While there weren’t many shocking picks, the 2017 NBA Draft featured plenty of activity, with a dozen trades having been officially announced and two more reportedly agreed upon. After the dust settled, Markelle Fultz is a Sixer, Lonzo Ball is a Laker, and…. wait, Jimmy Butler is a Timberwolf?
Minnesota’s acquisition of Butler was the big news on Thursday night, and the Timberwolves have been widely lauded for the deal they made, which saw them give up Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, and the No. 7 pick for Butler and the No. 16 pick. However, the Wolves weren’t the only team that has received praise for its night.
[RELATED: Complete 2017 NBA Draft Results]
Several NBA pundits loved the night for the Kings, who landed De’Aaron Fox at No. 5, and also added Justin Jackson, Harry Giles, and Frank Mason later in the night. The Lakers also came away with an intriguing collection of prospects in addition to Ball, drafting Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Thomas Bryant.
The Jazz traded up twice and ended up with Donovan Mitchell and Tony Bradley. The Hornets didn’t have to move up to nab Malik Monk outside of the top 10, and the Raptors may have gotten a steal at No. 23 in OG Anunoby, assuming he returns to full health.
What do you think? Which teams were the winners and losers of draft night? Weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts!
Kings aced the draft. Rebuild well underway, but will need patience.
Kings took a huge risk with Giles. But there’s a potentially huge reward. Not a huge Jackson fan, but Fox is legit.
I kind of see Giles as a lottery ticket for them b/c they had multiple picks…they don’t really need much at the 5, so I don’t see him being important for them. If he recovers and regains some of his athleticism eventually, he could be interesting for them…
But I’m thinking that if they sign Paul Milsap or Gallinari, this team should be surprisingly on its way to something. Fox, Hield, Mclemore, 4, WCS
Temple, Richardson, Jackson, Skal, Mason etc…
Assuming they move Afflalo, this team is super young, but intriguing moving forward. And they also have Bogdanovic potentially coming over. They need help at the 4 though
Aced is a strong word but they have a lot of potential. Lot of IFS though: If Buddy Hield lives close to his potential, if Harry Gile’s knees aren’t made of glass, if Fox ever learns to shoot a basketball. There’s a chance these things happen but it’s not like I trust Sacramento’s ability to develop players
Kings aced draft.
L- Knicks Monk and Smith were available
Monk is an undersized shoot first guard. Not sure how he fits into what the Knicks want. I like DSJ but it’s not like he did much with NC State. Frank has a lot of potential, and the one thing the Knicks have seemed to do well is work with European players. I think you’ll be fine.
Celtics lost because they kept all their second rounders. They’re gonna need a 2nd d league team for all these guys lol
Taking Semi Ojeleye was amazing for them, after they passed on Jackson and didn’t trade down for Isaac. Made the Tatum pick better for me, to be honest.
When you see what the T Wolves got Jimmy Butler for, you can’t help but wonder if the Celtics are EVER gonna use all these assets
I like Semi but they just don’t have room for all of these guys. They already had to cut RJ Hunter after 1 year and he was a first rounder. Not like he was going to be great but that’s terrible asset management. They have to cash these in. Even just package multiple lesser assets for one slightly less sucky asset. Like 4 second rounders for 33 or something idk but you get the idea. I don’t even need a Butler move. Just something that shows me Ainge understands there is a 15 player roster limit…
The draft literally just happened. FA wont begin for a week, and there is the whole offseason to make trades. You also have 2 extra spots to go to 2 way contracts. You have those 3 draft and stash guys, but maybe Yabusele and/or Nader get moved in a trade or dont come over…
I really like Kadeem Allen too. He’s a hard nosed defender at the guard position. That dude just plays hard…
But ya, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to worry about having extra assets, unless they get mismanaged as you said. I just think Olejeye and Allen will be good pieces for them, especially if they make any trades. You guys needed help at the 4 spot and I think you did that last night. I just think the Celtics have several different options of how they can let the offseason play out…and also, as much as I liked Hunter and Bentil, neither are currently NBA plyers, which says something about what their value may have been and trade chips….
Charlotte getting Monk gives them a scoring threat off the bench which they desperately needed, Bacon is a developmental athletic guy who could potentially become a rotation player
Considering where they picked Charlotte had a terrific draft. Bacon better than Jackson AND NO paid $ to the Hornets!
Which Jackson are you referring to?
Probably Frank
Hoiberg was a big winner. Looks like he’ll finally be able to coach. Time will tell if he can, but so long as his best offensive player was an iso player, he was never going to be able to implement his own offense.
Lol and Lavine is? Bulls got fleeced and are gonna be terrible for whom knows how long. The pinnacle of their franchise since 98 was stealing an MVP, losing in 5 games to LeBron in the ECF, and trading their franchise player they got lucky on for peanuts
I thought the Lakers, Celtics, Phoenix, Minnesota, Charlotte, Sacramento, GS, Orlando, Milwaukee, and the Spurs, and a couple of other teams had really good nights…
Not that impressed by the Celtics dealings on the night. If Kings can get development right I like their draft. Hornets now have a top 5 roster in the East (along with Cleveland, Boston, Milwaukee, and D.C.). Lakers have a lot of depth to trade with. But the teams I thought did the best are Golden State and Milwaukee. Adding skilled and long players that can make immediate contributions
I thought the Warriors did really well to get Bell and sign Boucher. I’m not sure if Boucher will ever gain enough good weight to become a rotation player, but he has length and can shoot/contest at the rim.
I think the Celtics had a great night. DA said he would have selected Tatum #1 and he got the Lakers #1 next year 2-5. Can you imagine if they end up with the #1 and #2 picks next year? Plus he did not allow Phil Jackson to fleece him in the potential Porzingis trade. Made sure he did not take on Butlers salary which would hurt them for signing Heyward. They probably end up with Paul George as George stated he wants to play with Heyward. They still have Jaylen Brown and a lot of assets. Hard to say yesterday was not a good day on their way to the future with a lot of picks and talented young players.
Hayward*.
Having 15 NBA starters on a roster still probably doesn’t beat teams with high end talent sadly.
Butler’s cap hit for the coming season is $200k less than George’s so it hardly makes a difference in regards to Hayward. Plus signing Hayward (and then trading George) to a max deal means the Celtics are either saying goodbye to Paul George or Isaiah Thomas at the end of next year (unless they want to have four guys signed to the max and be in luxury tax hell). In that scenario, you could also probably wave goodbye to at least one of Avery Bradley or Marcus Smart (possibly both) if either one wasn’t included in the George trade.
Not that I’m going dwn that road, but in that scenario, clearly IT would be gone, as would Marcus Smart