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Draft Grades: Atlantic Division

June 27th, 2014 at 7:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the 2014 NBA Draft officially in the books, it’s time to take a look back and see how each team used the draft to make improvements and fill needs. I’ve already looked at the Central and Pacific Divisions. Now it’s time for the Atlantic Division:

Boston Celtics

Team Needs: Power Forward, Shooting Guard, Point Guard

Draft Picks:

No. 6 Marcus Smart (Point Guard)
No. 17 James Young (Small Forward/Shooting Guard)

The Celtics find a potential replacement for Rajon Rondo in Smart, a player who should improve his shooting with some work, and who is capable of defending both backcourt spots. If Rondo isn’t dealt, Smart can slide over and play shooting guard. The biggest worry with a starting backcourt of Rondo and Smart will be their ability to stretch defenses as neither is a reliable outside threat. Good value for pick at that spot.

In Young, Boston gets the potential scoring threat that team so badly needs. Young is a still developing player who will take a few seasons to reach his potential. But he’s a fearless gunner with a sweet outside stroke who can also take it to the basket. Defense will be an issue for Young as he needs to add bulk as well as improve his on ball defense if he wants to get minutes under coach Brad Stevens.

Overall Draft Grade: B+ — The Celtics were hoping to flip these picks for Kevin Love, so that diminishes their overall score for the night. But they did snag two players who should be starters by 2015/2016.

Brooklyn Nets

Team Needs: Youth, Depth, Point Guard, Wing Players

Draft Picks:

No. 44 Markel Brown (Shooting Guard)*
No. 59 Xavier Thames (Point Guard)**
No. 60 Cory Jefferson (Power Forward)***

*Purchased pick from Timberwolves
**Purchased pick from Raptors
***Purchased pick from Spurs via Sixers.

The Nets needed to acquire some cheap depth, and that’s pretty much what they accomplished. The franchise had a better night than expected, acquiring three second-rounders on draft night. None of the players they selected project out as a starter, but Jefferson could prove useful this season, while Brown and Thames will take longer to bear fruit.

Overall Draft Grade: C — The team acquired some potentially useful pieces, but nothing that improved the franchise for next season. It was a better haul than expected, considering the team had zero picks heading into the draft.

New York Knicks

Team Needs: Center, Youth, Small Forward

Draft Picks:

No. 34 Cleathony Early (Small Forward)
No. 51 Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Small Forward)
No. 57 Louis Labeyrie (Power Forward/Center)*

*Purchased pick from Pacers

The Knicks went into draft night desperately attempting to acquire a first round selection. They weren’t able to move into the first round, so thanks to the recent Tyson Chandler trade with the Mavericks, Phil Jackson at least had a chance to make his first mark on the franchise. Early buzz was that the team was looking at Patric Young at No. 34. But when Early fell out of the first round, the Knicks couldn’t pass him up.

Early can play, but where that will be still remains unclear. He’s not fast enough to guard small forwards, nor is he big enough to be a power forward. Scouts also have serious misgivings about his ability to handle the ball. He’s also 23 years old, which means he’s close to his ceiling. Despite all the knocks, I think he’ll become a nice rotation piece for the Knicks in a season or two.

Antetokounmpo was a reach. Neither the Bucks, who employ his brother, nor the Sixers, who he played for in the D-League, decided to take him. That should tell you something right there. Granted, there wasn’t much left on the board at the time, so he might be worth the chance.

Labeyrie is unlikely to ever play in the league, which makes the move to purchase the draft pick a puzzling one.

Overall Draft Grade: C+ —Credit to Jackson for getting some picks in the draft. Early was a good value for the slot, but the team’s other two selections were probably just footnotes.

Philadelphia 76ers

Team Needs: Shooting Guard, Depth, Talent

Draft Picks:

No. 3 Joel Embiid (Center)
No. 12 Dario Saric (Small Forward)*
No. 32 K.J. McDaniels (Small Forward)
No. 39 Jerami Grant (Small Forward)
No. 52 Vasilije Micic (Point Guard)
No. 58 Jordan McRae (Shooting Guard)**

* Acquired from Magic for No. 10 overall pick, Elfrid Payton
** Acquired for No. 54 overall pick Nemanja Dangubic
***Also traded No. 47 Russ Smith to the Pelicans in exchange for the rights to Pierre Jackson, last year’s No. 42 overall selection.

The Sixers went into the night loaded with picks and high hopes. They were unable to trade up to select Wiggins, and when Parker went No. 2, it seemed all but assured they would select Dante Exum. But for the second draft in a row, Sam Hinkie took a chance on a player who might not set foot on the court all of next season.

Embiid is the most transformative player in the entire draft. But he could end up being the next Greg Oden just as easily as the next Hakeem Olajuwon. If Embiid can overcome his mounting injury concerns, this draft will be looked back on with great fondness. But this draft will also be looked at as tanking 2.0 for the team since it did nothing to get better for the 2014/15 season.

We just discussed Embiid, but Saric isn’t planning on coming over to the NBA for one or two seasons, minimum. The same with Micic. Both picks are decent values. Saric went right where he was slotted, and has a wealth of potential. The big question is if the team was better served to reach for that potential or better served selecting T.J. Warren, Adreian Payne, or Doug McDermott — and not having made the trade with Orlando that swapped picks.

Micic was predicted as a late first round selection in some mocks, so he’s a value where the team picked him. I’m very high on the selection of McDaniels, a player I thought had mid first round talent. He’s a ferocious defender who will make others around him better. Really like that pick. Grant was also a good value in round two, and he could develop into a nice role player for the team.

Overall Draft Grade: B+ —The final grade rests on Embiid’s health, but he might be worth the gamble. Saric was another good gamble, though the team might have gotten more value at the spot. The second round was filled with good value selections, though only McDaniels has starter potential. This is one that could easily change to an A+ if Saric and Embiid pan out. Passing on Exum could come back to haunt them.

Toronto Raptors

Team Needs: Center, Small Forward, Point Guard

Draft Picks:

No. 20 Bruno Caboclo (Power Forward)
No. 37 DeAndre Daniels (Small Forward)

If you shook your head and had no idea who Bruno Caboclo is, you’re not alone. Most experts didn’t even have him on their draft boards, much lest being taken in the middle of the first round. Caboclo has been described as the “Brazilian Kevin Durant.” Toronto would be happy if it turned out he was the Brazilian Giannis Antetokounmpo. This pick is a reach, especially considering the better known talent that was still on the board at that slot. This was easily the most puzzling selection of the night.

Snagging Daniels in the second round was a solid pick, and Daniels could develop into a productive reserve.

Overall Draft Grade: D- — I’m still having a difficult time processing the selection of Caboclo. Especially when Clint Capela, Mitch McGary, Rodney Hood, and P.J. Hairston were still on the board. The Raptors could have traded down and still nabbed their man. Daniels is a solid second-rounder, but went in range he was expected to go. The Raptors wanted Tyler Ennis, and were probably heartbroken when he was taken by the Suns at #18. Not a great night in Toronto.

‘Melo To Meet With Lakers, Rockets, Mavs, Bulls

June 27th, 2014 at 12:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 12:43pm: Anthony will also sit down with the Lakers to hear their free agent pitch as he envisions making a decision in the second week of July, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Knicks would be willing to offer a max deal to Anthony if necessary to retain him in spite of Jackson’s repeated requests that he take a discount, Spears also hears.

WEDNESDAY, 4:33pm: Anthony hasn’t identified a favorite yet, Broussard writes in a full piece. The meetings haven’t been formally arranged, since teams can’t yet reach out to Anthony, but those are the clubs Anthony has decided to visit, Broussard clarifies. The Knicks remain “very much alive” in the ‘Melo sweepstakes, Broussard adds, reiterating his earlier report that Kobe Bryant intends to reach out to Anthony, too.

4:18pm: Carmelo Anthony will sit down with representatives from the Rockets, Mavs and Bulls when free agency begins on July 1st, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Leon Rose client has already met on multiple occasions with Knicks president Phil Jackson and his staff.

That list of teams doesn’t include the Lakers, who appeared this week to be in a group with Houston, Dallas and Chicago at the forefront of the race for the high-scoring forward. Still, there’s nearly a week to go before the start of free agency, so the Lakers may still wind up meeting with him.

The Mavs would appear to have the easiest shot at Anthony given their cap flexibility, and it appears that would be true even with the acquisition of Tyson Chandler, as rumored. The Rockets and Bulls would have to perform some salary cap gymnastics, but Houston appears confident it can dump the salaries of Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, and the Bulls have the option of amnestying Carlos Boozer. Such maneuvers might not be enough to clear money to make a competitive bid for Anthony on their own, but they’d erase the most significant salary hurdles for those teams.

Eastern Rumors: Rondo, Love, ‘Melo, Bucks

June 27th, 2014 at 9:02am CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told reporters Thursday night that he intends to keep Rajon Rondo around in spite of the team’s decision to draft fellow point guard Marcus Smart at No. 6, observes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Rondo’s name has come up frequently in trade rumors, but Ainge, as usual, did his best to dispel such talk, also dismissing the idea that Smart’s arrival is a harbinger of soon-to-be restricted free agent Avery Bradley‘s departure.

“Absolutely. No question,” Ainge said of whether Smart and Rondo could share the floor. “And [Smart] and Avery. No question. [Smart]’s a very versatile player. He can play off the ball. He can handle the ball. With his length and his size, he can probably play against a lot of small forwards — 6’3″, long wingspan, 230 pounds. He’s a very versatile player. Easily those guys can play together, and I think they would really thrive playing together, all of them.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Kevin Love is “100%” on board with the notion of signing a long-term deal with the Cavs if LeBron James returns to Cleveland, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Trade talk between the Cavs and Wolves had reportedly halted when Love made it clear he wouldn’t remain in Cleveland past his current deal if Minnesota sent him there.
Knicks president Phil Jackson reiterated his desire for Carmelo Anthony to take less than the maximum salary to re-sign with the club, notes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. “I think it puts limitations on a team,” Jackson said of a maximum-salary contract. “What happens is then you end up having two or three players that have big contracts and everybody else’s is either veteran minimums or young players coming in. You don’t have that middle ground for a player that’s veteran, comfortable leadership-quality people. Miami explored it. I think they got the most out of it.”
The Bucks are looking to acquire a veteran big man, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times, who believes that Larry Sanders would be a part of any deal to acquire one (Twitter links).

Knicks Acquire Louis Labeyrie

June 27th, 2014 at 1:20am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 1:20am: The deal is official, the Pacers announce.

THURSDAY, 11:40pm: The Knicks have struck a deal to acquire 57th overall pick Louis Labeyrie from the Pacers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). New York sends cash in return for the French big man, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.

Clippers Shopping Matt Barnes, No. 28 Pick

June 26th, 2014 at 6:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

6:15pm: The Grizzlies have rebuffed the Clippers’ attempts to trade for Allen, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

5:32pm: The Knicks are giving signals that they intend to keep Shumpert rather than dealing him for a pick, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

5:11pm: The Clippers trying to package Matt Barnes and the 28th overall pick as the draft draws near, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Rivers would ideally like to send them to the Knicks for Iman Shumpert, several NBA executives tell Turner. Another possibility is using those assets to acquire Gerald Green from the Suns, Turner hears. The Times scribe also says Rivers has interest in Tony Allen (Twitter link).

Barnes and Shumpert were involved in a rumored trade around the deadline, and it appears that Rivers is after the Knicks swingman again. Sending a would-be fourth first-rounder to Phoenix would cause complications for the Suns, though the executives suggest to Turner that Phoenix could put a few of those picks in another trade. Allen played for Rivers when both were with the Celtics.

The 34-year-old Barnes is set to make nearly $3.4MM in 2014/15. His contract is only guaranteed for $1MM beyond that.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Felton, Knicks, Celtics

June 26th, 2014 at 6:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s a “tremendous” chance that the Sixers take Joel Embiid at No. 3, though they’re still deciding, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Still, a source who spoke to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com threw cold water on the idea that Philly was zeroing in on the Kansas big man (Twitter link). Regardless, it won’t be long until we find out. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Phil Jackson didn’t want to trade Raymond Felton until he had a sense of what might happen with Felton’s legal situation, notes Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link). Felton this week struck a plea agreement to avoid jail time on felony gun charges.
The Knicks have done their homework on Baylor’s Cory Jefferson, leaving rival execs with the impression that they’re targeting him with the No. 34 pick they acquired from the Mavs, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
Any movement the Celtics make from No. 6 will be down, not up, as both A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com and USA Today’s Sam Amick hear (Twitter link).
The Sixers asked Julius Randle and Noah Vonleh to work out this morning, but it’s unclear whether they accepted the invitation, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
The Nets are making a strong push to buy a pick later in the first round, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Draft Rumors: Jazz, Clippers, Rockets

June 26th, 2014 at 3:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (on Twitter) hears the Jazz are “frantically” trying to move up from the No. 5 spot. Everything Utah has remains available for trade consideration. The Jazz reportedly have their eye on forward Jabari Parker and they know there’s no chance of him falling to No. 5. Here’s the latest draft news..

Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) hears the Clippers are “50-50” on keeping their first round choice.
One name to watch for the Rockets at either No. 25 or No. 42 is Russian big man Artem Klimenko, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Houston has been doing some serious research on him in recent months.
The Lakers aren’t sensing a lot of momentum for a pre-draft trade and, as of right now, expect to keep the No. 7 pick, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
The Knicks, Blazers, and Nets are among the teams trying to land a first-round choice, league sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Hornets have explored moving up from No. 24, league sources tell Kennedy (on Twitter).
The Kings want to acquire a second-round pick, sources tell Kennedy (Twitter link).
There are several picks in the late 20s “to be had,” one exec tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). With nine teams lacking a first-round pick, there’s a strong market for them.
Meanwhile, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that we could be in for high number of international picks in the 20-to-30 range. That’s because teams are placing a high value on cap space and want to stay away from the luxury tax so clubs might not be lining up to trade for picks in that range as expected (link). The clubs left holding those selections might prefer to go with draft-and-stash candidates in cases where they don’t have obvious, pressing needs.

Eastern Notes: Embiid, Afflalo, Rondo

June 26th, 2014 at 2:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Joel Embiid is seriously in play for three spots in the top part of the lottery, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The 76ers at No. 3, Celtics at No. 6, and the Lakers at No. 7 are all giving serious thought to taking the KU center. Here’s more out of the East..

The Sixers aren’t pursuing deals with the Bucks for their No. 2 pick, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. That could be an indication that they believe the Cavs are planning to take Andrew Wiggins No. 1 overall.
The week before the Pistons fired Maurice Cheeks, they were looking to acquire Arron Afflalo, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Free Press. Of course, the Magic agreed to trade Afflalo to the Nuggets this morning.
The Magic‘s continuous losing deeply bothered Afflalo, but Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (on Twitter) hears that he and his agent did not request a trade.
Rajon Rondo‘s name has once again popped up in trade rumors, but a source close to the situation tells Sean Deveney of the Sporting News that the guard has not been informed of any change of plans when it comes to the Celtics‘ future.
Even though the Afflalo trade freed up a lot of money for the Magic, Robbins (on Twitter) still doesn’t expect them to make a major splash in free agency.
Jameer Nelson should draw interest from teams looking to shed salary for free agency, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if it’s LeBron James or Pat Riley making the personnel decisions for the Heat.
The Knicks could flip the newly-acquired Shane Larkin for a first-round choice, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Knicks, Dalembert

June 26th, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Zachary Links

Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe spoke to rival execs who offered up anonymous advice for Celtics GM Danny Ainge heading into tonight’s draft. “You’ve got to get Love,” said one Western Conference scout. “You could argue or suggest that you roll the dice on Andrew Wiggins being an All-Pro or Joel Embiid being the next dominant center, but you can’t argue that anybody at 6 and 17 will be better than what Kevin Love, barring injury, will be for a minimum of the next 10 years. You’re basically dealing for one of the conservatively 10 best players in basketball. You can’t turn that down.” Meanwhile, another exec says Boston should hold on to their two first-round choices. Here’s more from around the league..

Marc Berman of the New York Post (on Twitter) hears that the Knicks have no intention of waiving Samuel Dalembert to turn their taxpayer mini midlevel exception to a full mid-level exception of $5MM. The Knicks like the shot blocker and want him on the roster this season.
It’s hard to get read on how far Dario Saric will fall, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Several lottery teams liked him before he signed his deal in Turkey and one exec thinks that the Celtics at No. 17 is his floor.
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com wonders if the Tyson Chandler deal can help the Knicks hold on to Carmelo Anthony.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (on Twitter) opines that the Celtics won’t land Love today as they have a better shot of getting a deal done in-season.
The Knicks acquired a $3,637,073 trade exception equal to the salary of Raymond Felton in Wednesday’s trade with the Mavericks. Meanwhile, the Mavs get a trade exception worth $1,536,960 from Shane Larkin’s salary.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Mavs Notes: Dirk, LeBron, Melo, Chandler

June 26th, 2014 at 8:46am CST by Zachary Links

Dirk Nowitzki is thrilled to have Tyson Chandler back in Dallas, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. “He helped me get a championship, so we had great chemistry together,” Nowitzki said when asked about the trade when it was heavily rumored last night. “So if it is true, I will be thrilled.” Dirk went on to say that he’d “love” to welcome Carmelo Anthony to Dallas and will help to recruit him if he’s interested in coming aboard. Here’s more out of Dallas..

The Mavs are real players for LeBron James and Melo after the trade, a team source told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
Dirk also told reporters, including Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) that he expects a short and quick meeting with owner Mark Cuban before coming to terms on a new deal.
The Mavs initiated the Chandler talks weeks ago and were very motivated to get a deal done, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report tweets.
Chandler and his camp feel “great” about the trade, a source tells David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link).
Mark Cuban isn’t admitting a mistake by re-acquiring Chandler, writes MacMahon. “It’s apples and oranges,” Cuban said via an email. “You couldn’t get from there to here.”
There won’t be any drama from Dirk in free agency, as Jeff Caplan of NBA.com writes.