NBA Draft Grades: Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat Earn Impressive Grades
NBA Draft grades are in. Some teams, like the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, did really well in the 2015 NBA Draft. Other teams, like the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors, did not. A report from CBS Sports on Saturday (June 27) gave Miami a draft grade of “A+” for their efforts. NBA analyst Sam Vecenie had some glowing remarks about what Miami was able to pull off in the draft, suggesting that this might get the team right back in the NBA Playoffs.
“The Heat did a terrific thing here. First and foremost, for my money they got the steal of the draft in Justise Winslow at No. 10. Winslow is a winner, pure and simple, and he’ll help to upgrade that organization immediately just through his sheer work level. This is a kid that has few holes in his game, and will be able to go to work on just accentuating the skills he already has. But more than that, he fills needs on multiple levels.”
It was very unexpected that Winslow slipped all the way to No. 10 in the 2015 NBA Draft, especially with so many teams trying to trade up (and ahead of the Miami Heat) to get him. Some NBA fans might call this a lucky selection by the Heat, but the front office deserves a lot of credit for making sure they added him to the mix. Winslow also has the talent to potentially start in the 2015-16 NBA season.
The Los Angeles Lakers received a grade of “A-” for going with D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., and Anthony Brown with three of the top 34 selections. While selecting Russell (a point guard) wasn’t exactly what the CBS analysts were expecting on draft day, he could certainly be a great pick. Vecenie spoke at length about what he thought the Lakers did during the 2015 NBA Draft.
“You get lead guard who a preternaturally gifted offensive player both on and off the ball. He’s compared himself favorably to Stephen Curry in that regard, and while that may seem lofty, at least before he’s played a single NBA game, that’s the kind potential many people think Russell has. You also hope that some of Kobe’s good traits rub off on him in this season that they’re together, and then you make him your franchise centerpiece in a league that is becoming increasingly guard-driven. This was a great pick for the Lakers.”
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the NBA Draft also wasn’t without some controversy. When the Lakers selected Larry Nance Jr., they selected a player that had previously called Kobe Bryant a rapist on Twitter. It’s a situation the team will have to deal with very soon.
A report from the Sporting News gave the Atlanta Hawks an “F” grade for selecting Marcus Eriksson at No. 50 and Dimitrios Argavanis at No. 59. CBS Sports was a little more kind with a “C-” after the Hawks traded away the No. 19 selection to the New York Knicks. It’s not too surprising that any of the media outlets panned the two players that the Hawks went with when most NBA analysts didn’t even know who they were.
Some other noteworthy grades that CBS Sports gave out included the Boston Celtics (B-), Brooklyn Nets (B-), Chicago Bulls (A-), Cleveland Cavaliers (B-), New York Knicks (B+), Minnesota Timberwolves (A+), and Golden State Warriors (INC). The Warriors received an incomplete for selecting Kevin Looney, due to a hip problem that he has, and how the team can use him with a glut of forwards already on the roster. As for the teams receiving the top 2015 NBA Draft grades, now the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Lakers will have to prove they made the right decisions on draft day.
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