So I know you're a Memphis fan, Mr. Memorial. What did you think of how the Grizzlies did? I thought trading two picks to move up for LaRavia was... interesting. I suppose it's possible they had intel that somebody else might take him before they could. He seems like a possible keeper, but it's hard to tell how well his range of skills will translate. But I thought they did very well to get David Roddy. He's a classic West Coast sleeper. (Exec to Scout: "Yes, yes, I'm sure he's great. But I'm not staying up until 3 am to watch Colorado State play a game against Utah State. And have you seen the measurements on this Eason kid? Yeah, I know he couldn't break the starting lineup at either Cincinnati or LSU. But I saw him make five straight threes at the combine. Your guy's 6'6" and 260 and didn't play well in 3-on-3, so I'm taking the Eason kid!" Happens every year...). Roddy's a lot like Grant Williams in some ways, although not as good of a defender. But he's a surprisingly good defender nonetheless and he can pass, shoot, drive in traffic, and rebound. I thought that was a great pick. And I guess I understand the logic in trading Melton to cut salary. They would've had a hard time re-signing Tyus Jones without that move (and may yet find it difficult). But for Philly to get Melton
and get the Grizzlies to take on a badly injured Danny Green's $10 million expiring contract, all just for a late first? Daryl Morey's gotta be happy about how that turned out.
I'm sure you've noticed that I'm a San Antonio fan. This draft was crucial for them. A lot of Spurs fans were unhappy with their moves, especially taking Wesley. But man, I thought they nailed Every. Single. Pick. Sochan is a steal at #9 in my opinion. He's like the love-child of Boris Diaw and Dennis Rodman (ew). Or maybe a half-Polish Dave Cowens who changes his hair color every week. And Malaki Branham... That guy's good already and a true gym rat. And they're both very Spurs-ey guys: Intelligent, good teammates, as happy to play D or pass to the open man as they are to score, and hard workers. The interesting one was Blake Wesley at #25. He's super talented but really raw and inconsistent. He might be an all-star... or he might be the one to drive Pop to the edge (although if coaching Steven Jackson--twice!--didn't' do it, it's hard to see how anybody could). All three of them just need to become better shooters--and where better to do that than in San Antonio with Chip Engelland, Czar of All the Shot Doctors? So that was pretty cool. (I do wish they'd kept Kennedy Chandler, following in the tradition of guys like Kyle Lowry, Isaiah Thomas, and Jalen Brunson as an excellent player who was overlooked purely because of his listed height. Dude's going to be on a mission to make 29 teams pay for that.)
I thought Orlando was idiotic in picking Banchero. Sure maybe he fits their need for shot creation better than Smith, who's essentially a gigantic, rim-protecting 3-and-D guy. But why not trade with Houston and pick up an asset? Banchero would've still been there! And Sacramento!
I mean... This isn't as bad as taking Marvin Bagley over Luka Doncic. It's not even as bad as trading Tyreese Halliburton because he doesn't fit with D'Aaron Fox. But still... I don't think they're going to be very happy about passing on Ivey. He has Vince Carter-like potential. Keegan Murray's, who they drafted instead, is really good. Again, though, why not trade down with Detroit, so you can still draft Murray and at least pick up an asset or two? How many times are they going to hurt themselves just so they can roll with Fox? Crazy.
Detroit, though... At the start of this week, they had the #5 pick in a four-star draft, a good bit of cap space in a bad year for free agents, and a disgruntled free agent in Jeremy Grant for whom they were getting very unattractive offers. Today they've got enough cap space for a full max
plus the mid-level (time to put Miles Bridges' agent on speed-dial), a super-talented 18-year old big man in Jalen Duren, and perhaps the most gifted player in the draft in Jaden Ivey--who's a perfect fit on the perimeter with Cade Cunningham and Saadiq Bey. Not bad, not bad at all.
Finally... Good luck to the announcers in Oklahoma City, who now have to somehow call summer league games with Jalen Williams and Jaylin Williams on the same team.