Winners and Losers of the 2016 NBA Draft

(photo credit: barclayscenter.com)

The 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday had its fair share of teams and players that had a great night, and there were a lot of teams and players that didn’t have the best nights. The draft saw players take tumbles down the draft boards, and one fall down the boards lasted so long that the player decided to actually leave the green room. Some people had worse nights than others, while some had great nights as they realized their dream of playing basketball at the highest level. Below are the biggest winners and losers from the 2016 NBA Draft.

(photo credit: sbnation.com)

Winner- Thon Maker

The biggest wild card coming into the draft, Maker didn’t play basketball in college or professionally overseas, which made him a question mark for some teams. Making things worse for Maker, scouts started to question whether his presumed age of 19 was actually correct, as some teams starting taking him off their first round draft boards. One of the shockers of the night was pulled by the Milwaukee Bucks, when they selected Maker with the 10^th overall pick in the draft. That means that Maker went from a likely second round pick to a lottery pick in the blink of the eye. Maker comes out a winner, as he took a dramatic jump from second rounder to lottery pick.

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Loser (s)- Skal Labissiere & Deyonta Davis

Both of these freshman centers were projected to go in the top ten, or they were at least expected to go in the lottery. However, the night suddenly got uncomfortable for Labissiere and Davis. Labissiere fell all the way to the Sacramento Kings at 28, and he is now on a team that is full of turmoil, and they are a team that already have centers in Demarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein. Davis at one point left the green room, as he didn’t even get drafted in the first round. Davis was the first pick in the second round by the Boston Celtics, before eventually being shipped to Memphis in a trade.

(photo credit: sbnation.com)

Winner- Minnesota Timberwolves

As if the Timberwolves didn’t already have a stacked young nucleus, they made it significantly better in the draft on Thursday. The team selected Providence point guard Kris Dunn with the fifth pick, as Boston passed on him and allowed the T-Wolves to take Dunn. The T-Wolves now have Karl Anthony-Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, and Kris Dunn all on the same roster. All four of these players were lottery picks, with two of them being number one picks. With a young core that consists of these players, Minnesota is set to be a playoff contender for a long time in the future.

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Loser- Boston Celtics

After having acquired a myriad of assets over the last two seasons, the Celtics had a chance to really assert themselves as a championship contender after this draft. Boston could’ve done this by trading for an established veteran, or simply drafting a great prospect. Boston couldn’t pull off a trade, as they selected Jaylen Brown with the third pick. While Brown is a very talented prospect, many think he was a reach at number three. With their next two picks, they selected international prospects Guerschon Yabusele, and Ante Zizic. These picks left Celtics fans booing, and many others wondering why the Celtics chose to draft this way. The Celtics draft is by no means a failure, but it is quite underwhelming considering all the hype coming in.

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Winner- Indiana Pacers

While the Pacers didn’t make many picks, they made a lot of draft related trades that immediately improved their roster for next season. The team acquired point guard Jeff Teague in a three-team trade with the Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks, just a couple days before the draft. Then on the day of the draft, the team acquired established power forward Thaddeus Young from the Nets in exchange for the 20^th pick in the draft. Also, for a little bonus, the Pacers drafted college standout Georges Niang in the second round.

(photo credit: sportslogos.com)

Loser- Sacramento Kings

The Kings had a gift fall into their lap at number eight, when talented forward Marquese Chriss from Washington was available for the Kings to take. Sacramento took Chriss, but then immediately traded his rights to the Phoenix Suns. In the trade the Kings acquired the 13^th and 28^th overall picks in the draft. Their 13^th pick was the ultimate head scratcher, as they selected Georgios Papagiannis with a lottery pick. Not many people have heard of the Greek big man, as it just clutters up the Kings front court. The team also took Skal Labissiere with their 28^th pick, who has good potential, but another big man wasn’t necessary for the Kings. They had really good picks in Malachi Richardson and Isaiah Cousins, but they ultimately didn’t have an overall successful draft.