah that same night. While most people left the draft focusing on who went in the top 10, the best “rookie” of the past season almost fell outside of the lottery.
So what does that mean?
It just shows you, or maybe I should say your favorite teams GM, that the draft is filled with talent, even outside of the projected top 10 players.
Fast forward a year, as we look back on the previous season, and teams will get the chance to draft another group of rookies and try to find this years sleeper.
Again, this draft is loaded with potential, as I project the top 10 to look like this:
1. Deandre Ayton, Suns
2. Luka Doncic, Kings
3. Jaren Jackson, Hawks
4. Marvin Bagley, Grizzlies
5. Mohamed Bamba, Mavs
6. Trae Young, Magic
7. Wendell Carter, Bulls
8. Michael Porter Jr, Cavs
9. Kevin Knox, Knicks
10. Mikal Bridges, 76ers
Most years, teams are torn on whether to draft based on needs or best available. Because this draft is so deep, it would only make sense to draft on need.
As we round out the lottery, picks 15-30 will be up in the air as there will potentially be trades that will alter teams positions in the draft to either go up in the draft to pick the guy they’ve been eyeing, or to trade down and look to acquire an extra pick while they believe the guy they want will still be available later on.
But where GMs will make their money in the 2018 draft will be in the 2nd round. Most drafts are watched for the 1st round and as Commisioner Adam Silvers hands the mic over to Deputy Commisioner Mark Tatum, people are changing the channels to watch their favorite reality TV shows.
(Pay attention to the 2nd round, trust me).
Remember when I said this draft is full of potential? I wasn't just talking about the top 10, or even the top 30. There’s so much talent that no matter how the first round goes, there will be guys who will fall to the 2nd round that are first round talents.
Why’s that?
Well... you can’t draft everyone in the first round.
And as the draft closes, there will be fans on both sides of the spectrum, whether happy or sad, or even confused (because that’s just how drafts go) as their favorite teams will continue to put the pieces to the puzzle togetheras they look to rebuild or bolster their teams to topple the Warriors dynasty for the 2018-2019 season.