Four big winners and two losers from the 2016 NBA draft
— -- Which teams had a great draft night? And which teams fell short of hopes and expectations?
Let's highlight six teams that had a particularly good evening or an especially disappointing draft.
Here's my take:
Winners
The Sixers landed the best player in the draft. LSU forward Ben Simmons has an extremely high ceiling as a 6-foot-10, 240-pound point guard.
If the Sixers put the ball in his hands and let him create, he has a chance to be a paradigm-changing guard. Philly coach Brett Brown has known Simmons for years and is the right guy to lead him.
The Sixers have been going through a painful rebuild for years, all with the idea of getting a player like Simmons in the draft. If he develops as hoped, he'll eventually be a top-10 player in the league.
I also really like Turkish wing Furkan Korkmaz at No. 26. He was ranked at No. 13 on my Big Board, and he's a prototypical NBA wing. He can shoot 3s and handle the ball. He's also bouncy. He just needs to get stronger.
I wasn't as big of a fan of the selection of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, as discussed here.
In any case, the Sixers ended up with two lottery picks in my book, adding both shooting and playmaking. It was a good night.
What could have made it even better? Finding a deal for Jahlil Okafor that would've netted them either Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray or Buddy Hield.
I'm not sure how the Spurs keep doing it, but they have a way of being patient and letting draft gems fall to them. This year it's Washington point guard Dejounte Murray at No. 29.
I think Murray might end up being the best point guard from this draft. He was ranked No. 9 on my final Big Board. He's got elite size for his position. He's also super quick, with a sick handle, and he is a great rebounder for his position.
His jump shot is lacking and he needs to get stronger, but he has All-Star potential. A number of teams looked at him hard in the lottery. San Antonio is the perfect place for him to grow.
Remember, Tony Parker was taken at No. 28 by the Spurs.
The Suns landed the top two stretch power forwards in the draft in Croatia's Dragan Bender and Washington's Marquese Chriss. Power forward was their biggest need, and they added two very talented players.
Chriss is the freakiest athlete in the draft. Bender is one of the most skilled players, especially at his size of 7-foot-1. They'll be able to play together in some lineups.
Based on the haul of pure talent, the Suns won the night.
Shooting comes at a premium in the NBA, and the Nuggets landed three really good shooters. In fact, I think they got two of the three best shooters in the draft.
I'm a big Jamal Murray fan, and seeing him fall to No. 7 was a bit of a surprise. He's a great fit in Denver, a very good complement to Emmanuel Mudiay.
Murray is an elite shooter and crafty. Mudiay is a power guard who excels at getting to the basket. Both can play the 1 and the 2.
Landing Malik Beasley a little later gave them even more firepower. And Juan Hernangomez is a very good stretch-4 who I think was underrated all year.
Losers
I don't believe any team had a terrible draft. When I deliver my draft grades, there might not be any D's or F's.
But there were a couple of disappointing hauls because of missed opportunities.
Cal's Jaylen Brown is an elite athlete who could be one of the best players in the draft -- if he develops a jump shot. I'm also a fan of the two international players the Celtics selected, Guerschon Yabusele and Ante Zizic.
So, based on talent alone, it was a solid night for the Celtics. The disappointing part comes in what didn't happen.
After a 48-win season, the plan was for the Celtics to take some of these picks, package them with players and future picks and bring back an All-Star to push the team into contention for an NBA championship. But despite lots of trade talks, nothing came together for the C's.
Boston got talent, but talent that might not be able to help the team any time soon.
Marquese Chriss -- perhaps the player with the most upside in this draft after Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram -- falls into the Kings' lap at No. 8. And what happens?
The Kings trade the pick for other picks, which become the draft rights to Greek center Georgios Papagiannis and Kentucky's Skal Labissiere, along with two minor pieces.
If Labissiere reaches his ceiling, then I'll take it all back. He could be a terrific stretch-4 someday. But he's a long way away.
The Kings made another trade I liked better, as it netted them Syracuse's Malachi Richardson for Marco Belinelli.
So, while this wasn't the worst draft of the night, I believe the Kings missed out on a potential star in Chriss.
