The 2018 NBA draft took place last night and most teams added players that will play a big part in their future. While nobody knows how some of these players will turn out in the NBA, all fans can do right now is be excited for what their future holds. Maybe some of these players could turn out to be a bust like Greg Oden or Anthony Bennett who were selected with the first overall pick but never turned out to be good. Maybe some of these players could turn out to be a steal like Isaiah Thomas who was selected with the last pick in the 2011 draft.
With the 2018 NBA draft finished, reports and analysis had been provided via ESPN, NBA.com, and MSN.
Taking a look at the winners first:
Atlanta Hawks and Trae Young
The Hawks had a miserable 2017-18 season, finishing last in the eastern conference with a record of 24-58. All the Hawks really have are Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore and that's it. The Hawks originally selected Luka Doncic but traded him to the Mavericks for Trae Young and a future first-round pick, ESPN noted.
Young brings another player to the fold for the Hawks to go along with Schroder and Bazemore. In his freshman season at Oklahoma, Young averaged 27.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 8.7 assists. He also led all freshmen in points with 848 points per game with 27.4, assists with 271, assists per game with 8.7.
According to ESPN, Young has been compared to Steph Curry who is a two time MVP winner and a very good three-point shooter. Young has also been compared to former NBA player Steve Nash who also won two MVP awards. Bazemore, Schroder, and Young won't be able to carry the Hawks to the playoffs but a few more losing seasons which result in high first-round picks should get the Hawks to have a great team in the future.
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets held pick 14 in the 2018 NBA draft and came out plucking gold. They were able to nab Michael Porter Jr. who was expected to be a top 10 pick but slid all the way to the Nuggets at 14. NBA.com suggested that one reason why Porter Jr. slid down the draft board was probably that of his injury history.
He sat out the majority of his freshmen season with a back injury that required surgery. The Nuggets got a potential star player in Porter Jr but he will have to stay healthy in order to become the start that people say he could be.
Dallas Mavericks
While they did trade away Trae Young for Luka Doncic, Doncic is still expected to be a great player in the NBA, ESPN noted. According to Eurobasket, in the Euro league, Doncic averaged 16 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in 33 games and also won the Euro league MVP where he became the youngest player to do so at the age of 19. In round two, the Mavericks selected Jalen Brunson who was named NCAA player of the year. Brunson averaged 18.9 points, 4.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds for Villanova.
Antetokounmpo and Holiday family
Yesterday, three current NBA players had their brothers selected in the 2018 NBA draft. Giannis Antetokounmpo's brother, Kostas, was taken in the last pick by the Mavericks. Kostas is the third Antetokounmpo drafted as Giannis was taken in pick 15 by the Bucks in 2013. Their other brother, Thanasis, was selected with pick 51 in 2014 by the Knicks but he now currently plays for Panathinaikos in Greece, Agonasport reported at the time.
Jrue Holiday of the Pelicans and Justin Holiday of the Bulls also had a family member selected last night as their brother Aaron was selected with pick 23 by the Pacers. In his junior season at UCLA, Aaron started all 33 games averaging 37.7 minutes a game with 20.3 points, 5.8 assists, and 3.7 rebounds.
Taking a look at the losers:
LiAngelo Ball
The most talked about family in basketball had a downturn. LaVar Ball's middle son LiAngelo didn't end up getting drafted even though he declared for the 2018 NBA draft a couple months ago. It didn't come to many people's surprise as most people didn't expect him to get drafted. He wasn't featured on any mock drafts.
Gelo originally started out with UCLA but then his father pulled him out due to his disagreement over the suspension Gelo would be getting due to his arrest for shoplifting in China. He then signed a professional contract to play for BC Vytautas in Lithuania where he averaged 12.6 points, 0.9 assists, and 2.9 rebounds, according to the Bleacher Report.
It is not known what his next steps will be.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies held the fourth pick in the 2018 NBA draft but they were in a bad spot as multiple players refused to work out for the Grizzlies or even provide medical evaluations to them. These players included Mo Bamba who was selected by the Magic with the sixth pick and Jaren Jackson Jr. In his freshman season at Michigan State, he averaged 10.9 points, 1.1 assists, and 5.8 rebounds.
New York Knicks
When the Knicks took Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth overall pick in 2015, Knicks fans were outraged by the pick as they could have taken Justice Winslow, Mario Hezonja or almost anyone else. With the exception of Towns, Porzinigs was the best player from his draft class.
In three seasons so far, he has averaged 17.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. He has also averaged two blocks in his career which in large part, comes from his height as he stands 7'3.
This year's draft brought a pretty similar reaction to Knicks fans as it did in 2015, according to SNY TV. The Knicks had the ninth overall pick and took 18-year-old Kevin Knox. Knicks fans wanted Michael Porter Jr. instead of Knox. In his freshman season with Kentucky, Knox averaged 15.6 points, 1.4 assists, and 5.4 rebounds. The pick itself was fine but what makes the Knicks losers, is the fact that their fanbase doesn't stand behind them.
Utah Jazz
The Jazz selected Grayson Allen with pick 21 which lots of people considered as a big reach.
Most mock drafts didn't have Allen being selected until the second round. Allen is known more for getting under the skin of opponents than his play.
In his four years spent at Duke, Allen averaged 14.1 points, three assists, and 3.2 rebounds. Those numbers aren't bad but it came with lots of fouls and even technical fouls which resulted in suspensions and ejections. Due to him getting lots of fouls, he got stripped of being captain of the team in his junior season. Allen isn't expected to be anything special at the professional level but he will probably get a lot of technical fouls and maybe even lead the league in technical fouls when the season is over.
